SEAFOOD to dog treats and everything in between will be on offer this weekend when the inaugural Middleton-in-Teesdale Farmers’ Market takes place.
Organiser, Harwood resident Naomi Katze, says she has been delighted with the response from both traders and shoppers to the inaugural event, which takes place on Saturday, May 25, and will run from 9am to 1pm at the village’s auction mart.
“There is a lot of excitement among traders and visitors.” Mrs Katze said. “We have got 37 stalls booked in selling everything from seafood and fish to fruit and veg as well as lots of bits to treat yourselves and I think that is enough for our first market.”
Mrs Katze, who moved from north Lincolnshire with her husband Alan and three rescue dogs last year, has many years’ experience organising fairs and farmers’ markets.
She has been delighted with the response from traders since she floated the idea three months ago.
The monthly market will feature plenty of local suppliers and will be held on the fourth Saturday of each month at the auction mart.
Refreshment vendors will also be on site, but Mrs Katze is keen to encourage visitors to explore the delights on offer in the village as well.
She added: “You never know when you start a new venture what sort of response you’re going to get, but traders and customers are both very excited.
“I’m very pleased and I think there will be a lot of people heading to Middleton for a mooch around the stalls.
“It’s an excellent opportunity for people to have a look around the village as well and make a day of it.”
She said: “It’s a lovely little village with lots of shops and cafes and I think the farmers’ market is going to have a positive effect. I hope when visitors walk in they are pleasantly surprised.
“We have the best of both worlds at the auction mart. The stalls are undercover and there is ample parking, but it would be nice if the sun shines on the day – but I can’t organise that one.”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
