Historic town centre market shuts up shop
HECKMONDWIKE’s historic outdoor market is to close after 201 years in the town centre.
The market, which received its official charter in 1810, closes tomorrow.
From Tuesday, outdoor stall holders are relocating to the indoor market to join stall holders there.
A Kirklees Council spokeswoman said the decision was made to merge the markets to ‘create a more vibrant atmosphere in the main indoor market and give customers a more inviting shopping experience.’
She said the indoor market was ‘thriving’ with its butcher’s, greengrocer’s and a new cafe alongside the cooked meat and pie shop, sweet stall and clothing stalls.
When it was first set up the outdoor market was only held on a Saturday. Anyone could put up a stall for 2d.
After the Fairs and Clauses Act of 1866 tolls were increased which was unpopular with traders.
It was agreed the Heckmondwike’s market place would be paved and stalls provided. The new market opened on February 29, 1868, and a big celebration was held in the town centre.
A charter in 1880 led to the introduction of the Tuesday market. The first midweek market was held on July 9 of that year, when the town was trimmed up and there was a procession through the streets.
It became a bustling attraction with several locations around the town centre and the market continued to be held on both days.
Until the 1980s waiting lists for a stall were said to be six months long and the busy market attracted shoppers from miles around.
But over the past 20 years numbers of both shoppers and stalls have dwindled and there are now only a handful of outdoor stalls on Saturdays and Tuesdays.
Heckmondwike ward councillor David Sheard, Cabinet member for investment and housing, said: “The market is an important asset to the town centre.
“We have a dedicated team of stall holders in the market who are keen to make a success of the consolidated market offer.
“I encourage all local residents to support the market and all our town centre businesses.’
l On Tuesday December 20 the indoor market will host free face painting, Christmas music and entertainment.
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Comments
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jane manby
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 09:04 AMWhat a load of cods wollop Heckmondwike indoor market is the least inviting market i have ever been to. I know I live in Heckmondwike. Dedicated team of stall holders? Where are they then? The only stalls open regular in the indoor market are the butchers, the pie shop, the cafe and the pet shop. The rest float in and out and do not stay for long. As a child I came to Hecmondwike market with my mother and it was full of stalls, even when my children were young in the 70's and 80's there was a vibrant market. The market suffers from the same mis-management as all the markets in the area. The biggest mistake being to allow the daily standing stalls to dictate who sold what. This was done with good intentions by the managing body in the belief that only allowing a fixed number stall types to stand would keep the market going. So instead of the first to get there getting the stall and being able to sell what they wanted you had to be selling what the managers dictated you could. This was to cut competition and ensure people got a guarantee of an income each week. Sounds good and noble, except it is the kiss of death to a market. The indoor market provides that but applying it to the stalls on the street reduced the competition and diversity of goods. This reduced the visitors to the market. There then comes a point where you cannot recover it. The nature of markets for the seller is a cheap outlet for there goods with little set up cost. Market manager now try to tie people into deals over several weeks. The nature of markets for buyers is to either get for less and be able to browse stalls they may not see else where. Over controlling markets kills them. If all standing stalls in the open market were first come first served then more people would chance their hand. If there was less control over what was sold by each stall then more competition would bring in more customers. If no stall charge was charged for a year instead you put up your own stall to save the staff wages then the market would be inundated and it would thrive. If you got every fourth week free, it could still be first come first served. There really is no reason for a market to die other than there has been no real motivation to keep them alive.
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