Portsmouth City Council has announced a major relaunch of its local markets in Portsmouth, Hampshire, timed to coincide with the city’s centenary. The changes, revealed on 5 February 2026, will introduce more street food and artisan stalls to help attract shoppers back to the city centre.
The refresh includes new branding and a programme of themed and speciality events that will run throughout the year, including a new regular hot food market and pop‑up speciality markets. These stalls will be concentrated along Commercial Road in the city centre and at Palmerston Road in Southsea (the latter hosts independent events such as Love Southsea and the monthly farmers’ market).
The council is expanding its hot food and street‑food offer (market materials cite a new regular hot food market called “Foodie Fridays” among other events) to showcase international and family‑friendly food choices. These updates are part of the Portsmouth100 celebrations, marking 100 years since Portsmouth was granted city status on 21 April 1926.
Portsmouth’s Markets relaunch is accompanied by measures to support new traders: the council says it will operate a trader incubation approach offering reduced pitch fees for an initial introductory period to help local businesses get started. The council says it hopes the changes will help revive footfall and make the markets popular weekend destinations for both residents and visitors.
