Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 24th January, 2018)

What a HUGE difference from when the old Market Hall was there.. Wigan is dead....So sad...

If they reduced there sky high rents the place would do better.

Better to have half of something than a lot of nothing... Pure greed has killed the market and the inside , will they learn??? No...

What a sad looking scene, a poor excuse for an outdoor market. I am sure the day Wigan market hall went was the begining of the end.....

Downfall of Wigan market was Morrisons Tesco and ASDA ask Cyril when was last time he went in there.

No words needed, they've killed the market.

oh dear. maybe bad weather had something to do with it? or a sign of the times?

So sad. Bargain shops such as Poundland, retail parks and internet shopping have contributed to this but, as "owd mon" says, the rents don't help. There used to be a brilliant dvd/music stall inside the Market Hall; I was devastated when it closed and asked the owner why he was leaving, and he said it was because the rent just kept on going up. HE lost out, his customers lost out, Wigan lost out. Wigan Council can't see the wood for the trees and only realise their mistake with exorbitant rents and parking charges when it is too late and the people have given up and gone elsewhere to shop. I know some people on here think we should just comment on the quality of the photo but I feel Brian has added this to highlight the state of the market and therefore won't mind my comments.

Agree with Owd Mon re the sky high rents. It's a 'claustrophobic quadrangle' and doesn't even seem the right place to hold an outdoor market. It's all been said before - like a worn out record!

Morrison's was the only reason why a lot of people went to Wigan, when Morrison's went the people went too.

Most markets today only sell junk anyway.

Can anybody tell me if the market hall is still trading for customers and is there still a Morrisons there to.

All this talk of the problem being the cost of the rent. Even if the rent was zero I still wouldn't use it, they don't sell the things I want and there are now easier and more convenient ways to shop. I am sure this is view shared by many others. Town center shopping is dying across the whole country and its down to a change in the way people do their shopping, nowt to do with rent and rates.

Sky High Rents?
I blame lack of interest in the town and market shopping in general. Leigh has a good market run by the same council with similar cost and it works. Here the people of wigan are to blame more than any council

Informative photo - one thing for sure, that is not a market.

Julie, the Market Hall is still trading but Morrisons has closed. On the subject of rents, one stall holder moved to the Royal Arcade where he had more space, better security and warmer for a much lower rent. When I have seen stalls advertised for rent and the price, I wonder how anyone can make a profit. Yes the rents are too high!

Mick, I can't remember the last time I went into the market hall, it must be over four years ago and the only stall I went to was Bill Reid's to buy dog treats, he said then he was really fed up with the place, he works from home now and does more selling than he ever did when in the hall. What's the reason I don't go there - simple, there's nothing in there that I want or need, same with the town centre.

Another reason overlooked is because of the redevelopment of the Bus Station. Many people come on the buses and would have used the 'market' to cut through. ( I know I did)! Also people would be 'put off ' coming to Wigan because of that very reason. People wandering around in a 'fog' wondering where to catch the bus!!!

Alan !! Not all markets sell junk, you should see our Saturday market here in Norfolk, brilliant & we have a smaller market on a Wednesday.... we had the dreaded Tesco forced upon us & everyone said the shops would die but they fought back & we still have lots of independent shops that the town fully supports.

I agree there Helen. I have been on an outdoor market in Norfolk and been amazed! The fruit and veg, bed linen and all kinds of stuff. I have even seen Moorcroft ( second hand) being sold there. The same in Lincolnshire... They do seem to fare better in other towns up and down the country.

Helen, I'm talking about Wigan area, not Norfolk.

Cyril's last sentence says it all as far as I'm concerned. Most recent visit into the town was March last year.

If you want to see a thriving lively market ,go to Chorley on a Tuesday or Ormskirk on a Thursday, Wigan market is a soulless place and the Metro should hang gheir heads in shame ,!!!

You can't beat the old traditional market that once graced our town, a seen that we will never see again, sadly.

Shortsightedness by the council ,when they pulled the old market hall down ,all the halloballow how the galleries was going to take Wigan to a new shopping high and what now all but a memory, Same may happen to the grand arcade nobody in in weektime,watch out for Clarks shoes closing next

Bury market tops em all, I suspect.

Ormskirk Market is very good -nice in the summer months- and it's free on the bus!

They look more like a CarPort.

