Market days are no longer welcome on a section of Ashburton’s main street during business hours.
It means a popular annual market day on East St in September will move – but only just down the road.
Ashburton Market Day will be held one block north of its usual location – in front of Baring Square East and the clock tower.
Retailers had complained the associated road closures hurt their businesses.
The district council voted to ban events on the block of East St, south of Havelock St, if they required road closures.
Ashburton Market Day organiser Carol Johns sees the decision as positive.
Speaking to LDR, Johns said she was already looking to move the event down the road.
“I was just waiting for the council to make a decision,’’ Johns said.
“I’m not worried, I’ll move and the market day will still go ahead.
‘‘Nothing changes, we just move down the road a wee bit,’’ she said.
“There are more positives than negatives.”
The move means Johns will have to pay for a new traffic management plan but only has to contact three businesses about a road closure, rather than 96.
Baring Square East had a $2.45 million upgrade in 2023 to coincide with the construction of the $62.3m Te Whare Whakatere.
That investment led to the majority of councillors voting to close the southern end of East St off to market events during business hours, at a district council meeting on June 18.
The annual market day attracts thousands of people to Ashburton. It is held on South Canterbury Anniversary Day, on the fourth Monday of September.
When discussing options last week, councillor Tony Todd said historically the local businesses were heavily involved in the market day, previously known as Boulevard Day, but times had changed.
“The day still attracts a large number of people to the CBD that mainly walk the street and the vendor stalls have become a barrier to get into retailers stores,’’ Todd said.
“The market day is still important to the town so we should support it, but I think a new location will breathe new life back into it.”
