ALTONÕS Tuesday market is proving such a hit in its new High Street location that Alton Town Council has given provisional agreement to a five-year lease.

The new licence will come into effect from April 1, provided the current six-month trial and experimental road closure continue to prove successful.

Nonetheless, the decision, taken during last weekÕs meeting of Alton Town CouncilÕs policy and resources committee, has been seen as Òa vote of confidenceÓ in AIM Ltd (Alton Initiative Management) which, in October this year, took over the running of the market.

In urging fellow members to back the request by AIM Ltd for a five-year licence, town mayor John Smith was convinced the market had improved beyond recognition.

ÒDespite the recent inclement weather it is obvious that footfall has increased and there is more of a buzz about the town,Ó he said.

Members heard that although the market had been running for just six weeks in its new location, the number of market stalls had increased by nearly 150 per cent and the number of people parking in Alton on a Tuesday had also Òincreased measurablyÓ.

While the change had not met with everyoneÕs approval - most notably among some shop keepers, particularly in Market Street, who felt that they had lost trade because of the move, town clerk Steve Parkinson asked members to consider the effect that completely losing the market would have had on business in Alton.

A five-year agreement, he pointed out, would secure the position of AIM Ltd and its relationship with Southern Market Traders (SMT) - contracted to run the market on its behalf, allowing them to invest in the marketÕs future.

While Pam Bradford felt that six weeks was too soon to make an informed decision, P&R chairman Dave Crocker suggested that, if the decision was left until the Òdead periodÓ after Christmas, it would give AIM insufficient time to make necessary arrangements from April 1.

One problem which had arisen was over tradersÕ parking. The councilÕs initial licence had required the contractor to continue using the red zone of Lady Place car park for trader vehicles but, due to increasing numbers, the area was proving too small.

Speaking at the Alton Promotion and Marketing Forum on Monday, AIM manager Gail Grant confirmed that the ÒmisunderstandingÓ had resulted in East Hampshire District Council agreeing to allow the traders to park on the former refuse recycling site in Victoria Road.

She too was keen to highlight the improvement in the market which is attracting many more people and now has over 30 different stalls selling a wide variety of goods.

All stalls were now bedecked with uniform green awnings and the site was generally kept tidy. Quotes had been obtained, she said, for French-style stalls which allowed trading on all sides, but to cover the whole market would cost in the region of £30k. ÒUnless we are awarded a licence on a long term basis we canÕt look at that sort of investment,Ó she said.

Her most immediate concern however was that, following the fiasco over procuring a temporary road closure to facilitate the High Street market, Hampshire County Council had once again been slow to come up with the goods.

The October opening had only been achieved when EHDC had agreed to issue temporary road closure notices on a week-by-week basis to allow time for HCC to put an order in place.

This arrangement has continued for six weeks and EHDC is now beginning to question the interpretation of ÒtemporaryÓ.

ÒThey have agreed to grant us a temporary closure notice for the next two weeks but that is it,Ó she told the forum who pleaded with county councillor Tony Ludlow, to urge HCC to make haste in pushing the order through. ÒWe donÕt want problems over the Christmas week,Ó stressed Mrs Grant.

AIM chairman Mike Baker found it puzzling that, when local people were working so hard to promote the town, district and county officers appeared to be resorting to obstructive rather than constructive action. ÒIt is like facing a brick wall at timesÓ.

In defence of HCC, Dr Ludlow pointed out that officers had to operate within the law.When asked if he was satisfied that he would be able to resolve the perceived legal technicality, he had no hesitation in answering: ÒWe have to resolve it,Ó he said.