A WEEKLY market could soon be up and running in an effort to bring together the residents of a Suffolk town.Every Saturday the car park at the Kesgrave war memorial community centre could be transformed in to a hive of activity with up to 20 different traders setting up their stalls.

A WEEKLY market could soon be up and running in an effort to bring together the residents of a Suffolk town.

Every Saturday the car park at the Kesgrave war memorial community centre could be transformed in to a hive of activity with up to 20 different traders setting up their stalls.

Alan Smith, centre manager, believes it will act as a centrepiece for the town. He said: "The centre is here for the benefit of all of Kesgrave's residents and we have the capacity to do a lot of things that have not been done yet.

"It was clear from feedback from residents that a market was something that people wanted and our car park is the ideal place."

Mr Smith hopes to attract around 20 stalls to the market every Saturday. Having visited other markets in the area for inspiration, he is currently in the process of selecting suitable traders.

He said: "I want a wide selection of stalls, there's no point having four or five fruit and veg traders. But I'm not going to have any old tat. I want to offer people a choice of quality goods."

The stalls would be set up in the centre's large overflow car park which borders Ropes Drive. Mr Smith believes it is the ideal location as it is in between what he calls "old and new Kesgrave".

He said: "You've got Grange Farm on one side and the Penzance Road area on the other. At the moment, although Kesgrave is a town, it is extremely fragmented.

"We need things like this to bring people together."

Mr Smith hopes to hold the first market in March, once he has investigated the types of stall holders he can attract.

He plans to set up a café for market-goers in the community centre while the market is running and, if the market takes off, he hopes to hold a monthly car boot sale alongside it.

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