The post you are reporting:
Talking to the business/shop owners (still), they want the market to carry on and grow as it did (certainly not this week though) bring people down to the market Square/Cannon Street area.
The market stall-holders were definitely NOT happy with Cameron and didn't like what he kept telling them; hopefully, now he is not with the Chamber any more, that antagonism has gone.
Barry, if what Howard said is not true, why don't you tell people what is true; I came up with the market idea, before I was DBS Manager and my vision/view was that 30 to 40 stalls could be accommodated in and around the Market Square, Cannon Street and if enough stalls, Biggin Street.
Good quality stalls too, having green and white striped covers and similar sizes. Stalls selling things (as much as possible) that are not available in the shops - don't forget that some shops already put their goods out on the pavement so are like a market stall anyway.
I had secured funding for marketing the market; money from Town, District and County Councils. This money would have paid for the advertising and brought more stall-holders and more people into the Town and so increase shops' takings too.
In my view (and if I'm wrong Barry, please tell me) the Chamber of Commerce do not have a clue about running a market and yesterday's effort showed how true that is.
People will put up their stall in any weather (it had stopped raining by about 8 am) if they think it will be worth it - obviously from yesterday's showing, they didn't think it was worth getting out of bed for.
Decline, like success, breeds more of the same, I hope someone from the Chamber will work to help the market grow and work to help the Town, otherwise the whole initiative will have been a waste of time - and money.
Roger
