A market is set to return to Barnoldswick after nearly 40 years.

Richard Milner, of Barnoldswick, and Keith Mitchell, of Salterforth, have established Pendle Valley Markets, which will run a market every Thursday and Saturday from 9am to 4pm.

The first market will be held this Saturday.

“We’re in a market town that doesn’t have a market,” said Mr Mitchell, former owner of Cafe on the Square. “The last one we had here was in the early 1970s. We think this will bring more people into town and will be a way of promoting Barnoldswick.”

Mr Milner, president of Barnoldswick Chamber of Trade, added: “I think this will boost tourism, but we’re also looking to support traders in the town.

“After having events like the Barnoldswick Beach with around 10,000 visitors, it’s proven that Barnoldswick can pull people from far and wide..”

So far, around 20 traders have shown interest in running stalls on the market.

“Some are new to the market world and usually only sell their products online,” said Mr Milner, who owns town square chip shop, Chubby’s Chippy.

He also said that Pendle Valley Markets wanted to encourage 16 to 21 year olds, who may be starting up a new business, to run a stall.

Mr Milner believes that the town square could accommodate up to 40 stallholders.

He said: “We’ve done nine months of research to get to this point, and there has been a lot of work we’ve done behind the scenes.”

Barnoldswick councillor Jennifer Purcell, a member of the West Craven Area Committee, is very supportive of the market.

“It’s a vibrant little town and if we get a good quality market, I think it’ll take off,” she said. “It’ll be a good thing for Barnoldswick.”

Anyone interested in running a stall, should ring Mr Mitchell on 07791 051924.