Lone trader is all that remains at Goldthorpe's 'new' market after one year

Numbers have dwindled from eight traders the start and now the National Market Traders’ Federation (NMTF), say plans are coming to reinvent the market, to attract a new generation of traders and shoppers.

That will include encouraging young stallholders, aged 16 to 25, to launch businesses and could involve weekend trading days.

The Weekender has already reported that the future of Hoyland market - like Goldthorpe’s, moved in a regeneration scheme - is under examination due to trader numbers. At Wombwell, no longer on its traditional site, grants have been offered to new traders.

Joe Harrison, NMTF chief executive, said Goldthorpe’s situation was a ‘shame’, and that “It’s quite a difficult thing to do, to bring people back to that space that’s not been used properly for some time.”

“There’s a lot more forward-thinking needs to be done on what we can do with the space.

“Every community deserves a space like that.

“It needs to be a family-friendly space for the community, and the market as part of that, and maybe look for different themes [such as] vintage clothing, maybe a different offer on different days.

“Markets are all about feeding the community and being a community space.

He said a weekend market may attract more customers than traditional Thursdays.

Cllr Robin Franklin, cabinet spokesman for regeneration at Barnsley Council, said: “We’ve developed the Horse and Groom Square in Goldthorpe as a vibrant space for the community. As well as a market space, it’s a central hub.

“We’re committed to making sure the space thrives, and as part of this, we are working to attract more market traders to our Thursday market.

“We’ve held some fantastic community events at the square since it opened last October, such as the MAYhem Festival which attracted more than 1,300 people to the space. These events offer a great opportunity for market traders, bringing high footfall to the area, and we’ve got more exciting events on the way this year for traders to get involved with.

“Alongside a calendar of events, we’re also working on developing further projects for the square, looking at how we can encourage more traders to apply for a stall.”