The former location of the St. Lucia Fire Service headquarters on Jeremie Street was abuzz with activity on Monday morning as the relocation of vendors from Castries Market took effect. The area, which had remained vacant since the demolition of the headquarters in 2015, has been retro-fitted with bathroom stalls and a storage facility and now features numerous brightly painted trays filled with an assortment of local produce. The relocation was necessary in order to facilitate phase one of the Castries Market Redevelopment Project, and is expected to last three months. Vendors received a stipend of $500 from the Castries Constituency Council to assist them in the move. Bustling vendors seemed very optimistic.
“The first day will not be as good as other days because a lot of your customers don’t know where you are,” said a vendor. “But we just have to be patient. We needed change. We need our market to be attractive, so we have to abide with the move. However, I’m looking forward to going back very soon.”
Another vendor: “The first day has been very encouraging. I never expected such sales on our first day. People are responding to the change, people are buying, everybody’s happy. The place is so beautiful. Looking at the way we are organised, I wish it will be so when we go back to the market.”
“It has not been bad,” was the view of still another vendor. “We’re still organising the place, getting things ready, but we’ll get there. I’m happy with the way we are set up. It looks good, and I just want us to keep it up.”
Castries Mayor Peterson Francis was on the scene, mingling with the vendors. He said they have generally reacted positively, and he wants the public to embrace the change. “I just heard some vendors saying we should just leave them where they are now. They’re feeling so good; people are interacting with them and they’re doing good business, even at this time of morning. I’m very happy to see how pleased they are.”
Commenting on the future, the mayor said: “I’ve told them we’re not going back to what we had before. We’re looking at a three-month period here. If everything goes well, they’ll be back at the improved market site in that time.”
The move was not without some resistance by vendors who normally operate on the sidewalk near the entrance to Castries Market. On Wednesday, they protested the move to the new grounds, but the quick intervention of city police officers kept things under control.
