Nottingham Christmas Market?

[AaronPurr]

Is anyone else confused about why this has been allowed to go ahead, despite Nottingham being in tier 3?

Are there any other Christmas Markets running this year, or have the rest been cancelled?

Harrogate's has been cancelled, tier 2.

Lots of places cancelled them but as far as I can see they are allowed under tier 3 - shopping and outdoor leisure activities (such as gardens, sculpture parks and zoos) are allowed. A Christmas market is outdoor shopping, as long as the food places are takeaway only and it is well managed for social distancing it's allowed under the guidance. Also probably safer than going to a shopping centre as outside so much better ventilation.

Have you seen the pictures from yesterday? Looks like it was absolute carnage. No link as the ones I ve seem have been on personal Facebook pages but what the fuck is wrong with people???!!!

Transmission outdoors is very low. Good to see that local sellers are getting a chance to make some money. Plus despite being in tier 3, cases in Nottingham have dramatically decreased since pre lockdown.

Here we go again with "what's wrong with people". Same as when people were going to the beach back in the summer. Give over for goodness sake, it's boring now.

@Waxonwaxoff0

Here we go again with "what's wrong with people". Same as when people were going to the beach back in the summer. Give over for goodness sake, it's boring now.

Quite.

Also see "stay the fuck at home" rearing it's ugly head again.

It's allowed and it's outdoors, people can choose not to go if they want.

Flagsfiend I understand that it's allowed under the new rules, but just because something is permitted doesn't mean it should go ahead. I just find it a confusing decision, as i'm sure people would have been understanding if like others, it had been cancelled. Also i'm not sure they're managing social distancing even though it is outdoors. It's a busy area of the city centre, and the huge amount of shoppers / access to stalls will obviously creating bottlenecks / crowds.

I don't think it's within the spirit of the rules. It may be takeaway food, but people congregate and eat it there, they don't genuinely take it away like they would for a restaurant. Given the trouble pubs in West Bridgford got into for takeaway drinks that people took to the park in the summer, it feels like hypocrisy.

I also think it's unfair to all the restaurants and pubs in the city centre who pay business rates and aren't allowed to operate. All the city could look like Bridlesmith gate come next year.

It also needs some serious enforcement of social distancing. It should have barriers and free tickets for entry to limit numbers. The pictures of how busy it has been are ridiculous. Yes outdoors is safer, but not huddled together like penguins.

If it’s well managed it’s much safer than indoor shopping in a mall for example.
I went to our local farmers’ market in a nearby city yesterday. The stalls were spaced far apart, and in full sunshine on an outdoor car park, everyone was masked, there was compulsory hand sanitiser on any stall where you needed to touch the goods, payment was contactless etc.
I felt very safe, and impressed by the stallholders and management who had done everything possible to make it a success.

If they have good crowd management it should be ok

But that's a big 'if' as it's quite clear that in some places shoppers are overcrowding outdoors places (4 arrests in Knightsbridge yesterday - pavements dangerously full)

Some events will have more space in the first place, and better control of numbers than others, which is probably the main reason for deciding if safe to go ahead

We saw that and decided not to go, we usually do and make a day of it, get the train and go on the funfair.

Every year it's jam packed, people cheek to jowl, we couldn't see how they could possibly introduce any semblance of social distancing or order and based on the pictures we were right.

I think that at the very least they should have tried to split it over a wider area so the stall were more spaced apart, that way the sellers would still have been able to operate. Operating as normal seems a bit crazy to me.

I'm in Nottinghamshire and there has been a lot of local upset that the market has gone ahead. Especially after seeing the pictures yesterday. It does seem to go against the spirit of the tiers.

One particular tearooms locally has shared pictures of the market jam packed with no hint of social distancing, alongside their empty field with socially distanced picnic tables asking why the market was allowed to go ahead but why those who use their takeaway servjce aren't allowed to sit down on their safe premises.

Theres no logic to it.

NuttyinNotts I can't imagine how restaurant and pub owners must feel. There doesn't seem to be much in the way to help thin out the crowds, and the marketplace and side streets connected to it can be busy even without the christmas market.

Not on the same scale but I've seen adverts for several Christmas markets at pubs near me I was surprised they'd be allowed but with proper outdoor measures I would go.

I haven't seen any photos of larger ones but we've been here numerous times over the summer with large outdoor gatherings and none led to any increase in cases. I know it's colder now and it will be interesting to see if the numbers in Nottingham go up in the coming weeks.

But that's a big 'if' as it's quite clear that in some places shoppers are overcrowding outdoors places

I definitely think that applies to Nottingham. The marketplace isn't the biggest of areas when you take into account the smaller side streets and shops which will also have their own queues.

One particular tearooms locally has shared pictures of the market jam packed with no hint of social distancing, alongside their empty field with socially distanced picnic tables asking why the market was allowed to go ahead but why those who use their takeaway servjce aren't allowed to sit down on their safe premises.

I suspect they're not the only ones in this position. It really doesn't seem very logical. As NuttyinNotts pointed out many people congregate and eat at the christmas market. So whilst there may not be any seating areas it's not exactly a takeaway in the sense that the rules imply.

Today they have now shut the market to reassess city centre footfall and think about what they need to do for the best. I'm glad they are having a rethink, but still wouldn't be surprised to see a pre Christmas rise in cases here. It was entirely foreseeable that It would be too busy, pure case of profit before people.

Some inner areas of Nottingham have cases below three that supress data for privacy. It's patchy, but virus rates have been below national average for some weeks having peaked before lockdown.

If it was a choice between an outdoor market or the Victoria Centre, I'll take my chances at the market. As it happens I have no desire to go to places that are likely to be busy, so I exercise my right to avoid rather than getting frothed up at people having the audcity to work or go somewhere a bit fun.

Been into town this morning/early afternoon. Yes, it was busy, but around Long Row /Primark (ie the area where they have the wooden huts) it was less busy than on a nice Saturday afternoon in summer & I walked through very easily & quickly. Some of the shops were surprisingly quiet. I can imagine it getting busier later.

The bit of the market with the funfair rides was shut, but it's sectioned off from the other areas. There's no ice bar & skating rink this year.

Just read it’s been closed down today due to the massive crowds.

I'm glad they're reassessing the situation, but I feel sorry for the traders who will have paid for their stalls and bought stock with the expectation that they would be selling there.

BBC article is a bit grim - people defecating in doorways. Yuk

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55206779

[quote NiceViper]BBC article is a bit grim - people defecating in doorways. Yuk

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55206779[/quote]
Goodness me that is disgusting. There's no excuse for that sort of behaviour. 🤮🤮

The lack of foresight, planning and strategy on the part of our political leadership is woeful at times. As a result you have loads of traders who've paid for stalls and stock in the expectation of selling stuff, only for it to be closed.