Much-anticipated St Annes artisan market in brand new £3.1m venue cut short early - here's why
The first staging of a new regular event in St Annes’ £3.1m town centre events space had to be called off early because of wind.
The Artisan Market in St Annes Square was called off at 2pm on Saturday - two hours ahead of its scheduled finishing time of 4pm.
It came after several the gazebos housing the stalls lining The Square got into difficulty as the wind increased following a sunny morning.
Fylde Council, who opened the new-look space in The Square last year after its refurbishment, confirmed that Crafty Vintage, the Ribble Valley-based events company which organised the market, “took the decision to pause the market on Saturday 11 April due to high winds at approximately 2pm.”
The event is due to take place on the second Saturday of every month this year and a Fylde Council spokesperson added: “The market will return as planned on Saturday 9 May from 10am-4pm.
The market features independent makers, designers and food producers in the space which can be used for events either with the main St Annes Road West open of closed.
The road was closed for the previous event there, the second Fylde Fest on March 28, but left open for the Artisan Market, with the stalls lined either side alongside the road.
The early call-off prompted reaction on Facebook. One comment from a correspondent called ‘White Elephant’ said: “Wind blows and that's the end of the market - which idiots decided this was the best location for an event space?”
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But Kate Fisher said of the early finish: “That's a shame. They really need to give it time. It was the first one and it'll build up if they stick it out.”