A POPULAR auction mart will undergo a £500,000 expansion to cope with a 50 per cent increase in trade over the past three years.

Thirsk Farmers’ Auction Mart has announced the ambitious scheme which Yorkshire Forward is backing with a £102,000 grant.

It moved from Thirsk town centre in 2006 to its present site, near the A19, on the outskirts of nearby Sowerby.

The mart attracts farmers from across North and West Yorkshire and County Durham to trade in cows, sheep and pigs.

Colin Barker, auction administration manager, said it was hoped the work would be completed by Christmas. He said: “Since we moved, the level of business has climbed to at least 50 per cent up on where we were. It’s just fantastic.”

“Our location is now a major asset, and when a wagon leaves here it doesn’t have to go through the middle of town.

“With the increasing level of business, we are moving from being a local up to a regional livestock market, as well as diversifying into nonagricultural activities.”

Howard Keal, the Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Thirsk and Malton, announced the news during a visit to the mart with Diana Wallis, Yorkshire and Humber Lib Dem MEP.

He said: “As well as attracting increases in the sale of cattle, sheep and pigs bringing in farmers, it has diversified into hugely successful areas such vintage, garden and furniture sales.

“It makes for a very strong combination at its base in Thirsk Rural Business Centre, and provides a model example of making the most of its new location for farmers and the wider community.”

The site houses several other related businesses, including Askham Bryan College and Joplings estate agents and surveyors.

Anne McIntosh, the Vale of York Conservative MP, said: “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s a real vote of confidence in the area.

“This plan is bucking the trend in a period of economic downturn and it’s a real vote of confidence in the local farming market.”