'Worst thing for Gosport', 'huge blow', 'glad it has gone' - traders and high street businesses react to Anchored in Gosport market ending
Traders and small businesses bemoan market ending
A market trader has revealed her disappointment after hearing the news that Anchored in Gosport markets would not be continuing.
Paige, who is following in her dad’s footsteps as a market trader, launched her business Rogues Rituals selling witching supplies last month. Despite the agreement expiring in April, she was not aware of the situation when she signed up.
She said: “I wasn't told at all but I don’t think the market people knew. I got it through the person that runs the normal markets on a Tuesday and Saturday and he has told me he had no idea it was happening. A lot of market traders are very unhappy that they were not made aware.
“I think it is one of the worst things for Gosport not having the Anchored market as it brought a lot of people down, even for the local shops as well, the high street can be dead, so I think a lot of people are disappointed.”
Paige added: “The normal markets will carry on, but to be honest they are very quiet and not many people come down because there is no food and music for those ones.”
While she is “gutted” with the news, she has been told by a local councillor “not to panic” and bespoke markets will be returning but there is no confirmation of when and who will be organising it.
She said: “The market is people’s careers, we need this for our town and losing it is one of the worst things that can happen. It is such a shame. For me, I’m gutted but I have faith that council will do the right thing and bring another bespoke market in.
“If they do, I will be happy whoever runs it as long as it brings life back to the market. It is not just the market traders, the whole town is so dead, it is quiet, there are a lot of empty shops. Not having the market it may take a dip for the businesses so hopefully they get it sorted.”
It is a sentiment echoed by Ra Marskell, the co-owner of For Bakes Sake on the high street. She believes the market ending will have a big impact on trade for the local shops.
She said: “I rely on the footfall. The footfall of the town is already so low, but when it is an Anchored in Gosport day I get an extra member of staff in. Now that is going to go and it is going to effect us so much. The guys that run it are such nice people as well, I'm not sure why the council have done what they have done. It’s awful.”
With Gosport Borough Council confirming they will begin the process of looking for a new organiser soon, Ra has questioned the necessity.
“It shouldn’t need to be replaced when there is already an answer for it right now, they have been doing it so well for three years, it’s not broken,” she said: “The people are here and ready to do it, it is so sad. The other businesses down here love the Anchored In days, it is a huge blow to the high street, massive.”
While there has been a big outcry against the market ending, it was not beneficial for all the businesses on the high street. James Epps, the owner of the sweet shop Who’s Got The Bag, believes his business may be better off without it running.
He said: “To be brutally honest, it brought people to the high street but to the wrong end so we didn’t get footfall. There were also sweet stores there so it had a detrimental effect to us, I am glad it has gone.
“If they were to return, I would like to see more stalls at our end of the high street to encourage people to come down and also for them to be more mindful of the traders they have. Small businesses need to work together to encourage sales, not just picking sweet vendors that have no overheads and it ends up disrupting a local business that does have overheads.
“We sell unique products and we need to encourage people to come to people like ourselves rather than a market stall that pops up out of nowhere and then people buy their sweets from there rather than supporting local shops that are trying to survive in the high street. All that will happen is we will get to a point where we will fizzle out completely and then we will become another shop on the high street that has died.”
Tom Eastwood and Dan Milsom, co-founders of events company Nest & Anchor, which runs the markets, said they were “incredibly proud” of what the markets had become.
They told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve been incredibly proud to organise the markets over the last few years and to work alongside so many fantastic traders, performers, local businesses, volunteers and members of the community.
“Our hope is simply that the markets continue in some form for the benefit of the town, whether that’s through another provider or another arrangement.”
Deputy council leader Cllr Lesley Meenaghan said: “We’re grateful to Nest and Anchor for their commitment in delivering Gosport’s bespoke markets to date. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to reach an agreement with them to deliver the bespoke market at the end of July.
“As a council, we now need to look carefully at how these markets are delivered in future, ensuring best value for money while continuing to support a thriving town centre.”