Court action over Rasen stall eviction

Jennie North and Bryan Spittlehouse, who run North’s Fruit and Veg, are taking the local authority to court over its decision to evict their stall from the town’s Market 
Place.

The judicial review will be heard by a judge, who will decide whether or not the town council reached its decision to evict the traders in a lawful 
way.

The council claims the trader has repeatedly broken rules and has been sent several disciplinary letters, dating back to 2012, for ‘moving council property’, opening the market without ‘correct authorisation’ and ‘unacceptable behaviour’.

Market Rasen Mayor John Matthews said: “They (Mr Spittlehouse and Mrs North) applied for a judicial 
review.

“The judge’s decision is final.”

Coun Matthews said he did not know how much the legal proceedings would cost taxpayers.

He said the case would go before the court as soon as both parties’ legal teams could ‘pull all the papers together’ - and that the stall’s licence would be extended until the 
hearing.

Mr Spittlehouse said he believed the review would take 12 to 18 months to reach the court.

And he said: “We don’t have any grievances with the council - they have grievances with 
us.”

But Mr Spittlehouse declined to comment further, saying: “We’re leaving it in the hands of our 
solicitors.”

Back in January North’s Fruit and Veg stall was served a notice to vacate the Market Place by Friday, April 
8.

But the traders said the decision had left them “baffled” and they started a petition calling for the eviction to be revoked.

This was signed by about 2,500 people, with residents saying the stall was vital to the town.

But the town council still did not back down on its decision - and so Mr Spittlehouse and Mrs North appointed a 
solicitor.

Speaking to the Mail last month, Mrs North said: “The last couple of weeks we’ve started to lose business because of what’s going on.”

Coun Matthews said letters sent to Mrs North and Mr Spittlehouse were not ‘issued lightly’.

He said Market Place traders - for which the council has full liability - must abide by health and safety and code of conduct practices.

And he said traders who fail to abide by regulations must face a warning or disciplinary hearings.

Coun Matthews said: “Those who continue to ignore them must accept the 
consequences.”

Mrs North’s parents started the stall in 1958 and her brother took over in 
2000.

Mr Spittlehouse and Mrs North have run the stall for about 10 years.

Shopper Eva Smith said: “I’d miss this place dreadfully - sometimes this stall is the only one here.

“If the council want to make it a market town, this is ridiculous.

“It’s another blow to the town. It’d be lost without it, it’s absolutely vital.”

North’s Fruit and Veg stall is in Market Rasen on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

A date for the judicial review has not yet been set.

These types of hearings are generally heard in the administrative courts, which are located in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester.

The government’s definition of a judicial review is as follows:

“Judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.

“It is not really concerned with the conclusions of that process and whether those were ‘right’, as long as the right procedures have been followed.

“The court will not substitute what it thinks is the ‘correct’ decision.

“This may mean that the public body will be able to make the same decision again, so long as it does so in a lawful way.”

Previously:

Rasen market eviction row traders take legal action

Letters revealed in Rasen market eviction row

http://www.marketrasenmail.co.uk/news/local/trader-s-fury-the-council-is-killing-our-market-town-1-7195161