ORGANISERS of a Saturday market in Peebles are hoping it will be boosted by its move to a spot outside the Eastgate Theatre.

Stallholders operated from the new location for the first time last Saturday.

Discussions have been going on for several months to move the market which has been running for eight months from Pennels Close off the High Street.

“This is a trial run at the Eastgate but if it goes well we would hope that it would become the permanent base for the market,” said co-ordinator Sophia Nicholson.

“It has been a bit of a struggle running from Pennels Close as it is a bit hidden away and we don’t get the footfall.

“We hope to raise the profile of the market by having it outside the Eastgate. It should be much more visible to passers by and people walking into town from the Edinburgh Road car park will come right past it.” The market organisers had to scrap their original plan to move to a location outside the tourist information shop on the High Street.

“A lot of community organisations use the space around there and there are other food outlets nearby so we thought we’d better go somewhere else rather get in other people’s way,” said Ms Nicholson.

“The market will be right outside the Eastgate but not on the road as we can’t block it. We’ve chatted with all the businesses around and everybody seems happy with what we are doing. The Eastgate itself has been very supportive.” The market is run on a non-profit basis by Peebles CAN (Community Action Network) - an organisation which seeks to develop a local food market by supporting Peeblesshire food producers.

“There is no charge for a stall and we will have space for a few more in the new location,” said Ms Nicholson. “It varies every week what is sold - from meats and charcuterie to home baking and quails’ eggs.

“We are very different to the market that runs on a Thursday in Peebles. Our idea is to support local food producers - we have a very different agenda.” Peebles CAN, established in March 2012, is also responsible for the community garden and is running a campaign to reduce food waste. It survives through cash from the Community Challenge Fund and will apply for more funding when that runs out in March.

CAN’s long-term goal is to create a self-sustaining community-based social enterprise that employs local people, inspires and motivates young people and builds community resilience.