He'd never have a career in the borough council's PR department - not by being so candid, anyway.

QLocal's Roger Blaxall chatted to one of its officers tasked with making preparations for re-opening our centuries old market; two words summed up the challenge it faces: 'pear shaped'.

Clipboard in hand, he was 'surveying' Moor St. outside Dorothy Perkins to try and figure out how social distancing would work on a busy market day.

(Quick answer from an impartial observer - it won't)

The centuries old charter market was going through the mill anyway with the borough council's controversial plans to save all of c£50,000 with special DIY deals for traders - it's survived two world wars, the whims and fancies of varied local politicians ... let's hope Covid 19 won't deal it a fatal body blow.

The borough council's putting a brave face on it, announcing what measures it's taken to re- open it; it's hoping it'll return on a reduced scale on Thursday, 18 June with just 35 stalls allowed; the smaller number is designed to make social distancing easier for both traders and customers.

Plans on how to operate the outdoor market have been in the works for several weeks but the council has remained cautious despite the government allowing such activities to resume from June 1. Bosses say they will continue to review the safety of the market but hope that it could double the number of stalls to 70 in the second week.

Cllr Dave Evans, portfolio holder for Planning, said: “We know that many people are keen to come out of lockdown and that some will be disappointed the market won’t reopen immediately, but we are still in the middle of a public health crisis and we have to put the safety of the public first.

“Lancashire currently meets only three of the five points that the government has set out as necessary to ease the lockdown. As a precaution, we are delaying the reopening of the market.

“NW England seems to be two or three weeks behind London regarding the slowing of Covid-19 infection rates and number of related deaths.“To have an event which puts people in a potentially crowded situation puts our Local NHS under undue pressure and risks adding to a spike in cases, which in turn would trigger a greater lockdown.

“We have therefore chosen the safest route out of lockdown, with a phased reopening and ongoing review of the situation.

"Stay Safe."

the simple solution is put it somewhere else where there is low footfall
car parks arent that busy at the moment so maybe use the one by the bus station which has an entance and exit for a easy flow of people
or the big styles car park which could be used as half market and a small amount of parking im sure there are other soultions as well