Market only weeks away from rebirth

FLASHBACK to 1976 — when smoking while handling food was still allowed!

OLDHAM’S dying outdoor market is to move on to the town centre’s streets within weeks.

The new dawn will mean 31 removable stalls being put up in Albion Street and the top end of Curzon Street, catering for up to 51 traders.

The street market will replace the once-thriving Tommyfield outdoor market which was famous around the world.

It will be launched on July 23 and initially open on Fridays and Saturdays, with the possibility of increasing this in future.

The existing permanent stalls at the back of the market hall are also set to be demolished at a later stage along with some of the brick units.

It is hoped to replace these with more removable stalls on market days — possibly selling specialist goods — and create an extra 129 car parking spaces at other times.

The move was approved by the licensing panel, whose chairman, Councillor Val Sedgwick, said: “We think this is a fantastic opportunity to help the market, market traders and the shops in Oldham town centre.

“As in places like Skipton, where they have already started this, you get a double win because you get an increased footfall for the shops and market-stall traders.

“We believe this is a chance we have to take and something we have to do otherwise Oldham market is going to die completely.

“We hope the market will be kept under review and we wish it every success.”

The outdoor market has been in decline for years and various plans have been drawn up to revive it.

The new covered stalls will be erected and taken down every day and anchored to the ground by sunken screws which have been specially designed to cope with Oldham’s windy conditions.

No more than two stalls will sell the same type of products in order to create a good mix for shoppers. Traders will also not be placed outside shops selling the same goods.

Mark Lester, head of economy and skills at Oldham Council, said the proposals aimed to increase the number of shoppers in the top end of the town.

He added: “The purpose of this proposal is to reinstate traditional market provision in Oldham.

“It’s not a relocation of the existing Oldham market. It’s a new street market with a very traditional feel to it so we will be looking at a butcher, baker and candlestick maker in terms of what we sell there.”

The planned number of stalls has been reduced from 41 after four businesses said they did not want them immediately outside their premises.

But Specsavers, Curzon Street, and the Britannia Building Society, Albion Street, told councillors that the remaining stalls would still obscure their businesses. Security concerns were also raised.

Specsavers managing director Peter Holt said: “We will be looking for a reduction in our rates. It’s totally unacceptable.”