Mary Portas leads celebrations at Roman Road relaunch
High Street guru Mary Portas was among the revellers as Roman Road celebrated its relaunch in style on Saturday.
The “Queen of Shops” has targeted The Roman as part of a new television series set to be screened on Channel 4 in the New Year, and her work was marked with a flourish on Saturday.
Paula Hirst represents the Roman Town Team which has been driving the area’s regeneration.
She said: “This is a good start to changing the mix of the offer on Roman Road, and most market traders appeared supportive - anything that brings more people!
“We need to continue to have more new stalls to increase the variety of whats on offer for more local people to visit, and during Saturdays in December, we hope to be able to organise music performances, as well as more stalls selling food and gifts.
“The Christmas lights will be on, the tree up, and decorations along the Roman. Many shops are planning activities in addition to the market, and all going well there should be mulled wine to give away!”
The relaunch has seen food stalls incorporated into the market, with hundreds of shoppers making the most of the burgers, cakes and pastries on offer.
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The Roman Town Team had previously applied for government funding through the Portas Pilot scheme, but was unsuccessful. However, it hopes that the latest project, which is separate from the pilot s, will prove to be the tonic to allow the area to thrive again.
