EFFORTS are being made to attract new and different traders to Barnard Castle’s weekly charter market to ensure it remains a popular draw with locals and visitors, town councillors were told.
Town clerk Martin Clark praised the efforts of market supervisor Mark Vaughan in his efforts to maintain the number and variety of stalls on a Wednesday.
Last week, the market welcomed another first-time stallholder, Casa Mia, which offers home-made Italian pastries and other baked delights.
Mr Clark said: “Mark gives people the opportunity to come and have a look. He wants them to give it a go and then come back when the weather improves.”
The town council’s services committee was told a visit to Barnard Castle on market day was s till a popular destination for coach companies.
“It’s disappointing when there are only a few stalls like there has been for the past couple of weeks,” said Mr Clark.
Cllr Valerie Ewart wondered whether any of the stallholders who take part in the monthly farmers’ market – which is run separately to the charter market – would be interested.
Welcoming Casa Mia to the market, Mr Vaughan said he was keen to plug any gaps but ensure there was plenty of variety.
He said that unfortunately, the popular Breaking Bread stall had withdrawn, so he was busy sourcing a replacement bakery and he was hopeful a new stall selling quality ladies’ clothing would be coming along in the next few weeks.
“The charity stall is also looking busy again. I have quite a few bookings for this year already and then I will look for anything I can squeeze down the bottom of the market,” said Mr Vaughan.
“I do visit other markets to see what’s going on and try not to duplicate the stalls we have.”
Casa Mia is based in Leeds and is a regular at Northallerton market.
Francesco Mazzella was welcoming customers on behalf of his son who would normally be on the stall.
“It’s our first time here. We were asked if we would like to come so we thought we would give it a try,” he said.
“We are a family business that has been running for about 30 years. We started off as restaurants and now do markets up and down the country.”
The weekly market is a self-funding service managed by the town council.
Service committee members were told that between November 27 and February 5, excluding Christmas and New Year, stall rents came to £1,224, an average of £153 a week, with one free charity pitch during that period. Councillors noted the information.
