There is a French Market today on the Market Place. It is a different organisation and bigger than the market that came last year.
Glorious sunshine is predicted all weekend.
Not only is the Market in town
but also the Craft Fair in the Old Abbey Buildings.
there’s such a vibrancy in the town when there’s a decent market on at the weekend. Why oh why do we still not have a weekly weekend market?
I can see no valid reason except that a lot of community groups use the square on Saturdays. The Town Council may not wish to stop supporting these groups.
I agree. There appears to be no valid reson. I guess it goes hand in hand with the blinkered “Abingdon’s fine as it is” way of thinking. It seems we’re stuck with a “can’t do, won’t do” attitude of those who could make it happen.
Maybe one day we can look to the strategic thinkers of the future, the one’s with a “Let’s get things done” outlook. Who knows…maybe we could have a market, on…say…a Sunday?
If I were able to offer someone £5 million pounds to make it happen….I bet they’d find a way!!!
Re David’s comments, the community use falls into two types: displays, concerts etc and fund-rasing stalls. The former have only really taken off in the last 3 years (since the MP refurbishment) and were encouraged by the TC as a means of promoting the vibrancy Doozer talks about – i.e I am pretty sure that it wasn’t due to demand by the groups themselves. There have always been small fund-raising stalls. However with the exception of big events such as Abingdon’s Got talent, none of the rest are completely incompatible with a market: a brass band playing alongside the market would be great and charity stalls could either be under the County Hall or at the other end of the Shopping Centre (post refurbishment in both cases – and Yes I do know the Shopping Centre doesn’t belong to the TC).
The actual reasons given by the TC in the past have included legal restrictions on numbers of markets which can be held; need not to create problems with existing market traders – and town shops; no markets available/willing to come. Those are the ones that come to mind – there may have been more.
But lfe has moved on since then so it is probably worth raising this issue again with the TC (after 5 May) – in the meantime we have a good opportunity to feed in views on this and anything else we think is important – mention it to canvassers when they come round. Politicians do listen at this time of year!
I like the look of the market square bustling with people but I walked past the market on Saturday and made a conscious decision not to buy anything there.Why should my pound got to a non-Abingdon trader?
Instead I went to my LOCAL fabric shop and my LOCAL delicatessen.
Perhaps I am short sighted and I am not taking into account the effect of the vibrancy of the French Market as a draw to other businesses who might then want to trade in the town but I doubt it.
What I see is that there are already a lot of businesses in this town that are offering an amazing array of products that no-one knows about.
I was recently in a shop when a customer came in and asked if they sold strips of wood to cut to make a frame. The lady at the counter said no and the customer turned to go so I suggested that she got to F Knight on Ock Street. She didn’t know that shop existed and I had to explain to her how to get to it!
She thanked me and said that she would have driven past it to B&Q if I hadn’t spoken to her.
Backstreeter’s plan of all the Abingdon businesses should be laminated and stuck behind the counter in every shop in town. Choose Abingdon might be better if it was aimed at traders tagging other traders and sending people to other shops with points to be redeemed!
Someone needs to get the Town Council, the Chamber of Commerce the Friends of Abingdon, and the Abingdon Business Alliance in the same room and knock their heads together until they come up with strategy they can all support. There are lots of motivated and imaginative people in these groups and they could really make a difference with some ‘blue sky’ thinking.
Talking about parking costs, traffic flow, business rates, advertising, events, incentives and ‘buddying’ traders who might refer customers to each other might be the start of moving forward together.
Rachel says “Someone needs to get the Town Council, the Chamber of Commerce the Friends of Abingdon, and the Abingdon Business Alliance in the same room and knock their heads together until they come up with strategy they can all support..”
That is exactly what the “Choose Abingdon Partnership” is all about and some of the things she suggests are already in place: the leaflet with the shop map is widely available – it went to every home in town and most shops have it; and both the Partnership website and the Choose Abingdon and Chamber of Commerce websites have searchable directories of shops and businesses in the town.
However the idea of encouraging shopkeepers to be more pro-active in promoting one another is a good one and hopefully the Chamber and ABA can follow that up. While Councils and the Partnership can do things to bring people into town (and there are several projects in hand aimed at doing that) in the end it is the shops themselves who have to attract them through their doors
PS I don’t want to sound like one of those doozer refers to and imply that all is well – Rachel raises many other issues and I agree that there is plenty more to do!
