A ONCE booming hub of independent traders, the deserted shops and low foot traffic inside St Mary's Market highlight its desperate plight as the town centre gears up for "once in a lifetime" regeneration plans.
Located inside St Mary's Arcade on the edge of the town centre, St Mary's Market has existed in its current form since the late 1990s after it merged with the nearby Tontine Market.
While it was once a vibrant shopping hub, the market has suffered from declining foot traffic and changing shopping habits over the years, but some of the remaining traders say it has "never been as bad" as this.
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Market traders struggling to survive
These are the thoughts of '1 Hour Stitch' owners Christine Shearen and Lorraine Cullen, who said that they aren't sure how much longer they can survive in the market with such low foot traffic.
Christine said: "Ten years ago the market was really busy, but since then it's just been a really slow decline.
"Footfall has not got back to the same level since before covid, and it's just gone downhill as stall after stall has left."
Linda Taylor, owner of Yates & Greer Butchers, had similar feelings and said that if it wasn't for B&M Bargains inside St Mary's Arcade, the business would likely close down for good.
"Most of the town's dying", Linda said, "We open six days a week but it's a real struggle to keep going at the minute.
"We have our regular customers but I'm not sure how some businesses are surviving."
Regeneration plans aim to address declining foot traffic
With aims to build new homes, offices, retailers, a hotel and a new market hall, St Helens Council's regeneration plans are an attempt to address the declining levels of footfall and provide a much-needed boost to the town centre.
Following the first phase of the proposals, which is planned to start with the demolition of the Hardshaw Centre at the end of this year, it is believed that St Mary's Market will also be bulldozed to make way for the new market hall.
Market traders say they had meetings with the council regarding regeneration plans around two years ago, but as there has not been much communication since, question marks remain over the timeline of the plans and if all the businesses will make it over to the new market.
Market traders feeling 'left behind'
With a lack of communication with the council as the regeneration plans grow closer, Lorraine and Christine at '1 Hour Stitch' said: "It feels like we've been left behind.
"We were told that Phase Two will start in 2025 but we don't know if we will be able to make it until then.
"The council does not often respond to our requests for leaks and repair work, so it just feels like we've been left in limbo."
Lorraine added that the sewing business has not felt any boost from Hardshaw Centre businesses moving to Church Square, and stressed further concerns about the impact on custom once the Hardshaw Centre becomes a building site.
While it may be a few years until the indoor market is demolished, owner of the Coffee Stop, Trina Johnson, said that she worries about where some of her older customers will go when they don't have their usual place to meet up.
Trina said: "I love coming to work and supporting the people in our community, but I do think about where are these people going to go when the regeneration plans start.
"We have some new faces but mainly it's a lot of loyal customers who have been coming for years, and we've tried our best to keep our prices down [through the cost of living crisis] for them.
"But it is worrying because overall footfall is really bad."
Like with the business owners at '1 Hour Stitch', Trina also said she has had limited communication with the council about repair works, and said that she feels footfall figures have been hindered by a lack of promotion and advertisement of the market.
Irene Hoffman, owner of the card shop stall inside St Mary's Market, also said that the market is not promoted enough in the town centre.
Working at the stall for the past 18 years, Irene said she has witnessed the slow decline of the market as more and more traders have left their premises and fewer customers have come in to shop.
A 'higher quality' public realm promised for St Helens
While the council did not give a timeframe for the future regeneration plans, it said that they are making "good progress" in understanding how best to revitalise the town centre.
It said that a new market hall and a "higher quality" public realm will improve the trading environment for both business owners and shoppers.
A spokesperson for the English Cities Fund and St Helens Council said: “We are making good progress and talking to the community to understand a broad spectrum of views about the plans to revitalise the town centre.
"Footfall is one of the core issues and will be addressed through new offices, commercial space, a new indoor market, a hotel and more housing.
"Listening and engaging does necessarily take time but the outcomes will support both town centre businesses and market traders.
"We are going to deliver a higher quality public realm that will create a better trading environment for outdoor market traders and will complement the stallholders in the new indoor market."
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