Rasen council is committed to providing live music in the town centre to bring back '˜vibrance'

It comes after a complaint about a musician in the town centre led to the act being asked to leave.

But Mayor John Matthews says live acts help to attract the crowds and he will not let a ‘totally unnecessary’ complaint get in the way.

Coun Matthews said: “We’ve got some specialist events lined up.

“We will have entertainment on at these events because it draws the crowds.

“It’s a little bit more than just stalls.

“We work very hard to put on this entertainment.

“Anything that can bring a bit of vibrance to the market will be encouraged.”

Two weeks ago a resident complained to West Lindsey District Council about a saxophonist playing around the Co-op and Market Place Walk - and Coun Matthews says officers told the town council to ask the act to move on.

Coun Matthews said: “If the act had asked to play, the answer would have been yes, to play on the Market Place [land leased by the council].

“He would not have been turned away.

“He chose to play on public areas.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep that area active and make an income.

“It costs the town council, and eventually the taxpayer, a lot of money.

“We’ll do anything we can to keep it lively.”

Market Rasen’s market has faced some challenges over the past few months, but Coun Matthews said the atmosphere had been good on the day the saxophonist was in town.

Coun Matthews was left reeling after the complaint, saying: “There was a nice atmosphere out there.

“I thought the call to the district council was totally inappropriate and unnecessary.”

The day the saxophonist chose to play in the town coincided with the first week of trading for three new stallholders signed up to the town council’s latest initiative to boost footfall.

The new scheme, organised by Market Rasen Town Council bookings clerk Kerrie Nicholson, involves traders paying for their pitch for the first four weeks and then getting the following four weeks free.

The council had previously been running a ‘first week free’ scheme, but found traders were not returning regularly.

The market runs on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Upcoming specialist markets include a gardener’s market on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3 and a bric-a-brac market on Saturday, June 23.