As Leeds Markets prepares for the arrival of Eastgate and the city centre retail offer develops further with the arrival of Trinity Leeds, we’re looking into how to improve, develop and sustain Leeds Kirkgate Market for traders and shoppers alike.
In July 2011 Leeds City Council’s executive board of councillors agreed permissions for the team to explore a number of different possibilities including becoming an arms-length organisation; revisiting the size and layout of the space; or the possibility of the private sector holding a stake in the market. Some felt that these ideas and suggestions were unfair, unreasonable and not right for the market. Others felt that they could offer new opportunities, potential to be a little more creative with how we use the markets and a way to move forward in a modern trading environment.
Following on from this Martin Farrington, Director of Leeds City Council's Development Department commissioned Quarterbridge Management Consultancy to investigate the feasibility of some of the ideas raised at the July executive board.
The issue of how to revitalise markets across the country is hotly debated, and Leeds Markets are no exception. There are many opinions from traders, shoppers, those who love the market but want it to change, and those who are intrigued about the market but not sure if it’s for them.
The report from Quarterbridge Management Consultancy has now been completed and we’d like to share the findings with you.
The recommendations from the report are in some cases radically different and will be of interest to all who use the markets. As valued stakeholders we want to share the report with you and allow time for you to comment. Any comments received before 9th February will be included in our feedback to the Leeds City Council executive board on 10th February.
The report is up to 70 pages long, so here are a few key recommendations, but you can download the full report below should you wish to read it in full:
- Reconfiguring the overall space available to provide a 25% reduction in trade space. The overall site would remain the same size but space would be reconfigured to create a better flow for customers; better quality trading environments for traders; a balcony area could be utilised to create a food-court area to enhance the social experience in the market hall; a basement level could be added to improve servicing routes for traders.
- The view from the private sector is that sole ownership would be preferred. However, it is unlikely that Leeds City Council would agree to sell the markets in its entirety.
- The costs associated with the above suggestions are significant and in the consultants view it is also unlikely that Leeds City Council could undertake these changes without private sector support. With this in mind the report also recommend that the markets become a Limited Liability Partnership. This effectively makes Leeds Markets a jointly owned company between Leeds City Council and either a sole or a number of private sector investors. The report suggests that Leeds City Council should maintain a 25% share based on the amount of financial capital realistically available.
- Should a Limited Liability Partnership be created, the new board of shareholders may seek to appoint a private sector management company to oversee day-to-day management of the markets and its future development.
These are in some ways controversial recommendations that seek to significantly reposition the market. At this stage they are only recommendations on what would be feasible taking into account current market conditions, costs, research into interest from the private sector and the current operating conditions of Leeds Markets.
These recommendations will not be the only factor influencing the future of Leeds Market.
A team of senior experts from within the council have also been researching planning restrictions, legal implications, land values and the private sector mood towards the idea of Leeds Markets either in sole ownership or as a partnership.
A report taking into account all of the research over the last six months will be prepared by Cath Follin, Head of City Centre and Markets. This report will be made publicly available for comment 3rd February.
It is important to us that we're honest with you. No decisions have been made at this stage, but in order to survive and flourish Leeds Markets does need to change and the current financial strains experienced by public sectors across the country offer limited opportunities for this.
The Leeds Markets team have worked hard over the last 18 months to assess the current situation, grow new markets and raise the profile of our retail offer, but we do recognise that market conditions have and continue to evolve. As new developments take shape and competition increases Leeds Markets needs to be in a stronger position to take advantage of new footfall and retain our existing customers. As a team we accept the need to change and this is the first step in understanding how.
But, to be able to implement any changes effectively we need to know what you think.
There are no hidden agendas. We would like to have an honest and open conversation with all of our stakeholders about how to move forward. We’d like you to read the report and leave comments, suggestions, ideas and your views on the report and the future of Leeds Markets before we make any decisions.
We’ll try to respond where we can and will follow your comments and conversations on twitter, if you could use the hashtag #LeedsMarket this will help us to capture your views.
Sue Burgess
Leeds Markets Manager
Leeds City Council
Click here to download the full report (1.7Mb).
Comments
Please could you let us know
Please could you let us know how much this 72-page report cost to compile?
If the size is reduced by 25%
If the size is reduced by 25% even for re-configuration how many stall holders will need to go? The balcony food court would work well. Using the current cafe's and eating units already in the market.
This would enable the re-configuration to work without losing any stall holders.
Hi Thomas, the report cost
Reply to Thomas
Hi Thomas, the report cost £12,000.
Hi Tricia, that's something
Reply to Tricia
Hi Tricia, that's something we'd need to look at and your idea of relocating existing food business to the balcony could work. The fine details haven't been worked out as at this stage it's a series of recommendations that would need much more planning.
First impression: the report
First impression: the report has some decent ideas. Empty stalls and a confusing layout are big problems and should be improved. Hopefully we'll have an elected mayor in time to stop privatisation so I'm not worried about that recommendation.
