The Markets Team are one of the few departments in the city council to be awarded these standards and they believe the first Market operator in the UK.

Brian Garbett, Retail Operations Manager, Manchester Markets said “This is an enormous achievement for our team the work and input into the development of our management and operational systems that have been recognised as achieving these standards. In particular it is a reward for Isabel Maurato for all her hard work undertaken on our H&S records and files, that the assessor described as “exemplary”.”

It was last spring, at the request of Brighouse Business Initiative that the Council worked with the group to run three markets on the streets of the town to showcase what a vast range of foods and crafts can be found right on their doorstep.

The first event took place on the April 30 and was a resounding success with shoppers, Brighouse traders and the 30 market traders who attended.

Goods sold ranged from cheese to chocolate, locally reared meat to artisan bread, paintings to hand made toys, Pakistani & vegan food to plants and preserves.

One shopper commented: “It’s hard to describe the buzz, but it really had the feel of a manic continental market in the sun”.

Traders were delighted with the response, but had their work cut out coping with the demand. Pextenement cheese ran out of stock at 12 o’clock (the market was open until 4!), despite the stallholder having brought two and a half times what he would normally bring to a market of this kind.

Villa Farm Shop had to go back to their farm four times to fill their huge van – luckily it was only a couple of miles away – and Hartley’s bakery restocked their stall three times from their bakery around the corner, and had to then go to their Huddersfield shop to get more!

The market was so successful that two further events were scheduled for 27 August and 26 November.

The August event attracted almost 40 stalls, many of which were from Brighouse traders showcasing the offer of their business, ranging from flowers, cheese, meats to street restaurants showcasing local Asian and Mongolian food establishments. The traders brought almost three times as much stock and nearly all sold their wares.

The November event was even more successful, attracting over 60 stalls and the Christmas light switch was co-ordinated with the event.

The events have been such a success that bigger, better ones have been organised for this year, on April 28; August 25 and November 24th

The authority beat off Liverpool City Council to win national recognition for its efforts in providing a warm and friendly welcome to the many thousands who come to visit the borough’s many retail, cultural and leisure attractions.

The awards ceremony was held at Manchester’s Piccadilly Hotel, where the council was praised for its “outstanding service in promoting its famous market”.

Mike Kelly, chief executive of Bury Council, said: “We are delighted and honoured be recognised as a place where visitors want to come and to win this award against such strong opposition is testimony to the quality of the attractions. To achieve this success I must praise the level of partnership working in Bury where everyone is working hard to make the Borough a quality destination. Bury has a huge range of visitor attractions – our famous award-winning Bury Market, Bury Art Museum, the new Fusilier Museum, the East Lancs Railway, our new Transport Museum and The Met, to name a few. Add to that our shopping centres such as the Mill Gate and The Rock, and our many Green Flag parks, and you can see why so many people come here.”

Bury Market was also shortlisted in the ‘Most Coach Friendly Shopping Attraction’, an award it won last year.

Markets manager Andrew Heyes said: “The market is no stranger to winning awards, and it continues to be the best in the North West attracting millions of shoppers annually, and its thanks in no small part to the work that the traders and the council have done to put it on the national map.”

For further details of the awards, contact Chris Cheek on 01729 840756.

The ‘Pitch Up’ competition will give eight potential entrepreneurs the chance to try out their business ideas by running a stall at Leicester Market.

Anyone wanting to be considered for the Pitch Up competition must apply by Friday, May 18, 2012.

The eight successful entrants will be offered a free trading slot at Leicester Market for one day a week throughout June. They will also be given a £250 grant to help with initial set-up costs as well as free access to business workshops and mentoring support to help them sharpen their business plans and trading skills.

A further prize of six months’ free trading and an additional £500 business development grant will be up for grabs by the entrant whose stall makes the most profit over the course of the competition.

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Leicester Market has a lot to offer new and innovative traders. It is an exciting and diverse retail space and has helped launch many successful local entrepreneurs. This competition shows that the tradition of supporting and encouraging entrepreneurial spirit is still at the heart of Leicester Market.”

Joe Harkin, Leicester City Council markets development manager, added: “We’ve been keen to do a competition a bit like ‘The Apprentice’ for a while. We very excited about the search for our first ‘Pitch Up Entrepreneur’ winner.

“But this competition is as much about offering people the advice, support and opportunity to turn their ideas into a real business and give them the hands-on experience of running a market stall.”

