A TRADER in Darwen Market said he was considering moving his stall after saying it was ‘a town in decline’.

But others have rallied by saying they have had a positive year and a busy run up Christmas Sam Booth runs the business Carter and Booth in the five-day market, selling a range of cheese, pies, cakes, cooked meats and deli items.

He said that although he feels that the business is on the up, he would seriously consider moving out of Darwen in the new year.

He said: “I think that unfortunately Darwen is a town in decline. If you can compare it with the money spent in Blackburn you can see it’s not doing so well.

“I mean over Christmas the market hasn’t exactly brought in that many people and I think the town has got a lot of problems, some of which are irreversible in my opinion.

“I will seriously be reviewing in the new year whether we can continue to trade here because although things are going okay for us, I don’t feel the market is thriving enough.”

Jean Brennand, who runs Honey Bees jumper stall, also said that 2015 had not been the best year for her since moving from Blackburn.

She said: “It’s not been the greatest year for me, I think because I sell jumpers that’s part of the issue because the weather hasn’t been all that cold.

“But I feel the main issue is the fact that I had a stall in Blackburn and since I’ve moved, the amount of roadworks has meant that people haven’t been able to follow me.”

However, Gemma and Russell Lambert of M and O Fish said that the year could not have been better for them, especially after winning Jake Berry’s Best Local Shop competition.

Gemma said: “We’re doing really well at the minute as we have been able to expand the business into Horwich where we are opening up a shop.

“Our orders have doubled this Christmas and I think that people enjoy coming here because we offer something that not many places do in Darwen.

“If you don’t put yourself out there you’re going to struggle. That’s what we’ve done and it’s worked.”

Rona Brown at Greetings gift and card shop also said she had had a positive year.

She said: “I don’t want to be negative about the market, I think the people are lovely in Darwen and I’ve had a busy time around Christmas. You have quiet days, but you deal with it.”