Clitheroe Case Study
- The Lancashire town of Clitheroe is set in the Ribble Valley some 20 miles east of Preston. It has a population of around 14,000 and is within the administrative area of Ribble Valley Borough Council whose main offices are located in the town.
- The town is characterised by its location and setting. It is in a predominantly rural area close to the Forest of Bowland, Pendle Hill and the Hodder Valley. The town has good transport links by road and rail within the Ribble Valley. It has attractions for tourists – the 12th century Norman Castle, some specialist shops and a well-known market and is also an attractive place in which to live. It is therefore popular with tourists and commuters. The unemployment rate is low and generally the town is regarded as being relatively prosperous.
- A key economic aim for Clitheroe the Future – the local organisation driving Clitheroe’s market town initiative work – is to broaden the town’s economic base, to create more employment opportunities for residents, and to reinforce recreation and tourism as contributors to the local economy. The Action Plan identifies the market as a key project in building a thriving rural economy for Clitheroe.
The Markets
- Clitheroe has a long history as a market town with both livestock and traditional markets which until the mid 1990s were located between King Street and Parsons Lane near the town centre.
- The markets’ site was redeveloped in 1995 when the traditional market was moved to an adjacent site – formerly occupied by the livestock market which moved to the outskirts of Clitheroe on Lincoln's Way.
- The refurbished traditional market comprises some 41 terraced stone built cabins with roll-up locking facilities and awnings, 31 covered stalls on an area adjacent to the market and space for 8 pitches. Clitheroe has market days on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturday. A farmers market is also held every second week on a Wednesday at a site adjacent to the Auction Mart.
- Market traders offer a range of goods which include: fruit and vegetables, bread and cakes, cheese and biscuits, fish, fresh and cooked meats, men's, ladies and children's fashion, underwear, pottery, craft items, curtains and fabrics, carpet & rugs, towels and household textiles, plants and electrical goods. Some Clitheroe fishmongers and butchers were trading from the cabins.
- Ribble Valley Borough Council own and manage the market. Overall management responsibility rest with the Council’s Environmental Health Manager, a market superintendent is on site for day to day work on cabin and stall letting and the collection of rents and charges.
- The Borough Council reported that all the cabins are currently let and that there is a low tenant turnover. The cabins are open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Thursday is not popular with traders but they are obliged to open by their agreements with the Borough Council. The stalls are fully occupied on Saturdays, about ¾ occupied on Tuesdays and only a few on Thursday. Stalls were very popular and in demand in the late 1990s.
Clitheroe market: stalls and cabins
Clitheroe: Town centre and market location
Market - Borough Council
- In the view of Borough Council Officers, trade expanded at the market in the 1990s but is now levelling off. There is a small decline in the number of traders standing at Clitheroe. Explanations centre on the advancing age profile of traders, a reluctance to update or be innovative with trading practices, competition from Sunday markets, car boot sales and other informal markets and the declining appeal of traditional markets in the face of competition from supermarkets.
- There might also be a cyclical factor whereby markets always do badly at this stage in the business cycle – high employment and incomes depress both the number of potential customers and the number of people wanting to work as market traders.
- Officials described the market area as a public thoroughfare under good repair. Provided with refuse removal at the end of each market day, it has an adjacent car park and public toilets. There are no adverse effects associated with the market.
- The Borough Council recognises a role for the market in attracting tourists and visitors to the town. Some innovations have been tried - 2 Christmas markets and 2 Sunday markets – to draw in visitors and shoppers. Both are viewed as being successful.
- Clitheroe the Future sees the market as important to visitors and tourists. It is part of the overall attraction of Clitheroe as a place to visit and whilst there is little or no hard information on the scale of tourism – it is visited by coach parties as a stopping point. The town’s speciality shops and cafes and its compact centre help in this regard.
- The market adds to Clitheroe’s tourist appeal in summer when the quality local food produce traders are the focus of attention. The Borough Council Tourism Officer sees the market as adding to Clitheroe’s overall draw to tourists but it is by no means a main attraction. Sunday markets and one off events at the market help in marketing Clitheroe to the coach holiday tour companies.
