New Dudley Market bosses vow to bring shoppers back and get town buzzing

Promises have been made to bring in more stallholders and stage events to bring shoppers back.

The site was taken over by Tudor Markets in July, but will be officially opened this Saturday.

Bosses say that plans are already in place for Christmas, with all 72 stalls aiming to filled and a new Asian market.

The site was taken over by Tudor Markets in July, but will be officially opened this Saturday.

Natalie Mashhadi-Marshall, business developer for Tudor Markets, said: “We felt that maybe there had been some neglect and that the town centre had lost a bit of life in recent years, so now we want to bring it back.

"We want the market to be the way it used to be and get people away from Merry Hill and Birmingham and to choose Dudley instead.

“Since we have taken it over in July, we have had four previous traders come back to us and 48 stalls are now filled.

"There are 72 in total so we want to continue to attract traders to come to fill those. I am helping promote traders on social media too.

She continued: “We are planning some great events for Christmas, with Christmas traders and seasonal stock, a Santa’s grotto and the return of a Christmas tree.

“There has been an Asian market that runs through the middle on a Wednesday for the last few weeks and that has been our busiest day. It’s been fantastic and we want to continue to grow in that way.”

Mohammed Sagir, who is chairman of the Voice of Dudley business group, has campaigned for more investment in the market.

He said: “I am so pleased with the plans that Tudor have.

“They are going to bring more stalls and business, which is really good news as the market has been empty since it has been refurbishment.

"The market had a lot of money spent on it in recent years and unfortunately it wasn’t very successful.”

In recent months council bosses said the takeover had challenged companies to show they could ‘drive forward’ the market and bring more footfall.

Dudley Council strategic director Alan Lunt said: “Dudley Market is at the heart of Dudley town centre, which is why it was essential that we picked the strongest team to build on the work and investment delivered by Dudley Council.”