Clitheroe the Future: Market Town CSA Report

The Role of Traditional Markets in Revitalising Market Towns

Report July 2004

Market Town Report Links

Case Study: Clitheroe..

Case Study: Cockermouth..

Case Study: Padiham..

Case Study: Penrith..

Case Study: Sandbach..

Case Study: Ulverston..

Shoppers Survey..

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Summary Report

Introduction and Background

The Countryside Agency appointed ER economic consulting to assess the extent to which traditional markets contribute to the revitalising of market towns. The study commenced in February 2004.

An interview survey of shoppers was commissioned with the aim of conducting 45 to 50 interviews on market days in each of the 6 towns. Interviews and surveys were completed between March and May 2004.

The working definition of ‘traditional market’ is of market halls and street markets managed by local authorities or their agents. Traders rent stalls and pitches in market halls and at outdoor markets.

Analysis advanced in the report is based on our understanding of the reasons shoppers use traditional markets.

The shoppers’ survey and interviews with traders indicate that the typical shopper at traditional markets is older and less well off than the average and is most likely to be resident in the host town. Markets also attract visitors and tourists.

Shoppers use markets for different but related purposes. Some use the market to buy household items and food on the basis of price and value, we term these price choosers. Some to buy local produce and speciality foods, we term these the quality searchers. Some use the market for both purposes but view visiting the market as an enjoyable activity in itself, we call these leisure shoppers.

Market traders, market hall and outdoor based, are differentiated on the basis of where they source their wares. Most traders source through the same wholesalers as their shop based equivalents; some traders are selling produce they themselves produce or are produced locally.

Report and Findings

Evidence from the case studies, supported by comments from the National Market Traders’ Federation, indicates a general decline in traditional markets as places to shop. The reasons include: competition from other retail outlets and informal markets, a predominantly older and less well-off customer base, a lack of trader innovation in trading methods and/or goods to attract new customers. Evidence from Ulverston and Clitheroe indicates that trade levels are more constant, particularly on main market days, after growth in recent years. However, both towns have weak trading days; the Ulverston Saturday market is in steep decline.

Traditional markets, particularly where they provide an outlet for specialist foods and local produce, do attract visitors, footfall and business to market towns. They can contribute to town centre regeneration as attractions for tourists.

However, more needs to be done to convert extra visitors and footfall into additional trade and business for market town retailers and attractions. Improved signage, better parking and better marketing and promotion, even relocating markets to shopping areas could be considered.

Local authorities in many areas are taking steps to innovate with different types of market to boost shopper and visitor numbers. Market trader sentiment is that local authority market management could be improved by being more sensitive and responsive to their requirements.

The conclusion is that traditional markets are generally in decline as places to shop for price choosing consumers but they have a developing role as venues for the sale of local produce and as part of market town tourism.

The role of traditional markets can be bolstered through:

Traders providing more variety and more local produce to meet the demands from shoppers and visitors.
More co ordination between market management and tourism promotion, and more marketing of markets to increase shopper awareness and draw in more visitors and tourists.
Initiatives to better convert the extra footfall created by traditional markets into additional trade for retailers and other attractions in market towns.
Improved market environments to make them more attractive to shoppers and more conducive to the efficient trading.

Case studies

Findings from the case studies underpin the report‘s findings and conclusions. Key findings include:

Clitheroe market is busy, successful and popular with shoppers and traders; it is well used by residents and visitors and makes a contribution to the economy of the town.
Cockermouth’s market has declined from 30 stalls in the late 1980s to 1 or 2 stalls today. The collapse has had no noticeable effect on retail shopping in Cockermouth but does demonstrate the need to nurture and support street markets.
Padiham’s market is small and declining. It is well-used by locals but does not attract visitors to the town.
Penrith market is in decline but its tourism potential is recognised and supported by the local authority.
Sandbach is a large and apparently successful market but appears not to contribute to tourism in the town. In July 2004 management of Sandbach market will pass to a private company.
Ulverston has best exploited the tourism potential of its market to support town centre regeneration.

