Page 26 - MarketTimesFebruary2020
P. 26

26
lost charter market could be hugely ben- eficial to the town’s vibrancy and create a big incentive for people to come into town on a Friday and Saturday, the councillors decided.
Essex Farmers Markets won the contract to run the new market and it set up stall on pedestrianised sections either side of the wide High Street back in 2011.
The operator provided and erected the gazebos and a number of market traders saw the potential for trading in Brentwood.
Just 20 miles from central London with plenty of employment, the town has a good mix of independent shops as well as strong household brands including Marks & Spencer which is located right by the market. People have money in their pockets and regeneration projects are in the pipeline.
But the phenomenon that has really put the town on the map is TOWIE – The Only Way Is Essex – the reality TV series that was filmed in Brentwood.
Although the hype has waned a little,
Jacky Frost who has sold ladies fashion on the market for six years stepped up to the plate when Brentwood market was threatened with closure. She now manages it unpaid on an informal basis
TOWIE fans from all over the UK and beyond visit Brentwood, often staying at the Premier Inn which was once Lord Sugar’s Amstrad headquarters. The town attracts plenty of hen parties and visitors shop in fashion shops including Sam and Billie Faiers’ Minnie Boutique and Gemma Collins fashion shop, or let their hair down in The Sugar Hut nightclub and bar.
Caroline said: “Brentwood is a lovely town with a lot of things going for it but councillors felt that a market which harks back to its historical identity and heritage should be the crux of things.”
So when Jacky approached them at the eleventh hour when they were close to calling time on the market they were keen to give her the opportunity, Caroline said.
Jacky said: “I love markets and market trading.” Although born in Walthamstow, she has lived in Brentwood since she was 14 and after a short spell working as a secretary in London she began working on Romford
FEATURE • BRENTWOOD market at 21 where she met her husband who
sold shoes.
The couple stood numerous markets over
the years, with Jacky moving into ladies fashion, which is her passion. Although now divorced, they currently trade side by side on Brentwood market where Jacky started six years ago.
“I was devastated when I heard that the market was threatened with closure. It all happened very quickly in a couple of weeks,” she said.
She put together a basic business plan and persuaded the council to let her give it a go. “It was difficult because the previous operator provided all the gazebos and I had to ask the traders to invest in their own,” she said. “But the traders here are really great. We all work together and help each other out. No one is difficult so it is just a matter of me collecting the rents and trying to improve the market and attract new quality traders.”
The council likes the market to look
Julie Martin has been selling jewellery on the market for the past five years
Mike Read sells some amazing objets d’art
    Wendy Drewett works for the burgeoning artisan bread and confectionery company Brown Bread and has been standing Brentwood market for the past seven years
   Jacky’s ex-husband Howard Frost who started selling footwear on Romford Market 42 years ago joined Jacky on the market nine months ago selling trendy footwear












































































   24   25   26   27   28