"COME and join us on the Cornhill!" That's the call today from craft traders to their market colleagues trapped on the Civic Centre car park.The message came as Ipswich council's chief executive denied that the authority had an agenda to drive the market out of town.

By Paul Geater

"COME and join us on the Cornhill!" That's the call today from craft traders to their market colleagues trapped on the Civic Centre car park.

The message came as Ipswich council's chief executive denied that the authority had an agenda to drive the market out of town.

James Hehir said he personally supported the market – and felt that its best long-term home would be in the proposed Mint Quarter, off Tacket Street.

"In the meantime we will be considering their revised planning application to move to the Cornhill within the next few weeks," he said.

On Friday The Evening Star revealed that some officials at Civic Centre did not feel the market was a good advertisement for the town.

"Those views are not held by the senior staff at Civic Centre," Mr Hehir said.

Meanwhile, the traders on the craft market, which operates on Fridays and Saturdays on Ipswich Cornhill, said they were very hopeful that their colleagues would soon be joining them.

"This is one market, we are very keen for them to join us here," said Angela Lydiatt, who sells ethnic and Native American crafts from her stall.

"But we don't want to be re-united at any cost – we wouldn't have to go up to Civic Centre, it would kill these stalls," she said.

They have taken Evening Star petition sheets for their customers to sign calling for the market to be moved to a central location.

"We think it is terrible that the market is split like this. Our customers will happily sign these petition forms," said Julie Kelly, who was working on Mitch Lloyd's stall selling bags.

If you have a view on the market, write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@ecng.co.uk