A SHOPPING village celebrated its grand reopening after months of preparations.

Petersfield Shopping Village, in Gosfield, has staged its official reopening to the public.

The shopping village held a “soft” opening under new management in February, however plenty of work has been ongoing to prepare for the day of the relaunch.

There has been repainting, restructuring and several shops that have been refurbished in the facelift.

Originally a working farm, Petersfield was transformed into an antique shopping village by owner Michael Butler in 2005, but suffered the effects of the pandemic.

Halstead businessmen John Potter and Charles Dawson, alongside the Butler family, now run the centre on a day to day basis.

Petersfield celebrated its grand reopening as the ribbon was cut by Halstead Town Council vice chairman Dave Gronland.

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Mr Potter praised the day’s huge success and is looking forward to future events.

He said: “It was a great opening day at Petersfield, and thanks to David for cutting the ribbon.

“Unfortunately, the day was cold, but well done to the stalls, and thanks to Keef and Jackie for controlling the traffic and car park.

“Well done to the ice cream van, Sam and her team in the Tipsy Bubbles wagon, Rob and the team in the Fox In the Stables Tearooms who ran out of cake and of course well done to all the dealers for changing and keeping their stock up well in the shops and cabinets.

“And of course a big thank you to all our hundreds of visitors yesterday on a cold but bright opening day for us.”

The next big event at Petersfield is the MGB classic sports car day on May 29.