Shoppers welcomed to Seaham Seaside Market as Friday event gets revamp

Market bosses hope their event revamp will bring about a buzz for high street businesses, with its debut day declared a success at the tills.
Seaham Seaside Market has launched and will be held each Friday.Seaham Seaside Market has launched and will be held each Friday.
Seaham Seaside Market has launched and will be held each Friday.

Seaham Town Council won the tender to run the market from Durham County Council, with the Church Street events being staged in partnership with Events2gogo.

The first Seaham Seaside Market was held on Friday and was given a warm reception by customers and neighbouring shop owners, with plans in the pipeline to make the last one of the month a larger sale, taking up additional space on the plaza outside Byron Place shopping centre.

Seaham Seaside Market has launched and will be held each Friday.Seaham Seaside Market has launched and will be held each Friday.
Seaham Seaside Market has launched and will be held each Friday.
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Town clerk Dianne Rickaby said: “We felt as a council we needed to uplift the market, there were a few stalls there that did very well and so are regularly going to be there and we’ve given it the name Seaham Seaside Market.

“We’re happy to keep them and they like the new gazebos which have been brought in.

“We have quite a variety now and we want to direct customers into Church Street and we’ve looked at existing businesses and made sure we don’t duplicate anyone, so we have liaised with the shops and see what they want to be held as part of the market and there are still some who put a stall out, like the green grocer, which is great and looked really good.

A DVD stall is one of the sales to remain part of the weekly event.A DVD stall is one of the sales to remain part of the weekly event.
A DVD stall is one of the sales to remain part of the weekly event.

“I was there all morning and it was fantastic and could see people were really interested and it made a huge difference.

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“What we want is around 20 different stalls and look to increase that.

“We’re going to listen to feedback from the public about how we’re doing as we establish it.

“We really want it to take off and I think Church Street is going to be the place to be.”

Food stalls are among those to join in the sale.Food stalls are among those to join in the sale.
Food stalls are among those to join in the sale.

She added the council would have liked to make it a weekend event, but was unable to because of market licensing rules, although that could change in future.

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Among those making a return to the relaunched market is a fish seller, a vape stall, which is a satellite of a shop in the town, a trader selling cleaning and household items and a DVD stall.

Mrs Rickaby added Events2gogo had impressed with the debut market day.

“Fiona and Lee Harnett are doing an absolutely amazing job, they are vert dedicated to the whole project and put in a lot of hard work to make sure everything was in place and we want to thank them for that.”

Relaunch of Seaham Seaside Market, with Mary Read, organiser Fiona Harnett from Events2gogo and Jack Sparrow.Relaunch of Seaham Seaside Market, with Mary Read, organiser Fiona Harnett from Events2gogo and Jack Sparrow.
Relaunch of Seaham Seaside Market, with Mary Read, organiser Fiona Harnett from Events2gogo and Jack Sparrow.

Street entertainers were brought in as part of the launch event for the new-look market.

The Friday market runs from 10am to 3pm.

Anyone who would like to find out more about hosting a stall can call (0191) 584 6500.