New site for Thame livestock market a ‘vital service’ to farming community
Chris Dodds, executive secretary of the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA), believes the green light for a new site for Thame Farmers Mart will deliver a “vital service” at a crucial time for the farming industry.
South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning permission for the move, granted on Wednesday 1st April 2026, comes as livestock markets in England and Wales reported record turnover of £3 billion in 2025.
There are 112 weekly livestock markets in England and Wales, down from more than 200 in the 1980’s which makes Thame’s news a boost for the industry.
Chris Dodds said “I see markets being as important, if not more important today than they were 50 years ago. It is great news for the business but also for the farming community. There are not a lot of markets in the area and Thame offers a vital service to the farming community.
“It’s important that local councils have a bigger appreciation of the importance of markets for the wider community as a whole.”
Thame’s historic livestock market will move from its current town centre site to near the Christmas Hill Business Park on the outskirts of Thame where a state-of-the-art facility will be developed, subject to planning conditions, in partnership with W Lamb Developments.
Livestock trading in Thame dates back to the Middle Ages, with the existing purpose-built market in North Street operating since 1951.
The planning permission has been greeted with real enthusiasm by the more than 350 shareholders at Thame Farmers Mart. Terry Kennealy, a shareholder who farms at Hemel Hempstead, buys cattle at Thame every week and said: “It’s great news and I have been buying livestock at Thame for around 30 years.
“It is a big catchment area and the new market will attract even more people because the current site is crowded in the town centre. It had to come. This is a new stage in the life of the market and I am sure it will be very successful and it’s a great new location just where it should be.”
Richard Nicholls, another Thame Market shareholder who farms at Aylesbury, said: “We are the fourth generation to use our local livestock markets and it has been a long journey to secure a new site for Thame. After years of effort, they have finally succeeded in getting planning permission granted. There used to be livestock markets in Tring, Aylesbury and Thame – now it’s only Thame. People now travel long distances to attend and the market continues to do an excellent job supporting the local community.”
Livestock markets provide a vital community role for farming at a time when the industry is dealing with a range of pressures and Chris Dodds added: “We all know markets have an important role, putting livestock in front of multiple buyers and Thame is also renowned for its annual sheep fair which is an important date in the calendar nationally.
“It is a really positive message at a time when livestock prices are good and we have seen in 2025 the turnover of all member markets rise from £2.5 billion to a record £3 billion and that is really healthy. Medium and long term there are good prospects of maintaining realistic values because farmers need competition in the market place and there are too many sectors – not beef and lamb- where there isn’t competition which is not healthy going forward.
“Livestock markets deliver this in an open and transparent way and have done so for more than two hundred years and hopefully will continue long into the future
“Everyone acknowledges that markets are the one place where farmers and indeed local people gather and can go for a good meal at an affordable price.
“It is also one of the few places where farmers socialise and with mental health and the other issues there is no better place than a market to bring the rural community together. People are now starting to appreciate that farming life can be a lonely and isolating for business for much of the year.”