Could 2013 bring more markets to Colchester High Street? (From Gazette)
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Could 2013 bring more markets to Colchester High Street?
6:00pm Monday 10th December 2012 in News
Could 2013 bring more markets to Colchester High Street?
COLCHESTER’S High Street market was so popular there could be two more next year.
The event was so successful Don Quinn, of organisers Snake In The Grass, is to hold talks with Colchester Council to see if the High Street can be closed for three similar events next year.
He said: “It was the biggest one we have ever done. We filled the High Street with stalls from the top to the bottom and we had a huge number of comments from local people who were there saying they wanted to see a lot more of that sort of events.
“It was tremendously popular and we’re going to start talks with the council early in the New Year about what we can do together."
See Tuesday's Gazette for the full story
Comments(9)
angryman!!!
says...
8:43pm Mon 10 Dec 12
Im_Like_HELLO
says...
4:54pm Tue 11 Dec 12
rhetoric
says...
5:39pm Tue 11 Dec 12
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It generated warmth, exciting scents and large crowds.
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Anyone out there old enough to remember Underwood's rock stall?
Boris
says...
11:09pm Tue 11 Dec 12
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Obviously the regular Saturday market should return to High Street, rather than be hidden away in different bits of Culver Street. But that is something entirely different.
rhetoric
says...
8:58am Wed 12 Dec 12
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It wasn't just a Saturday market, but a mid-week market too. Saturdays are usually a busy day without any extra marketing draw, but mid-week the old market could bring a lot more life to the main street of the Town.
roger bacon
says...
10:41am Wed 12 Dec 12
Boris
says...
2:12am Thu 13 Dec 12
rhetoric wrote:Yes, I remember the mid-week market too, now you mention it. Was that on early closing day? Remember how in every town the shops used to close for one afternoon a week?
Yes, Boris, I think that is what we have all been trying to say - keep the "special" markets to "special" occasions and let the old style twice a week markets, as granted to the Town by Charter, return.
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It wasn't just a Saturday market, but a mid-week market too. Saturdays are usually a busy day without any extra marketing draw, but mid-week the old market could bring a lot more life to the main street of the Town.
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As for Roger's suggestion of free parking, I disagree with that. Why should we Colcestrians subsidise car drivers?
rhetoric
says...
7:49am Thu 13 Dec 12
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The mid week market was on Wednesday. It would have been crazy to hold it on an early closing day, when the Town Centre was shut down. Retail workers would have headed straight home for a rest, as they only had Sunday and Thursday pms as their leisure time.
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Obviously, if you "remember" the market being on early closing day, you don't actually remember it at all!
rhetoric says...
8:30pm Mon 10 Dec 12
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The Council should be taking any revenue for renting the sites or stalls.
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Some town councils own the stalls, and this can look really good as they are all in good condition and have the same canopies.
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We need a return to a well organised, local market with plenty of supervision to ensure that the merchandise is of high quality, and that the stallholders sell a good variety of items guaranteed to appeal to all shoppers.
What we don't need is a dreary setup of cheap diy stalls all in a row, or those selling items that don't bring the crowds.
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I am thinking of a market in one Town where the really excellent fruit and veg stall has queues in front of it all day from 8am, to shop closing time. These people don't just spend on the market, but visit other shops and spend in them too. The local buses are packed on market days.
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Bring back some dynamism, we need a council that's interested and some excellent traders, and I'm sure they are out there.