Dear Colleague
Weekly Newsletter: 21st November 2017
GB Market Awards 2018
There are now only 9 days left for most categories to apply in the 2018 Awards. Voting is ramping up and there are some new entries into the Top 10 in the voting for Britain’s Favourite Market category.
So, in no particular order, the Top 10 are now:
· Belfast
· Lymington
· Shrewsbury
· Barrow in Furness
· Norwich
· Cambridge
· Kirkgate market, Leeds
· Hitchin
· Grainger market, Newcastle upon Tyne
· Skipton
The voting ends at midnight on Thursday 30th November. The top 6 places with the most votes will be announced on 4th December and will then go through to the Judging round and mystery shopper elements, that will be undertaken by Storecheckers. Vote via the Britain’s Favourite Market tab on the NABMA website at www.nabma.com.
NABMA Training and Development
Nabma announces a second Diploma course for 2018
The Nabma Diploma in Market Administration is fast becoming a passport to success for officers working in the market industry.
With over 100 people now successfully achieving the level 4 qualification accredited by the Institute of Place Management, applications to attend the 2018 course starting in March have exceeded expectations and immediately became over-subscribed when places were made available at the Nabma conference in September.
After reviewing various options to double class sizes and look at options for larger venues, it has been decided instead to run the course twice during 2018. This means class sizes remain manageable and ensure students receive optimum attention from lecturers encouraging everyone to make contributions towards discussions as part of the learning process.
The greatly valued sponsorship of Market Place Ltd for the Diploma has enabled a second course to be offered in 2018 to meet the demands at the continued subsidised price of £1,000 (plus VAT) to Nabma members. (The cost to non-Nabma members is £2,000 (plus VAT). You will also need to find your own accommodation costs.
The Diploma provides an excellent introduction to many aspects of markets administration and is recognised as the premier markets qualification for local authority and private market operators and those from allied organisations.
Candidates come together to attend 3 two-day courses in Derby on specialist subjects and complete three assignments to demonstrate what they have learnt from the experience.
The first DMA course in Derby for 2018 is programmed for the following dates:
6th & 7th March - Communications
27th & 28th March – The Law
24th & 25th April – Practical Operations
The Second DMA course is programmed for:
15th & 16th May – Communications
12th & 13th June – The Law
24th & 25th July – Practical Operations
Full details of the Diploma are available on the Nabma web site.Alternatively, if you would like to have a chat about the course please contact Stephen Pickering on tel: 07736326022 or by email on
Further Law Seminar on Wednesday 20th June 2018
Earlier this year NABMA entered into a partnership with Francis Taylor Chambers in London resulting in the provision of an excellent legal seminar and the appearance of Edward Cousins, current Editor of Pease and Chitty, the definitive legal textbook on Markets, at our Annual Conference. We have now arranged a second legal seminar on the 20th June 2018 and you are advised to put the date in the diary now because places are likely to be in short supply.
NABMA “Markets through Partnership” Conference: Thursday, 25th January 2018
I am delighted that many people are taking advantage of the Early Bird offer for places at the January Conference. There is a Special Offer of £120 per delegate plus next Delegate at £95 or 3 delegates for £270. All plus VAT and for bookings before 31 December only – see conditions on booking form).
Market Safety
Over the last twelve months we have witnessed some appalling terrorist attacks at Markets in this country and in Europe. With the approaching season of Christmas Markets it is important that our safety plans and evacuation procedures are up to date.
If you go to the NABMA website at www.nabma.com and use the publications tab you can find the following guidance. In the “Research” section there is the National Counter Terrorism Guide to Crowded Places. While in the “Market Support Documents” you will find “Traders Safety Plan, Bomb Evacuation Procedure and Risk Assessment”. If you have not already reviewed your procedures now is the time to be undertaking your review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking at the changes in our data base it seems that there is a regular turnover of people with responsibility for Markets. Sometimes people are drafted in to look after a Market with little or no knowledge about practical market matters. There is where NABMA can help. We have put together a list of topics relating to the management of both indoor and outdoor markets and you can access them via the Frequently Asked Questions portal on the NABMA website. Hopefully we have covered the majority of topics but if there is something you feel is missing please let us know. The Frequently Asked Questions portal is only one of the NABMA services that you can use to get help. There is a second portal Market Help where you can be linked to market experts with whomyou can talk and get advice and help. You can also, using this portal, request a health check on your market and get an assessment of a particular issue or a general view of the Market. We are here to help you. All you have to do is ask.
Benchmarking Markets
A last call for the APSE Conference on the 7th December at Blackpool, where there will be a Markets benchmarking workshop. It starts at 1pm and goes on for three and a halfhours. Come along and find out how you can be part of this benchmarking project. If you are interested let NABMA know.
Jobs and Contracts
Just to alert you that after a significant refurbishment and investment programme, Scarborough market is looking for a new Superintendent of Markets, with a closing date of Friday 8th December. The link for further information is www.scarborough.gov.uk/jobs or details can be found on the Nabma website.
Yours sincerely
Hilary Paxman
NABMA CEO
07500 177709