Memorandum by Vale Royal Borough Council
(MARKETS 09)
— Lack of commitment both by local government
and developers to include markets in the redevelopment of town
centres.
— Markets sites, because of their position,
are quite often very valuable and sought after by developers.
— It is alarming how quickly independent
retails are disappearing from our High Streets.
— Where markets are incorporated into the
centres they add choice, colour and variety plus increasingly
better value.
— A lot of local authorities do not understand
markets.
— Not enough money is budgeted for to maintain
most markets to a high standard.
— Lack of vision in incorporating markets
within town centre improvements.
— Markets are a key place for business
start-ups.
— Specialisation is the key word.
1. I have personally been involved for over
forty years with markets initially as a trader and latterly as
a Market Manager (both in the private sector and with a local
authority). Markets have changed during this period from a situation
when the market was the prime place a customer brought their weekly
shopping to a situation today when it is one of many choices a
customer can choose from. Supermarkets were in their infancy forty
years ago and the internet had not even been invented. Open markets
were then common and customers knew that to get the best of what
was on offer they had to get to the market early irrespective
of the weather. It was not uncommon to see queues at Fruit &
Veg. stalls at 7am in the morning and for trading to continue
till 5 or 6pm. In the intervening years attitudes have changed
as supermarkets upped their game and shopping malls set new standards
of glitz and comfort. The car now rules where customers shop rather
than a bus ride or even walking. The change in Sunday Trading
Laws, relaxation of opening hours, greater prosperity and changing
expectations have all led to the decline in markets.
2. Today open markets are out of favour
as most people today will not shop outdoors unless the weather
is good—markets cannot survive on three or four months of
good trading—so sadly the days of open markets are numbered.
However, the one exception to this is Street Markets. These have
to be very near or in the heart of a shopping area and most are
very successful whilst adding colour and bustle to the area. Market
Halls are becoming more like mini-shopping malls with lock-up
units in well lit and modern surroundings. Covered markets are
the link between the old open markets and the modern market halls.
Most were not purpose-built but evolved out of an open market
firstly having a roof put over it and then later followed by walls,
etc.
3. Creating a new town centre market where
there has historically not been one before would be difficult
and expensive. The site, planning, other nearby markets charter
rights, etc would create many problems but not necessarily insurmountable
ones given money and time.
4. Specialist markets such as Continental
and Farmers' can be very successful but need to be position close
to the existing regular market. The gain for the normal market
having it so close is increased footfall which can only benefit
regular traders. Disconnect the specialist market from other leads
to reduced footfall and lost revenue.
5. When we were planning a major refurbishment
of our Winsford Market we undertook extensive surveys of traders,
local shopkeepers and customers. The findings were very interesting
in that the local shopkeepers stated that market days were their
busiest days and the manager of Asda said that a market day was
worth an extra £16,000 in turnover.
6. Historically, markets were a key factor
in the commercial development of villages & towns by giving
local farmers and artisans a central place from where they could
to sell their wares on a given day each week. The activities and
growth of the market also attracted workshops and retail shops
to develop alongside the sites of markets. These eventually became
the town centres we know today.
7. Over the centuries demand allowed additional
market days to be added and the development of permanent buildings
such as covered markets and market halls. These central sites
were and still are a key factor in enabling markets to continue
to compete with other retail outlets and shopping centres. The
major problem has been the lack of commitment both by local government
and developers to include markets in the redevelopment of town
centres.
8. Markets sites, because of their position,
are quite often very valuable and sought after by developers.
Too often markets have been moved to secondary sites or in some
cases closed for ever. In turn a lot of shopping areas have been
created that now contain the same multiple and national chains
whilst many independent shops increasingly cannot afford the high
rents those national retailers appear willing to pay.
9. It is alarming how quickly independent
retails are disappearing from our High Streets reducing choice
and losing many local specialist services. However, these "clone"
shopping centres are a fact of life today and are popular. Where
markets are incorporated into the centres they add choice, colour
and variety plus increasingly better value (up to 30% cheaper-NMTF
2008) for shoppers.
10. The problem with the majority of markets
is that over they have been allowed to decline by local authorities
(who still run most weekday markets). This is due to many reasons
but principally as follows:
11. "Too much trouble"—Markets
are full of independent minded traders who demand value for money
and will spot weak management a mile off. A lot of local authorities
do not understand markets and make the mistake of not addressing
the needs of a market or reinvesting for the future. Markets are
not a problem if good management is in place but can be a nightmare
if weak management is allowed to wreak havoc over several years.
Too many authorities would simply like to see the "problem"
disappear by either closing the market or selling the management
problem to a developer.
12. "Cash Cows"—markets
can produce large monitory surpluses that have too often been
siphon-off to fund other local authority services. Not enough
money is budgeted for to maintain most markets to a high standard.
Too often budgets do not include a capital expenditure element.
With no monies set aside for replacement of fixtures and fittings
this can only lead to a long-term decline in the fabric of the
buildings and its infrastructure. Shabby looking markets are all
too common.
13. "Position, position…."—Back
to the value of the sites that market operates on and the lack
of vision in incorporating markets within town centre improvements.
All too often markets are disregarded or sidelined.
14. I hasten to state there are many exceptions
to the above comments. My own authority is committed to the markets
they run and has invested £100,000's over the last few years
to carrying out major improvements. Across the country there are
many other very successful markets that play a key role within
their local community in providing for their customers wants—good
products & specialist services at reasonable prices within
pleasant modern shopping environment.
15. Markets were a key place for business
start-ups. This is particularly true today. Once Marks of Marks
& Spencer stated his empire on a stall at Leeds Market and
as trade grew he opened his first shop—the rest is history.
Today that route is not quite as simple. We still welcome and
encourage new traders and we are developing a support programme
to help these new budding entrepreneurs during their first years
trading. We can offer them a stall and they can then opt for a
lock-up unit. If their business outgrows the market the next step
used to be opening a shop. Today the difference between a market
stall rent and a shop rent is gigantic and for most traders prohibitive.
This has led to Market Halls offering larger multiple units to
retain traders and offer an alternative to a shop. The downside
is that the High Street contains fewer and fewer independent retailers.
16. Markets today have to offer what most
High Street shops cannot personnel service for a wide range of
products and services. Specialisation is the key word. Customers
these days have a wide choice of where to buy a product from:
High Street, out of town centres, internet, etc. What they cannot
get easily elsewhere is personnel service with a "unique
selling factor". An example is someone selling jewellery
but also offering a repair service. More and more traders are
offering that "unique selling factor" and it is the
way forward for markets along with fresh food & produce.
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