Salford Shopping Centre’s Market Hall has been the bedrock of the local community during the pandemic, helping decades-old market stalls stay afloat and providing a much-needed social hub for locals.

With Salford and Pendleton’s long tradition of markets, both outdoor and indoor, market traders leapt at the chance to move into the Market Hall at Salford Shopping Centre.

Nicola Rowbotham who has run the bakery stall, Lancashire Harvest, since 2000 welcomed this change after she recalled seeing the old once-bustling market die out first-hand:

“When I bought it as an existing business 21 years ago it was in a square with stalls round the outside and inside, and every single one was full. Then people gradually left as they couldn’t make ends meet, it started to look derelict”.

However, since being given the opportunity to move into the Market Hall at Salford Shopping Centre many of these market stalls have seen an increase in revenue. Bringing the Market Hall within the main shopping centre has allowed traders to capitalise on the centre’s footfall, which has bucked the national average throughout the pandemic due to the resurgence of “return to Local” shopping habits.

Salford Shopping Centre Manager, Nick Pitt, said:

“We have been so pleased to see that people are still regularly shopping at the centre and supporting the local businesses in the market despite the challenges of lockdown. The pandemic has also made it clear how vital the centre is to the community itself too, acting as an essential hub where people can come together to shop, meet and eat.”

Salford Shopping Centre’s Market Hall traders have also been humbled by the support and loyalty from the local community who have embraced this evolution of Salford’s market tradition with open arms. The market has been particularly important for elderly residents during the pandemic as it helps bring the community together by giving them a space to meet and have some invaluable face-to-face interactions, albeit at a safe distance.

Nicola, who’s been serving the same customers for 20 years, went on to say: “With online shopping or in big shops you don’t get the one-to-one and the personal touch that you get from the markets. Even over Christmas they put so much money into the tip boxes, we’re talking £5, £10, sometimes £20 notes going in there. That’s how much they appreciate that bit of time we give them.”

Salford Shopping Centre is a community in itself with its own personality and vibe and the modernisation of the market hall has made it popular with a broad range of shoppers. This paired with the availability of short or long term lets and affordable rents makes the centre an ideal location for start-ups and independents.

The centre is now looking for a new exciting local business that can fill the remaining space in the Market Hall. If you have a business of your own and would like to join the other market traders, please do get in contact via salfordshopping@downatthesocial.co.uk. From cake making to floristry, the Market Hall wants to hear from you.

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