Hi SpringCat.

Personally, I wouldn't apportion any blame whatsoever to the Hornimans Farmers Market for any downturn in trade in Forest Hill, which I believe is/was a temporary blip and just one of those things that happen in retailing. The market is all positive as far as I'm concerned.

There is a joint initiative between local traders and the market organisers to promote commerce in Forest Hill but, unfortunately, there are strict criteria which prohibit many of our traders from actually selling there. I don't think that's a problem because imagination, creativity and tenacity are all coming into play to find ways of eniticing some of the market's clientelle to take a 2 minute walk down the hill - or to drive into Sainsburys 2 hour FREE FREE FREE car park (NO SPEND NECESSARY! and did I remember to mention that you get not 1 hour but 2 WHOLE HOURS FREE) - and to have a look around into all of our nooks & crannies to find our hidden gems. Once we've achieved that I know there will be more serious businesses who want to be a part of the action and we'll grow organically into a place that offers people what they want. It will happen!

By the way, I believe that Lordship Lane is different to Forest Hill in many ways so I don't think they will never be directly comparable. But there's no reason why our respective communities won't pop over the border for the odd this-or-that (providing that getting through border control isn't too much of a kerfuffle!).

This post was last modified: 19-11-2013 02:44 PM by Anotherjohn.