St Helens: St Mary's Market traders unsure what the future holds

A quick walk through the market and you will see unit after unit with shutters down and only a handful of shoppers drifting through.

A far cry from the bustling days when St Mary's merged with the nearby Tontine market in the 1990s, traders have been battling against a "slow decline" of the market for several years, with some raising concerns about dwindling footfall and others about the building's neglected condition.

And while St Helens Council is trying to counter these struggles with its incoming £90m regeneration project, traders say there has been a lack of communication regarding these plans and the future of the market.

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Yates & Greer has been one of the longest-standing stalls in the market (Image: St Helens Star) One of the oldest businesses inside St Mary's is Yates & Greer Butchers, which still attracts a healthy dose of regular customers for its selection of pies and meats. But like many other traders, the butchers struggles with a lack of passing trade inside the market.

More concerning for the Yates & Greer, the hard-working staff do not know the long-term plan for stalls like theirs, and they are unsure if they will feature in St Helens’ regenerated town centre.

"We have been in the market since day one, and we are still doing well", one of the Yates & Greer manager explains.

"But the council never tells us anything and we have no idea if we will be moved or what will happen with the market."

Many stalls have closed at St Mary's Market over the years (Image: St Helens Star) While the council's focus is on preparing for Phase One of St Helens' regeneration plans, which will see new homes, offices, a hotel and modern market hall built in the town centre, there is no solid timeline for Phase Two of the project.

When the town centre's new features are up and running, it is understood that the St Mary's Market will be bulldozed to make way for residential developments in Phase Two, which will include a mix of townhouses and apartments.

While this plan has been outlined in St Helens Council's regeneration 'masterplan', St Mary's traders say there has been no communication regarding a timeline or whether they will be invited to form part of the new market hall.

IC Petfood has been another long-standing feature of the market (Image: St Helens Star) Similar to Yates & Greer, Val Houghton's IC Petfood stall has also been a feature of St Mary's market from the very beginning.

Developing an established reputation with pet owners, Val says that business has remained steady over the decades, with customers often coming out of their way to purchase pet food, treats, or toys.

However, admitting that there is "no passing trade" at St Mary's market, Val said that there have been "some hard times" for the traders over the years.

Apart from an initial meeting with the council several years ago, Val said there has been "no information" about the future of the market and the regeneration plans.

The Coffee Stop is a main feature of the struggling market (Image: St Helens Star) Trina Johnson, who has worked in the market for the best part of 20 years, also agreed with the traders about the lack of communication.

Trina, who has owned the Coffee Stop cafe for the past five years, said: "The last meeting we had with the council was before covid, and since then we have not been informed about the plans for the market.

"We have a lot of older people coming here and we have already heard concerns about closing the bus station, because people struggle to walk that far.

"We have already dealt with extortionate electricity bills [during the cost of living crisis] so the future is a worry for us.

"I feel sorry for the staff and the other traders because no one knows what's happening."

Traders say there has been a lack of communication regarding future plans for St Mary's market (Image: St Helens Star)

Following publication, St Helens Council, which had been contacted a week ago, released a statement regarding the market: “St Helens has a long and proud tradition as a market town, and a new market is at the very heart of the transformational scheme we are bringing forward.

“We conducted extensive community consultations prior to submitting the planning application for Phase One of the scheme, the outcome of which is due in the next few months. During the process we received overwhelming recognition of the need to bring the borough back to its former glory and make St Helens town centre an attractive, vibrant, and family-friendly destination.

“We are currently in the process of talking to specialist consultants about the fit-out of the new market and the ideal mix of operators. Once planning consent is secured, we can move to the next stage and have a more detailed consultation with St Mary’s traders.

“In due course a market operator will be appointed to curate the mix of occupiers going into the new market – but ‘mix’ is the operative word and it’s about having something for everyone. There will be elements we haven’t seen before – pop-up stores, street food and entertainment activities to use the space in different and exciting ways.

“In the meantime our markets team is working with traders to support them in their current home.”