THE POSSIBILITY of moving the market back on the streets has become a challenge for all who love this small town. At the moment, it is tucked away on the paved area behind the Corn Exchange and the phrase that occurs to many is out of sight and out of mind.

Stalls at the kerbside as they were in times past is a high profile for a traditional market town such as Bourne where street trading has a rich history dating back over seven centuries. It must not be allowed to die.

All small towns depend on small traders running small shops. But we all have our problems with increasing levels of taxation, high overheads and a customer base that is perpetually being tempted elsewhere. We must therefore be doubly on our toes and seize every opportunity that comes along to not only maintain our corner of the market but to consolidate it by making the public aware of the value there is in the small retail outlet, whether it be shop or market stall. We all need each other to survive.

My own business in North Street is now well established but this has not been achieved without hard work and sacrifice and for the past 10 years I have been trying to give my customers what they want by using my past experience and knowledge of the public needs while at the same time balancing the books to avoid going into the red. The photography trade is changing fast, as it has done in past times, and retailers must keep pace with the new technology if they are to survive, a situation that has been exacerbated by the acute competition mounted by the big supermarket outlets such as Tesco, Asda and Argos, all trading in such a manner as to put the small businesses at risk because they cannot compete on a fair basis while the Internet is posing an even bigger and more serious threat.

Bourne is full of small shops trying to give a personal service but many have already been unable to make ends meet and have gone out of business and we are currently watching with some anxiety about what will happen with Wands in North Street, a well established and much loved outlet. Who will be next?

Determined public support is needed to secure the future of the small traders. Only determined public support can ensure that their shops will survive, otherwise the share of the retail market will continue to slide towards the larger outlets and Internet web sites.

Bringing the market back to the high street will help to create a new atmosphere for the town, one which reflects our past traditions but also embraces the challenges of the future. Smaller traders providing everyday goods and services at competitive prices is the way forward for such communities. If we can create the right feeling we could even encourage more people from surrounding towns, such as Stamford, Sleaford and Grantham, to come and shop here and even stimulate a larger number of market stallholders. The one will benefit the other. The support I have had has been 100% and the questionnaire currently being circulated by The Local newspaper around the town has been particularly beneficial by showing an 80% in favour of the idea.

Although the world is changing and we cannot halt progress, we need to grow at a rate that keeps faith with the past and to always remember that there is something special about a market town. The weekly market is more than a place to buy goods, it is part of the theatre of life, the rich tapestry into which our everyday history has been woven and to start removing any of the threads is to begin unravelling all that we have treasured.

Moving the market back to West Street, as has been suggested, will create difficulties but none that cannot be overcome for the common good. The loss of car parking spaces, diverting traffic to enable stalls and shoppers enjoy a safe environment, are only problems as long as we want to make them so and all can be overcome.

This is a challenge but the street market of old once back at the kerbside will attract new stallholders and give a fresh impetus to shoppers. Other towns have street markets that are a delight to visit, Stamford and Boston among them, but why should Bourne people drive to shop there when they could have a similar attraction on their own doorstep. It would revitalise the town centre on at least one day a week and rejuvenate the market which appears to be in gradual decline at its present site.

I was invited to give my views on this issue to the town council last month and there was great enthusiasm for the idea. It has now been suggested that we may have a trial to see whether the public and stallholders support it and I believe that this is a winner. It bears all the hallmarks of success and the Chamber of Trade backs it to the hilt. Perhaps we are mistaken, but then I, and many others, are so convinced that this is right for Bourne that it would be a disaster if we did not give it a try.

WRITTEN JUNE 2006

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Gordon Cochran, aged 50, moved to Bourne ten years ago after a 26-year career in the Royal Air Force, serving in Britain, Europe and the Middle East as a photographer. He opened his photographic business in the Angel Arcade but later moved to larger premises in North Street where he assisted by his daughter Clare. In 2005, he was elected chairman of the Bourne Chamber of Trade which represents the interests of many small shopkeepers. He is married to Helen, who is deputy matron at The Cedars nursing home, and they live in North Road. They also have two sons, Mark who is a computer engineer for Tandem Software and Robert who is a chef at the Rutland Golf Club.