CONGLETON market traders could move home under radical plans to transform their fortunes and provide hundreds of shoppers' parking spaces.

The town's twice-weekly market is struggling for survival, and was £35,000 in the red for the year to April.

In addition its home in the Bridestones Centre is earmarked for redevelopment into shops by the centre's owners.

Traders have given a thumbs down to a possible move to Bossons Mill, and Congleton Borough Council is inviting expressions of interest in working with it to revamp or move the market.

Now Congleton shopkeeper and councillor Frank Holt has put forward plans to relocate the market at the bottom of Mill Street.

The market would be created at street level, above a 200-space multi-storey car park for shoppers, who face a daily headache in finding spaces in town car parks packed with office workers' cars.

Congleton Market Traders chairman David Burt said the scheme was a good idea in principle, but he needed to know more to assess its merits.

Mr Burt and fellow market traders are due to meet Congleton town councillors next Wednesday at Riverside Mill to discuss Cllr Holt's proposals and the future of the market in general.

"The bottom of Mill Street, down from Furniture World, is the perfect site for the market," said Cllr Holt.

"The multi-storey car park could provide desperately-needed spaces for shoppers, who cannot find anywhere to park in the town.

"The market and car park would be on bus routes, would open up that end of the town, and would be good for Congleton as a whole.

"The market is in the wrong position, is going down and down, and the area at the bottom of Mill Street is ready for redeveloping."

The market and parking development would draw people into Congleton, he added, and could attract funding from the private sector, such as a car park company.

Mr Burt said the market was 'dying on its feet,' with the Tuesday market three-quarters empty and only half the Saturday stalls taken.

"Morale is very low among the market traders, and it is up to the borough council to get a good price for the current site should it be sold and move us to a prominent position," he said.

"If they don't do anything they might as well forget altogether about the market, which belongs to the people of the town, who do care about having one."

He said he was '100 per cent' behind Cllr Holt's efforts to revitalise the market, but wanted to reserve judgement on his proposals until next week's meeting.

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