Sandbach Case Study
- The mid Cheshire market town of Sandbach lies some 5 miles north west of Crewe and close to the M6 Motorway. It has a population of around 17,000 and although it has had some significant manufacturing industry in the recent past – Fodens, the lorry makers, have a long association – it is now primarily a service centre. The town lies within the administrative area of Congleton Borough Council which has some of its offices in Sandbach.
- The town has a compact centre with a market hall, some speciality shops on the High Street, and its well-known Saxon Crosses on Crown Bank/Market Square. The Healthcheck and Action Plan of 2002 commented that the Saxon Crosses and cobbled Market Square are two of Sandbach’s distinctive features along with some notable listed buildings. It pointed to two main focal points – the historic core of the town around Market Square and The Commons.
- Sandbach is a market town under the Countryside Agency’s Market Towns Initiative and the Sandbach Partnership was formed in 2002 to pursue its implementation. The Partnership prepared the Healthcheck and Action Plan in 2002.
Sandbach: Town centre and market
The market
- Sandbach has been a market town since the 16th century. Markets were held on Thursdays and annual fairs were held at Easter time and in September. Today’s Thursday market is held both indoors in the Market Hall and outdoors and on an area known as The Commons – it is a large car park on non markets days. There is also a market on Saturdays.
- The busiest market day is Thursday. In April 2004 there were 27 stalls trading in the Market Hall and 185 trading from outdoor stalls. The combined total of stalls on an April Saturday is 39. The Thursday market has a range of stalls incorporating food produce (some from local farms), textiles, shoes and clothes. There is no livestock market or farmers market.
Sandbach Market: The Commons
- We visited Sandbach on April 29th. It was a normal market day save for road works at Junction 17 on the M6 which meant road closures, diversions and delays for traffic heading into Sandbach from the M6 and Congleton. Most traders were from the north midlands and Cheshire and stand at other markets in the area. Traders’ comments covered a perceived decline in business – in numbers of traders and the volume of business, the competition from other retailers, the dominance of older less well-off customers, the difficulty in keeping up with trends in goods and services – credit card transactions – which puts them at a competitive disadvantage. Circulation space – an issue raised in the Shoppers’ Survey - was not raised by traders.
The market – Local authorities
- Congleton Borough Council has been the managing body for Sandbach market. In 2003 it decided to bring in the specialist market management expertise that it, as a small borough council found difficult – and expensive – to provide.
- There was consultation with market traders on the future of the market. Congleton created a Market Panel to guide the outsourcing process and it included market trader representatives in its membership.
- The outcome has been the award of a contract to Town and Country Markets Ltd to run Sandbach, Alsager and Middlewich markets. The contract commences July 2004 and it includes safeguards for regular liaison with traders, a pledge to invest £200k in new market stalls, marketing and advertising with a commitment to revitalise all 3 markets.
- The issue of market location has been raised by the Town Council. Its current location on The Commons next to the Market Hall does take up car parking space. The study of options21 indicated that shopkeepers were not keen for stalls to move to the High Street fearing the associated inconvenience would harm trade. A move to the Cobbles was also ruled out due to Health and Safety issues.
The market – Sandbach Partnership
- The Action Plan includes an objective to revitalise the market through making The Commons more attractive to traders and shoppers, and by promoting the market to neighbouring areas. In other comments the Partnership raised the issue of market location on The Commons. This is used as a car park on nonmarket days – the key town centre parking for shoppers coming to Sandbach by car.
- The Commons are away from the High Street thus when market stall customers arrive on market days – mainly by bus – they stay in the market area and do not contribute to footfall and trade at speciality shops on the High Street.
- Sandbach’s tourism potential was commented on by South East Cheshire Enterprise. It could be both a gateway to Cheshire and a stopping point for south/north tourism traffic given its heritage and other attractions. However, the market is not at this time part of Sandbach’s tourist attraction.
Market Square and Saxon Crosses.
The market – Shoppers’ views
- The age and gender of shoppers at Sandbach market were broadly in line with the average for the market towns in the survey and the occupational status of the shoppers was closest of all the towns to the national picture.
- Over 60% had travelled less than 2 miles to the market and 70% of shopping visits were linked to market days. There was also a higher spend per market visit in Sandbach with fewest respondents perceiving market prices to be lower than shop prices.
- Most shoppers’ comments on the market fell into one of three categories.
1. Nearly 50% of comments were positive though often they contained a plea for improvements. Shoppers commented on the variety of goods, the friendliness of stall holders and the generally pleasant experience provided. At the same time they wanted to see more stalls and more variety – crafts and local produce were mentioned - and are concerned at some aspects of pedestrian access.
2. Over 30% commented on the decline in the market which they perceive in terms of fewer stall holders and higher prices, and less variety.
3. Nearly 25% commented on parking and pedestrian access to The Commons. The lack of parking on market days and recent changes to pavements were mentioned most.
Conclusions
- Sandbach market is the largest of those in the case study market towns. Its size generates parking and congestion – for pedestrians too – issues which did not appear in the other towns. Whilst the market is busy it is also perceived to be suffering the trend decline affecting other outdoor markets. Shoppers both appreciate the variety offered by the market but also want more variety in the way of local produce.
- There are few apparent links between the market on The Commons and the shops on the High Street. In most towns comments linked the footfall generated by the market with other retail business, that association was not made in Sandbach save to point to the lack of links between the two areas.
- 19. Sandbach has potential as a tourist destination and the speciality shops on the High Street are part of this. The market is not, it is a valued part of the town’s retail provision but its value is its shoppers and traders.
Market Town Report Links.
You can download the Countryside Agency Market Town Report complete in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format 6.7MB.
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