Markets are recognised among the top factors for supporting vibrant and vital town centres.
Many high street brands started out on local markets. During the pandemic, markets – next to supermarkets – played a vital role in supporting communities with essential supplies.
They are part of local history and heritage, and are at the heart of communities, with a proven track record of supporting employment, retail, tourism, hospitality, and environmental and social inclusion policies.
Markets in 2024 are, sadly, at a crossroads. Some have recently benefited from government-funded programmes, with 55 towns each awarded £20 million endowment-style funds over 10 years to invest in local people’s priorities.
For many others, it is a different picture, with little or no support.
Most UK markets are operated or controlled by local authorities, so their lack of funding, concerns over annual government financial settlements, and now fears of Section 114 reports, place discretionary services, such as markets, at high risk.
It is now vital that national and local government recognise and action the unique and positive role that markets can play in economic and community recovery.
The National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) represents 300 market operators.
While we have a strong local government connection, we also have members from the private sector, business improvement districts, community groups and local councils.
Many LGA member councils will have a past, present and, hopefully, a continuing interest in the markets industry that delivers 1,150 traditional markets in the UK, supplemented by many special-event markets, such as Christmas, artisan and continental markets.
In 2022, NABMA undertook a national survey of retail markets – the first since 2018 – to understand the health of the industry coming out of the pandemic, and to reflect upon the economic crisis and general difficulties faced by town and city centres, and the performance of their high streets.
It identified worrying trends, with stall occupancy and trader numbers down and falling. Only 8 per cent of traders are aged under 40 and just 40 per cent of markets have an annual surplus.
Over a two-year period, NABMA set an agenda to engage with government, partners, national associations that have high street interests, and the media, to create a national dialogue about the future of markets.
Our Markets First campaign, launched in April 2023, aims to share best practice, create forums for discussion, and provide resources to assist markets and market trading.
The NABMA campaign has five priorities: attracting and retaining traders; addressing the economic challenges faced by markets; demonstrating their wider community value; making markets and management more professional; and improving relationships and communication with traders.
We ask the LGA and councils to:
- provide the strongest endorsement at the local level of the importance of markets, and their public support for #MarketsFirst. This is particularly important in a situation where 84 per cent of markets are operated by local authorities.
- actively promote market trading and their low-cost, low-risk entry for business start-ups, to attract new – and, particularly, young – traders. It is important to link markets and trading opportunities to Job Centres and other relevant government agencies.
- recognise the wider community role of markets. Many are filling gaps in local service delivery, providing a focus for NHS services, libraries, local authority help points, cooking schools, safer community teams, and local charities and support groups.
Find out more about NABMA’s Markets First Campaign and its National Retail Survey 2022 online, or contact [email protected]