Car boot sale style bric-a-brac stalls could be used to combat the decline of Braintree market, an independent trader has claimed.

Tony Farrow, owner of Food Delight, says he suggested the idea to Braintree Council bosses after seeing his takings fall by almost half since he started on out on the market five-and-a-half years ago.

The burger van man would like to see between 20 and 30 small pitches opened up to the public and rented on a one off basis every on market days.

Mr Farrow said: “Sometimes we turn up and there are only 12 stalls on the market. It is something I believe needs to be addressed.

“The town centre is losing a lot of shops. You are not going to be able to put something in town that is going to bring people in straightaway so the council needs to do something a bit different.

“I believe it would bring people back into the town because it is something out of the ordinary.”

Mr Farrow believes that not only would the stalls be a boost to the already existing network of traders who regularly attend Braintree Market, but it would be a welcome income boost for the council - who in turn would not need to charge a lot for the pitches.

“20-years-ago the market was important to the high street but it seems the market trade generally is dying.

“I have been running my stall for five-and-a-half years and there has been so much change over that time.

“I have lost roughly half my trade since I started.

“There used to be stalls which sold bric-a-brac in Braintree and they were always busy because people love to have a hunt through looking to get themselves a bargain.”

Braintree Council said it is always receptive to ideas from traders in the town.

Tom Cunningham, councillor responsible for economic development, said: “It is great that our businesses have creative solutions and we certainly want to encourage future ideas, however we don’t think that car boot sale type stalls will help create destinations fit for 21st century town centres.

“Like many towns, we are looking at the traditional market and how it can be brought up to date to bring more local and tourist visitors to our market towns.

“We’ve encouraged 28 extra local businesses into Braintree for our Christmas markets so we know there is potential there.

“We will continue to work with local businesses to improve the town centre.”

Braintree’s market runs between 7.30am and 3.3pm on Wednesday and Saturdays in the town centre.

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