NEW guidance aims to help towns and villages show how local markets benefit their economy.

The government says it will provide better tools for analysing market place footfall and gauge the views of customers and traders.

In doing so, ministers believe the guidance will help market managers and operators decide which stalls will work best for them - attracting more shoppers in the process.

They say it will also help markets demonstrate the contribution they make to the vibrancy of high streets and town centres, supporting businesses, local jobs and enhancing community life.

Some 1,000 people started businesses in their local market between 2012 to 2014.

Communities minister Marcus Jones said: "We have a proud heritage of markets in this country, but they also need to evolve with the changing high streets of today and adapt to modern technologies.

"This is practical resource that will help investments in our markets both today and tomorrow and I would encourage all market managers and operators to use it."

The guidance is available on the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) website.

NABMA president Mick Barker said: "This guidance will help markets respond to the changing needs of the future."

The guidance includes a series of assessment templates for surveys of shoppers, traders and market managers to establish the financial performance of markets.

It also includes details of how to record and project data on the number of people visiting or passing through a market to gain an estimate of spending customers.

It was developed from work undertaken by ROI as part of a Mission for Markets programme that examined the performance of six different markets.