Market – trader views
- We visited the market on a Tuesday market day - April 27th 2004. Traders’ views on the level of business coincided with those of Borough Council Officers. That is sales have levelled off after a period of growth over the past 10 years or so. They reported good trade on Tuesdays and Saturdays but poor business on Thursdays. The problems of trading in wet weather were mentioned, even by cabin based traders. Tourists and visitors are seen as important as they boost the number of shoppers in summer – from May to September. The market adds to what Clitheroe can offer as a day out. Clitheroe traders stand at other Lancashire markets – including Padiham and mainly sourced from conventional wholesalers. 17. Comments from shopkeepers concurred that the market does increase footfall to the benefit of all retail trade in the town. The Booths Supermarket in Clitheroe was cited as an example – it occupies a site adjacent to the market and is busiest on market day. This is very much a Tuesday [and to some extents a Saturday] market day phenomenon and demonstrates the impact of the market on footfall.
Market – Clitheroe the Future survey
- Clitheroe the Future has collected evidence on local use of the market. A sample size of 800 - drawn to be fully representative of the town – was canvassed as part of the town’s Healthcheck.
The following results emerged:
Q.How often do you use the market?
Fig 1 - Nearly 50% of those questioned used the market at least once per week and 80% use it on a monthly basis. This frequency of use also emerged from the shoppers’ survey conducted in April 2004 when 78% indicated that they use the market at least once per month.
Q. Would you use Clitheroe market more if the market environment were improved?
Fig 2 - Nearly 40% would use the market more if its environment was improved. Comments garnered from the shoppers’ survey point to cover from the elements as the most often mentioned aspect of environment improvement sought. Signage and information is also mentioned – see also table 1 below.
Q. Would you use Clitheroe market more if it was undercover?
Fig 3 - Responses to market use indicated that more use would be made if it was undercover – matching views recorded in Fig 2. These comments could be interpreted as a plea for a market hall in Clitheroe.
Q. Do you think Clitheroe market offers value for money?
Fig 4 - The yes endorsement of 78% is repeated in shoppers’ survey results where the quality of goods, the availability of local produce and the enjoyment from visiting the market were all higher than in other case study market towns.
Q. Value for money improvements
More variety/more stalls - was mentioned by most.
These results indicate that the market is well-used but could be improved. Nearly half visit the market at least once per week, around 40% would use the market more if wet weather protection was provided and most agreed that the market provides value for money but also want to see more variety in the goods for sale with 40% saying they would use the market more if a farmers’ market was included.
- Questions on market facilities revealed a high level of satisfaction with market access - car parking and pedestrian access. The market is close to the town centre, to car parks, bus routes and to the town’s railway station.
|
Facility |
Good % |
Satisfactory % |
Poor % |
Don’t know % |
No reply % |
|
Toilets |
25 |
31 |
12 |
28 |
4 |
|
Pedestrian access |
50 |
36 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
|
Car parking |
26 |
43 |
18 |
8 |
5 |
|
Market information |
9 |
30 |
25 |
28 |
8 |
Market – Shoppers’ survey
- Information and comments recorded as part of the Shoppers’ Survey indicate a generally positive view of the market. It presents an enjoyable, friendly and clean environment with good access, although there were grumbles about the lack of protection from the weather. Shoppers generally wanted more stalls and more variety in the goods and produce for sale, including more local produce. These caveats aside the market is seen as an asset to the town and something which contributes to its quality as a place.
Conclusions
- The market is busy, successful and popular with traders. Cabins are fully let and most stalls are occupied on market days. Traders and the Borough Council consider that business levels are now at a consistent level after a period of growth over the previous decade.
- It is well used by residents of Clitheroe, by visitors and by tourists, who are significant customers for traders in the summer months. The Clitheroe the Future survey of 2002 and our survey of 2004 both indicate a high level of satisfaction with the market , but at the same time call for some improvements to the market environment and for more variety in the produce and goods on sale.
- The market is an integral part of Clitheroe for both residents and visitors. It contributes to the overall quality of life in the town and to its attraction to visitors. It also makes a contribution to retail trade in the town’s shops through increased footfall on market days.
Market Town Report Links.
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