Belfast City Council has ratified a new Sunday food market for East Belfast.
The monthly market will be held at Banana Block at Portview Trading Centre on the Newtownards Road.
Created by Little Fox Events, "East Block Bazaar" aims to showcase local and artisan products, and will operate on the last Sunday of the month from 1pm to 5.30pm, with the next one on March 27.
A council report stated: “The Banana Block is an area of approximately 15,000 square feet and it is proposed that the space be used for a maximum of 40 traders, meaning that it would comfortably comply with social distancing requirements and provide a healthy environment for traders and visitors.
“In addition to the market stalls, it is proposed that there will be local talent and performances as part of the offer.”
At the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee last month, a council officer told elected members that the organisers “had a strong working relationship with Eastside Partnership and other local stakeholders and that the businesses and residents in the area were fully supporting the application”.
The committee granted a market licence to Little Fox Events to hold the monthly market from March until December 2022.
DUP Alderman George Dorrian welcomed the approval at the recent meeting of the full council.
“We have been working at it for quite a while at the Newtownards Road Development Group, which has come together to put a bit of life back into the Newtownards Road, and give it a solid future,” he said
“We acknowledge things won’t return to the vibrant days passed but we are looking at ideas on how to take it forward. This is particularly welcome.”
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