Is our market a market?

[Bill]

I took my wife for a day out yesterday and on the way home we called into Bury Market.

What’s the difference between Bury and Warrington because we’ve both got about the same population, but their market is huge (probably ten times the size of ours) and packed full of people just like ours used to be. Makes me wonder if moving things away from the traditional market was a wrong move for our town.

 

Bill 😊

[ninearches]

Bury market has a wide following. A friend of mine & several other coach operators run day trips there.

[Observer II]

As a regular customer of the market, I must agree Bill.   

[Evil Sid]

Not been into the "market" since it was rebuilt, partly due to the covid restrictions at the time and partly due to not needing to go into town centre for anything apart from dental appointments and eye tests.

To be honest i wouldn't know where to park for one thing. The multi storey is a mystery to me on how you get in and out of the place never having been in that since the revamp.

Cockhedge either short stay or otherwise leaves quite a hike which plays havoc with the hip at present.

Getting a bus to town is too expensive for now, not yet qualified for the bus pass until next year at least if they haven't changed the criteria again by then.

Add to that the new road layouts and getting anywhere i use to go is at best baffling and at worse an impossibility.

May make the effort soon just to see what it is like now and what stalls remain from the old market.

[Bill]

Yep, that’s true Dave, although judging by the size of the car park I’d bet the majority arrived by bus and car.

Bury seems to prove the theory if you build it, they will come. They made their market traditional without any high-tech glass and chrome and I think this allows them to offer lower rates for the traders, and more traders means more choice, and this in tern attracts more people.

Contrast that with our shiny new bistro/café affair decorated with a handful of market stalls none of which seem to offer low prices normally associated with markets. Looks nice and modern but a market it’s not.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

Unfortunately, planning in Warrington has been developer rather than community led.   A true "agora" we don't have, but a larger, central market would have proved a draw imo; plus, could have been enhanced by the sale of local produce, as in "farmers markets"; could have possibly encouraged the allotment industry, providing cheap organic food in the current hard times.     

[Rae Elizabeth]

I do get nostalgic for the old market but there was no doubt in needed an upgrade. My issue is it’s more like a shopping centre than a market now. While it obviously attracts some good business there are fewer bric a brac stalls which to me is one of the signs of a market. Everything seems to be of upper standards 😬😬

[Evil Sid]

still not had chance to go round the new market so can't really comment on it.

the original market in the sixties was a place that you could get just about everything, whether it was a pound of potatoes or a pound of galvanised nails.

the move to times square whilst an upgrade in premises, still managed to retain a lot of those old type stalls, and a lot of my clothing came from there. the Egyptian cotton tee shirts seemed to last for years without fading at all and only got replaced when they got ripped or out grown.

[Sparky71]

Bury market is a major tourist attraction with coach trips from out of the region as well as visitors from the surrounding towns. Shopping habits have changed and markets struggle to compete with cheap supermarkets or Primark so I think an old style market in Warrington would struggle as we are not a poor town. They seem to work better in places like Bolton with their large numbers of "thrifty" people.

Visit Wigan, StHelens, Northwich, Chester and you will see empty stalls and near deserted markets. Ours is more like a food court with a few stalls. I think the Cookhouse is fantastic but I am shocked by some of the non food stall's prices.

[Observer II]

It's quite possible, that the numbers of "thrifty", or rather desperate people will increase in the near future !    💀 

[Gary]

Well I love Warrington Market - and my Saturday Rock show is broadcast there every Saturday!

You can get - Beer, wine, gin, cheese, meat, fish, pizza, Thai food, vegan food, fresh meat, fish, fruit and veg, have your hair cut, buy jewellery, have your shoes, repaired, buy a suitcase, have your eyes tested, have great coffee, have keys cut, buy a great guitar and other musical instruments, sweets from your school days, a wide variety of gifts and jewellery and bump into old friends on almost every visit.

Stop moaning and just bloody visit it!

[Bill]

“Stop moaning!” We can’t do that, it’s all that we can do these days. 😊

Irene and I do go into the market quite often and for what it is, it’s very good. In fact, the whole former Time Square area, including the new car park is something we should all be proud of, but is it a market in the traditional sense? Some would argue not but I’m sure that the powers that be have determined what a younger public would want and how such a place could fit into a modern town centre.

Now you stop moaning and let us do what we do best. 😊

 

Bill 😊