Page 27 - Market Times October 2024

FEATURE • WIDNES
27
Karen Ward has been selling bags on the market for six years
Kathryn Carney is the market hairdresser
quite a full market and there is a lot of variety,” she said
And Karen Oliver, who has run a fruit and veg business on the market for four years, said: “We started here in the middle of Covid which was quite a challenge. But the business has gone well. We could always do with more footfall but it is definitely a good market.”
Another trader, Kathryn Carney, has built up a thriving hairdressing business on the market over the past 10 years, expanding from one unit to five.
“I have plenty of loyal customers and it is a good market but finding that they were starting to charge for parking has been a blow for my business,” she said.
Ian said that the council has
no control over the parking charges.
“We have had free parking for 27 years, then one morning we arrived at the market and they were installing payment machines.”
Ian explained that Morrisons recently sold the parking area to a third party and the company had decided to start charging for parking.
Despite the parking issue, the council is pressing ahead with plans to mark next year’s anniversary and they are working hard to enhance the market.
“These days ‘just retail’ doesn’t always cut it for markets,” Ian said. “Once you could put an advert in the local newspaper to promote the market but these days we offer
free public events.”
A recent one featured live
music, a bar and children’s events — and the popular Comicon, which involves Star Trek characters, attracting around 20,000 people to the market.
“Like most markets there is an issue that our customers are getting older, so we work with
the local college to put on a student trading day which is part of their business studies course.” he said.
As Widnes market approaches its 150-year milestone, it is aiming to appeal to the old and the young alike, with a continued emphasis on traditional market values and experiences.
FACTS & FIGURES
l Market days: open five days a week, closed on Tuesdays and Sundays
l Market rent: indoor units start at £285 for three by three metres excluding VAT. There is also a charge for electricity
l Widnes’s claim to fame:
the world's first railway dock was built in Widnes in 1833 when the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway opened. The Cheshire town is a centre for the chemical industry with soap, borax, soda ash, salt cake and bleaching powder all made there
The interior of Widnes market hall is bright and welcoming