Survey launched in effort to gather views on future of Dunmow’s weekly market

The survey, prepared by the Great Dunmow Town Team, a group dedicated to increasing business in Dunmow asks market traders and shoppers what day they would like the market to be on and if they use the market, which is currently held on Tuesdays.

The survey opened on October 24 and is running until November 7, with the question sheet available on the town team’s Facebook page and at Dunmow Library.

The survey comes after the town team wrote to Uttlesford District Council on September 13, requesting the market be moved from a Tuesday in Angel Lane car park to a Saturday in Market Place. The team claimed the move would attract more shoppers into the town.

Town team member, Jane Turton previously told the Broadcast that under the plans, the Tuesday market could still remain as a separate body.

The request to move the market day has been met with reservations by town councillors, including Dunmow mayor, Councillor Barrie Easter, who previously told the Broadcast that, in his opinion, a Saturday market wouldn’t help attract shoppers and questioned whether Market Place was a suitable location due to its size and proximity to a bus stop for elderly residents.

Councillor Philip Milne, a member of the management committee for the Dunmow Day Centre, said the move would be a “nail in the coffin of the day centre”.

A spokesman for the town team said: “The town has very limited selection for shoppers on the High Street now and businesses are struggling to survive with the ever-increasing costs of running a small business.

“We want people to be proud to stay and shop in Great Dunmow and to have a selection of shops and markets to keep them here longer. This cannot happen if we do not explore options and think outside of the box. This will end up in the fall of our lovely High Street otherwise.”

Anyone collecting a survey from Dunmow Library should drop off the completed questionnaire at Wardrobe in High Street, Dunmow.