Ludgershall has a regular market once again after its debut earlier this month, and has received great feedback from residents.

Ludgershall market will take place every Friday at the Memorial Hall on Andover Road, with the first market day being held on March 5.

A variety of food stalls are currently present, with the council hoping to offer other products once lockdown restrictions end.

Town councillor Catherine Allan said that market was off to a “really good” start, and is looking forward to see it expand in the future.

The market opened on March 5, after Ludgershall had been without a regular market for some time. Cllr Allan said that a market was essential for a town like Ludgershall.

“It’s just something we need because in Ludgershall we haven’t got a great selection of shops and we have to go out. Especially for the elderly, it’s nice to have fresh things, especially with the fruit and veg and the bread as we haven’t got a bakers or anything like that. It’s a really nice addition.”

The market offers a range of produce, including gluten-free cakes from The Great Cake Company, a range of sauces from the Wiltshire Chilli Farm, as well as a variety of sweets, cheeses and breads. Cllr Allan said she had received many compliments about the latter.

“The breads are delicious,” she said, “I’ve never tasted bread like it. A lot of people have asked me if the bread man is going to be there, because it’s really, really lovely.”

She said it was difficult to set up the market during the pandemic, with Covid rules limiting it to only essential goods at the moment.

Cllr Allan said: “Setting it up during the pandemic was the hardest bit. We’re only allowed to do food at the moment, we’re not allowed to do other items but after the lockdown we can start adding other items to it. There’s lots of different things we can do depending on what people want to sell.”

In the future, she would like to see the market expand, and take place inside the Memorial Hall once its vaccination programme is complete.

“I’d like it to go as big as possible,” she said, “maybe have it indoors as well as outdoors and make it a big thing on a Friday morning, do teas, coffees and everything else. It could be a place where everyone can come down and have a chat and buy something.

“There’s so much we could do, and fingers crossed it’ll happen.”

Ludgershall market takes place every Friday at the Memorial Hall between 7am and 2pm.