Attempt to reinstate Lincoln Christmas Market rejected

An initiative aimed at restarting discussions regarding the reinstatement of Lincoln’s Christmas Market did not succeed. During its meeting on Tuesday evening, the City of Lincoln Council voted against a proposal to conduct new consultations with local businesses and residents concerning the potential organization of such an event moving forward. The market, established in 1982, had its permanent cancellation confirmed in 2023. Councillors from the opposition argued that a market is essential for stimulating the local economy. The Labour-led council made this determination following the 2022 iteration of the event, which drew over 300,000 attendees. The council stated that it was unable to ensure the safety of all individuals, particularly due to the unrestricted access to the venues, which precluded the implementation of a ticketing system. Councillor Clare Smalley, who leads the Liberal Democrat opposition, put forward a motion advocating for the initiation of a new consultation to explore methods for organizing a future Christmas market, even if on a reduced scale compared to its predecessors. She commented that the cancellation decision was “done in haste and without proper consultation” and “is a vital part of the local economy”. During her address at the meeting, she expressed being “disappointed” that the council “couldn’t find a solution” and establish a method for operating a sustainable market. The council indicated that it had substituted the four-day market with a sequence of events distributed across the entire year. Councillor Joshua Wells, the Labour portfolio holder for inclusive economic growth, reported that the new schedule of events attracted over one million visitors to Lincoln in 2023. He remarked that the market “fundamentally changed” and grew “too big”. “We have moved on from the Christmas market,” he stated. Councillor Rebecca Longbottom (Labour) asserted that Christmas markets “have had their day” and that “there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the population at large is growing tired of them”. The council also mentioned that organizing a market for an extended duration, a practice common in numerous UK cities, would incur excessive costs for both the authority and the stall-holders.