Delight as Chichester's Cross Market and More hailed a success

‘The Cross Market & More’ consisted of a combination of stalls, street food, and children’s entertainment and gave students of Chichester and Brinsbury Colleges opportunities to sell their products. One group of apprentices upcycled and finished uncompleted student projects and turned them into sustainable products for sale.

The District Council put on the market as part of its campaign to support the city centre. Cllr Alan Sutton, cabinet member for housing, communications, licensing and events at Chichester District Council, said: “It was fantastic to see so many people in Chichester on Sunday, having such a wonderful time.”

“This is exactly the sort of destination market we wanted to bring people into the city centre, and the reaction from visitors and traders alike was superb. I spoke to lots of people, many of whom had travelled some distance to attend this event, including from Brighton, Surrey and Hampshire. They all said how much they had enjoyed it and what a great atmosphere there was. One said that it was the best market that they had ever been to, while another lady said that their granddaughter had arranged for their whole family to attend. There really was something for all ages.”

Helen Loftus, acting principal at Chichester College, said: “Our students thoroughly enjoyed being given the opportunity to take part in such a brilliant community market.

“It was great to see so many of them taking part, showcasing their hard work and selling products they have made — as well as entertaining the visitors through flash mob performances, which brought a fantastic atmosphere to East Street. We had some really lovely feedback from shoppers. I know our students learnt a lot from the experience, and I hope we’ll see this become a regular event.”

Also at the market was Petworth Pop-Up’s On-Tour, which provides a space for makers and creators to showcase and sell their work, and there was also a flashmob that entertained attendees four times throughout the day.

Cllr Alan Sutton added: “This truly was a fantastic event, which was enjoyed by all, and we would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting it. The Council’s Events and Promotions Officer and our Farmers Market Coordinator worked really hard to pull this together, and they were both extremely delighted with the response. We now hope to repeat this around three to four times a year.”