KIRKGATE Market has become the first Council-run indoor market to offer stall holders and customers free wi-fi.

The move, which traders had asked for, has been welcomed by business owners and shoppers.

Bradford Council market promotions and marketing officer Diana Greenwood said: "Markets have always been very social places and this free wi-fi in Kirkgate Market will help people to connect using social media such as Twitter and Facebook. The next step is to roll this out to all our indoor markets in the district."

Waseem Ahmed of the City Cafe said staff were promoting the new service to customers and it had been very well received.

"Our customers use it and its been very useful to us as well.

"Originally we were going to get wi-fi ourselves, but now the Council have done it, which is good.

"Our customers can now use their laptops and phones in the cafe and it makes it a lot easier."

Colin Owen of Totally Wicked electronic cigarettes said traders had been asking for wi-fi to be available "for a while" .

"It's useful when it comes to checking the availability of products online for customers and ordering stock," he said.

Tracey Lavelle, of the Little Shop of Soaps, added: "I use it for ordering and promoting my business on Facebook and Instagram. It's a lot easier now with wi-fi as it could be a very slow process before."

Signs will be displayed around the market explaining how people can access the wi-fi using the username 'Markets' and the password 'Traders'.

The Council's markets are also supporting Small Business Saturday, by working with Aspire-i to encourage young people to take part in the Step Up 2 Business Challenge. Small Business Saturday is a national campaign on the first Saturday in December to highlight small business success and encourage people to shop local.

Between 11am and 3pm, staff from the Council's markets team will be at the Oastler Shopping Centre with staff from Aspire-i to promote the challenge - a Dragon's Den style competition for 16 to 24-year-olds to win £1,000 towards starting a new business.

As part of the promotion the markets team will be offering young people the chance to test out their business with a view to them becoming a full-time business within the market and taking advantage of the incentives it offers to new traders.

These include six months half rent on one of the market stalls with no deposit, flexible contracts, business support and help with applications for Small Business Rates Relief.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, the Council's executive member for employment skills and culture said: "Running a market stall is a great place to start for young entrepreneurs to try out ideas, test the market and interact with customers."

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