Trial leads way for Cleveleys market

Cleveleys Market looks set to make a more permanent return to the seafront after its trial last year.
Cleveleys Market underwent a successful trial period at The Plaza,  at the end of Victoria Road West.Cleveleys Market underwent a successful trial period at The Plaza,  at the end of Victoria Road West.
Cleveleys Market underwent a successful trial period at The Plaza, at the end of Victoria Road West.

A report to councillors at Wyre states the amenity was deemed a success when it was sited on seafront site The Plaza and that shopkeepers believed it drew shoppers into the town centre.

However, it was felt that when the weather declined at the end of the year, the switch to a car park away from the seafront, on Derby Road, was not such a success.

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The trial ran from August to the end of November, when around a dozen stallholders would offer a variety of wares every Wednesday.

Now it is being proposed to run the market on The Plaza again, this time from early March to the end of September, at a time of the year when the weather is likely to be better.

The issue is due before Wyre’s planning and economic development committee tomorrow when members will be asked whether to approve the operation of a weekly statutory market to increase footfall and support local trade.

The report states: “Following discussions with the traders it was determined that the market performed better on the Plaza than on Derby Road Car Park.

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“Consultation with local businesses suggested that they had seen increased footfall since the market trial commenced.

“The public arriving on the trams would normally only walk halfway down Victoria Road West but during the trial have been walking the full length of the road to get to the market on the Plaza.

“It is felt that the operation of a street market will help with the continuity of trade and increase visitor numbers to the town’s high street.”

Concerns had initially been raised by Great Eccleston Market, another Wyre Council-run market which also runs on Wednesdays, that the two would clash. But the report said impact was minimal.