WEST Oxfordshire District Council is reviewing its decision to switch Chipping Norton's monthly farmers' market from a Thursday to a Friday.

The next market is due to take place on a Friday, March 23 - unless the foot and mouth crisis forces a cancellation.

The town council and some traders are expressing concern at the impact the markets will have on town businesses if they continue on Fridays.

At their last meeting town councillors spoke of the fears about the change of day.

Councillor Patsy Webb said: "Some town butchers and greengrocers are not very happy with the effect it has, especially since some of the farmers are not terribly local."

Councillors were also unhappy because Friday markets clashed with the town's WI market, and the stalls took up car parking spaces on one of the week's busiest days.

Paul Lancaster, district council director of environmental services, said he received no objections when he initially asked the town council about continuing the Friday markets, but said the district council would investigate concerns raised by the traders and the town council.

The council plans to consult town traders and councillors and review the situation in time for April's market. The district council introduced the markets last September to help local farmers sell produce directly to customers on one Thursday a month.

However, Steve Moulder, who runs the Market Place's T Beadle Butchers, said: "While I'd be glad to see them move back to a Thursday I'd rather not see them at all.

"It's difficult enough trying to run a small business as it is. They're nearly all meat sellers and I could do nothing about it when they changed it to a Friday, your Friday and Saturday trade is what you rely on."

Another butcher, John Kench of the High Street, said: "It does not effect my trade directly but I've spoken to several other traders and it does effect them quite considerably because it takes all the parking spaces."

Dominic Oliveri of Market Street's Oliveri Barbers is convinced his business suffered with the Friday market.

He said: "Fridays and Saturdays are our busiest days but on the Friday when they came it was not very busy because of the lack of parking."