Bridgnorth traders take fight for market online

Stallholders at the Saturday High Street Market in Bridgnorth feel threatened by plans put forward by the town council.

It has received £60,000 from Shropshire Council's Market Towns Revitalisation Programme, and is looking to spend the money on pop-up electrical points and uniform market stalls.

Both the town and county councils claim there have been various issues over the market, including litter, waste collection, the sale of counterfeit goods, illegal parking and ongoing complaints about stalls being erected at anti-social hours.

But traders are fiercely opposed to changes, arguing the market has run freely for 900 years, and are planning a meeting to discuss its future.

Deanna Sandy, who rents part of the High Street to traders in Bridgnorth, said those who joined the site would become a "friend" of the market and be kept up to date with events.

She said: "Following a letter from myself and the response shown by the population, we have set up a web page. It will enable supporters to click on an e-mail link and ask to become a Friend of the High Street Market.

"The market has been functioning freely every week for 900 years without the dead hand of civic bureaucracy attempting to control it. It doesn't need the council to sort it out, or a market manager, or a revitalisation scheme."

Bridgnorth Town Council Clerk Anne Wilson said both the town council and Shropshire Council had no intention of taking away the Saturday market.

She said: "We are very much about promoting the local market in the High Street and under the Town Hall. We believe the market is vital for the healthy future for the town."

To become a supporter of the market visit www.friendsofthehighstreetmarket.co.uk