ORGANISERS of Musselburgh’s new market are hoping tills in the town will be jingling all the way as the first gets under way on Friday, December 9.

Local Rotarians and area partnership members are behind the venture, which, it is hoped, will attract shoppers to High Street.

Neil Wilson, president of the Rotary Club of Musselburgh and Riding of the Marches (RoM) Town Champion, is promoting the cause, and, also taking part is RoM Turf Cutter Iain Clark, chairman of Musselburgh Area Partnership.

As the owner of a local greengrocer’s shop himself, Mr Wilson plans to have a stall at the market, which is aimed the sale of artisan goods. The event will be held outside the town hall at the Mercat Cross, where markets were traditionally held in the the town.

Mr Wilson said it was particularly good that the market was being introduced this year as burgesses were appointed during the ancient boundary-marking celebrations in July.

He added: “Although the burgess positions are honorary and ceremonial now, historically it was a licence to trade in the town.

“It is all about encouraging people and custom to the town, absolutely not to take custom away from anyone. If people come into Musselburgh specifically for the market, they are going to see what the town has to offer.

“We are hoping that, although traders might not feel on that day they are gaining from it, hopefully they will gain in the long term because people will start to come into Musselburgh more regularly.

“All we can do is try it and all the vibes are positive. The general feel from other traders is that they are really happy about it.

“You have to put the greater good of the town, even for that day, in the forefront of your mind. The opportunity is for traders to use the market day to the best of their abilities, for example doing a promotion. I will have a stall there – it would be crazy for me not to do it. It is an opportunity for us to showcase the shop.

“We have got the population in Musselburgh and all we need is people to support it. There is only so much traders can do in the town; if people don’t use it, then we’ll lose it. Customers drive the high street.”

The market, expected to run from about 9am until 2.30pm, will be held on the second Friday of each month and, if successful, could move to fortnightly.

Mr Wilson stressed that the enterprise, managed by professional company MarketCraft, was only a trial and could be “tweaked”.

He said that the market could take up to 30 stalls and so far 16 businesses had committed to the first one.

“As soon as they find Musselburgh is a busy market, they will want to come here. We really want to start it with a bang and get everybody onboard as much as possible,” he said.

The first market will have a Christmas theme, with Santa making an appearance. Pupils from Musselburgh Grammar School and Loretto School have been invited to provide musical entertainment.

Mr Wilson said the markets would sell artisan products such as hand-made jewellery, fairy houses and doors, organic meat and feature a Swiss baker.

He said hot food sales had been restricted because of similar businesses but added: “We have tried to bring in people, for example on the hot food side that are doing something different. At the January market, there will be a trader who makes waffles but will also have tea and coffee on her stand.

“We believe that the people who want to grab a carry out and walk around will do that, and the people who want to go inside or sit down and have a coffee will do that anyway.

“Any profit that comes in from the market from charging the stallholders is going to be shared by Musselburgh Area Partnership and the Rotary Club. That will then come back to the community. The area partnership is set up for that and one of the things about our club [Rotary] is that we like to focus on Musselburgh.”

Mr Clark said: “The vision of a regular market in Musselburgh is one which links directly to the goals of Musselburgh Area Partnership, including town centre regeneration and more community use of the town hall space. It will hopefully contribute in making Musselburgh a more vibrant place to live, shop and visit.

“We are looking to create a local space where the market can be a focal point and meeting place for the community while attracting visitors and encouraging more use of local shops and businesses. I hope that the community will support this market and the high street and help it flourish into an attractive place for local businesses.”