THE town council has taken new steps to try to reverse the continuing decline of Calne's Friday market and boost its flagging trade.

In a bid to attract more people into the market, the most popular stalls, which are the vegetable and flower stands, have been relocated to the market's edge. The idea is to encourage people to move through the market and view the other goods on sale.

A working group of councillors with retail experience has also been set up to liaise with the market traders to find a way to reverse its fortunes.

The council has tried a number of reshuffles to revive the market, which has been relocated to the bollard market site, at the bottom of Sainsbury's car park. But the latest reshuffle of the market has not proved popular with all the traders because they each want to be fully visible to the public in the market's prime positions.

The council also recently bought three banners advertising the Friday market, which it hopes may help pull in more customers.

Calne Town Council's community development officer Mark Wilkins, said: "All the members of the council have been very supportive, but we are faced with a chicken and egg syndrome. We don't have customers because we don't have stalls and we don't have stalls because we don't have the customers.

"I think the working group is a great idea because it puts the councillors directly in touch with the traders. I think it is a step in the right direction because at the end of the day the council and the traders want a vibrant market in Calne."

While optimistic about the future of the market, Mr Wilkins was keen not to underestimate the task that lies ahead, with a national decline in markets and changing shopping trends.