Debate continues over Wilmslow Artisan Market

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Another heated discussion about the Artisan Market took place at this week's meeting of the Wilmslow Business Group.

As reported recently a survey is currently being carried out to gauge the opinion of both the public and businesses, the results of which will determine whether the market continues or not - and if it does whether any changes are made.

The questionnaire was prompted by three Wilmslow businesses who raised objections to the monthly market at a meeting of the Wilmslow Business Group in January. They also requested that the Artisan Market was added to the agenda for this month's meeting on Monday, 27th February.

Denise Valente and Vicky Jackson, organisers of the Wilmslow Artisan Market, welcomed businesses to comment on how the market has been affecting their business.

Carol Gatto-Hall, of Peter Herd, who has had a business in the town since 1990, told the group "We first took a stall at the Artisan Market four months ago, we took the bull by the horns and decided we would go to Grove Street and man a stand. It has been a very very successful period of time for our company.

"I live in Alderley Edge and have not spent a penny in Wilmslow for at least 15 years, since Grove Street was pedestrianised, however, since we came to the market not only have I spent money in the shops but so have my staff. It would be very interesting to see how it affects places like Cafe Nero and Konak Cafe as we have drunk our way through so much coffee.

"Is what we are reading in the paper really true that Wilmslow is suffering twelve Saturdays a year because of the market?"

Colin McKevitt, owner of theBoardroom, said "From my point of view when Vicky and Denise first started the market it was great, we saw people come and use us at lunchtime but as the food sellers on the market increased our food sales on market day have decreased.

"When people have got the chance to buy something cheap on the market that's what they're going to do. People would rather buy a burger from a catering van than come in to my businesses and pay a bit more which I have to charge because of the rent.

"I think the market is a fantastic idea but I don't understand why we need something once a month that is already happening in Wilmslow. We need to market Wilmslow first, there are so many things with Wilmslow that should be better. I think it's important that we think about the whole picture. In its current form it doesn't work for me."

Carol Gatto-Hall added "It is also about the community, the markets bring the community together, it brings life back to our towns. Mary Portas has got it right.

"I can assure you that looking at my two businesses either side of a market my two shops have not decreased because of the Artisan Market. It needs to be put in some perspective because you are in grave danger of letting this go and that would be sad for Wilmslow. I have never seen Wilmslow so busy."

David McGifford, Senior Regeneration Officer, at Cheshire East Council has offered help with the creation of the surveys and manpower to distribute and collate the results so that the survey can be carried out as quickly as possible and in an unbiased way.

He said "The reason we've come to do this survey is to try to get to a factual position, we don't think that it is a case that there is a winner and a loser but it's about how we can help these businesses."

Andrew Royle, of Royles on Grove Street, feels strongly that the market should be relocated.

He said "It does affect us because people can't even see our front door. We pay an extortionate rent to be on Grove Street and the market is taking a quarter of our Saturdays away and blocking our front door.

"When the supermarket was built on Church Street the market moved to the leisure centre car park so why can't it move there to a designated place?"

Peter Aitchison, a trader at the Artisan Market, said "I use the market as a way to get into Wilmslow as I want to open a gallery here. I have done 7 or 8 markets and have been told by many people how wonderful the market is and how dead Wilmslow is without it.

"When a business is failing trying to blame the market is an easy way out."

Ben Brindley, another trader, added "We all need to work together to make it work. It is not just about the businesses it is about the community and if we don't pull together we are not going to have businesses that work."

Bethan Phillips, of Weston Digital Imaging, commented "The danger is that the general public perceive that businesses are hostile to something the public are loving. If the market moves then people will make a special trip to the other town for the market and the businesses of Wilmslow will lose the opportunity."

Organiser Denise Valente responded by saying "I think we need to draw a line under what has happened before. We are open to any suggestions and any ideas from businesses about how we can work together to make it work for them.

"We are hoping to get some feedback from the survey as soon as possible and then we will have a separate meeting to discuss how we move forward."

A representative from Cheshire East Council is currently visiting businesses in Wilmslow to carry out the survey, if you have a business in the town centre and have not received a visit yet then you will receive one in the near future.

If you have visited the Wilmslow Artisan Market do take a few minutes to provide feedback online.

To read previous articles about the Wilmslow Artisan Market click on the tag below.

