Dear Editor,

I write in response to Sue Kirby’s letter about the Market House and the current occupation of it by The Courtyard and the Made in Ross Arts and Crafts Collective. Sue, like me, is desperate to see the Market House used to its full potential, we simply differ over the nitty gritty details and possibly over what the phrase “using it to its full potential” actually means in practice.

It would take a 1500 word essay to even partially explore this subject. Everyone has a slightly different take on what should be done. But may I remind your readers of the Prospectus which the Town Council put out in January 2014? This was produced in response to the County Council’s offer to transfer several of their assets in the town to the Town Council, including the Market House.

The stated intention for the building, signed up to by all 12 Town Councillors, was to:

Continue public access

Provide services for residents, businesses and visitors

Generate rental income

And we said that it might not be possible to achieve all of these. In the event, we have. Some say that the Courtyard and the artists should be paying more. That is easy to say. The fact is that it was costing the County Council around £50,000 a year to run the Market House and they shut it in February 2014. If it was down to them, it would still be empty. The Town Council has now re-opened it and it is costing a fraction of £50,000. We have a light and airy space which is open seven days a week and packed full of interesting arts and crafts products. Some say that there should be tourist information at the Market House. Well, I have spoken to the artists and they are not against that.

I think that we in Ross actually have a brilliant success on our hands and I am delighted that at the Town Council meeting last Wednesday we unanimously agreed to draw up a properly legal agreement and not to throw the artists out of the Market House.

My views are my own and I do not speak for the Town Council or any other Town Councillors, although I hope that most if not all of them would agree with me.

Chris Bartrum

Ross