06 December 2023 , 17:27
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York's beloved Christmas market is back again this year attracting tourists from around the country - but some local residents have complained that the venue is now too busy and overcrowded.
Speaking on TikTok, one York resident has critiqued the event. Beth Crawshaw posted a video to her personal account, revealing huge crowds at the market. She said she was unable to visit the food stalls because of throngs of people, and that people should visit other events in Manchester or Leeds. She added there were knock-on problems with parking, YorkshireLive reports.
Beth said: "If you're thinking of coming to York Christmas Market on a Saturday, can you just not? I'm going to show you exactly why, there's just absolutely no point. If you actually manage to get parked, good luck with that, and then you get into town, these are the crowds you are faced with. You will not be able to go to a single food stall because it's absolutely ridiculous."
Members of the public shopping in the 'St Nicholas Fair' Christmas market in the city centre of York, Northern England on December 3, 2014 (AFP via Getty Images)She ended the video by saying: "If I'm honest, York Christmas Market isn't even that good. Leeds, Manchester, there's so many better ones and everyone just makes it literal hell for the people who actually live here." At the time of writing, the video had been liked more than 22,000 times on the platform.
Sarah Loftus, the Managing Director of Make It York, responded to the reports of overcrowding and said: "The York Christmas Market is a popular and much-loved part of the Christmas festivities in York for both residents and visitors alike, which means at times it can be busy. We have a crowd safety officer and event manager on-site at all times to monitor the number of visitors and queues, as well as stewards on-hand to help manage visitor flow.
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"We've also already received a lot of positive feedback regarding this years' revised layout, where we've consulted with the Council Access Officer and York Access Forum to redesign the Christmas Market with ease of movement in mind. We understand that York Christmas Market can be busy at peak times, especially on weekends, therefore we encourage people to visit during the integrated quieter periods between 10am to 12pm each day where possible.
"We encourage all visitors to plan their journey before travelling, and to use public transport or one of the six Park & Ride services when travelling into the city. We also have the virtual Christmas market, for those who would prefer to shop with our independent traders in the comfort of their own homes. York Christmas Market is open 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm until 22nd December."
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