Market struggles on as town shuns York Road

Dec 20, 2011 Market News 0

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December 20, 2011 The Eco News By Stephen Hackwell

York Road market

COUNCIL chiefs believe Southend’s public simply do not want York Road market.

Tory leaders feel they have done all they can to try to stimulate trade for the failing market.

Their firm stance came as rival politicians demanded the council consider moving the market to the High Street to try to drum up trade.

But John Lamb, the Conservative deputy leader, said: “We are not and never have been against markets.

“But the simple fact is that markets around the country are failing to some degree. It is not just in Southend.

“We are happy to support the market, but at the moment it seems people do not want it.”

The original indoor market in York Road was closed in October 2009 and later demolished after a health and safety report revealed a series of concerns about the building’s structural strength.

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**OPINION**

While the title of this post is “Market struggles on as town shuns York Road” it should actually be titled “A perfect example of how a Council can Destroy a market”

Mr John Lamb says “The simple fact is that markets around the Country are failing to some degree”

This shows clearly how out of touch Mr Lamb is with the industry, we have markets doing extreamly well all over Britan and the ones that are failing are overwhelmingly being administered by Councils. For proof of this, have a look at any one of a number of reports produced in the last few years on Market performance.

Of course the people want a market but if the Council continue to push and shove it around to unsuitable locations then it becomes, as I said in “Opinion” a commodity for council, showing complete disregard for the stallholders themselves.

Apparently , after the original market hall was demolished, the market was reinstated on the same site, however as it wasn’t attracting enough shoppers or Traders, rather than proactively looking at ways to improve the market or at least understand its shortcomings, they issue an ultimatum, “Use it or Lose it” and then strangle it even further by shutting down trade on Saturdays!

What a brilliant stratagy to foster good relations with the market and the public. Then Mr Lamb goes even further and says “town centre stalls could damage other businesses”

While we have people all over the country calling for the return of markets to the high street, including Mary Portas, and so many examples of markets and town centres benefiting from coexistence, it appears Mr Lamb and the Council know better.

the mill.