TRADERS of the weekly farmers market which has been running in Milngavie for seven years turned out this week not to sell their goods — but to protest that another company has been given a licence to trade.
None of the 20 or so stall holders who usually set up their pitches with organisers Renfrewshire Farmers Market on the first Wednesday of the month were prepared to work under the new licence recently granted by the council to Fayre Events Limited ru
n by John Dobbie and Sean Middleton.
The protesting stall holders collected around 500 signatories to a petition in less than two hours asking people to support them
The group said they could not work with Mr Dobbie, a former director of The Scottish Association of Farmers Markets — the umbrella organisation for 48 licensed farmers markets throughout Scotland — who was removed following a vote of no confidence at an EGM last November.
Sally Crystal, chairperson of the Association, said: "It was the opinion of the board that Mr Dobbie's perceived actions in matters surrounding and concerning the Scottish Association of Farmers Markets, were incompatible with the successful functioning and good standards of the organisation."
What has enraged the stall holders is that someone they do not want as their effective boss has been given a licence from East Dunbartonshire Council.
The authority took the decision last November that it needed to regularise all markets in it's jurisdiction and under laws already in place issued a tender to run the market.
A spokesperson for the council said under these procedures it was advertised in the Milngavie and Bearsden Herald in February, with notices placed in Milngavie giving people 21 days to object.
The spokesman added: "Mr Dobbie was the only applicant to apply and as there were no objections to his application, the council granted him the licence."
But stall holders are annoyed with this and say they should have approached Renfrewshire Farmers Market, who has run the market for the past two years, before issuing a license.
But defending its decision the spokesman said the council was bound by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to follow this procedure.
He added: "At the application stage if someone can prove a licence holder is not a fit and proper person, the licence will not be granted. The other criteria is if the licence holder is in serious breach of the licensing conditions.
"Our job is to provide the mechanism for this and we did everything by the book."
But protester Tony Bennacie, chairman of Renfrewshire Farmers Market, said: "It's ridiculous — a sham —the people who were given a licence haven't even bothered to turn up today.
"We suspect that's because they know none of these farmers will work with them."
Sue Pedden of Erincroft Bakery said: "It's cost us a lot not to trade but we were determined to make our point — none of us will work with them. We're not slaves they bought when they bought their licence from the council."
The first inkling traders had that Fayre Events had acquired the right to operate the event was the Friday before Wednesday's market.
Mr Dobbie was reluctant to be drawn into the details of the application. But he added: "The people of Renfrewshire Farmers Market are washing their dirty linen in public.
"I am disappointed at what they have chosen to do and this is not in the best interests of the farmers market.
"What is important is that the market was operating in the absence of a licence. The simple fact is they did not apply for a licence."
