However, while market growers and goers are eagerly awaiting the move, not everyone in the town’s business community is pleased.

The farmers market, currently held every second Friday in Littleton Gardens, began around 10 years ago as a monthly event.

Its popularity and the growth of the “eat local” movement saw it become a fortnightly market, before a decision was made 12 months ago to lodge a formal development application requesting permission for it to be held every Friday.

While SCPA president John Champagne asks why it has taken so long to be discussed, he is pleased to see it finally come before the council and hoped to gain widespread support.

“We want to see the market grow, but it’s almost a chicken and egg situation,” Mr Champagne said.

“If we want to encourage members to grow more produce for the local market, we need more people there to buy it.

“SCPA is all about increasing the local food economy.

“Making the markets weekly would be a step in the right direction.”

A weekly farmers market is not to everyone’s taste though.

Chris Maxted is a well-known Bega business person with a number of commercial interests in town.

He said he likes the market as it is known to bring people to town, but he has concerns over car parking.

“I am quite concerned about it,” he said.

“When they [the stallholders] park next to the grass it makes it difficult for others to trade.

“Stallholders turn up there early in the morning and are still there at 1.30 or so.

“We’re trying very hard to get our staff to park outside that area because we want our customers there.

“I appreciate the stallholders’ problems in some respects, having to cart all their stuff around with them, but they are taking up parking spaces for their own customers as well as those of Bega’s businesses.

“I like the markets - there’s no question they bring people to town.

“But if they become weekly and get bigger, our question is ‘where’s the parking?’.

“We’re already struggling.”

Mr Maxted also said if the council’s plans to develop Littleton Gardens continue he believed the next stages involved the further reduction of car parking spaces in the central area.

“We’ll lose passing trade – if people can’t park there they will try to park in Carp St and Auckland St, which fill up quickly.

“If you can’t park, you just keep going.”

Mr Champagne said the parking issue “is not insurmountable”, but said he had also heard objections to the move were also coming from within the council itself.

“Council maintenance staff object to the DA because they said the stalls would wear the grass out,” Mr Champagne said.

“It’s ridiculous – the only bare patches in Littleton Gardens are under the few trees there because that’s the only shade for people to enjoy now they’ve cut all the trees down.”

The matter comes before the council at its meeting on August 12.

SHOPPERS at Friday’s SCPA Market in Bega were positive about the idea of a weekly market.

“It’s a great idea!” Rodney Cockle said, while his partner Nicole said they would come back every week.

“We’re always hanging out to restock our vegetables,” she said.

Tathra resident Jamie Shaw said he would also be keen to see the market every Friday, saying the region was “desperate for it”.

He said buying local food – and thereby encouraging growers to continue producing locally – was “critical”.

“If we don’t foster more buyers, then we can’t grow more producers,” Mr Shaw said.

“Regularity is the key to building the whole thing – if you have patience to let it grow, everyone benefits.

“If we knew it was on every Friday, we’d come in from Tathra every week.

“We usually stay for the day, have some lunch and coffee as well while we’re in town.

“It’s also a tourist event – it brings heaps of people into town when it’s on.”