Tags:
Wilmslow Artisan Market, Wilmslow Business Group
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Peter Aitchison
Tuesday 28th February 2012 at 1:49 pm
I was at the meeting last night
I want to comment on something Colin from The Boardroom said about food at The Artisan
He said that rather than come to the pub for lunch people would rather buy from a burger van
The Artisan has no "burger vans"
What it does have is an amazing selection of food which is ethically sourced and prepared by hand to the highest standards
Maybe on market days people enjoy trying something different or maybe even better
If people were purely only interested in price then there is a lot of cheap outlets which they could visit any Saturday not just market day
Patricia Hood
Tuesday 28th February 2012 at 5:15 pm
Leave the market alone it is fantastic for the town it has created a wonderful atmosphere, for only one day a month, I enjoy the variety of stalls, excellent meat and cheese and bread, I suggest that the complainers look to making there own shops/bars etc more attractive to customers.
Bob Ellis
Tuesday 28th February 2012 at 10:11 pm
What a diverse set of comments on the original piece. The vast majority in favour of the market.

There does seem to be a couple of themes, which I suggest could be resolved thus:

1.Chapel Lane shops – get together and have 10,000 flyers printed that advertise your businesses and every Saturday, just spend a few hours handing them out. You can’t expect people to come if they don’t know about you.
2.Denise and Vicky – get rid of the franchises and those stalls that obviously just buy and sell. What’s artisan about the poster stall, selling old china tea cups or opening catering tins of olives. If the stalls can't prove that they make what they sell ( and that includes those that say they sell on behalf of others ) then they shouldn’t be there.
3.Don’t move the market to a Sunday. This will not benefit any of the shops that do embrace the market or the people of Wilmslow.
4.The Boardroom – a lot of the food on sale is for ‘grazing’, eating as you walk so yes you probably can't compete. But the only drinks on offer in the market is the tea wagon parked in bank square. Could you not supply a ‘licensed’ bottle bar there instead? so that the shoppers who buy the grazing food can sit in bank square and have a drink whilst eating?
5.Why was 'edible' wilmslow? there advocating grow your own, whilst at the end of the market was a typical 'wholesale' fruit and veg man? why was their space not allocated to a local market gardener, selling locally produced seasonal produce?

And finally, if the businesses don't want the market, then i am happy to spend my money at either the Altrincham market held the day after Wilmslow or the Macc Treacle Market held on the last Sunday of the month.

"You don't know what you have got until its gone...."
Denise Hutchinson
Wednesday 29th February 2012 at 8:12 am
I think it would be a shame to lose the market as it is the one day a month that Wilmslow really feels alive. I am sure many people, both locals and those from further afield, will only come in to the town because of the market and will no doubt visit other businesses whilst there. However I do agree with Bob Ellis' comments that the stalls should really be "Artisan" .
Victoria Jackson
Thursday 1st March 2012 at 8:36 am
Thank you so much for all the support we've been receiving, Denise and I are incredibly grateful. Regarding your first point Bob Ellis, I believe I'm correct in saying that Cheshire East is looking to produce a leaflet/ map which details the businesses, shop fronts throughout Wilmslow. As you suggested this will be a phenomenal tool to market the businesses of Wilmslow (town centre, Chapel Lane, Summerfield’s), and perfect to be handed out to the vastly increased footfall on market day.
Regarding point 2, I am incredibly proud of all of our 100 traders at the Artisan. They are truly passionate about what they do, and the products they sell. You are correct not all of the traders are producers, and the reason for this is in my experience not all producers are skilled in communicating what is needed to generate a sale. I organised the concessions at a community event in Bramhall prior to the Artisan, and was looking for traders for the event. Whilst doing searches on the internet I came across a brilliant silversmith, and I invite her to attend. Her work was truly superb, priced competitively, beautifully presented, but no sales were generated. She'd travelled a distance to come to the event, spent 8 hours manning her stall, and in the end it was a rather disheartening experience for this talented young lady. I don't feel I should go into the reasons why she did not engage with potential customers, I am after all no Alan Sugar and am on occasion rather timid myself, but I do hope you understand my point.
When planning the stalls Denise and I have our friends, family, neighbours in mind, we think about what would they want, what is perhaps missing from the shopping experience day to day in Wilmslow. We endeavour to ensure that on market day Wilmslow is full of energetic, passionate people who love what they do, we hope this passion is infectious and felt by all our visitors. One of my favourites is Joe and Fiona’s chorizo stand, they don't make the chorizo, but they hand pick their products from Madrid and I personally think due to Joe and Fiona’s endeavours Wilmslow displays the finest chorizo in the UK.
Regarding Dominic of Green Olives, he and his brother work on farmers markets throughout the North West, I have bought from his vast olive selection and always enjoyed my purchases.
I actually made a conscious decision to restrict the amount of vintage on the market (market lovers will know about the fabulous vintage markets in Altrincham and Stockport), as I believe our charity shops do vintage incredibly well, especially Barnardos. You may be aware that at the February Artisan we asked the traders to write down post codes of visitors. Sheila from the 'Vintage China Stall' list showed that her purchasers were predominately from CW (Winsford, Goostry, Holmes Chapel, Middlewich). On market day I would hazard a guess that these visitors also shopped in our vintage outlets in Wilmslow. Each of our traders postcode lists show a diversity. As I mentioned on a previous post as an organiser but also a local girl I find this completely thrilling for Wilmslow. Anyone who lives in Wilmslow is most probably fully aware of the excellent shops and facilities we have in our town, but isn't it rather gratifying that we have a platform to illustrate them to our neighbours in the North West. I certainly think so.
Point 3, I don't want to move the market to a Sunday, how can the 78% of businesses which are closed on a Sunday have the potential benefit from the increased footfall?
Point 4, I’ve asked Colin to get involved, in November we did discuss a possible cocktail stall in the summer. Regarding hot food, we have Marek who does the Peri Peri Chicken, and three farmers. Mareks stand is pure food theatre, it is a suspended grill, it fills the street with smells and sounds. We are incredibly lucky to have this stand in Wilmslow, it is normally positioned in Manchester Piccadilly. The three butchers BBQ their meat, this has two purposes for them, it gives the visitors the opportunity to sample, and gives the farmer the opportunity for additional income. Regarding the farmers we are taking about award winning meat, Rushey Hey Farm won Cheshire Lifes food hero of 2011. I could remove hot food, but it will be detrimental to the market, street food is part of a markets appeal.
Point 5 I provided Incredible Edible with a stall as they were promoting their Wilmslow in Bloom, which is a brilliant initiative for Wilmslow. We try to include as many community projects as possible every month. I would love to have a local gardener on the market, please let me know if anyone fancies getting involved. March actually sees the return of Debbie Shenton, and she will be bringing her in season produce from her farm on the Wilmslow/Handforth border, I actually have a friend in Macclesfield who is coming to the Artisan on the 17th purely to go to Debbies stall.
Bob Ellis
Thursday 1st March 2012 at 10:51 am
Victoria, thank you for coming on this website and responding to the posts.

