Another new initiative to attract shoppers into our village centre – aimed at both residents and visitors – will be trialled early next year. Now organisers are looking for local traders interested in having a stall.
The idea of a Ruddington Farmers’ Market has been doing the rounds since just after Easter – when Ruddington Parish Council called an Extraordinary Meeting. This was to see what help it, and our community, might be able to offer local businesses during tough times for traditional shops.
Attended by around 140 concerned villagers, the emergency meeting came in the wake of long established and valued Ruddington traders such as Horspool’s Bakery, Grice’s of Ruddington and Barclay & Cook being lost. But it was the sudden closure over Easter of 60 year old family greengrocer’s Glyn Thomas Ltd – which many saw as the life and soul of our High Street – that prompted some decisive action.
This came in the form of the new Ruddington Village Centre Partnership (RVCP), which has already successfully launched a new village Loyalty Card in partnership with RUDDINGTON.info alongside funding and support from the Parish Council, Wig Wag Creative and Nottingham City Transport. Its various volunteer sub-groups have been working over the summer on different projects – another of those being a regular outdoor market.
Andy Hunt from The White Horse – which is also part of Ruddington’s Loyalty Card scheme – has come forward to offer his pub’s beer garden and car park as the possible location for a regular Farmers’ Market. It’s set to be trialled on Saturday 2nd February 2019 from 10am to 4pm – and could become a monthly fixture if the first one is a success.
Andy told us: “We’ve wanted to do this for a while and now feel the time is right, with what’s happening in the village, and using our covered area. If we get more than 10 stalls we will use the car park area. Also if we have people who want to come with trailers, etc. we will also use the car park. I have spoken with RVCP as they wanted to do something similar and this is a great way for the village to ‘dip its toe in the water’, so to speak.”
Stella Dickie of the Partnership explains: “The RVCP has been investigating the possibility of setting up a Saturday market in the heart of the village. The White Horse’s event is therefore timely, a great venue and we hope it will attract many local suppliers who will complement what Ruddington has to offer. For the first market we would like at least 15 stalls offering quality crafts and produce. It would be great to have a mixture of stalls showcasing our local craftspeople and offering delicious food and drink to consume there and then and provisions to take away. It would be fabulous if many of the stallholders are local to the village but we would love to hear from anyone interested in making this first market a success.”
Organisers are also offering a stage for young musicians and performers to show off their talents: “So, if you would like to be one of the stallholders or performers to help get the Ruddington Market off to a flying start please get in touch” says Stella.
If you’d like a stall, to perform or more information, please contact Andy at The White Horse as soon as possible on 0115 984 4550 or at info@whitehorse-inn.co.uk.
Graham Wright via RUDDINGTON.info