Accy market hall
 

TalKing to Slacks butchers in the market hall this morning. It is closing on New
Years Eve for 18 months to 2 years for refurbishment. This possibly the final nail in the coffin as after 2 years people will have simply gone elsewhere.
Hyndburn council strikes again!

Re: Accy market hall
 

Unless there’s a huge clientele, who otherwise never visit the town centre, waiting out there to patronise a ‘food court’ in Accrington I can’t see just what will be in the ‘refurbished’ Market Hall that will attract new business .
The cafes that are/were in the Hall don’t look like the kind that could pay higher rates that will inevitably follow a refurbishment.

Re: Accy market hall
 

Greg’s Bacon stall closes this Saturday.
These outlets are closing to make way for a 60 space car park.
Why is that going to be needed, very soon there will be nothing worth going into Accrington for.
It is already a ghost town.
What is a market town without a market….well, just a car park it seems.

Re: Accy market hall
 

https://www.change.org/p/hyndburn-co...ngton-hyndburn
Here is a petition…I doubt that it will change anything, but it gives a chance to express your thoughts.

Re: Accy market hall
 

im fed up of hearing about the market hall .. its been bad enough having to sit in meetings with the bosses .. its just been one flip up after another .. (replace flip with your swear word of choice!)

Re: Accy market hall
 

The plans for the Market Hall when it is refurbished, are set to fail.
The council have still not found anyone to run this refurbished Market Hall….so how is this going to work.

There was a food outlet in the Arndale…it failed.
Accrington is flooded with places to buy fast food….and the ideas of a multi cultural food outlet is just ludicrous.
There is not the disposable income for the people of the town to take advantage of something like this.

Removing the food outlets from the pavilion in favour of car parking is very short sighted.

Re: Accy market hall
 

Usually, in personal experience at least, a “refurbishment” often means they’ll be closing permanently. It’s just a nicer way of saying it.
Maybe they will open with upgraded premises. For me, I’ll believe it when I see it. Used to use Slacks quite often, perhaps I’ll have a look when they open again.

Re: Accy market hall
 

Skuta I was told that Slacks butchers are moving to Chorley market…and it did not sound like a temporary move.
It sounded like this was to be their new home.

Re: Accy market hall
 

On Blackburn Road next to the Bees Knees the shop there was stripped out and rebuilt to a high standard, it took a long time to complete and it cost approx. £2m and I think that it was National Lottery money. It appears that that was a waste of £2m as to date no one has every moved in and it just just stands there, like many shops in Accrington, empty and with no one showing any interest in opening it.

Re: Accy market hall
 

They arent coming back .. they already have stalls on another couple of markets and theyre going to concentrate on them rather than coming back in 15months time .. but then again they could change their mind you never know.

all i know is where we were supposed to go its now not suitable and now have to go elsewhere ..

Re: Accy market hall
 

bye bye to gregs stall .. i took these this morning/dinnertime ..

Re: Accy market hall
 

Jen, thank you for those great pictures.
It is the end of an era and I do not know what Greg will do with himself.
We visited on Friday and he was very subdued…and I think he was a bit emotional….well of course he would be.
My husband worked for Greg’s Grandad (Len Platt)…he had the stall inside the Market for many years.
They will be missed, but mainly by the older generation.

Re: Accy market hall
 

Im going to miss him .. we had great discussions on what was going on .. I remember when i was a kid going to the outside stall on the old market with my mum and dad on saturday mornings .... i went down on saturday because i didnt get there friday because i was ill .. and not in any fit state to go out ... had to go and say goodbye and my last bacon for my sunday bacon butty ..:p plus had to tell him goodbye from the spugster as well

Re: Accy market hall
 

We went down on Friday.
It was very busy so he did not have much time to talk.
Greg is a lovely chap and he will be very much missed by everyone.

Re: Accy market hall
 

Yesterday Mrs. Exile and I went to Blackpool and happened to find the recently ‘refurbished’ Abingdon Street market, now turned (mainly) into a “food court”.
It was a bright, dry sunny day, in the centre of Blackpool and at lunch time.
This ‘market’ is smaller than Accrington’s Market Hall and had ten or so booths around the edges offering various ‘ethnic’ fast food and a long ‘cocktail’ type bar taking up one side, but probably only two or three food outlets seemed to have anyone working in them. The middle of the space was filled with wooden picnic tables and hard benches. All the benches were empty except where two young mother sat, both feeding their babies with bottles which I doubt came from any of the outlets.
If this is the kind of enterprise the Council intend for the Market Hall they better start working out what they’ll replace it with once it fails.

