SOME stalls in York's Newgate Market are being let for as little as £3 a day to prevent them lying empty, a stallholders' leader claimed.

David Green accused City of York Council of neglecting a "golden egg" which he believes once delivered £600,000 a year to the authority's coffers, but now raised much less.

Mr Green, chairman of the York branch of the National Market Traders' Federation, claimed that no money had been spent on market improvements for years, leaving it a damp, dark and dirty place, and alleged that 30 per cent of stalls at Newgate Market were now lying empty on many weekdays.

Mr Green, who was backed in his claims by fellow stallholder and federation vice-chairman Mark Dove, said he believed the market's problems began when it was moved from Parliament Street into Newgate, and trade was "destroyed".

He also criticised the continental markets which are regularly held in Parliament Street.

But his claims were strongly rebutted today by deputy market manager Darren Lovatt, who said the market was 80 per cent full on an average day, with 100 per cent occupancy on Saturdays and 90 per cent on Fridays. "Managers of markets elsewhere in North Yorkshire would be delighted by such figures," he said.

Mr Lovatt said the market was so far on track to beat its target of raising more than half a million pounds in revenue for the authority in the current financial year.

He confirmed that permission had been granted last year for the market manager to offer discretionary discounts to stallholders to spread out on to third and fourth stalls which might otherwise be left lying empty in the less popular end of the market. But he disputed the £3 claim, and said the discounts offered were normally 50 per cent. The decision to offer such discounts brought in a little extra revenue and helped prevent stalls lying empty, but they tended to be offered only on quieter days such as Mondays.

"No one is forced to take a stall at Newgate Market.

"If someone is so concerned that it is run-down, why are they still attending?" he asked.

He said that Mr Green and other stallholders had opportunities to go in Parliament Street at certain times in the year.

City of York Council's assistant director of economic development, Tony Bennett, said the authority was keen to talk to a wider audience and discuss ways in which the market could be taken forward.

Updated: 08:49 Thursday, July 10, 2003