Biggest criticism: the extremely narrow remit of the report. Lots of people would love to go to the market more but can't for the following two reasons,
1. The lack of late opening; most stalls are closing by 4pm and few traders turned up on the Market's late night shopping over Christmas.
2. There is no way to get to the market! The cancellation of supertram and the incredibly high bus fares and poor service of private bus companies in Leeds makes it almost impossible for people to visit and buy anything more than a few light items.
Hopefully the council will consider the Market as part of the Leeds city region rather than just a single object as the report was commissioned to do.
Thomas, I would just like to
Thomas, I would just like to remind you of how many hours the traders of Leeds Market actually work. Most of the traders are purchasing there fresh produce from around 3am and do not leave until after 5pm. I agree that longer trading hours would be beneficial for customers passing through after work however to make this feesable and to not kill the traders with exhaustion they would have to employ extra staff at more cost when almost all of the traders are struggling to make ends meet already. Maybe a little support from the council for existing traders wouldn't go a miss rather than spending ridiclous amounts of money on a relocation of the information centre which has been moved 15 feet from the old one or the shambolic xmas decorations. I think its time the council and the market management team realise they have destroyed the little gem that WAS Leeds Market!!
For me there are 3 key issues
For me there are 3 key issues that detur me (and presumably others) from visting Leeds markets on a regular basis.
1) Accessibility. The market is outside of the Leeds pedestrianised core. As lazy as it sounds, because the busy Vicar Lane is between the rest of the shops and the market, it is rare that I enter the market to browse due to the time/effort of crossing this busy road. My main proposal to improve the viability of the market would be to pedestrianise Vicar Lane outside the Markets building, creating a new civic Square. The Markets building would be a fantastic background to any new square, and it would encourage a much higher footfall in the area.
2) The smells. I often find there to be unpleasant smells in the market, and this can be off putting - any improvements to the air circulation that can mitigate these smells would surely improve the attactiveness of the market
3) Offer and convenience. I am sometimes relucatant to use the market as I make 95% of my purchases by card rather than cash. I have the perception (rightly or wrongly) that most traders do no accept card payments for small transactions. Either this should be remedied, or if not true then better communicated. Also off-putting is that for me personally, much of what is offered for sale is not of interest - many markets worldwide make a success of selling local crafts/delicacies and other things interesting to browse - perhaps some traders selling these goods could be encouraged.
I see the Eastgate development as a huge opportunity for the markets, rather than a threat. The market is located on what is currently the periphery of Leeds City Centre shopping core, but Eastgate will stretch this area increasing footfall in the area massively. The market needs to make sure it is THE route to get to and from Eastgate from the rest of the city centre.
Regarding "For me there are 3
Regarding "For me there are 3 key issues"
Is it really that out of the way? I know you're not saying this for yourself (or are you?) but Leeds folk really need to move off Briggate.
As for smells, that's just a busy food market, right? I love it!
Card payments are no surprise - it wouldn't be worth them taking payments for such small amounts I'm sure.
Me, I find the layout a bit confusing but know where my favourite stalls are, it takes practice.
I could manage without all the phone shops but the same could be said for the high street.
It's OK saying Leeds folk
It's OK saying Leeds folk need to move off Briggate, but at the moment obviously not are. I think the area in front of the Markets would make a fantastic public square to rival City Square and Millennium Square. It would also draw more people into the markets.
As for card payments - like it or not, the stall holders are competing against chain stores and supermarkets and have to try and match them. Most shops in the city centre accept cards even for small purchases.
If traders want to attract more customers, don't make them have to first go to the cash machine, then cross a busy road away from other shopping areas... This is why Eastgate is such an opportunity to draw in new shoppers.
I disagree on confusing
I disagree on confusing layout. I'd say the layout isn't logical, but that benefits traders as it means you experience the whole market instead of just visiting one or two stalls in one section then leaving. The problem is that there is no clear way of knowing where everything is, which surely could be rectified in a not too difficult way?
I personally would prefer the market did not shrink in size, by whatever percentage. Kirkgate Market is currently the largest covered market in Europe, a fact we should be proud of and should be promoted. Shrinking the market is going to effect a large portion of independent traders with good quality produce such as the fruit and veg stalls which thrive in the outside market atmosphere. The solution isn't to just try to bring the outside inside, as the two environments for trading are completely different.
I go to the market a lot, I
I go to the market a lot, I know where everything is and I actually quite enjoy checking things out I might not otherwise have visited.
I think this benefits traders in the short-term but in the long-term it's damaging. Whenever I get things from the market I get a great deal but friends say "I didn't know the market sold that" or "I wouldn't know where to find that in the market". That's not a good way to keep customers.
Comments from twitter:
Comments from twitter:
Should we approach the layout of the market by grouping stalls by what they sell? Some people think it would help people to navigate around, others disagree, as this doesn't happen in shopping centres and markets are about finding new things and exploring.
Late night opening also a big issue from a customer perspective. Difficult from a trader perspective as it's a 5am start with wholesaler whatever time you open or close your stall.
Lots of mixed ideas and suggestions. Keep them coming and thanks to all who have already shared their views.
