Belfast traders 'not worried' about traffic as Christmas market opens

The manager of Belfast Christmas Market is hoping the suspension of roadworks successful the run-up to Christmas allays concerns aft caller postulation congestion successful the city.

Some traders person said that congestion successful the centre of Belfast, which is being blamed connected roadworks and the opening of a caller multi-million lb transport hub, is causing a driblet successful footfall and affecting section businesses.

The Bavarian-style marketplace opened its doors to the nationalist astatine noon connected Saturday, hours earlier the city's Christmas airy switch-on event.

Celebrating its 20th year, the marketplace is anticipating astir 1 cardinal visitors implicit its five-week run.

Allan Hartwell, managing manager of Market Place which runs the Christmas event, said helium archetypal heard astir the postulation issues soon earlier arriving successful the metropolis for the market's acceptable up.

"I was truly concerned, but we arrived connected the Saturday and connected the Sunday I took a locomotion astir the metropolis and it was booming, it was heaving.

"Because of each these roadworks going on, I was truly amazed that the weekends person been perfectly buoyant."

He said the suspension of non-essential roadworks connected Belfast routes, which is planned for 25 November, should easiness concerns.

Mary Taylor has been operating her covering stall successful Belfast's marketplace for 7 years - surviving setbacks caused by the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

“I emotion this city, the radical are beauteous here, precise friendly, and we ever person a palmy marketplace careless of the upwind oregon what’s going on," she said.

Ms Taylor said she does not deliberation the caller congestion volition person excessively overmuch of an effect connected business.

"If the radical privation to travel to the market, they’ll come, nevertheless they get present by bus, bid oregon car, they’ll travel truthful nary it doesn’t interest me," she added.

Belfast's Christmas Market archetypal ran arsenic a aviator task successful 2004 with 34 traders, with the immense bulk of those from France, Germany and the Netherlands.

"When we started, we were acrophobic astir the deficiency of nonrecreational marketplace traders wrong Northern Ireland," Mr Hartwell said.

"There wasn’t a immense magnitude of markets operating with full-time traders, and not traders that tin prolong a five-week market."

A caller declaration was negotiated, and a concern with adjacent St George's Market was established, to guarantee that section businesses are represented.

Now, astir 50% of the 100 stalls successful cognition are owned by section traders, Mr Hartwell added.

This year, a chalet has been acceptable speech successful a premier determination to let for six young concern owners to run successful the marketplace for free.

Another inaugural by Market Place, called the Jolly Big Business Boost, allows 1 section concern to run astatine the marketplace escaped of charge.

The winner, Emma Goodman from Lurgan successful County Armagh, said she was shocked erstwhile she received the bully news.

Ms Goodman, who has a canine accessory business, spotted the contention portion recovering from country earlier this year.

"I was reasoning I'll astir apt not triumph it, I'll conscionable participate for acquisition and I astir died erstwhile I got the telephone call," she said.

She is hoping the accidental volition let her to turn her concern and physique a assemblage network.

There are different markets crossed Northern Ireland successful the tally up to Christmas, specified arsenic Flowerfield Art Centre's Christmas Craft Market successful Portstewart.

It operates six days a week and features a fig of section traders. It is tally by Causeway Coast and Glens Council, allowing for businesses to chopped down connected staffing costs.

Geri Martin, who runs an artisan cocoa store successful Castlerock, said the acquisition is invaluable during the business's busiest clip of the year.

"I can't spend to nonstop idiosyncratic to basal astatine a Christmas market," she explained.

"It's specified a hard clip of the twelvemonth for america due to the fact that we're truthful engaged with each of our firm enactment and Christmas gifts truthful the mode it has been acceptable up is fantastic and each twelvemonth we spot our income grow.

"Businesses person to truly perpetrate their time... and that's a immense hazard due to the fact that you don't cognize however good the marketplace is going to go."

Fiona Shannon, who is from Portstewart, has been selling her ceramic goods astatine Flowerfield for a fig of years.

"It's a fantastic marketplace to beryllium a portion of," she said.

"A batch of section radical person started to travel and enactment it and it's worked retired truly good for maine arsenic a business."

Ms Shannon said astir 35 section businesses marque up Flowerfield's market.

"There's specified a scope of worldly present that radical tin fundamentally bash each of their buying nether 1 roof," she added.

Belfast's Christmas Market opened astatine noon connected Saturday 16 November and volition tally regular until 18:00 GMT connected Sunday 22 December.

The marketplace operates from 10:00 and closes astatine 20:00 (bars unfastened until 21:00) from Monday to Wednesday and 22:00 (bars unfastened until 23:00) from Thursday to Saturday.

On a Sunday, gates unfastened astatine noon, with the earlier closing clip of 18:00.

The market's opening time coincided with the Belfast Christmas lights switch-on, with a fig of roads successful the metropolis centre closed.

The pursuing areas volition beryllium afloat closed from 16:30 GMT until 20:30: Royal Avenue, from Rosemary Street to Castle Place, Donegall Place, High Street, from Castle Junction to Cornmarket, Castle Lane, Callender Street from the bollards to Castle Lane, and Castle Place.

There volition besides beryllium suspension of disabled parking connected Castle Place and of parking connected Donegall Place.

Between 17:30 and 20:30 the pursuing areas volition beryllium afloat closed: Wellington Place, Donegall Square North, and Donegall Square South.

On Sunday Donegall Square North and Donegall Square West volition beryllium closed betwixt 02:00 and 05:00.