‘To leave is soul destroying’
HIS family has been a fixture on Rochdale market for nearly 100 years.
But, like the rest of the town’s stallholders, Peter Jordan - known to many as ‘the egg man’ - is reeling from the council’s shock announcement that it will close from the middle of next month.
His grandfather first began selling produce from their Rossendale farm on the town’s 768-year-old market in 1919.
Next month the family would have celebrated their 100th anniversary as Rochdale market traders but that proud lineage now appears to be under threat. Town hall bosses say the market - which moved to The Butts last year - is not ‘financially viable’ and the council can no longer afford to subsidise it.
Like all traders on the indoor and outdoor markets, Mr Jordan has been given four weeks’ notice. The council says it was not contractually obliged to give any notice, but wanted to give stallholders time ‘to make alternative arrangements.’
“Obviously it was a shock, it was completely out of the blue, we didn’t expect it,” says Mr Jordan, 76, who first started helping his father on the market as a teenager in the late 1950s.
But, despite the grim news, he remains confident he will find somewhere to sell his eggs in the town centre. “Wherever we move in Rochdale we will take 400-600 customers per month. That’s my pride and joy and I’m very, very privileged to be in this position,” he says.
And he believes that markets remain as relevant to today’s shoppers as ever, adding: “The majority of people want a market - it’s traditional. We have quite a lot of young families shopping with us, quite a lot of elderly people as well. They think they can kick us out as if it means nothing to the town, but it means a lot to the town.”
Upstairs from Mr Jordan’s egg stall is Montague’s Cafe, run by Debra McGinty. Debra set up the cafe in November last year, and says the situation has ‘pulled the rug out from under her.’
Council bosses say traders have been aware of issues with the market and the cafe has been party to a number of meetings over the last six months to address issues relating to business costs. But the news has hit Debra, 55, hard.
“There’s been no contact from the council, no consultation, we’ve been given 28 days. I’m in a state of shock,” she said.
“It’s a great place and the people that come here say it’s a great place - just what Rochdale has needed.”
She adds: “It’s soul destroying. If you go on social media or Google, all the ratings are four or five stars - everybody loves it here.”
The council says it has made ‘every effort’ to make the market a success including rent-free periods and subsidised bills – but Debra does not agree.
“They have done nothing but sit back and moan they are not getting any rents and the building is costing a fortune. We are working our fingers to the bone. They don’t have anybody who understands how to generate interest because if they did, this building (the indoor market) would be full.”
Hundreds have already signed a petition to save Montague’s Cafe and Debra hopes this might still force some sort of U-turn, adding: “Maybe the people power of Rochdale might rise up and say ‘we want this building open, we want this cafe.’”
Outside, on The Butts The Riverbank Market - to give it its official name emotions are running equally high.
Barbara Davis, who has run a children’s clothes stall for 21 years, has written an open letter to the council questioning its ‘right to destroy traders’ livelihoods.’
Like several outdoor traders, she denies that the outdoor market is losing money and claims the indoor foodhall is the drain on the council’s resources.
“My trade is great, I’m doing as well as I did in The Exchange and in the huts (Smith Street) - that’s the annoying part. We have got the trade, we have got the customers back and now they are finishing us.
“I’m absolutely gutted, I have got a strong customer base. You can see the quality of the stuff - we are not selling rubbish and people know that.”
The 72-year-old trader also questioned taking the decision following the announcement that Rochdale would be among the towns to benefit from the government’s £1bn Future High Street Fund.
“We are part of the high street yet they are closing it down, do the government think they are giving them money to do that?” she adds.
And she is not alone in querying how the council can cease running the market, because of the market charter. “Our understanding is that people have the charter to run the market, because the charter is for the town, not just for the council to decide,” she says.
Fellow outdoor trader Alison Melia - whose stall sells watch batteries and straps said: “I’m just devastated, I’m numb, I can’t take it in, I can’t see how they can do this to us.
“We have served the public of Rochdale for 38 years. The public of Rochdale have been good customers to us and we still want to continue serving those customers - not starting up on a new market somewhere else.”
Alison also questions how the outdoor market could be costing the council significant money, given it has no heating, lighting, or water.
She instead points the finger at the indoor market - which currently has two traders and a cafe - branding it a ‘white elephant.’
But she adds: “Of course I have got sympathy for them, I’ve got sympathy for all traders and to the people of Rochdale that have supported us over the years. Your heart goes out to everyone - they have got families, bills, children, mortgages.”
Beverley Evans says she will feel ‘sick’ when the final trading day, October 14, comes around.
“After 30 years in Rochdale I’m going to have to start looking round for another market. We have a following, we have loyal customers and we will have to start all over again.”
Other traders, including Abdul Quayyum and Masood Mohammed, say the lack of protection from the elements and basic facilities have made it inevitable there would be days when traders do not turn up.
Council bosses say that while they have taken the decision ‘with regret’ it was made after years of trying to make it work.
A spokesman said: “Ultimately we can’t use public money to subsidise the market indefinitely when it is losing money month after month. We will help any trader who wishes to relocate.”
The council says special events - such as the artisan market which runs on one Saturday a month - have worked well and it will look to build on these in the future. Bosses also describe the indoor market as occupying ‘a prime location in the heart of Rochdale town centre’ and say they will be looking into alternative uses for the ‘important building.’