Caistor’s popular Market Place will benefit from new street furniture and new equipment for the market to support stall holders.
West Lindsey District Council was awarded a share of the Reopening High Street Safely (RHSS) / Welcome Back Fund (WBF) scheme via the UK Government and the European Regional Development Fund, to help boost the look and feel of high streets.
The Market Place will benefit from additional seating and new picnic benches will be placed in the surrounding green space, along with new bins and cycle racks. A new outdoor information board to keep local people and visitors up-to-date with the latest events and activities will also be installed.
Caistor Town Council are investing part of the funding for 10 new gazebo’s, 10 tables, a new canopy over the market equipment storage area, as well as new banners to advertise the market.
Carl Thomas, Caistor Town Clerk is delighted to welcome the additions to the town. He said: “The improvements to Caistor, brought thanks to this funding, will continue to enhance the town for residents, visitors and businesses. So many people work so hard to make Caistor so welcoming and the improvements being made enforces this work.”
Market traders in Caistor meet weekly in the market square, which is in the heart of a conservation area, containing many Grade II listed buildings.
The news has been welcomed by the market organiser, Cllr Jayne Bowman.
She said: “Caistor and the surrounding villages have an amazing wealth of local produce and crafts. The new market tables and gazebos will enable people from our community to bring their wares to market without the need to purchase or transport the bulky tables, plus the gazebos will offer protection from the sun and rain! We are very keen to promote and support our local traders, and reduce the carbon footprint in this vital step to regenerate the local market.”
The market is held every Saturday from 8am to 2pm.
West Lindsey District Councillor, Cllr Angela Lawrence, who represents Caistor is delighted to see the town receive a share of the funding to make improvements to the popular market and the street scene.
She said: “We are very fortunate to have a very good market here in Caistor. During the Covd-19 pandemic our market was vital in providing key produce to local people.
“The traders attend in all sorts of weather to support their regular customers and so I am delighted that we have been able to use some of the Welcome Back Fund to support our amazing market traders. The new gazebos and tables will make a huge difference to them.
“The town already does a lot of work to make the centre presentable with our beautiful hanging baskets and planters and so to be able to add to this by introducing more benches and cycle racks is just wonderful.”
In addition to the street scene public realm improvements, new sensor taps and infrared flushes will be installed at the public conveniences in the town as part of a wider scheme to improve the facilities across West Lindsey. This is also funded from the Welcome Back Fund.
The new adaptations are expected to cost more than £16,000 across three sites in West Lindsey including at Market Rasen and Gainsborough, thanks to funding from the Governments Welcome Back Fund.
As previously reported, the toilet block at Caistor Town Hall will be closed on 25 November, for a week while the improvement work takes place. West Lindsey District Council apologises for any inconvenience and is asking customers to be patient at this time.
If you are a business in Caistor or across West Lindsey, did you know support is available?
- Free business support is available as West Lindsey District Council has secured the support of Clare Bailey, a Lincolnshire-based independent business advisor. You can contact Clare directly via clare.bailey@retailchampion.co.uk in the first instance, or call 07462 218000.
- Discounted one-year membership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). As part of the Council’s partnership with FSB, we are offering business owners an £80 discount on a one-year membership. Register your interest in this FSB promotion.