Friday, April 8, 2011
Tonbridge Farmers Market....
I see in the Courier this week that a local vegetable producer has been given permission in principle to hold a monthly Sunday farmers market in Tonbridge. As regular readers will know Tonbridge Blog has been campaigning for such a market in the town for quite some time, so this can only be good news for the town. The people from the council in the article who say that they are baffled that previous attempts at regular farmers markets haven't worked, when there are successful ones in neighbouring Shipbourne, Hildenborough and West Malling, obviously don't live in Tonbridge. The first two are run by village enthusiasts and are, crucially, weekly so they become part of the shopping routine of the community. The other market is right in the town centre and in a town which is more cut off than Tonbridge and one which has a lovely centre with a very wide road through it which isn't too busy and again has a real sense of community. Good luck to Steve Wood, who is prepared to give it a bash, but I remain convinced that the Tonbridge farmers market needs to be on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday; it needs to be weekly and it needs to be either in the old market square next to the Chequers Inn or around the Castle, which has had a market there for around a thousand years (apart from the last nine years that is.) If I'm not proved right then I'll eat my straw hat!...
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5 comments:
I think a local farmers market in Tonbridge is a great idea. I love fresh produce, particularly vegetables that haven't been wrapped in plastic bags, and chilled for 24 hours as it is when you buy from supermarkets..Ok it may be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it.
However, as you say, it needs to be a weekly event in order to establish itself with locals. Also the venue should be somewhere visible from the high street and not tucked away in some carpark.
Actually I can understand why those people from the council are baffled by past failed attempts at a market, since Tonbridge is an ancient market town, surrounded by rich, agricultural land. Maybe they failed because it was monthly and not weekly?
P.S
How about a riverside market, in front of the Castle?
This is good news. Great. I agree it needs to be weekly and the venue is vital. Around the Castle would be ideal or riverside or even around the back of MacDonalds on that lawned area by the river.
Set up a market along the medway, near the bridge, stipulating that all produce sold should be direct from local farms..Sainsbury would be bust in a month.
How about sticking it on the roundabout in front of Poundstretchers?
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