Only if your a pensioner the bus is free. Your all missing the point here. Forget other market towns, we're talking about Wigan market on out door step.

Trade in Wigan as shifted from The Galleries and up into the centre, the Grande Arcade is busy, along with the central swath of the Town Centre, from Market Place and down Standishgate, that is the main shopping area now ...

What a difference 17yrs makes, it was very busy when I left the UK in 2000, for being my home town, it doesn’t look like a place I’m that keen to visit anymore... much the same as WW... so sad

The whole point of the discussion Alan is the comparison between other towns and Wigan and how lacking it is in enterprise! And it's mostly pensioners who have the time to travel to other towns - hence free bus travel if chosen to do so! If you want to go in your car - there is nothing to stop you.....

I believe all this part of the Galleries is being sold to an American firm who are supposed to be turning it into bars, cafes, restaurants etc and King St bars closing.

I was a butchers apprentice at McAvoys in the early sixties. The market hall was vibrant back then. Full of life and good people.

What went wrong?????????

So very sad.........

Is it not what we pass onto the next generation? You don't need to be a builder to see this is a very cheap build. What will this look like in a hundred years? Those balls for light will last a long time won't they? There is nothing in this building to take pride in. It just looks cheap and tacky! I know some on WW love these modern type of buildings, and it's the way forward. Can I ask how years do you think this building will last? Might as well turn the entire building into one single store.. POUNDLAND! Will the next generation of Wigan look back on it in their later years with pride and a bag full of memories? This is soulless junk!

Took my Daughter to Wigan few weeks back first time for a few years,What a let down,Not many In Shops.Went to Market Hall ,place was Dead.Town Center was dead.Market Hall less said about that place the better.Wigan Council what the Hell have you done to Our Wigan.Also what the Hell have you done to Lower Ince & Spring View.Thought we were Driving through a Shanty Town in some run down Country.Thanks Big earner's in Planing Dept,Chief Ex'& Elected Members.

Because I dont live in or near Wigan I dont really have the right to make this comment..... but you can use your vote at the next council elections. I await the brickbats !!

People keep on about Wigan Council, well, take a look at Frank Orrell's photo of Newtown Saddle, in Album item number 30124. Do we still want to live like that, no we don't. Frank's photo is brill and full of history, but Stop living in the past. Markets are a thing from the past, like it or not.

Only in Wigan It seems! Now what time is that Bus to Ormskirk! Or shall I try Chorley for a change!

It isn't about living in the past,it's as Helen States,people's decisions to vote (or not).I await brickbats too! However,if the people of Wigan don't agree with decisions taken,why don't they do something about it ????

Market Towns around the country are struggling thats fact. I think many of you live in an alternative universe.

The truth is Markets that survive today are usually in areas with lots of immigration and where its still all part of their culture.

Ormskirk struggles and just this week we've seen reports of Bolton market showing a decline in footfall....

Well said Babs. Some of you have very boring days to spend your time.

I am afraid I have to disagree with Babs, the East of England does not attract all immigrants, only those from Eastern Europe because of the similar lifestyles,agriculture & growing, they are very much into markets as they are used to markets in their homelands. We couldnt do without their labourin the intensive growing of produce in this part of the UK.

I agree with you Helen and as Babs said in an earlier comment Leigh Market is much better than Wigan! So the council must be doing something right! Pity it's not Wigan though. Alan the word boredom does not even enter into my mind -the days are not long enough for me. Come the summer months It will be somewhere different every other day. ( not just markets either!)

When they pulled the old market down they ripped the heart out of our town , never to recover , what goons ,never had a clue .

Does anyone no are remember the good old days when you could go to a busy market hall. There were lots of butchers, many which I worked on I also worked for Sutcliffe's tripe stall.i love the old history of Wigan and have a lot of friends in the market and I think it's time to listen to what the market stall losers want to do .we go to st.helens.widnes.warrington.leigh.bury.and many more places.they all have better parking and busier markets let's make it easier for older people to get into wigan.if the rents were cheaper and parking was cheaper then you wouldn't have lots of empty stalls .the other day I went to have a watch engraved at Barry's key stall it was the first time I have seen a queue in a long time.and I can still remember Barry and his brother Stuart outside the old market where there was a queue all the time .let's give the people of Wigan the chance to speak and owe the town needs to be improved after all it's the people you need to listen to.