Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
Graham, Tom and Ian
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What were the local issues four decades ago?
Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
What were the local issues four decades ago?
Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
A new market for Stockport
by Lib Dem team on 7 October, 2015
Last night I spoke out in favour of a new market for Stockport town centre, and the plan – which has all-party support – moved forward with the agreement of the Executive.
Our plan has two parts. First, to find a new home for the existing market traders (both those currently inside and those outside) – somewhere down the hill in an area of higher footfall. Second, to bring a new market to our historic market hall, one based on a high quality food and drink offer of the sort that’s working very successfully elsewhere.
Why make such a big change?
In the last few years the market hall – and the buildings around it – have improved massively. The market is far more inviting, cleaner and better laid-out, and that’s a real credit to the traders and the Council’s market team. Footfall is still low though. People come to the market when the offer is right – when there’s something they want to visit for, like Foodie Friday, Vintage Market and other events. But for the regular market it’s quieter than we – or the traders – want.
One option is to continue with incremental improvements, but I think that’s the wrong way to go. We’ve no reason to think it would solve the problem and the last thing I want is to see the market continue to decline.
Instead, we are proposing this bolder change. The idea is simple: put a market in the hall that’s open longer hours and that’s a big enough draw to get more people coming, spending their money both in the market itself and in the shops around it.
So what about the existing traders? We want to move them down the hill, into the heart of the shopping area where there are more people. That general-purpose market should be standing side-by-side with the other shops, not up the hill and out of the way.
What happens next?
We, as the council, will work with traders to identify a new location that they want, and to put together a financial package that allows them to move successfully and make a success of it. The traders have suggested that they could run the new market themselves and I think that’s a good idea we need to work on with them.
We will also be putting together the business case for the new food-and-drink market to move in, and – all being well – making that happen.
There will be issues – whatever we do is never going to be easy (and I include doing nothing in that as well). The existing traders need support, but so will the shops around the marketplace during any transition period.
There is a challenge to the Council to work with the traders and to make this work. The prize will be to have two successful markets, with traders earning more money and more people coming into our town and enjoying both the historic Old Town and the main shopping areas.
14 Comments
An excellent idea, based, presumably on Altrinchams award winning version. This should provide much needed diversity in food being offered, but it must be open every day, unlike the current arrangement.
If you are going to move the traders – then you need to keep the rents & rates the same in order to help them to compete
– otherwise you will simply put them out of business.
The high rates in Stockport have forced many small businesses to close – the rates for one shop businesses should be cut in half.
Does this mean the market traders will move into the centre Mersey way with all the other shops. That would be a great idea.
Art – the exact location needs to be decided with the traders, but yes, the plan is for most existing traders to move down to where the other shops – and more of the shoppers – are.
[…] reality, exactly the opposite is being proposed. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the plan we have is to improve and grow the market in its current location, changing the mix of […]
Market proposal is not a proposal. It’s a done deal. But a done deal with who, I wonder. Stockport council has miserably failed to promote the market for years. The various Sunday events there cannot be advertised on Merseyway because the owners of the precinct will not allow it, according to Sunday events organisers. I would be more than willing to guess that similar obstruction occurs at other times. Stockport council DOES still control some aspects of the town’s life but does not apply any significant energy to making our town centre a cohesive destination. Money talks, it seems.
Hi Alan – couldn’t disagree more about not promoting the market. True, the council can’t force private owners of Merseyway to promote it, but have done everything else and put a huge amount of time and energy into it.
A “huge amount”? Where? Where in Stockport town centre will I see visual promotion of our beautiful marketplace? There is the apologetically small sign at the bottom of Vernon Street – hardly a spirited effort! Is Warren Street privately owned? Could not a banner be placed above and across Warren Street facing into Merseyway? What representations have been made to the owners of Merseyway to improve their resentful attitude? The printed material promoting Stockport Old Town is exemplary in presentation and content. But most people don’t read this stuff. They “discover” new things and places when they’re out and about. They could be forgiven for being ignorant of our market’s very existence, if councillors and others with influence had their way. I wonder if any approaches have been made already by commercial entities regarding future exploitation of the market. See where I’m going here?
Hi Alan,
I’m surprised – have you not seen the signs at the bottom of the hill on all the routes up the market, or the banners on Mealhouse brow? Or the billboards promoting the Old Town over the last year? Or the online promotion of both the regular market and all the special events?
You’re surprised, apparently. Not half as surprised as many people are at a decision to uproot our centuries-old market with all the attendant uncertainties, without any firm proposal regarding it’s new location (desperation on the rocks, anyone?). I am happy to stand corrected on the matter of the billboards promoting Stockport Old Town, but on the matter of other signs; no I haven’t noticed them, I’m afraid, which arguably reinforces my point. A banner on Mealhouse Brow – what a quaint little backwater that is. It’s all a bit underdone, as a TV chef might say. The point remains that the retail heart of Stockport – namely Merseyway and the Peel Centre – is a “sterile zone” as far as promotion of the market (surely our historic retail heart) is concerned. Are there not “free-world” streets adjoining these high-footfall highly-controlled citadels? Why do we tread so lightly around them?
It’s a great idea, as someone who trades on Levenshulme market occasionally I am quite exited. If you can get the Foodie Friday crowd in on a regular basis it’ll work. One thing that will have to change though is the ridiculous parking rate nearby. The carpark next to the church should be 50p an hour, then people will drive in and use the market. I worked in retail way back, easy, cheap parking makes a massive difference. Get Robbies brewery involved too with a Foodie /craft beer scene or Sunday lunch roast like Camp and Furnace in Liverpool. Good luck with it.
It will be great if the market can be something which actually makes people want to come into Stockport to shop and makes the traders some money. Stockport has so much history and we don’t make the most of it which is such a shame, the market place has been improved but I bet half of the people living in the town have never been there. Merseyway is depressing with empty shops, they should be trying to get more ” up market” shops and attract people with more money to spend, even “us” from Stockport like nice things. The Peel Centre is too stretched out now, the new Cinema should be at the far end near Portwood Roundabout and keep the shops closer together, you need your trainers on to shop in the Market then down into MerseyWay and onto the Peel Centre.
Great news if some market stalls come down the hill a bit but put them in a good position, not only for the shopper but for the traders too and let’s see if the owners of Merseyway actually take an interest in the town too.
You are an absolute disgrace. Where did you find so many cronies to support this vandalism of Stockports heritage?
People like you come and go, heritage lasts, support it. improve it but don’t destroy it.
Thanks Roy – I agree with you about supporting our heritage. That’s why I’m so passionate about making sure we have a thriving market in the marketplace.
I don’t quite understand what “vandalism” you are referring to though – can you explain what exactly you think would be vandalised?