Traditional markets are valued by shoppers, by traders and by the retail make a contribution to the vitality of market towns but they have to evolve shopper requirements and competitive pressures if this is to continue.

Introduction

Early in 2004 the Countryside Agency commissioned a study on the role of traditional markets.
It sought to assess the extent to which traditional markets have a role in revitalising market towns and to draw lessons from the exercise that can aid understanding of local rural economies and inform further development of the Market Towns Initiative.
The study was to focus on 6 of the 17 market towns in the North West participating in the Initiative; Clitheroe, Cockermouth, Padiham, Penrith, Sandbach and Ulverston. It commenced in February and was completed in May.
Its findings are set out as follows. This introduction details the background to and scope of the work, the report sets out the findings on generic questions to do with the operation and impact of markets, the case studies give details of findings on markets in each of the above mentioned 6 market towns.

Background

The 2000 Rural White Paper set out the government’s view on the importance of market towns to rural economies. It acknowledged that if rural areas are to retain and enhance economic vitality and social cohesion then there is a key role for market towns that were and are crucial to the fabric of rural life.
Market towns were seen as fulfilling three core roles:
1. They are service centres for accessing services and as venues for markets.
2. They are transport, commercial and social hubs for the surrounding hinterland.
3. They are attractive places to live, work and spend leisure time.
The Countryside Agency has a more detailed and sophisticated view of the role of market towns, including the following which bear directly on the role of traditional markets:
1. Centres for the processing of locally grown food and other products and places where the range of shops meets the needs of people from the rural hinterland, and locations for farmers’ markets.
2. The hub or gateway for tourism capitalising on the assets of the place and the nearby countryside.
The same White Paper set out a £37m programme to support the revitalising of market towns in England. The Countryside Agency and regional development agencies were charged with implementing the programme whose value, with matching funding from other partners, could exceed £100m. This they did through the Market Towns Initiative.
In this Initiative the Countryside Agency, in partnership with regional development agencies and local authorities, supported market towns in carrying out comprehensive healthchecks to identify local strengths and weaknesses - environmental, economic and social. Each healthcheck resulted in a local plan of action to support practical projects.
In the North West the Countryside Agency and the North West Development Agency helped 17 Market Towns – below - complete a Healthcheck and Action Plan for their town and surrounding rural communities.

Cumbria - Cockermouth, Egremont, Keswick, Longtown, Millom, Penrith, Ulverston, Lakes (Windermere, Bowness & Ambleside) and North Allerdale (Wigton, Aspatria & Silloth).

Cheshire - Sandbach, Frodsham and Neston.

Lancashire - Barnoldswick, Carnforth, Clitheroe, Garstang and Padiham.

Review

Policy papers and research notes published since 2000 have looked at the roles of market towns. The Healthchecks and Action Plans have identified roles for traditional markets and some actions to bolster their regeneration role for market towns.
Rural economy policy (from the Cabinet Office Rural Economies Report of 1999, through ‘Our Countryside: the Future’, to the Countryside Agency’s Stepping Stones Report) 3 emphasise the need to regenerate market towns as centres of economic activity and service provision. The role of traditional markets per se is rarely mentioned in this connection but clearly they contribute to those roles as venues for trade and as attractions.
Other studies, Friends of the Earth 2000, Market Towns Advisory Forum 2002, identify the contribution Farmers Markets and food Fairs can make to increasing the vitality and raising the profile of market towns.
All Healthchecks and Action Plans for the 6 towns in this study identify the importance of indoor and street markets to market town regeneration. Cockermouth and Ulverston express concerns over the weakness or decline in some aspects of their markets, Padiham and Penrith see markets as a strength to be built on, Sandbach includes an aspiration for the market in its vision for the town, and Clitheroe proposed a study to identify proposals for improvement. Padiham and Ulverston set out specific actions – better signage, environmental improvements, market hall improvements, promotion – to enhance the contribution of markets to regeneration.

