WAREHAM'S weekly street market could be moving to Wareham Quay. Negotiations are underway between Wareham Town Council and Dorset County Council to agree a level of compensation to be paid to county hall for loss of car parking revenue.
The Quay is the town's most popular car park and the weekly market, which currently takes place in North Street, would take up half the area.
The town council is pursuing the possibility of holding the market at Wareham Quay having decided against Howards Lane car park as a venue.
Howards Lane car park is owned by the town council and the weekly market would mean the council loses £67,000 a year in revenue from pay and display tickets.
Cllr David Budd warned fellow councillors they can't afford to lose the revenue.
A community survey undertaken as part of moves to form a Wareham town plan, a blueprint for the future of the town, revealed that the majority of residents favour keeping the street market in some form, but with improvements made.
A small majority were in favour of holding the market on a Saturday; some preferred to see it on Thursday.
The survey also revealed that the majority of residents see the Quay as a "wasted resource in its current role as a car park".
Thousands of comments were collected for the survey and there was strong support for the idea of pedestrianizing the Quay or partially removing car parking to allow more recreational activities.
First published: August 24, 2005
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