'It's going to take time' - New team behind South Shields Saturday market confirm more changes coming
The team behind the new era of South Shields’ Saturday market have given their assessment on its first weekend.
The new organisers of South Shields market have said changes are on the horizon.
It was announced in June that North East company Local Heroes took over the operation of the town’s Saturday market and the team are now looking into the future after their first day on Saturday, July 4.
“It was positive and well received that we made lots of the changes we hoped we would” explained Chris Jewitt, co-founder of Local Heroes.
This includes the addition of heritage artwork and the branding surrounding the market.
“We’ve also improved the traders’ experience. We had things which made their lives easier like a coffee vendor and local musicians, two young lads who are folk musicians. It had a really nice, warm atmosphere.”
Keeping the balance between old and new was key for Chris and his team. He added: “The traders who have been there for a long time, it was important to get their sign-off.
“It was a blustery day but taking into account all of that it was positive from our end.”
All eyes are now on the future of the market, which continues to take place on Saturdays in the town’s market square.
“It’s going to take time to build, which is my honest assessment. We’re trying to do some new things to something which is very old!” jokes Chris.
He added the summer festival period means some traders are already busy over the coming weeks, giving Local Heroes a chance to continue getting other aspects of the market in place before the market’s footprint grows later in the summer.
“We’ll just keep making the small improvements over the coming weeks and introducing new things and seeing if they work. We’ll start building up the events side of things.
“Having the musicians there adds a nice creative dynamic. We’ll look to introduce more things like that.
“These little minor improvements change the whole perspective of the role of the market. We don’t want it to be a sanitised event, we want it to feel more like a happening.”
The growth of the market will continue into the coming months as part of a six month pilot programme with South Tyneside Council.