WITH open air markets it's all about location. The best are always in the heart of a town, so why isn't York's new Shambles Market a runaway success? It's slap bang in the city centre, £1.6 million has been spent on its refurbishment, there's even free WiFi and street food. What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot by the sound of things. Steve Brown of Make it York says turning the market into a vibrant hub is one of the biggest challenges the organisation faces in the year ahead.

His job is not helped by some examples of a lack of attention to detail, such as the farmer who has no power supply for his fridges, so is thinking of calling it a day.

Then there is the new design, which Mr Brown calls challenging, especially a food court that only works on a sunny day.

The biggest problem is that although Shambles Market is situated in the city centre and leads off from one of the most picturesque and visited streets in Europe, it is not that easy to find, unless you know where to look.

And when you do get there, everything is a bit – well, drab.

We agree with Mr Brown that it needs to be more fun, it needs more atmosphere, more noise and more colour. Evening events too, if this is to become a place that people want to go to as opposed to one they happen upon.

There’s another issue. Some former fruit and veg stall holders closed down citing a lack of parking which made lugging heavy bags of potatoes and apples too much for some, meaning they shop at the supermarket instead.

Let's hope for all our sakes that when it comes to Shamble Market, Make it York can make it work.