howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
8 January 2011
12:5388167this morning as i reached market square, the big screen proudly proclaimed our "traditional market with food from around the world and crafts".
there was food indeed, two fast food vans and a bread stall.
they were the only vendors!!
Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
8 January 2011
14:0688176Yes I we went down there today and there was nothing only the veg one.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
8 January 2011
16:0988182
when i went back at 2 p.m. one of the burger vans had gone and as seen above the bread people are giving up the ghost and going home.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,894
8 January 2011
16:1788185Remember that when they would have been setting out from home it was raining also a lot of stall holders use this time of year for their annual holiday. January is an awful trading time most people do not have any money after Christmas.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
8 January 2011
16:2688186A lot of money (?) that would have gone on the Saturday market (!) now must go on VAT rises, extra bus fares for children to get to school, increased train fares, higher fuel and gas costs ...
Add to this the prospects of less employment and less people on a wage, and all in all the Saturday market was destined to be a flop.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
8 January 2011
16:3188188as predicted a 5 week wonder,along with apathy and bad wheather.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
8 January 2011
16:5088190i would have thought that a market would have done well in times of recession, people looking for bargains.
jan
i can see why the stall holders stayed at home, i wonder why they did not liaise with the food sellers who forked out for a pitch and no customers to sell to.
Terry Nunn
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,316
8 January 2011
16:5788194Are the pitches on a daily (weekly) basis? Are they contracted to attend?
Terry
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
8 January 2011
16:5888195howard,hard to say whats happend.but was talking to the girls on the veg stall,they where saying that the cafe owner near the veg stall has been and still is playing up.he objected to the food stalls being near by,allso the veg stall had a few problems before christmass and couldnt make xmass eve but had there shop open instead.she all so told they [veg stall] put signs up telling customers to go to the shop but as i said to her i didnt see any signs.
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
8 January 2011
17:1388196Signs were there so I went to their shop in Worthington St and found it piled high with what they usually have on the Market stall. Apparently John was unwell and he is the only one who drives the lorry which takes the stuff to market.
That cafe owner must be new to retailing. Footfall past your door is lifeblood to a business like his. As long as your quality is good and the prices reasonable of course!
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
8 January 2011
17:1488197Doesn`t the failure of the market, and the absurd TV screen tell you something?
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
8 January 2011
17:2488200i was told about the row between the stallholder and the goodfillas cafe, been going for some time now.
i agree that they should be happy with the extra footfall.
colin
not sure of the connection betweern the market and the screen.
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
8 January 2011
17:3488205No crowds for the market Howard, and certainly no crowds for the screen. I liked the idea of the coffee houses surrounding the Square with a continental flavour. At present, the whole area wants looking at and how to promote it. The Market Square is the main link between the town centre and the sea front. I hope I don`t have to go back to referring to the `former` market square.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
8 January 2011
18:1588219If I made a comment on the market, people would accuse me of sour-grapes.
Having said that, I know some of the shops were very pleased with the small (small as it was even when at maximum numbers) market as it did bring people down to that area.
I don't know if it is just the weather that has stopped them opening up today, but to me (and it is a personal view) it hasn't been run properly from the start and now it seems that the Chamber have tired of it.
It certainly hasn't been the success I first envisaged it to be when I started the initiative all that time ago; but then I got the order of the boot.
Roger
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
8 January 2011
18:3588229Roger, if some of the shop owners were very pleased with the market stalls, what about the others that were not very pleased?
I can remember writing at the time on the Forum to you in person that I considered the Saturday Market project of no economic value at all to Dover or to East Kent. It is most unlikely that the market will attract footfall, and if it does, it means that people who spend there at the market will spend less elsewhere, so someone must lose out!
I had the impression that you do not agree that if people shop more in one place, they will necessarily shop less elsewhere, where they used to shop.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
8 January 2011
18:3888231my biggest bugbear about the market was the straggly lay out.
to my way of thinking it would have been better if it had been more circular, stalls closer together.
i seem to remember that roger originally planned to have all the stalls in one colour, that would have made it look smarter.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
8 January 2011
18:4188234ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
8 January 2011
18:4388235The (original) idea of the market Alexander was to try to get as many stalls as possible that do not conflict with local shops - I know that is not an easy task, but baby clothes, fresh fish, hard-ware stuff, cheeses etc. could have been pursued.
I didn't want to have any refreshment stalls as there are enough cafes etc.
Everyone has a view on how things should be; some views are right, some are wrong.
Roger
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
8 January 2011
18:5588238Roger, fresh fish and cheese are items better not sold under an out-door market. In Summer in particular, a lack of refridgerators would ensure that these products go bad. And one cannot expect to have cables running across the pavement from the stalls into the local adjacent shops in order to get an electricity supply to keep fridges running.
As I have pointed out to you in the past here, I do my shopping essentially in three supermarkets. One is Morrisons. However, when I started going there, I started to shop a lot less in the other two supermarkets.
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,894
8 January 2011
19:3188246I have never been to the market as I am working but a lot of our customers do but it is mainly to use the veg stall. I only get as far as Market Square two or three times a year when I might have to visit the Council Offices, there is nothing else to draw me that far down town.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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