A Nottinghamshire council is terminating its lease with Newark Livestock Market due to 'substantial and longstanding' rent arrears.
The cattle and sheep market, located off Great North Road, is set to close after Newark and Sherwood District Council ended its contract with the leaseholder.
Councillor David Lloyd said the council has 'lost trust and confidence' in the current leaseholder.
“It’s extremely disappointing that we’ve been forced to take this action," he said.
"It would be unfair on every other business and resident in Newark and Sherwood who pays their taxes if we simply ignored the Cattle Market’s substantial and longstanding arrears."
He added: "We’ve provided the Cattle Market leaseholder plenty of time and every opportunity to settle their significant rent arrears.
"Terminating the lease of the Cattle Market is not a decision that we’ve taken lightly and we’re obviously concerned about the impact on our local farming community."
But the director of Newark Livestock Market has now issued a statement disputing the council's position.
Rachel Gascoine said: "Newark Cattle Market Company Limited have paid the basic rent £80,000 per annum and rates in full every year including £119,700 for 2019/2020.
"The only rent that is outstanding is the turnover rent and the company has made a claim against the council for breaches of the lease as a result of the disruption of the market during in the past four years.
"The company has been most willing to negotiate with the council and has worked tirelessly to promote the market and to ensure a smooth transition to a new leaseholder.”
It comes at a time when many livestock marts struggle to keep their doors open to farmers, with recent closures including Shaftesbury Cattle Market and Cowbridge Mart.
Despite numerous setbacks for local rural communities, industry bodies have frequently highlighted the importance of them.
For example, the 'use your mart' campaign was launched earlier this year urging farmers to 'take back control' and demand transparency in pricing by selling through livestock marts.
