August 20, 2012 12.45 pm This story is over 139 months old

Bigger layout set for Lincoln Christmas Market

Bigger market: A redesigned layout in the Castle grounds should give visitors more space to move around.

In response to crowd control issues at last year’s Christmas Market, the City of Lincoln Council is changing the layout of the event in December.

A redesigned layout in the Castle grounds should give visitors more space to move around.

Stalls will also be located around the Cathedral east green, between Bailgate and Newport, and along Eastgate.

Record stall applications

The council said a record number of businesses have applied for stalls at this year’s Lincoln Christmas Market.

The City Council has received more than 400 applications for stalls. Around 170 of these have been from new businesses that have not attended the market before.

Offers will be made to stallholders from August 20 and will be confirmed in September.

The authority’s Events Team, which organises the Christmas Market, is now offering places to 280 prospective stallholders, selecting those that have high quality products, with an emphasis on local and international businesses.

Events Officer Holly Parker said: “This year we’ve found that jewellery, hog roasts and specialist alcohol have all been popular, but our aim is to ensure that we don’t have too many stalls selling the same produce, and we work hard to minimise stallholders selling similar things in the same area of the market.”

The event in 2011 saw a 25% increase in visitor numbers, with an estimated 200,000 people attending over four days.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the City Council, said: “Our setting in the historic part of the city with stunning buildings and atmosphere all around is unrivalled, and with our plans to improve access to the stalls to accommodate our rising numbers of visitors, this year’s Lincoln Christmas Market is set to be better than ever.”