Weekly market on way for Stourbridge town centre

LSD Promotions wanted to launch a food and craft market on Thursdays, which would have involved closing the town centre's two main streets, High Street and Market Street, to traffic.

But those plans were withdrawn after the town's chamber of trade was unhappy about the planned closure of the roads.

The company went back to the drawing board and has now revealed plans to move a market it already holds twice a month in the town to the pedestrianised Lower High Street and Coventry Street, and make it a weekly event each Saturday.

Original plans for the Thursday market were unveiled last year. LSD wanted to have stalls lining High Street and Market Street in a bid to attract more shoppers to the town and offer something different.

But the plans were disrupted by concerns from the chamber of trade.

There were mixed views to the market proposals from traders in the town but some were concerned about High Street being put of action to vehicles and the impact that would have on businesses.

Dermot McGillicuddy, from LSD Promotions, said: "The traders were not opposed to the market but they didn't want High Street closed. If we are up by the clock we won't have to close the road.

"We believe to have a Thursday market we would have had to close the road.

"We want to get the Saturday market running then maybe we can look again at the Thursday market and discuss it again with businesses."

LSD currently holds a market on the first and third Saturday of the month at the top of Market Street. It now wants to move it to a more prominent location in the town centre as well as make it a weekly event.

Councillors are set to decide on November 1 whether to give consent for the Saturday market on Lower High Street and Coventry Street.

The possibility of holding the market on Saturdays instead was floated by some traders and Stourbridge MP Margot James earlier this year but LSD Promotions initially said it was determined to stick to its Thursday plan.