Re: Accy market hall
 

well the cabins have arrived ... and also as you can see they have put together a leaflet of where people are going ..

Re: Accy market hall
 

Update: Market on The Square
Whilst construction works to transform Accrington Market Hall are taking place, Market Hall traders will have new temporary locations throughout Accrington.
Many businesses are already in their new homes in various locations throughout town and open for business.
Some businesses will be soon re-located in the cabins infront of the Town Hall and Market Hall.
We are pleased to confirm that all 19 cabins have now arrived safely on Accrington Town Square!
The next stage is to get these new cabins ready to open for business - with the utilities, flooring and shelving/storage requirements to be installed. All the cabins have been bespoke made and co-designed by the business owners.
Traders have mentioned to the project teams involved that they would welcome a more relaxed approach to the upcoming move in the new year, and requested that Accrington Market Hall therefore does not fully close on the 31 December as planned. This has now been agreed.
To help the transition it has been confirmed that Accrington Market Hall, and the public facilities within, will now remain open throughout January 2024.
By keeping the Market Hall open for just a few weeks longer than planned it will mean traders can move into their new homes at their own speed.
It will also be welcome news for shoppers as there will be very little or no pause in trading for stall holders needed!
As soon as each cabin is ready traders will have the opportunity to move in at their own pace, throughout January, with the full support of the project team and a contracted removal company.
The existing stalls within the market hall will also remain open for use throughout this transition in January, so traders do not have to fully close their stall until they are confident and settled into their new location.
We hope the whole community will continue to support the fantastic traders throughout this change.


this was on the town square facebook page on 21st december

Re: Accy market hall
 

It is just a shame that Greg’s stall will not be among them.
Many of the older shoppers…this includes me, are missing his bacon and sausages.
The pre-packed stuff is like plastic!
I know what I like and I liked what Greg sold.

Thank you Jen for the heads up.

Re: Accy market hall
 

What are they changing it to. A ghost market?anyone who trusts our council is wrong in the head.

Re: Accy market hall
 

Cashy, you have to remember that is a press release from the council.
So of course they are going to paint it all rosy.
The damage was done when the moved to the bus station…the one that takes people away.
There is nothing to come to Accrington for and the money being spent to change the Market hall is going to be wasted.

I wish the council would spend our money as if it were theirs.

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they could if STUPIDITy wasnt relavant in their leaders.

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Oh, I think they do think it’s their money, Margaret.

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Yes, they might do, but they do not think about HOW they spend it.

And the blurb they put onto FaceBook stinks of fish.
Call me an old cynic, but to me it looks like someone has made an MCU(monumental cock up).
These cabins are not ready for occupation…the services to them have still to be installed….so they would have the traders in limbo if they closed the market hall.

So….how to make it seem good, kind, accommodating.
Well let’s put out a statement that covers up our ineptitude…let us make it seem like we have the towns interests at the heart of everything we do(don’t make me laugh).
Let us make it seem as if we support the market traders….let’s make it seem like it is about their needs.
And out comes that bit of FaceBook blurb.
Magic….and the folk bamboozled.

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[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington;1276318]Yes, they might do, but they do not think about HOW they spend it.
Call me an old cynic,

You are an old cynic ! (you did ask to be called that,) even though what you say is spot on. ;);)

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For those you (us) missing the culinary delights of the Market Hall it’s just been featured on Radio 4extra.
I hope you can find it here
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001trtf

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At last…Common Sense has prevailed.The Market Hall refurb which was going to make it a food hall hub has been ditched…along with a soft play area.
Market Traders who served food before the market hall closed will still be doing so and the rest of the Market hall will be a retail space.
Munsif Dad says that residents spoke and the council listened. Now isn’t that a first?

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IT certainly is.

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a peep through the fencing .. and through the open door .. this was a couple of weeks ago ..

Re: Accy market hall
 

why are they destroying the town Centre, I loved going to the Market Hall, they sold nearly everything, as a matter of fact I bought my Leather coat in there, many many years ago.

Re: Accy market hall
 

what an absolute mess they are making of Accy,