A major £100,000 plus investment to repair damage done by catastrophic floods last year has guaranteed the future of one of North Wales’s busiest livestock markets.
St Asaph Market was submerged when the River Elwy burst its banks and the sheer mass of water caused massive damage to the facilities at the historic market.
But owners Jones Peckover have now completed a major refurbishment of the auction site, spending more than £100,000 on new surfacing, tanks and drainage.
The floods, which struck on Tuesday, November 27, inundated 500 homes in the town, with one elderly pensioner found dead in her house, and many more having to be rehoused while roads and transport were badly disrupted.
Jones Peckover had been due to conduct the usual sale of finished lambs, cull ewes and cattle the following Thursday and that had to be called off though it went ahead at Ruthin.
Managing Partner John Brereton, who has been conducting weekly sales at St Asaph for the firm, one of the oldest-established in the area, for the past 25 years, explained: “We were really grateful to Ruthin Farmers’ Auction who, without any approach from us, very generously offered the use of part of their market on a Thursday for us to sell finished lambs alongside their normal Thursday operations.
“This was a tremendous gesture by our competitors, a great morale boost for us and an excellent service for our farmer vendors.
“We duly sold over 4,000 finished lambs in Ruthin Auction that Thursday and all concerned were extremely grateful.
“Fortunately the water subsided quickly and in the meantime we instigated a massive clean-up operation so that we would be able to hold our usual Saturday sale in the Livestock Market itself at St Asaph which we duly did.
“It was extremely well supported and the farmers and purchasers were very complimentary of the efforts that had taken place to open the auction for sale and we’ve been trading as usual ever since.”
As well as repairing the flood damage, Jones Peckover have also completely revamped and extensively extended their effluent collection and sorting system at the auction and built new settlement and storage tanks.
Fellow Jones Peckover partner Ivor Lowe said: “It was the first time in our history that the market had been flooded like this. The water completely submerged all of our car park and sheep pens although the majority of the cattle sheds and all of the office and canteen survived though the office basements was flooded.
“Some of the machinery and pumps were damaged and were quickly replaced and some of our storage tanks and fencing also undertook rapid repair.
“The main car park was left with a covering of sludge which meant we had to remove the top layer of the hardcore standing and replace it with thousands of tonnes of new hardcore.”
Auction Manager Steve Morris, who lives on the site, looked out on a scene of devastation that Tuesday morning. He said: “The water was actually lapping at the top of the office steps.
“I’ve been here for 40 years and I can’t remember anything like it.”
Local farmer Maurice Tudor, who farms at Gwernigron, St Asaph, said: “The flooding was terrible. Our fields near the Talardy were under water and it left a lot of destruction here at the market.
“They had to call it off that week and hold it at Ruthin but it was back on Saturday and it’s been going strong ever since.
“I’ve been coming to St Asaph Market since I was 18 and I’m 72 now and it’s very good here. Jones Peckover have done a very good job with the reinvestment.”
St Asaph Market sells a large number of finished lambs, cull ewes and cattle every year as well as store cattle and the firm have been running the auctions since 1880. Ivor Lowe added: “North Wales is a renowned stock area for quality beef and lamb and we have excellent farmers here.
“This major investment is a vote of confidence in them and in St Asaph as a market centre which supplies top class livestock all over the country and to the Continent as well.
“It amounts to well over six figures and demonstrates the commitment that Jones Peckover as a firm has to St Asaph Livestock Market and our intention to ensure that it is open, meets all the necessary standards and is available for business for many years to come.”