The Study

The above together with the Project Brief set the context for the Study. The following information was sought in each of the 6 market towns:
1. The frequency of markets.
2. The number of stallholders.
3. Stallholder views on trade and the viability of markets.
4. The management of markets by local authorities - how markets are organised,
financed, policed.
5. Local shop keeper views on the positive negative impact of markets on their
trade/towns.
6. Views of town centre managers and planners on traditional markets and their
impact on town centre economic activity and any associated problems such as
parking.
7. Markets as venues for the sale of local products.
8. Shoppers’ attitudes to markets.
9. Markets as visitor attractions for tourists.

The Role of Traditional Markets - Findings and conclusions

We start with some questions on markets - what is a traditional market, who shops at them and why, and who trades from them. We then move to the study brief questions on the contribution of traditional markets to revitalising market towns.

Some basic Questions - What is a traditional market?

It is not the purpose here to muse on the role or function of markets but some consideration of these issues as they pertain to traditional markets can help to frame and inform this report.
Traditional markets: defined as trading from Market Halls and/or from regular street markets which operate under licensing powers exercised by local authorities, often derived from market charter status.
1. Market Halls provide stalls and shop areas within a covered area; these will be provided with electricity, perhaps telephones and some security. They are rented from the local authority on a 6 monthly or longer basis. Market Halls are open on up to 6 days per week. Ulverston and Sandbach both have market halls; Clitheroe has stone built cabins which are akin to market hall stalls in terms of permanence and security.
2. Street markets are held at a defined location on a regular basis – normally at least once per week – with traders operating from stalls rented from a local authority or from temporary stalls provided by the traders themselves where they pay a pitch rent to the local authority. Traders operate on a regular but short term basis – often from week to week.
In addition there are informal markets, e.g. car boots sales and charity markets, and specialist markets, such as Christmas and continental markets, craft fairs and food fairs/farmers’ markets where traders are selling their own or specialist produce often at a traditional market venue. These markets are not the focus of this study but issues arising from their operation near to or on traditional market sites will be addressed.

Who uses traditional markets and why?

The shoppers’ survey provides a wealth of data on market users. They tend to be older and less well off than the average. They are:
1. Generally older – 54% were over 55;
2. Mainly female – 70% of respondents were women;
3. Concentrated in the lower occupational groups – 20% of respondents were from class E1 and only 13% from classes AB;
4. More than twice as likely to be reliant on their state pension as the population as a whole.

Fig 1: Demographic and Occupational Structure of Shoppers

Shoppers can also be grouped according to where they live relative to traditional markets. Most are market town residents – at least 43% rising to over 50% in both Ulverston and Sandbach and to over 60% in Padiham. Some are visitors/tourists – mainly from market town hinterlands but could include staying visitors - 40% of Clitheroe and 70% of Penrith shoppers travelled 6 miles or more. A third group are tourists who were mentioned as an important group of shoppers by traders in Ulverston and Clitheroe, but also likely to be an important group in Penrith where 20% visited the market weekly compared to 57% for all respondents.
People use traditional markets for a variety of reasons:
1. Market prices are lower.
2. Markets offer better value.
3. Goods are of higher quality at the market.
4. The market is a better place for local produce.
5. The market is easier to use than the shops.
6. The market is simply more enjoyable.
7. A visit to the market is a day out.
Differences in responses to the above comparisons point to the different expectations shoppers have of traditional markets.
1. Lower prices and better value are the most important reasons for using markets for the retired and unemployed and, as might be expected, for the lower occupational classes who also make most use of markets. They also see the market as offering better quality goods and find it easier to use than the shops.
2. There was a positive view of the market as a better place than shops for local produce and this was the case for all occupational groups.
3. Lastly there was a positive view of the enjoyment to be had from visiting a traditional market and of visiting the market as part of a day out.
On the basis of the above, it is concluded that markets serve three different functions for shoppers, these are:
1. Places to shop on the basis of price, value and quality – price choosers.
2. Places to buy local produce – quality searchers.
3. Places to visit for leisure shopping – leisure shoppers.

