TOWN traders have reacted in anger to a move by Malmesbury Town Council to bring a weekly market to the Market Cross.

The market, arranged by Bath-based firm Landmark Events, is set to begin on September 7 andwill run on a trial basis for six weeks.

It will have up to 40 stalls and will be mostly food based, selling everything from meat, cheese and wine.

Landmark Events will pay the town council rent for using the Market Cross in addition to a proportion of rents from stallholders.

It has been about 30 years since Malmesbury had a market and shoppers on the High Street expressed views from delight to indifference to a new market.

But some traders said they had still not been informed a market was coming to the town centre and said they were angry at the plans and the lack of information from the town hall.

Chamber of commerce chairman Alan Woodward said the town council could have done more to inform shopkeepers.

He said: "I did not know anything about it until I went to the town forum three weeks ago. It was virtually decided upon by then and they sprung it on us at the meeting.

"Some of my members who face competition from them said they were unhappy about it."

Landmark Events says research shows markets improve overall business in the town. And Newsagent Abbey News welcomed the move.

But Peter Kemp, who owns The Fromagerie, in the High Street, said he was disgusted by the proposals.

He said he was all for initiatives to improve the town, but business conditions had been ghastly over the last few months and further competition could only make things worse.

He said: "How is it we haven't heard? We have to pay our taxes and they repay us by doing this it disgusting, totally outrageous.The local authority seems to think we are something you would preferably not step in."

Staff at Leonard Walker butchers said they were also not happy about a market coming to Malmesbury.

Richard Walker said: "My father is absolutely fuming about these proposals and dead against a market.

"They have asked if we want a stall but my father will not work on the Sabbath. What sort of standards will the market have?"

Landmark Event, which runs markets in Bath and London, said its market would be of a high standard and said it would not affect local businesses.

Roy Waldron, the managing director of Landmark Event, said the market would add to the town.

"We are only going to have high quality stalls and there is a vetting process before a stall holder is allowed in the market. They can't just turn up," he said.

"We can't call it a farmers' market because some food, such as olives, are not sourced in the UK, but we do give preference to local farmers and if a shop from the Malmesbury area wants a stall they would definitely get in."

He added that research conducted by the Market Town's Initiative showed that markets improved the business of all shops in the town.

"There is research which states that the economic prosperity increases on market day.

"A good example is Wells, a similar town in scale to Malmesbury, which attracts people from up to 20 or 30 miles away," he said.

Malmesbury mayor Charles Vernon said: "We have spoken to the owners of premises adjacent to the market area so for example Mr Walker and Abbey News and the chamber of commerce.

"As it is a Sunday market we did not think it would be in direct competition with the other street traders

"At the moment we are not sure what traders will be there and we have the power to stop traders we think will not be of benefit to the town."