prize5-6, Exercise 3: Markets in public gardens

Model answer (one possible balanced paragraph; check the cases):

Case for: winter markets and fairs bring visitors and spending in a quiet season, support traders and jobs, give residents an event to enjoy, and fund the city through rents and fees. Supporters say that careful limits on size and duration can balance the use.

Case against: campaigners argue that the gardens are public open space that should not be fenced off for commercial operators for weeks, that crowds and construction damage the ground and the setting, that charges and fences limit access for local people, and that decisions have sometimes been made with too little consultation.

A fair summary: both sides make claims about benefits and harms that can be checked, with figures on income, visitors, damage and access, so the argument is best settled by evidence from independent reports and council decisions, not by slogans on either side.