Motivations of Market Shoppers - Price choosers ~ Quality searchers and Leisure shoppers.

As will be reported, the aspect of traditional markets in decline is where the goods sold are in direct competition with other stores. Applying the terms used above, this points to a decline in price choosers relative to quality searchers and leisure shoppers.

Who trades at traditional markets?

For purposes of this study, there appear to be three main groups of traders.
1. Traders at outdoor markets stand [their term for market trading] either renting or pitching their stall. They source their wares from the same wholesalers as shop based retailers. Most will be full time and a typical trader will stand at more than one weekly market in the immediate area such as north Lancashire/Cumbria and East Lancashire. Most transactions are cash based.
2. Market hall based traders operate on a similar basis, the main difference being that most will rent a stall for a longer period, more transactions will be by credit card and similar means, and some local shops – as at Clitheroe, and specialist retailers – as at Sandbach, will also have outlets in market halls.
3. Some traders sell their own products or produce that they have sourced from producers who may be local. This type of trader often stands at traditional markets but is more likely to be found at special markets such as craft markets, food fairs and farmers’ markets.

Questions from the Study Brief

Do traditional markets make an important contribution to market towns?

Some forms of traditional market do attract additional visitors, footfall and business to market towns.
Regular traditional markets selling some local produce and with the scale to provide variety do attract additional footfall to market towns. The attraction is partly related to the scale of the market – numbers and range of traders as at Sandbach and Clitheroe - and partly related to the presence of traders selling specialist foods and local produce – as at Ulverston and Clitheroe. Converting the additional footfall into additional business for shops is problematic: it apparently occurs in Ulverston; it occurs to some extent in Clitheroe and to a lesser extent in Sandbach but much potential business is not being tapped in these towns because the additional footfall does not extend from the market to the main shopping areas.
Specialist markets – Christmas and other markets at Clitheroe, a monthly farmers’ market at Penrith and Ulverston – attract shoppers seeking local produce and those who view visiting such markets as a leisure activity.
Evidence indicates that markets everywhere are in decline as places to shop, the reasons include: competition from other retail outlets and informal markets, a predominantly older and less well-off customer base, a lack of trader innovation in trading methods and/or goods to attract new customers.
Looking at evidence from the case study towns. The street market in Cockermouth has declined from 30 stalls in the late 1980s to virtual extinction today. Traders standing on Padiham’s market day have dropped to a barely viable number. Traders also commented that Penrith market declined during the 1990s, although the rate of decline has slowed. The local authority considers that the decline has been reversed. There is a reported decline in the number of traders standing at Sandbach. Evidence from Ulverston and Clitheroe suggests that market day outdoor markets have a fairly consistent level of business judged by the number of traders standing. Market halls and Clitheroe cabins are fully let.
Local circumstances do affect market performance and these are covered in the case studies, however the overall picture is of decline in the 1990s, decline which at best has slowed down or stabilised in some areas. Trader sentiment also points to a decline which has been evident since the 1990s and this view is supported by comments from traders’ association.
Where markets appear to fail then they can have a negative effect on the market town. This is a concern in Penrith, in Ulverston re its declining Saturday market and in Padiham where the number of traders standing on market day (8) is barely above the minimum viable number. However, the decline and demise of Cockermouth market has had little noticeable effect on retailing in the town as a whole.
Our conclusion is that traditional markets do make an important contribution to the economies and to the regeneration of market towns by attracting visitors, tourists, footfall and business.

Are they an important outlet for local/regional producers or are they disconnected from the local supply and retail base?

