Market traders settle in to new shops ready for Christmas rush
It was important for us to open up before Christmas as we couldn’t afford to miss any more time, and I knew I wanted to stay here in Bridgend
We’re quite pleased with where the council have set us up and they’ve done a good job of making the stalls nice, clean and bright-looking
Eileen Schofield
My personal opinion is that too many people have now left the market... so the chances of them returning after having those shops is slim to none
Chris Pritchard
TRADERS from the closed Bridgend Market have begun to open up shops in different parts of the town as Christmas approaches.
The temporary closure of the towncentre building came after the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC, within the structure’s roof in September.
It led to the building being closed with immediate effect to protect public safety after an emergency meeting of cabinet members was called following the discovery by inspectors, with further assessments needed before it can reopen.
The move left the 17 stallholders in the market with just hours to pack up their stock and leave, with no guarantees of what the future would hold for their businesses.
While there are still no updates about when the market will reopen in what has been described as a “complex” situation, some traders have begun to start trading in other locations around Bridgend as they welcome shoppers over the Christmas period.
However, with traders moving on, it has led some people to question if the market will ever reopen in the same way as before.
Eileen Schofield had been based at the market since 2006 on her stall, which sells kitchen and craft supplies.
After recently reopening at the former Officers Club in the Rhiw Shopping Centre alongside eight other stalls, she said she was just happy to be back in business.
She said: “We’re quite pleased with where the council have set us up and they’ve done a good job of making the stalls nice, clean and bright-looking, so I think most of us here are quite pleased.
“I don’t know if we’ll end up going back to the old place as we’re quite happy here, to be honest, and with the amount of time it’s taken us to take everything out of the old market and put it in this new unit, it has been a bit of a nightmare.
“It’s going to be a long, drawn-out time, and the trouble is some of the stallholders have gone out into shop units and probably will not want to go back in there – so if there’s less people wanting to go back in, I don’t know what the council are going to do.”
Chris Pritchard, 40, runs an American coffee shop stall at the new location and said after a turbulent few months he also has doubts if they will go back to the market.
He said: “I was in the market for about 15 months before we moved out. It was an absolute nightmare because we knew nothing about it before it happened.
“The safety inspector rocked up at 2pm on the Wednesday, and said there was bad news, that we were shutting down, so we literally had an hour to pack up our stuff and get out.
“Essentially I’ve been unemployed for nine weeks so it’s been hard just trying to keep going.
“Luckily we’ve had pop-ups in the Rhiw every Friday and Saturday so it’s managed to keep going a little bit, but it has been stressful.
“I think they’ve done really well in here, though. It looks nice, it’s all brand-new, it’s fresh and looks full as well so I think they’ve done a good job.
“My personal opinion is that too many people have now left the market, for example the butchers and sewers have all gone off and got their own shops in town, so the chances of them returning after having those shops is slim to none.”
Anne Binding is the owner of Bridgend Bakestones, and said after opening her own shop in Market Street over the past month she is hopeful her business will continue to thrive, with new freedoms to open outside market hours.
She said: “It was important for us to open up before Christmas as we couldn’t afford to miss any more time, and I knew I wanted to stay here in Bridgend.
“I’ve been here for around 14 years now and am well-established, so I came out and found the new place for myself.”
Speaking at a monthly full council meeting, Bridgend council’s leader Huw David said: “Stallholders from Bridgend indoor market have started moving into their new temporary accommodation at the Rhiw Shopping Centre in time for the Christmas shopping season.
“Some traders have opted to source their own alternative town-centre premises and some are open for business once more.”
He added: “Reaching this point has not been easy or straightforward.”
Councillor Rhys Goode, who is the cabinet member for housing, planning and regeneration, added: “What’s really important for me is to say to everyone in the borough, if you can, get yourself down there to help support them because they’ve lost a good few weeks of trade.”