HAVING been hit by COVID and border checkpoints in the past 12 months, those involved in Albury-Wodonga's Farmers' Market now have something positive to anticipate.
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A purpose-designed market area will be created at Hovell Tree Park and be ready to use as early as next year.
Hume Murray Food Bowl president Gwen Roberton was thrilled the development was confirmed by the NSW government last week, with her group's market halting its fortnightly Saturday gatherings at Hovell Tree Park in mid-2019 for the works.
Since then the market has been centred on Wodonga's Gateway Island but Victorian border checkpoints in summer forced it to shift to Junction Place.
"It will be fantastic to go back there," Mrs Roberton said of Hovell Tree Park.
"For some unknown reason, even though it's just over the bridge, people just like to go over there (to Gateway Island) and I think having it back there it will make a big difference to getting more people to come, either from Albury or Wodonga.
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"It's so much of a nicer feel there with the ambience."
The impact of the pandemic saw stallholders dwindle to around 20 last year.
"We are slowly building it back up again, we had 32 stalls last Saturday," Mrs Roberton said.
"It's been such a struggle to get people to come back and others have friends and businesses to run and can't fit markets in, it's been a struggle to keep going."
Before COVID emerged, the market had up to 40 stallholders.
The low point for organisers came from the forced shift to Junction Place because of Victoria police checkpoints being set up on the Lincoln Causeway.
"That was a nightmare," Mrs Roberton said, adding Wodonga Council "saved our bacon" and potentially the market's future by allowing the market to run in Junction Place.
