Plans have been drawn up to hold a Sunday market on a livestock auction mart site hit by the crash in the farming industry.

Skipton Auction Mart is seeking planning permission from Craven District Council to hold a general market and car boot sale at its base off Gargrave Road, Skipton.

Plans were submitted to the Skipton planning offices yesterday for permission to allow 200 stalls until December 2000, when the situation would be reviewed.

Cattle market boss Paddy Wrightson said trading had been hit badly by the slump in the agricultural industry and they were looking at other areas to support the business. "We are having the same number of animals through, but the prices are down by a third this year. We have to look at other ways of redressing that position,'' he said.

They had received a good response from Skipton market traders and it was hoped to have the Sunday market running by the summer.

John Sykes, Craven Council's health and housing chief, said there was a restricted covenant on the use of the cattle market site.

"The cattle market had suffered poor trade and they approached the Council to see if there were other options to support the business, which the Council was pleased to do.''

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