New look for Brighouse's annual food and craft markets

The Spring and Summer markets will now be focused on just one day, a Sunday. The first of the new artisan markets will be on Sunday 29 April with dozens of stalls featuring locally made food and crafts.

The change is an attempt to balance the needs of permanent retailers across the town centre and the continual need to attract the new visitors who come to see, sample and buy from the markets.

Organisers are also facing a substantial increase in costs for insurance, the hire of stalls and for reimbursing the Council after the introduction of on-street parking charges.

The Markets are run by the Brighouse Business Initiative (BBI), a voluntary group made up of the town’s retailers and businesses, who give up their time and energy to develop, organise and manage the events.

Anne Colley, Chair of the BBI, said: “Brighouse’s Markets always prove incredibly popular and we are always looking to make them as fresh and appealing as possible to both those who want to exhibit their food and crafts and those who want to see what is on offer.

“Our new focus of the Artisan Markets in the Spring and Summer on a Sunday means we can concentrate on securing the best range of stallholders to make the event as successful as possible. Our 1940s Weekend and Christmas Market will continue to be two-day events.

“As volunteers, we are also facing a number of new challenges.

“This, alongside our need to ensure we never adversely impact the town centre’s permanent retailers, has added to the reasons for the changes.”

For more information visit www.brighousemarket.co.uk.