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 It Was Hell on the Grid - Noisy Grand Prix Event!

Traders complained about a very noisy Grand Prix event on the waste space at Northampton Market Square on Saturday 20th June. Traders near the event were driven to distraction by the noise of engines revving, big bikes doing little tours around the market, radio-controlled cars continuously whining shrilly, and the bouts of Grand Prix practice noise coming from the speakers around the large screen.

Traders near the event said the noise levels were far too high, and went on and on for far too long. Traders further away from the din at the bottom of the market said that once again a noisy event had stripped away customers from the market aisles, frightened older people away from the market, and overall had given many traders a very poor day's trading. The only exceptions found were the florists, who both said they were doing reasonably well at the top of the market.

Talking with a variety of traders in different areas of the market, the difference a noisy event makes came across very strongly. Those traders near the Grand Prix event said that it was difficult to hear customers talking, and there was a definite shortage of older customers, presumably kept away from the vicinity by the constant noise. Traders in the middle and toward the top of the market said they weren't seeing nearly so many customers as on normal Saturdays. This was put down to the noise from the Grand Prix event keeping some older people away from the market, and the general tendency for anyone coming into the top of the market to rush through to the event at the bottom, to see what all the noise was about.

So once again a big thumbs-down for the market events organisers, who continue to hold disastrously noisy events which rob the market of trade and cost traders a great deal of money. Don't these people have any conscience about what they're doing? Apparently not, as they've taken no notice so far.

By Contrast - A Well-Organised Armed Forces Day.
Saturday 28th saw the Armed Forces Day, which was one of the few events we have had no complaints about whatsoever. It was not a noisy event, of course. It was well-organised, as one might expect of the Forces, and it was the kind of event people could stroll around at their own pace, looking here and chatting there, and generally quietly enjoying themselves. Most traders spoken to said trade was about average; no great influx of people, but no distracting noise either. Little credit to the events team here, though, as almost every town of any size has an Armed Forces Day, and a Market Square is a natural place to hold it if there's enough room. All credit to the Armed Forces for respecting the situation of holding an exhibition alongside a working market, and working co-operatively to achieve an excellent result. Well done!