This evening the council's Economic and City Development Scrutiny Committee will review information already collected on the future of the city's market and set out a timetable for completing their examination of how it will look in the years to come.

Coun. David Scott, Chair of the Committee, said:

"At the last meeting of the Committee we started our discussion on the future shape of the market in York. We were given lots of information and a number of options by officers but what we didn't have at that meeting was a vision for the long-term future of the market."

"We know that the market makes a profit for the Council so what we should be looking at is how we sustain that for the benefit of residents, traders and tourists in the long-term."

"We need to be looking at how the market interacts with the city centre, other shops and its surroundings. Part of that is to ask whether the market is located in the best place. We know that Parliament Street will be undergoing changes. Those changes need to be considered when looking at the future of the market."

"In my view, York needs a vibrant market and we need to look at what we can do to support and develop that not only this year, but for the next 50 years."

"The Junior Apprentice TV programme showed a number of young people developing their skills as young entrepreneurs. I hope our scrutiny will make some recommendations as to how we tap into York's young talent and make market stalls available either free or at a reduced rate for our future entrepreneurs."

"This evening we will start the work of looking at the information already gathered and setting out a timetable for gathering more information and concluding the report."