THIS weekend's French market in Barnoldswick illustrates how far the town's Chamber of Trade has come in just 12 months.

After several false starts and moderately successful Victorian-themed days in past years, the organisation was launched in February 2005 and hasn't looked back since, working with the town council to breathe new life into local shops and businesses and bringing hugely popular markets and events to Barlick.

To mark its first anniversary the group has re-named itself Barnoldswick and West Craven Chamber of Trade, and life-president Stephen Demaine, who runs Budgetique on Albert Road, says he has noticed some big changes in the space of a year.

He said: "The first time the French market came everybody was complaining and the shopkeepers didn't want to open. They were saying: 'What, opening on a Sunday in Barlick?'

"But we opened for the afternoon and I was amazed how much we'd taken when we cashed up. Things just seem to have gone from strength to strength since then."

Mr Demaine, who has been a trader in the town for 28 years, said a handful of people had been trying to get a group for business owners up and running for several years, but met with little success.

He said: "I was fed up of trying to do stuff on my own and on February 1 2005 I wrote to every business saying if you're not prepared to support us we're not prepared to go on - you either support this town or it's going to fold.

"But five days later we were up and running and since then the support has been really good - between 15 and 25 people attend every meeting and we've got more than 70 members."

Mr Demaine puts the chamber's success down to teamwork and co-operation - both between business owners and Barnoldswick Town Council.

He said: "Through us helping them and them helping us we can get things done.

"Getting rid of the disc parking is one example and probably our biggest success, and we sorted it out very amicably."

Mr Demaine thinks the group's only disappointment was late-night opening in the run-up to Christmas: "It wasn't as much of a success as the other things we did," he explained. "I think the big stores were opening at the same time, so next time we need something going on with it to get people interested and change the night."

Mr Demaine says the chamber's next priority is to recruit more members from outside Barnoldswick to help carry on the success - hence the name change.

He added: "I just feel that we're going the right way now. We've got representatives in most businesses and something must be going right because there seem to be some really nice shops coming into town.

"The largest fault we have with Barlick is that people pass it without realising what's there. Now we're getting people from all over coming."

Other events planned for this year include a continental market, a Yorkshire versus Lancashire market and a host of festive-themed frolics nearer Christmas.

In the meantime Mr Demaine urged people not to miss the French market today (Friday), tomorrow and Sunday.