Hotwalls studios winter market extension backed by councillors
Hotwalls Winter Market will be extended by two weeks in December, with plans to introduce a similar market in the north of the city.
Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet lead for culture, Councillor Steve Pitt, approved the extension to the popular winter market held in the Old Portsmouth creative hub.
As in previous years, the studios hosted a weekend Creative Market at the end of November. However, the council trialled extending the event by eight days across two weeks in December, from Thursday to Sunday.
Across the ten days of trading, the market featured 50 arts, food, and drink vendors, with different traders appearing each week.
The extension will now be repeated for 2026.
Councillor Mary Vallely, member for Cosham ward, said: “One of the good things in this market is that you can get something for a fiver, or a tenner and something for hundreds of pounds so the variety and quality is excellent.
“I’d love to see a bit of this in the north of the city.”
In response, Cllr Pitt, who also leads the council, suggested putting aside a small amount of money to underwrite a trial to “find traders who we think might do well in that environment and give them a free pitch”.
According to the council report, feedback from traders suggested the longer programme was beneficial during the busy festive shopping season. Comments highlighted the efficient organisation, strong atmosphere, and high quality of traders involved.
The report also notes how the markets can help develop emerging artists.
One example is Charlotte Kennedy Scott, of Star Girl Sweet Willow, who first took part in the Winter 2024 market before becoming a trader, later exhibiting in the Round Tower, and eventually securing a resident studio at Hotwalls Studios in October 2025.
The creative hub, based in the historic arches of the former Point Battery in Old Portsmouth, was created as part of a regeneration scheme to transform the nineteenth-century site into workspaces for artists and an eatery.