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Declining Bermondsey Antiques Market "needs significant relaunch" says council

London SE1 website team

Southwark Council wants to know how the Friday morning antiques market in Bermondsey Square should be helped to prosper in the future.

Bermondsey Antiques Market in September 2008
Bermondsey Antiques Market in September 2008

The council is currently running a consultation exercise on its draft markets and street trading for the whole borough.

The New Caledonian Antiques Market is held every Friday morning. The market continued to operate during the construction of the new Bermondsey Square development which was finally completed earlier this year.

Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the market's relocation from Islington.

According to the council's draft markets strategy, "Bermondsey Antiques Market has 40 to 50 stalls with another 120 pitches available.

"The market is in decline with large numbers of empty stalls, and needs a significant rebrand and relaunch if it is to remain a significant tourist attraction.

"The redeveloped square is high quality but underused. It is open on Fridays."

A new Bermondsey Farmers' Market will be held in Bermondsey Square every Saturday from 7 November.

The draft document also notes that the market stalls themselves are "in poor condition and present a detrimental image for the market".

Members of the public are being invited to fill in a questionnaire to identify ways to improve all of Southwark's markets.

The section on Bermondsey Antiques Market invites respondents to identify the most important of the following measures:

• Relaunch and rebrand the market
• Upgrade the stalls used by traders
• Improve promotion of the market to attract more customers
• Recruit more traders
• Establish other markets on the square
• Improve signage to the market

The council's executive member for environment, Cllr Paul Kyriacou, and senior council officers will be available to discuss the draft strategy at their own stall in Bermondsey Square on Friday 16 October between 9.30am and 10.30am.

The deadline for responses to the questionnaire is also Friday 16 October.

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