Well Done Norwich Market

[grendel]

several of the old market type stalls attend the boot fair I visit on Sundays, some of the boot fair bits are a bit like the second hand tool stalls at the market used to be,

[Paul]

Sorry but I'm still not accepting the argument that the Supermarket is at fault. Leicester market has gone downhill since redvelopment by the city council but head west along the M69 and you'll get to Nuneaton which has a thriving street market. 100 plus Traditional stalls clad in blue and white tarps along the pedstrianised "high street" selling all the market staples plus lots more.

Keep going down the M69 you'll get to Coventry, another thriving market, this time indoor.

Neither are particularly effected by tourism and both have a wide variety of supermarkets from all the main candidates. The other thing they both have is ample parking at reasonable price right in the town / city centre. Supermarkets are not new, the forst one in the town where I live opened in the early 1950's. By 1960 there were three. By 1970 there were five. The market thrived well into the early years of this century, until the district council made the market car park pay and display. Then it went downhill. Now it is almost dead and thetown council are contemplating demolishing it to build housing on the site. 

Blaming Supermarkets is far too simplistic. I'm sure there are lots of socio-economic reasons but at the top of that list is we, the great consumer, and our personal preference, which quite simply is changing. There are lots of reasons for that.

One would be the change in the social climate. In the heyday of markets, selling fresh food, lots of married women were home makers. They would shop more than once a week, they were home during the daytime to prepare fresh vegetable every day, to make a pie, roast or whatever. Those days are gone, massively inflated house prices and our ever growing need for possessions most families now have two working parents. The value of time has risen faster even than the value of property. People want ready prepped or partially prepped food, theysimply don't have all afternoon to prepare dinner anymore. At the least they want to shop where they can get everything they need in one place. 

That's not the supermarket's fault, they are simply pandering to what we, the consumer wants. 

[ranworthbreeze]

1 hour ago, Paul said:

Sorry but I'm still not accepting the argument that the Supermarket is at fault. Leicester market has gone downhill since redvelopment by the city council but head west along the M69 and you'll get to Nuneaton which has a thriving street market. 100 plus Traditional stalls clad in blue and white tarps along the pedstrianised "high street" selling all the market staples plus lots more.

Keep going down the M69 you'll get to Coventry, another thriving market, this time indoor.

Neither are particularly effected by tourism and both have a wide variety of supermarkets from all the main candidates. The other thing they both have is ample parking at reasonable price right in the town / city centre. Supermarkets are not new, the forst one in the town where I live opened in the early 1950's. By 1960 there were three. By 1970 there were five. The market thrived well into the early years of this century, until the district council made the market car park pay and display. Then it went downhill. Now it is almost dead and thetown council are contemplating demolishing it to build housing on the site. 

Blaming Supermarkets is far too simplistic. I'm sure there are lots of socio-economic reasons but at the top of that list is we, the great consumer, and our personal preference, which quite simply is changing. There are lots of reasons for that.

One would be the change in the social climate. In the heyday of markets, selling fresh food, lots of married women were home makers. They would shop more than once a week, they were home during the daytime to prepare fresh vegetable every day, to make a pie, roast or whatever. Those days are gone, massively inflated house prices and our ever growing need for possessions most families now have two working parents. The value of time has risen faster even than the value of property. People want ready prepped or partially prepped food, theysimply don't have all afternoon to prepare dinner anymore. At the least they want to shop where they can get everything they need in one place. 

That's not the supermarket's fault, they are simply pandering to what we, the consumer wants. 

Hi Paul I fully agree with some of the reasons you list.

Town Councils have a lot to answer for with town planning and in many cases not wanting cars into their towns or cities, car parking in many towns is expensive. The level of the rents for covered markets stalls are also a reason for their demise.

Some cities and towns have it right, Bury and the covered market in Oxford spring to mind.

Regards

Alan

[Lulu]

I have to admit, the majority of our shopping is done online. Online Tesco or Iceland delivery. , Good old Amazon and Screwfix for boaty stuff etc.  Its all cheaper and time saving. We both work very long hours so our weekends are precious,  plus the cost of park and rides and parking around here puts us off. 

Maybe when we retire we will go back to going out shopping.

[grendel]

in Ashford, kent their market went into decline when it was moved from the old cattle market site at the edge of the town centre by the station, to the outskirts of the town in one of the industrial estates. ok the cattle market was dominated by the smell of excited cattle and sheep. but once it was moved it was too far out to walk to, and rapidly lost custom and traders, yes they have a few stalls now that are in the pedestrian areas, but not a patch on the old market.

[LizG]

9 hours ago, Vaughan said:

It smelled just like Barton Broad.

That's an insult to Barton Broad!!!

Many moons ago in a different life, I worked on the Walk dead opposite the Market.  It was great fun watching the hustle and bustle of all the different stalls. We would have Mr Smelly's name emblazoned on all the bin lorries in Norwich and they would be there picking up the rubbish.  I remember it being rebuilt in the 1970s and it was strange seeing an empty space as well as a few rats as they demolished the stalls!

The building I worked is as you can guess is now a coffee shop, but I went in there once and the loos, were still in the same place on the second floor almost unchanged!

[YnysMon]

I think Paul has it...parking. So many councils see it as a cash cow and are squeezing their towns into oblivion.

[MauriceMynah]

21 hours ago, Paul said:

That's not the supermarket's fault, they are simply pandering to what we, the consumer wants. 

I understand what you are saying Paul, and agree with some of it, other points we shall just have to agree to differ. I do however question the point I have quoted where you seem to go along with a popular belief.  

I'm not so sure about that. For quite some time now I have felt that large businesses these days rather dictate what the customer wants as opposed to pandering to it..

[grendel]

which leaves the niche markets open for the smaller businesses.

[Paul]

28 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I understand what you are saying Paul, and agree with some of it, other points we shall just have to agree to differ. I do however question the point I have quoted where you seem to go along with a popular belief.  

I'm not so sure about that. For quite some time now I have felt that large businesses these days rather dictate what the customer wants as opposed to pandering to it..

Nothing wrong with popular beliefs now and then, some of them are popular for good reason. I'm certainly not going to disagree with your other point though. Clever marketing teams are very good at telling we, the gullible consumer what we need and what we should buy, and even how we should buy it sometimes. I-phones are a perfect example of that. Apple's marketeers were very clever ar creating a fashion brand which imposed great peer pressure on people to be seen with an Iphone. If consumers made informed choices about smart phones Apple would never sell one. 

[Vaughan]

31 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I'm not so sure about that. For quite some time now I have felt that large businesses these days rather dictate what the customer wants as opposed to pandering to it..

I remember many years ago, I went to the record department of a store in Norwich and asked for a single of The Free Electric Band, by Albert Hammond. It was a catchy song which was being played all over Radio 1 at the time.

"Is it in the top ten?"

"I don't know"

"Well if it's not in the top ten, we don't sell it."

"So how does it get into the top ten, when that is based on record sales and you are not selling it?"

She couldn't answer that!

I am also convinced that when you go into the big chain bookshops in city centres, you will only find the books there, that they want to sell to you.