[Madhatter]

Basically it says your wrong rindy and gayle ab shaker and spuggie are right.
Also I didn't say anything about Rawtenstall, I said 'rawtenstall claim to have', and I asked if it's the biggest, because I think they claim that too.

I don't need to visit your market to know what national trends are. The national trend is that markets are not as popular as they were, regardless of wether they've been moved or not. Thats due to supermarkets and a change in peoples shopping habits. Moving a market usually makes it more popular, and thats based on what happens nationally not just in accy. People like the 'new-ness' of it.
My comments about your market are based on whats been said on here, in this thread and other market threads.

Atherstone will never be the new hay-on-wye, it will be the new Atherstone, a unique booktown full of character. Why would we want to be the new hay-on-wye, why want to be another town, when A town can be itself. Why would you want accy to be Burnley or Blackburn, you've got high street shops, Woolworths, M&S etc why would you want the same shops as you've got a few miles that way, and that way and down in bury.
When you lot say your going shopping for the day, where do you go? accy or burnley? The answer is probably burnley.
People from rawtenstall will probably go accy and Burnley
People from Burnley will go blackburn
People from Burnley and Blackburn are unlikely to go to accy or rawtenstall. Blackburn probably go to Preston.
Based on that, it's very difficult to get people to go to a small town. Why would they, even if you had some high street shops, you don't go out to a small town for the day if you can get what it offers in a big town. Offer something different that’s not in the big towns and it changes everything, small unique shops, nice quaint interesting shopping area. That’s what Atherstone is aiming for. Atherstone is sandwiched between two towns, Tamworth 9 miles, and Nuneaton 4 miles, both better, especially Tamworth, which has excellent in town and a well designed out of town centre. We're surrounded by walsall, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and derby. so we stand no chance of having high street shops.
One town that goes against this theory is Rawtenstall, it's a small town, yet has high street shops. I'm assuming that that’s because of it's gyratory towns and the valley, but it is rare.