TRADE is to cease at the Prestatyn market site next month ahead of the building of the new Home Bargains store in its place.

A spokesperson for Northern Markets, which has managed the site, said that Thursday, November 18 will be the market’s final day of business, with the premises to have been vacated by the following day.

Plans were submitted in January 2020 for the land on Gas Works Lane for a large retail unit, with a smaller Home Bargains store already situated in Prestatyn, on High Street.

It is believed that the new Home Bargains store will also contain a garden centre.

The market, which also holds car boot sales, has been open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and has been comprised of roughly 150 stalls.

Mayor of Prestatyn, Councillor Sharon Frobisher (Central ward), said that she was: “Quite sad about the market closing as it has been there for as long as I can remember, when we moved here in 1987.

"It has been a successful market and brought many people from outside to the area.

“(It is a) new chapter opening now for the site with Home Bargains coming, which is also incorporating a garden centre.”

Councillor Tina Jones MBE (Central ward) also said she will be disappointed to see the back of the market site, but believes the new Home Bargains could be an ‘asset’ to Prestatyn and hopes it is not the end of market stalls in the town altogether.

Councillor Jones said: “While it is a shame the market is closing, having a Home Bargains superstore with garden centre will be an asset to the town, and tidy up an area that is looking very unloved.

“This is not to say it will be the end to the market; we now need to put our thinking caps on and find an alternative site to hold on to our much-loved Prestatyn market.”

Councillor Mike German (Central ward) added that he feels it is right to now call time on the market in Prestatyn, and also believes that replacing it with a larger Home Bargains store will prove a positive move for the site and the town.

Councillor German said: “I like Home Bargains; I think they are a good store, and I can see no real issue.

“I was born in Prestatyn and I remember it (the market) when it hadn’t been developed. It has probably run its course now. Times are changing and it’s outdated now, so it’s right to go.

“The only thing I don’t want is to make the traffic issue (in Prestatyn) worse than it is right now. I think it’s quite problematic; an imaginative approach could help things.”