MALTON and Ryedale Farmers’ Livestock Market Company (LMC) is to run the town’s livestock market after the Fitzwilliam Estate announced the company was its preferred bidder to take on the market from October 4, and develop a new site.

The company, led by Pat Foxton, has been chosen over a rival bid by the Malton and District Farmers Mart LLP after the Estate employed a specialist farm business company to scrutinise the two groups’ plans.

Mr Foxton, a director of the Livestock Market Company (LMC), said they were delighted with their bid’s success and confident the livestock market would now carry on in Malton without a break in trading.

“Myself and the other directors look forward to working with all the parties to make sure the new market is the success that Malton deserves and Ryedale needs,” he said.

They now have until September 6 to show it has enough funding in place to run the market from its new site.

Mr Foxton said: “I am confident we can show that, because we already have the funding. We have £1.2 million pledged from farmers and businesses and £500,000 from the Fitzwilliam Trust Corporation.”

The money already pledged is enough to fund phases one and two of their plans – which will involve moving the market to its new site five to seven acre near Eden Camp and building a shed big enough to cover all the concrete, drainage and penning they need.

Andersons Farm Business Consultants’ report to the Estate said the rival bid from Malton and District Farmers Mart LLP was the “most robust” in the long-term but did not have enough funds to run the market in the short-term.

The LLP’s directors said they were pleased to see their bid praised, but blamed the “limited security of tenure” for making it too difficult to raise the funding they needed.

Director John Hicks said: “Of course we are disappointed as we believe our proposal provided a great opportunity to develop both the existing and new market into a vibrant and strong democratic organisation, involving the farming and agricultural community for the benefit of all in the district, in what is an ever increasing competitive business environment.”

He thanked those who had supported and helped their bid, and offered his best wishes to the LMC.

The LMC will be responsible for getting the right planning permission for their new market scheme.