Bridgnorth shop owner hits out at town markets

Kevin Bellwood, director of Roobarb on Waterloo Terrace in Bridgnorth, is urging the town council and market organisers to look at limiting the amount of food outlets and the positioning of the stalls.

The organisation of the special markets has lead to some shop owners closing their stores early from the lack of trade.

Mr Bellwood said: "The layout of these special town markets seems to be very much ill thought out.

"The backs of the market stalls face the shops and a natural walkway is created down the centre of the high street.

"Therefore, the shops, restaurants and cafes that are open on the high street can't be seen by the visitors. This is further impacted by the traders' vehicles being parked on the pavement behind the stalls restricting access.

"Surely if the stalls were facing the shops everyone would benefit, as visitors would be able to see the shop frontages as well as the stalls."

"The only people that benefit from these markets currently, are the market stall holders themselves, who are paying no rates to benefit the towns up-keep."

"A number of shop owners have said to me that despite there being many hundreds of people in the town on Sunday, some decided to close early as nobody could see them from the street."

Mr Bellwood is also urging to limit the markets food offering during these special market days.

He said: "There are many great pubs, restaurants and cafes in our town, but again many of them have said to me that because food was so abundant on the market on Sunday, that they sold very little food.

"I'm not saying that these markets shouldn't be in the town, as they show off our great town to the many visitors that visit, but a little joined up thinking wouldn't go a miss and to seriously think about the many shops that pay rates and rent to trade here 365 days a year."

Diane Malley, Bridgnorth's locum town clerk, said previously the market stalls were arranged to be facing the shop, but this led to overcrowding on the pavements.

She said: "By erecting the stalls facing in it leaves access down the pavements for those wishing to visit shop premises and a walkway in the middle of the market stalls for those wishing to browse the market.

"Overall this method has been found to work better and causes less crowding immediately outside shop premises.

"It is not possible to have the market stalls completely back to back because of the need to allow access to emergency vehicles."