Trade at traditional markets – in volume and value – is a relatively small portion of total trade in market towns. Stall based market traders will operate at most on only 3 shopping days; some market hall traders might operate for up to 6 days per week – as in Ulverston. Trade is mainly in lower priced items and the evidence is that trade volumes are falling.
Most goods – household, clothing footwear, electrical, fruit and vegetables – are sourced through the same wholesale outlets as used by similar small retailers operating from shops.
Where traditional markets are an outlet for specialist foods and local produce – bakery products, meats and fish – then local and regional producers are the main suppliers. Whilst traders in these goods appear to benefit from higher levels of trade/turnover and be very popular with shoppers they typically will be less than 20% of all traders in a market.
Nevertheless all the traditional markets are an important outlet for some local producers of specialist foods; local foods and fish at Ulverston, Sandbach and Clitheroe, and organic produce at Penrith are examples.

What evidence exists that markets can be an important regeneration tool for market towns or rural economies?

All Healthchecks and Action Plans identify a regeneration role for traditional markets. Clitheroe sees the market making a contribution to attracting visitors and tourists to the town. Padiham sees the market as an element in a package of regeneration measures. Both towns propose market or retail studies as part of their associated actions. Sandbach refers to some of the problems associated with operation of its outdoor market – parking and location – and see the market as an attraction for the town.
Cockermouth, Penrith and Ulverston are more explicit in their appreciation of the tourism benefits of markets. Cockermouth’s market was located on the town’s Market Place and the Action Plan outlined proposed improvements as a means of making the market more attractive to visitors, similarly Penrith and Ulverston put emphasis on the contribution of markets to tourism. Eden District Council (the market authority for Penrith) promotes the market as part of its tourism promotion. Ulverston provides the best example of markets being part of an overall regeneration effort for the town centre. The market is seen by shopkeepers, the Ulverston Market Towns Initiative and local tourism as part of what the town has to offer visitors and tourists. As such it has made a contribution to regenerating the town centre.
Traditional markets can add to footfall and thus increase the overall level of retail trade in market towns. Shop keeper sentiment suggests that more needs to be done to increase the attraction of markets and thus the impact on footfall – by relocating markets, better signage, better parking and better marketing/promotion.
Evidence (from Clitheroe, Ulverston) suggests that special markets and other distinguishing events such as festivals bring in additional visitors and shoppers and that these markets have potential as regeneration tools if linked to a tourism promotion effort which sees markets as part of the overall attraction of a place to visit.
Traditional markets can also provide a venue for the sale of local produce, but the impact on the economies of surrounding areas comes more from the attraction of tourists and visitors.
Markets can be important to the tourism element in regeneration packages, they can contribute to attracting visitor and tourism spending, add to footfall for shops and other attractions.

Do markets reach/supply different segments of local consumers to the traditional static retail outlets or augment them, i.e. are they a force for social inclusion?

As noted in the above examination of market users, our evidence suggests that markets do mainly attract the local older less well off consumer who is purchasing fish, meat, household, clothing footwear, electrical, fruit and vegetables – what we term price choosers. To that extent they appear to be socially inclusive.
The local access to markets is part of their attraction to these consumers. If traders in these wares lose out to competition from supermarkets and other retailers which don’t have that local access then there could be an adverse affect on inclusivity provided by a local market.

How do market traders organise themselves and how are they supported/viewed by local support and economic development agencies?

Traders appear to have only informal organisation at traditional markets. Most of their organisation and support is via the National Market Traders’ Federation.
The Federation provides a range of support services – on insurance, legal issues, transport, websites, credit card transactions by phone, and it has recently with others introduced a national charter - below – as an assurance to market trader customers.

Local support tends to be directed at markets as institutions or events rather than at the traders themselves. Traders in local and craft produce do receive local support – through rural regeneration organisations and bodies such as Made in Cumbria. This is essentially marketing support for producers rather than business support to traders.

Have local authorities sought to manage the operators as well as sites?