Really enjoyed browsing at this French Market. Some very attractive stalls with very friendly stall holders and quality products. There was a great atmosphere, helped of course by some fabulous spring sunshine and free samples of wonderful cheeses and honey. Seemed much more attractive than the normal weekly market. I must admit I made a special trip into Abingdon because I knew this market was on but while I was there also shopped at the fabric shop and other existing shops. Would love to see this type of market on a regular basis.
I wonder if Rachel has considered joining The Friends of Abingdon to help them in the work they do in the interests of the town? Contact the membership secretary on 01235 521873
The main reason there isn’t a weekly market is that the various organisations which run markets (most of which are cooperatives of traders) are already committed on weekends.
That’s why the Farmers’ Market is on a Friday, Thames Valley Farmers Markets are already committed elsewhere on weekends and don’t have enough traders to make an Abingdon one viable.
doozer – if people really thought Abingdon was ‘fina as it is’, why do you think so much effort has gone in to organising events, increasing the number of markets, setting up the Partnership, launching the Loyalty Cards scheme etc. etc. ?
neil…it’s a tough one, and not that clear cut. To use the market place as an example; I fully recognise the efforts of others, full of good intention and all ultimately moving things in a positive direction. Current events on the Market Place – brilliant. Abingdon’s Got Talent – fantastic. Craft fairs, Heritage Day, arts festival, a plethora of good and interesting independent shops…of course, it is all wonderful. These are the things I love about the town. I don’t use them all, I don’t go to them all…but the fact they are here I of course recognise is great and am grateful to people with more time and effort than I have for making these things happen.
Maybe that is the issue and I should be more proactive. Don’t worry…I’m aware of my own shortcomings!
However, every time I venture on to that wonderful market square, prime time on a Saturday (or indeed Sunday) morning/lunchtime/afternoon and see a busy and bustly ‘cafe scene’, but no ‘event‘…I will always wonder “why is this not being harnessed/exploited for Abingdon’s gain”? People seem to be milling around,, fumbling with the pound in their pocket, waiting for something….but nothing seems to happen. (I know that there is lots going on elsewhere in and around the Town…but my ‘focus’ here…is the market, the square and it’s usage)
All the current marvellous events and initiatives are truly great…but I worry that there is no focus. A physical focal point of the town and of it’s soul. To me, Abingdon needs it’s beating heart. Where is that, what is that? I’m quite a new resident. Maybe it exists somewhere, I just don’t know where it is… To me that heart could be a market. If Abingdon had a fantastic, county renowned Saturday or Sunday market then I feel, and am prepared to be proved wrong, that this could be part of the focal point that will bring people into town…or keep them here if they come for other reasons.
Do other people feel that a weekly weekend market is a good idea? I have been unable to establish this, unfortunately. To say that “the traders are busy” I feel is a cop out. Which traders? Those from Thames Valley Market Traders? So, does this mean that there is absolutely no one else to ask? Are these the ONLY market traders in the WHOLE county…and if they are busy….that’s it!? That is what worries me. “Computer says no” …
IF, and this, for me is the fundamental issue for me to understand before I let this one go is this; If a market is wanted…is everything possible being done to “make it happen”. If one cooperative says no…call another, and another. Fight, haggle, offer, incentivise, sell Abingdon as better than A N Other town…whatever – get them here. Ring all the local farms to see if they would have a “free” stall. There must be a huge number of ‘Local producers’ for meat/veg/crafts/products (Local Roots sought them out)! Whatever….it doesn’t matter. But, of course if no one actually wants a market, if you disagree that it will be a ‘hook’ to get people here – well, fair enough. I concede; you asked a few traders, they said ‘no’…you tried, no-can-do. You did your best. Whilst I won’t agree with you…I can see that it can be said that it was tried. A box gets ticked, an idea is looked at, it gets filed away as a non-starter.
But I concede – I haven’t made the phone calls, I haven’t been tasked with getting a market here….what do I know sitting in my office.
Neil, of course I recognise that none of this is easy, however I am a pessimist at heart so I am afraid, as just an ‘end user’ of our town; I will only ever see “solution opportunities”. I will always only ever want Abingdon to be better than it is, because I know it can be, no matter how good it is already.
Ultimately Neil…I’d be happy to think we’re on the same side, we just see things differently.
(the last time I ranted like this I got told to “…shut up, you boring fa~t”…which, to be fair, I’ll take on the chin again)!