The district’s first Night Noodle Market will also be its last - at least with that name.

That’s because the Ashburton District Council has been slapped with a copyright infringement.

“Unbeknown to us it’s a registered trademark with Stuff, which we had no idea, so we shall cease and desist and come up with a new name,” compliance and development group manager, Jane Donaldson, said.

The council, who ran the event on September 2 alongside the Hakatere Multicultural Council, received a letter from Stuff’s lawyers about the trademark breach on September 8.

Donaldson said given that the Night Noodle Markets name and concept is owned by the media conglomerate, the council had agreed to change the name of any future events.

“We'll be reviewing the event and the name for any future events with our co-hosts, Hakatere Multicultural Council.

“Council's event calendar for 2024 is yet to be finalised, so we cannot confirm any dates at this stage, however, we note the strong public support for making the noodle market a regular event.”

An estimated 5000 attended the inaugural event, which caused reports of overcrowding and long lines in the West St carpark.

“Feedback from the public, food vendors, and participating restaurants has been very positive,” Donaldson said.

“As it was the inaugural event, it was hard to accurately gauge how many people would attend and the turnout was considerably larger than expected.

“The feedback we've received from attendees and our own volunteers supports using a larger venue and securing more vendors for any future noodle markets.”

The West Street carpark has already been identified as being an unsuitable venue for hosting similar events in the future.

“It is problematic from a safety perspective,” economic development manager, Simon Worthington, said.

“Just with the sheer numbers and people crossing the State Highway, so it makes sense to try and move away from that area of risk.”

The under-development Baring Square East has been identified as an option in future.

By Jonathan Leask