Historically, market management has been exercised by local authorities through their licensing powers, derived from the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, and through ownership of markets and market halls. Four of the 6 markets are managed by local authorities and from July 2004 two markets will be managed by private operators. There is no clear pattern as to departmental responsibility for markets, only one authority – Eden – combines market management and tourism services.

Market	Managing body	Local authority dept
Clitheroe	Ribble Valley Borough Council	Environmental Health
Cockermouth	Allerdale BC/Market Initiatives Ltd	Corporate Services
Padiham	Burnley Borough Council	Markets Department
Penrith	Eden District Council	Policy and Performance
Sandbach	Congleton BC/Town and Country Ltd	Leisure Services
Ulverston	South Lakeland District Council	Customer Services

Local authorities attempt to manage traders in 2 limited ways: one – and this is also a feature of Market Hall management - by stipulating days when they must/cannot trade; two, an informal management to ensure that any market does not have too many traders in direct competition. For instance, in Padiham, with 8 stalls of which 2 trade in clothing, the local authority would not allow a third clothing trader to operate. There is some environmental health management – pet foods/pets would not be permitted to trade next door to a food outlet.
All the above are in membership of the National Association of British Market Authorities and consider that they themselves provide effective market management. There is always a representative on hand on market days to arrange stall/pitch lets and rent collection – often called the market superintendent – with overall responsibility resting with a departmental manager. Trader views were less sanguine, comments made in course of consultations centred on a perceived remoteness of management, and an unwillingness to engage with and listen to traders.
Traders complained at stall design in Clitheroe and Padiham, and over the lack of progress in improving the Market Hall in Ulverston. Town and Country Ltd, the company that is to take on management of Sandbach market in July 2004, has made a commitment to provide new market stalls, to more marketing of the market.

Are markets an integral part of town centre plans and local regeneration strategies?

Traditional markets are mentioned in all town centre plans and regeneration strategies – all 6 study town Action Plans include market objectives and or actions.
The Ulverston Market Town Initiative was preceded by Ulverston 2000+ aimed at regenerating the Town’s shopping centre – the Market Hall and street market were important elements in that regeneration. Similarly, Cockermouth promoted its street market as a means of regenerating the Town’s Market Place, which is situated at one end of its main shopping street. Clitheroe extensively improved and renovated its market in the mid 1990s as part of plans for the Town centre, Padiham Life and the Town Council recognise the part the market play in regeneration, Penrith market contributes to regeneration through its impact on tourism.
Whilst there is plan and strategy recognition of traditional markets’ contributions to regeneration, the low priority and emphasis given to markets and the small scale and range of associated actions implies that the market towns see markets as making only a limited contribution to regeneration.

How are traditional markets viewed by local traders?

Shop based traders generally have a positive view of markets as they are seen to add to overall footfall which is to the benefit of all traders.
The Ulverston Trader’s Association – representing local shopkeepers – has a generally a positive view on the markets. The Market Hall and street market are seen as an important element in the Town’s overall attraction to tourists and visitors. Both are in the centre of a relatively small shopping area where additional footfall can be easily attracted to the shops.
Clitheroe shopkeepers see the market as increasing footfall to the benefit of all retail trade in the town, but many sought a relocation of the market so as to better benefit from the additional footfall. There was a similar complaint in Sandbach where market customers where perceived not to significantly contribute to footfall on the Town’s High Street. Padiham too see the market as an attraction which could have a positive effect on footfall for the town and its retailers.

Are there any differences in the economic effect between indoor and outdoor markets?

Traditional markets that comprise both outdoor markets and indoor elements appear to be more successful that those that are simply an outdoor market. The additional variety, facilities and scale are probably important at Ulverston, Sandbach and Clitheroe; the latter’s cabins are akin to a covered market.
Indoor markets – Clitheroe’s partial example excluded – are smaller than their outdoor equivalents. The Ulverston indoor market with 20 stalls is open 6 days per week and is likely to be more important to the town centre economy that the Thursday/Saturday markets with a total of around 32 stalls. In Sandbach the outdoor market is more important with over 180 stalls compared with less than 30 in the market hall.
On a stall for stall basis there does not appear to be any difference between the economic effects of indoor and outdoor markets. However, markets that combine the indoor and outdoor appear to be more attractive to shoppers and for this reason might be more attractive to visitors and tourists.

