THE PLUG has been pulled on the Ledbury Farmers’ Market after four years, because of an increasingly low level of public support.

Organiser, the Bodenham-based nurseryman, Dave Griffiths said trade had been so poor that the last of the monthly markets, on September 25, actually lost the traders money.

The last few remaining stalwarts, including Mr Griffiths, had hoped to battle on with the Ledbury Farmers’ Market until Christmas; but he and his fellow traders have now decided that enough is enough.

He said: “We started off with ten stalls, and it got down to two; and the last time we were there, we lost money. We were hoping to run it until Christmas, but it was costing us money to be there.”

When asked if the market might be revived in the future, Mr Griffiths said: “I certainly won’t be doing anything.”

He said that when the market started, in 2012, “people thought they would make a fortune”.

But he pointed out that farmers’ markets elsewhere in the UK have been experiencing a downturn in trade; and he also believes the fall in trade for the Ledbury Market wasn’t helped when traders were asked by the town council to move stalls from the High Street to under the Market House.

Despite the closure of the Farmers’ Market, Ledbury still has its two weekly charter markets, on a Tuesday and a Saturday, and it still has its weekly Country Market, every Friday, in St Katherine’s Hall.

However, Griff Holliday of the Ledbury Food Group, which supports local produce and organises the town’s annual food festival, during the Ledbury Poetry Festival, said the closure of the Farmers’ Market was “sad”.

He said: “Obviously, we regret the loss of any opportunity to purchase locally-produced food.”

Mr Holliday said Farmers’ Markets may now be feeling the pinch because of the rise of food festivals, which are increasingly popular with producers who may want to set up stalls there instead of markets.

Mr Griffiths confirmed that the problem with running a market was “finding the traders to do it”.

“It’s difficult,” he added.

Mr Holliday said: “In Herefordshire, only Leominster now supports a Farmers’ Market; – but local producers can also be found at Ross and Hereford street markets.

“We are lucky in Ledbury to have independent food shops selling local produce, a regular market, the Friday Country market, and nearby regular markets at Kempley, Woolhope and Bosbury. I urge people to continue to support local food.

“Local producers and retailers depend on you.”