Applicants must be over 18 years of age and available to trade one day each week during June. The competition is not open to anyone currently trading at Leicester Market.

Full application details are available online at www.leicestermarket.co.uk

Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield said: “Our markets are one of the biggest attractions for the town so it’s logical to welcome visitors through the use of the market stalls themselves.

“We also believe very much in investing in the markets so the new canopies will hopefully play a part in making the town centre more attractive but also reflect our commitment to the town’s heritage.”

Paul Hind, market trader and President of the Chesterfield branch of the National Market Traders’ Federation said: “I think the new canopies look great. They were in need of an upgrade and it’s good to see money being spent on such an important part of the town’s shopping offer.”

The cost of the canopies was covered by the Destination Chesterfield project through the European Regional Development Fund.

The colourful displays and enthusiastic children tempted shoppers to buy their wares including: freshly made sandwiches and smoothies, hand crafted T-shirts, friendship bracelets, cakes and sweets.

The initiative is a great way to help prepare the next generation to think creatively, manage their finances and become the entrepreneurs of the future.

Markets, the Sale of Goods Act and the Detection of Counterfeit Goods – 17^th April 2012 – London

Street Trading & Enforcement Seminar – 23^rd April – Number One Pride Place, Derby, DE24 8QR.

Should anyone require further information please contact dennis [dot] wardle [at] gmail [dot] com or on 07876790598

The Chester Fields Country Pub and Restaurant is proud to be supporting The Giant Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival with a special event which takes place on Saturday 31st March.

This is a day for many different and worthwhile causes, and the Venue is very pleased to be hosting a Farmers Market for local farmers, suppliers and producers in conjunction with Huw Rowlands of Grange Farm, Mickle Trafford who has been hosting the market on his farm for the last 12 months. The first Market to be hosted at The Chester Fields is the official launch event and the Venue will be running the market along with Huw, for the foreseeable future and on the third Saturday of every month (so, the next market will run on Saturday 21st April, and then Saturday 19th May). The Market will feature approximately 20 stalls including beef and pork farmers, chocolatiers, bakers, green grocers and many others, so if you would like to take a stall at this event please contact izzy [at] thechesterfields [dot] co [dot] uk to reserve your pitch. There is no charge for the first (launch) event, but we will ask for a small donation to our headline charity (for the day), Sport Relief.

On the same day, The Chester Fields is also running a Bake-Off in support of Sport Relief. If you are a great home baker then please contact Izzy to reserve your stall in the Bake-Off tent. The baker who sells the most amount of cakes on the day will be declared the winner and will win a prize of dinner for two to the value of £80. There is no charge to enter the Bake-Off, but we do ask that all proceeds are donated to Sport Relief.

This is an event for all the family. There will be regular Falconry displays with expert bird handler Andy Cook and pony trekking in the fields for the little ones. We will also be supporting Clip clops who offer sanctuary to abandoned ponies so once again, a small donation for a ride would be greatly appreciated !

In support of The Giant Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival, sausage and bacon baps with a cup of coffee, tea and orange juice will be available from 11am for just £3.95 – and an All Day (Locally Produced) Breakfast will be available on the specials board for £7 (including a coffee, tea and orange juice).

JOIN INN at The Chester Fields.

Contact: Izzy Grey

Email address: izzy [at] thechesterfields [dot] co [dot] uk

Telephone: 01244 303100

The market was awarded the 2012 NABMA Award for Britain’s Best Market Attraction, proving it continues to be one of the best markets in the country.

The National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) picked Bury Market from the 1,150 markets it represents to receive the accolade. Bury was also shortlisted for ‘Best Speciality Market’ for Bury Meat & Fish Hall, and for Best Market Hall.

Market bosses have just picked up the special banner, and it was formally unveiled by the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Yvonne Creswell.

Andrew Heyes, Bury markets manager, said: “We never get blasé about winning awards, and we are very proud of this one. It shows just how much Bury Market is valued by people from across the country.”

NABMA wants to hear from all market operators and town centre managers as to whether they will be taking part in the National Market Day that will operate throughout the period 23 June – 8 July.

This is a huge profile raising opportunity for markets generally and your local market. We need to take up the Government challenge and show just how important our markets are to our communities and their local economies and what a chance they offer for business start ups.

Email (Enable Javascript to see the email address) nabma [at] nabma [dot] com to confirm your market is taking place and tell us about your proposals. We will be running an event diary so please tell us your plans.