What issues will need to be addressed to make them a viable and valuable part of rural and market town economies? What are the factors of success from which others may learn?

Our review of work on traditional markets, coupled with the case studies and shoppers’ survey, leads us to identify the following 5 issues that need to be addressed by the market towns, local authorities and the Countryside Agency:

Build on the success of Food Fairs and the demand from consumers for more variety and local produce.

More variety and more local produce was a common call from shoppers. Food fairs can be included as part of the traditional market as in Ulverston and Penrith, local producers already stand at these markets and at Clitheroe and Sandbach. This aspect of traditional markets must be developed if they are to remain viable and deliver the wider regeneration benefits sought

Better exploit the tourism potential of traditional markets.

A key issue is the changing role of traditional markets and their increasing contribution to tourism promotion. This tourism link is rarely recognised in local authority management; only one authority – Eden District Council – combines the management of markets with tourism promotion. In others the link is through the Market Towns Initiative – as in Ulverston where the increased tourism contribution of the market can be linked back to preceding initiatives on festivals and town centre improvement. Few resources are devoted to marketing traditional markets – in contrast with noticeable marketing of food fairs/farmers markets and other informal markets such as car boot sales – and more are needed.

Enable shop based traders to capture more trade from the footfall created by markets.

A third issue is how to convert the extra footfall created by traditional markets into additional trade for retailers and other attractions in market towns. Connections can be helped by improved signage that tells shoppers where the market and or shops are. Some market towns have examined possible relocation of markets to free up car parks and or to locate nearer shopping areas – Sandbach for example.

Improve the environments of markets to make them more attractive to shoppers and more conducive to efficient trading.

Shoppers want more signage, easy and comfortable pedestrian access, some protection from the elements. Parking was not a significant issue for shoppers, traders or shop keepers. An improvement to market halls is an issue for some traders where they seek improved security and better access to telephones for transactions purposes.

The Countryside Agency should commission work to improve the understanding of rural and market town economies and the ability to gauge the importance of elements – such as traditional markets – within those economies

The scale of contribution of traditional markets to market town economies is beyond the remit of this work. However, we contend that a better understanding of the workings of market town economies is needed. A recent Countryside Agency report proposes that raising household disposable income should be at the centre of rural regeneration activities. The same report identifies components of rural economies11 but does not attempt to link them dynamically.

Rural economy model – basic elements

Rural Model Graph We recommend that work is commissioned to devise and test models of market town economies so as to provide a better basis to predict the performance of those economies and estimate the contribution their various elements, such as traditional markets, to overall economic activity and raising household disposable income. Any model must include economic agents in the definition, the transactions they make, trade and income flows from hinterland to town, leakages to other areas and transfers from other areas.

Conclusions

Traditional markets are in decline as places to shop for price choosing consumers but they have a developing role as venues for the sale of local produce and as part of market town tourism. Roles which mean that markets can continue to contribute to the economies of market towns. Traditional markets are valued by consumers who will continue to use them if markets can evolve and develop to provide the services they seek, markets can then continue to contribute to market town economies.

Case Studies

The case studies of North West market towns were outlined in Section 1. The findings of those case studies are set out in the following pages. Each case study comprised reviews of relevant Healthchecks and Action Plans, interviews with traders – stallholders and market hall traders, and consultations with local authorities, market town initiative organisations and tourism bodies.
A shoppers’ survey was commissioned to complement the above studies. Interviews with 45 to 50 shoppers were conducted in 5 of the 6 towns on market days. Findings are referred to here and fully reported in Appendix 1.

North West England: Case Study Market Towns - Cockermouth, Penrith, Ulverston, Clitheroe, Padiham and Sandbach.

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