Save the Market!

The question might be raised, over two years after the market has been moved against the wishes of the majority of the traders, and against the wishes of the 11,000 shoppers who signed our petition, whether or not we still need to ‘Save the Market’?

The answer must be decidedly yes, we do. During the time since the move Northampton Market has seen quite a number of traders leave, including some very well-established traders of many years standing. We have seen that many traders are still some 25% - 35% down on their trading income before the move, and that not a few traders are struggling to keep their heads above water financially. Some traders have given up stalls on some days, and some have gone to seek better markets elsewhere.

The much-vaunted Friday and Saturday events put on by the Liberal Democrat council in the past did not bring in a noticeable increase in shoppers to the general market, although to be fair the catering trade usually does better when people come in to see a free event. People who come in to see a free event can usually afford to eat and drink, even if they’ve not got cash for anything else. Interestingly some of the best-attended and most popular events have been the evening ones, usually music events which take place after the traders have packed and gone for the day. Such events are popular with the traders too, because there is no disruption to the trading day.

Hopefully the spate of noisy daytime events are now a thing of the past, after many protests from the traders, and the recent complete demise of the Liberal Democrats. Noisy events pull people out of the market to go down and watch the event, and now this seems to have been officially accepted.

The traders are willing to work alongside the new council’s events team in giving advice and helping where possible to promote events that do not threaten trade on the market.

So although we hope things will be improving for the market and its traders, we can see that there are still very good reasons for being alert to anything that threatens the existence of the market, and that we still need to continue to work to “Save the Market” from an early demise.

For a look in our archives about the ‘Save the Market’ campaign, go here: Campaign Archives.