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CAMPBELTOWN’s traders and the Argyll Country Market are to thrash out a solution to the problem of the market’s Burnside Square home at a meeting on Wednesday.
Hosted by Councillors Colville, Kelly and Semple all town centre traders have been invited to the event at the Burnet Building at 7pm.
The traders are at pains to say they are not opposed to the country market – just its location; the market says it is an ideal spot, with good feed back from its customers, which helps draw people into Campbeltown.
Marjorie Brown, the chairwoman of the Campbeltown Trading Association said at the organisation’s AGM on Monday night that various traders had complained about the country market operating on a monthly basis from Burnside Square at the prime shopping time of Saturday morning, taking nearly 40 parking spaces.
‘We met with the farmers, councillors and officials and discussions are on going at present,’ she said. ‘It has been suggested that this may continue until permission from the Scottish Executive allows them to relocate to the bottom of Union Street, the preferred proposed new site. This procedure could take some three to four months.’ Ms Brown added: ‘We stress we are not against the country market – only its choice of site.’
Winston Churchill chairman of the market told The Courier that the market had found the square a successful place to trade and customers enjoyed it being there: ‘We moved from the car park at the Royal Hotel which had been our home for a number of years but had degenerated with the closure of the hotel.’
He added: ‘There are traders who welcome us,’ and that the market would be ‘very, very, disappointed’ if it had to move. ‘It is only for a few hours once a month,’ he said.
r Is the market a resource for Campbeltown, which helps revitalise the town centre, or competition for existing traders that robs the town of parking spaces at a peak shopping time? Write to our letters page and let us know what you think.
