Page 43 - MarketTimesFebruary2016
P. 43

 The small, affluent Lancashire town of Poulton-le-Fylde relaunched its market in 2012 after a gap of 110 years. NICOLA GOULD discovers that the Mary Portas-inspired experiment has been a resounding success
Afew years back Poulton-le-Fylde was like so many small towns that had had the lifeblood sucked out of them by plush rival town and out-of-town shopping centres. The attractive, affluent town centre was blighted by empty shops, with plenty of charity shops but not enough footfall to keep the independent retailers happy.
Then a local councillor had the bright idea of starting a market in the town centre — or rather relaunching the traditional market that had closed 110 years before.
He contacted Julian Brent, the market manager for Wyre Borough Council, who was successfully running nearby Fleetwood Market, and they set the ball rolling.
It was anything but easy, mainly because of
the fierce opposition from local shop owners, among others.
But they persevered with their mission. The new market opened in the summer of 2012 and the rest, as they say, is history.
It helped that the first year of the market coincided with a multi-million pound investment by Booths in an upgraded supermarket and the revamp of Teanlowe Shopping Centre, which created a fresh, modern retail look to the town.
But the impact the market has had on the vibrancy — and even the viability — of Poulton-le-Fylde town centre cannot be over- emphasised.
Coun Barry Birch of Wyre Borough Council, who spearheaded the new market, said he had
been saddened to see the town where he lives deteriorate over the years.
“It was the time of the Mary Portas initiative and it occurred to me that reviving the market might be the way forward,” he said.
Julian said that as soon as Coun Birch approached him he visited Poulton, as it is called by locals, and decided the market was a viable idea.
“Poulton used to have a very successful town centre. People who had made money through businesses in places like Blackpool tended to retire to Poulton, which meant the locals had money to spend and the shops could charge what they liked,” Julian said.
Changing shopping trends had taken their toll, but Julian could see that the potential was
                 Julian Brent is market manager for Wyre Borough Council and was instrumental in starting the market from scratch in 2012
 Poulton-le-Fylde market was the brainchild of Coun Barry Birch, who thought it would be the best way to revive the town centre
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