EARLY figures from the new Make It York body show the Shambles market made thousands less than planned in the first months of this year.

Quarterly accounts due to go before the Make it York (MIY) shareholder group - a committee of City of York councillors - next week show the market income was £24,000 down on what it should have brought in between April and July this year.

Teething problems are behind the shortfall, according to councillors on the committee, but will soon be ironed out as Make It York improves the signage around the market and as the new venue "beds in", they added.

Cllr Ian Cuthbertson, who sits on the shareholder group, said: "There have been some big changes in the area, and a new organisation set up to monitor, supervise and manage it.

"From my own discussions [with MIY], I know they are well aware of the problems and are working hard to deliver a change for the better."

He added: "Many new business situations have a 'hockey stick' effect where things dip downwards before they start to rise. I am not saying that is definitely going to happen, but I have every confidence it will recover."

The financial statement itself says addressing the Shambles' problems "will not be a quick fix" but adds that there is a "clear plan" to improve performance. 

"Revenue from other city centre activity (e.g. events on Parliament Street) is running close to budget and there are some big opportunities over the rest of the year. There is confidence that the overall performance of the city centre will be ahead of budget by the end of the year, festivals and events more than compensating for any under-performance on the Shambles Market"

The group's chairman independent councillor Johnny Hayes said the Shambles still brought a lot into the city.

He added: "The city centre gains enormously from the market.

"There are teething problems - it's a new market and clearly when something like that happens there will be problems but I think they are going to do their best for York."

The overall figures for MIY between April and July show a £3,000 surplus for that period - mainly caused by lower costs and set-up costs, and unexpectedly high income from the Great Yorkshire Fringe events in Parliament through the summer.