Edenbridge's Thursday Market Team Named Best in Britain

Every Thursday, 8am sharp, the stalls go up in the Market Yard car park just off Edenbridge High Street - and the people behind that weekly routine have just been told, by the organisation that judges this sort of thing nationally, that they do it better than almost anyone else in Britain. Edenbridge Town Council's market team has been crowned Small Market Team of the Year at this year's NABMA Awards.

The National Association of British Market Authorities - the body behind the long-running Love Your Local Market campaign - hands out its annual awards for leadership, innovation, resilience, partnership working and commitment to local communities across the UK's markets sector. Since the Town Council took over running Edenbridge Market in 2021, NABMA said, the team has grown trader numbers and introduced measures to make the market more accessible to both traders and visitors, with particular praise for its "hands-on and personal approach," its support for start-ups and younger entrepreneurs, and the relationships it has built with its regular traders.

For anyone who hasn't been, Edenbridge Market runs every Thursday from 8am to 2pm in the Market Yard car park behind the High Street, with free parking and usually eight to ten stalls selling fresh produce, bread, cheese, street food, gifts and crafts from traders across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. It's not a big market as these things go - but that's rather the point of the award: this one's judged against other small markets, not the likes of Borough or Spitalfields.

The Town Council was clear that the win belongs to more than one person: office staff, the Grounds Team and a dedicated Market Officer, backed by councillors, all have a hand in keeping the market running week to week. The Market Officer collected the trophy on the team's behalf at the NABMA Awards ceremony.

Source: Edenbridge Town Council