Please do not go down the
Please do not go down the road of trying to make the market a place for posh people to shop. Wake field Council tried this and almost destroyed the market in the process. In fact the "food hall" has been destroyed. Tgere are no fishmongers and only one butcher. Gentrification simply will not work. I am against any private involvement in the market as the over riding motive will be profit. Leeds City Council should look at other thriving markets in Yorkshire such as Barnsley and Yorkshire and learn from them. However, Leeds to me is the most special market in Yorkshire as the food offering is so culturally diverse. Management Consultants are not the right people to be consulting. What about the National Association of Market Traders. I have shopped on Leeds Market for more than forty years and am passionate about its future. The market is unique and wonderful. There is no where like it.
I would like to see two
I would like to see two things happen. It would be fine for the external faxing units to house the high end retail favoured by all developers but inside has to be a destination. Leeds currently lacks any kind of food hall since The Core development did not see fit to replace the one in the Headrow Centre. I would love to see a good quality multi-ethnic food emporium in the top part of the old building. It has a natural slope too so music and theatre could be a key feature each lunchtime to draw the financial sector crowd in. I also think the high ceiling in the new building offers a great opportunity for a mezzanine to provide a much larger shopping area as Teaco's did in Seacroft and Asda at Crown Point. More units, lower rents, more opportunity.
Also this could free up the external market land for sale and a few other smaller sites around the city considered for mini markets, possible by the canal or at the front of the library / town hall on Eastgate making it easier for lunchtime shopping for commuters.
Will a food court on the
Will a food court on the balcony be accessible in practical terms to the elderly, the disabled, and those with small children; i.e. a large proportion of the market's clientèle?
Will there be a reduction to realistic levels of rents and service charges, or are they set to rise still further and put even more stall holders out of business?
Will a good balance and mix of types of stall be re-introduced or will things be allowed to slide as they are now?
The market currently is a bad joke. More and more stalls forced to close. The few that replace them selling the same cheap imported goods with little or no variety. I moved to Leeds almost 30 years ago, and the market (indoors and out) was huge, bustling, vibrant; you could buy anything! We have lost much of the outdoor space, indoors the DIY stalls have gone, ditto crockery, shoes, much of the clothing, alterations, toys, children's clothing, lingerie, the list goes on.
Never mind expensive plans, get real! Lower the rents and the service charges to bring businesses back in. Fill the empty stalls! Tempt customers in, not just people taking a dry short-cut from the bus station. Repair the roof! Maintain the short-stay car park. There's a recession. Work with what you have and make it work. Leeds market should be a resource not a desert. If you let the stalls at affordable rents (and rates) then the money coming in will take LOCAL people of benefits and into employment. It will help LOCAL people afford to live within their means. It will put back into the LOCAL community. Never mind running it down and down until it can be sold off.
Leeds market belongs to THE PEOPLE OF LEEDS. Time for LCC to wake up; smell the coffee and the bacon butties and GIVE IT BACK.
I don't live in Leeds but
I don't live in Leeds but visit regularly and think Leeds Market is fantastic. But it's a case of bums on seats, you need to get people in, the last few times I was in there was a dirth of people. Stalls are empty, it is beginning to have a look of being on a downwards spiral.
Reduce the rents, get more stalls open. Make a big deal of the arcitecture of the building by using the balconies more, get people looking up and appreciating what is there.
Street food could become a feature, lots of small food enterprises could set up in those empty stalls at lunchtime providing exciting ranges of food. Take advantage of the fact that we live in a multicultural society and celebrate the food from all regions. Could work on a rota system. The idea of live music sounds good.
Try different senarios to see which works but there has to be events happenning there that will draw people in. Once in they will see the fabulous fish stalls, the meat and continental outlets they will start to buy and return again and again
The quirky layout is good, you come across stalls you may have missed by going up blind alleys.
Ventilation could be improved to lose the stale odours but perhaps if and when street food is introduced that will disappear anyway.
Here are my comments:
Here are my comments:
- In reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of commercial partnership against sole Council management of the market, the Council should investigate other alternatives, specifically the feasibility of a Mutual or Social Enterprise. Any option that would not have to result in additional surplus being siphoned away from the market would be preferable.
- The Council should reject the proposal for a 99 year lease, irrespective of the management structure chosen.
- If the recommendations for size reduction and rebuilding in the Consultant's report are adopted, the rights of existing permanent tenants need to be safeguarded, and existing temporary tenants should not automatically be removed. The market should support new businesses through a temporary tenancy system.
- If the recommendations for size reduction and rebuilding in the Consultant's report are adopted, the proposals for an upstairs food court need to be considered very carefully to ensure the necessary footfall could be achieved.
- If the food court idea goes ahead, please can it include the following: a good coffee stall, a proper greasy spoon in the market tradition, a taco truck, a good quality burger stall, a Vietnamese banh mi stand, a Vietnamese pho stand, a currywurst cart, a Bury market style black pudding shop, a dosa stall, a laksa stall, a good quality pie and mash offering and a Gregg's. Thanks. If this is possible I personally guarantee to keep the whole food court in business.
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