THE team behind Okehampton Farmers' Market has been criticised for refusing a pitch to a local trader.

The market, which takes place every third Saturday of the month, is held on St James' Chapel Square, when around 20 local food producers display their produce, including cheeses, yogurts, vegetables,fruit, preserves and meat products.

However, when Kirsty Tizard from North Tawton, who runs a business creating celebration cakes, as well as producing a range of locally sourced jams, pickles and marmalades, applied to the market for a pitch she was refused due to another stall holder selling similar produce.

Her husband, Nicholas, said: 'I am not surprised that Okehampton Farmers' Market organisers are struggling to find local producers to join the group.

'When my wife started her business making high quality home produce I approached one of the organisers to enquire whether we could get a pitch to market our goods. After waiting for two weeks for even an acknowledgement of my request, my application was eventually put to the group of traders, and I was refused a pitch because there was already a trader selling the same type of produce as my wife's.

'Well to be quite honest I have been to a good few farmers' markets and they usually do have a handful of people producing the same type of goods — it's called competition.

'I was very annoyed that we had been refused a pitch as we are a new local business trying to find a route to market which is both cheap and reaching our target audience.'

'I really love having a local produce market on our doorstep and I feel that if it is failing it is probably due to mismanagement, not because of supposed elevated costs.'

Treasurer of Okehampton Farmers' Market Jim White said it had been the view of a number of market members that more competition and more stallholders selling similar produce at the market was a good thing, certainly as far as choice and variety for the customer was concerned and attracting a wider client group.

'One of the things that has limited our ability to accept new stallholders in the past has been the wording and interpretation of the association's constitution.'

He said the association was due to discuss possible amendments to the constitution to allow greater flexibility in accepting stallholders.

'The current officers and members of the market are all working long hours to maintain their own businesses in the present economic climate, let alone the business of Okehampton Farmers' Market, where all officers operate in an entirely voluntary capacity.

'I can understand from Mr Tizard's viewpoint that this may look like mismanagement. I can only apologise that we have not been able to respond to his and his wife's concerns in a more positive and timely manner.

'I have made contact with Nick directly to discuss the issues and reassure him that we are doing our best to improve the current situation.

'We would very much like to see more local producers, like Kirsty and Nick at the market, and subject to possible changes to the farmers' market constitution along with pitch fee reduction for all stallholders (for the first half of 2012), thanks to Okehampton (United) Ecclesiastical Trust's offer temporary rent reduction) we very much hope that will be the case in the near future.'

The next Okehampton Farmers' Market will be on Saturday, November 19 between 9am and 1pm.