Nottingham Castle Christmas traders relieved at relocation

The castle closed on Monday, which meant the cancellation of the market that had been due to take place there

Christmas market traders affected by the sudden closure of Nottingham Castle have said they are relieved the event has been relocated.

The trust that runs the attraction went into liquidation on Monday, meaning it closed and a market, due to take place at the weekend, was cancelled.

The Business Improvement District (BID) has said the market will now take place in Sneinton.

Nottingham Castle Trust said it was "hugely disappointed" to be closing.

Rose Deakin said she was delighted at how quickly a different location had been found

The Christmas craft market was due to take place in the castle's grounds from Friday to Sunday.

Traders said they feared they would have lost thousands of pounds as a result of the cancellation.

However Nottingham BID said it had worked with partners to offer the 23 traders who had been due to attend the market a new location on Sneinton Market Avenues.

Dr Rose Deakin, founder of The Crop Club, a Gedling-based business selling eco-growing kits, said: "I am blown away by how quickly the community rallied around to create an alternative.

"Thank you to everyone that has helped make this new location a possibility."

Heidi Hargreaves said people had pulled together

Heidi Hargreaves, co-owner of Dukki which specialises in regional dialect gifts and homeware, said cancelling the market completely would have been a "huge blow financially".

"The only good thing to come from this is the strength and resilience of all the small businesses," she said.

"Even though we largely work alone in our day-to-day lives, when there is a crisis we pull together and form a community of like-minded individuals."

Julie Jackson said it was tough being a small business in the current climate

Julie Jackson, owner of Sustainable Bags and Fashion, which sells recycled bags and accessories from leather destined for landfill, said she felt lucky Sneinton Market Avenues had offered to host the event at short notice.

"It's such a lovely gesture to do for us all," the 49-year-old said. "We appreciate it.

"This has really helped us out as we rely on trading at these events and it's tough being a small business in the current climate."

Alex Flint, CEO of Nottingham BID, said: "On hearing the news about Nottingham Castle, we knew decisions needed to be made to enable the diverse range of local food retailers and makers to continue to trade.

"We have collectively secured a new event venue at Sneinton Market Avenues."