Every wilmslow resident, including myself, who have posted on the last 3 articles are very supportive of the Market and want it to continue. I look forward to seeing it going from strength to strength as it naturally evolves over the coming months.
Victoria Jackson
Thursday 1st March 2012 at 11:02 am
Thank you so much for your kind words.
Adam Smith-Daffern
Tuesday 6th March 2012 at 6:58 pm
I think that the Artisan Market is a brilliant idea & in my opinion should remain.

As its great seeing all the Wilmslow residents all out enjoying all what the Artisan
Market brings! To be honest to a stale wilmslow In the respect of choices of the
different foods and crafts to be seen which we do not have in Wilmslow!

So as a business owner in Wilmslow over the past 20 years I really enjoy the market
So well done to Victoria & co!!
Simon Worthington
Wednesday 7th March 2012 at 10:00 am
Sifting through the various comments on the Artisan Market the same complaints arise and with justification. The litter problem is indeed excessive and inconjunction with the case made by the Boardroom the supply of "takeaway" food is the root of the problem. We have enough ready to eat food suppliers/restaurants in the town centre and although their standard is generally (please do not reply if you are one of the few exeptions) far below that of the stalls on the market they are paying huge sums in rent and rates to open. The market should be exactly what it calls itself and supply goods (generally food) which retailers choose not to supply in Wilmslow.
I have noticed the number of well-heeled visitors parking in the centre of Wilmslow early on market day and suspect that many of them return at later dates to pursue interests in the other shops.
It was noticable, particularly at February's market, that the Charity shops were overrun. I do hope that wasn't the intention of the market organisers! Let's have a look at how much these shops damage local trade!
Peter Aitchison
Wednesday 7th March 2012 at 10:28 am
Clearly any market will generate litter it's inevitable. What's important is how the litter is dealt with. Vicky has already stated at the meeting that steps will be taken to improve the litter clearing. I've no doubt if she says it will be done it will be.Traders are very much encouraged to take away their own waste and I'm sure most do. I don't believe there is much if any crossover with food sales between stalls and shops. This is a once a month market with massive support. I don't understand why the charity shops being "over run" is an issue. Is the fact that shops are being used not a good thing? Or are charity shops looked down upon in wilmslow?
Simon Worthington
Wednesday 7th March 2012 at 5:30 pm
There is obviously a crossover with food suppliers eg. sausage barms for sale on the market right outside Greggs and my point is that food wrappings will be disposed of when the food is eaten wheras the wrapping for other goods will be taken home.

Charity shops are not looked down on but the fact that they are full of travelling bargain hunters does not help an up-market market. Furthermore they do not create jobs and both the Charity shops on Water Lane and the two on Grove Street south of Grove Avenue would be snapped up by retailers who would then generate a number of jobs if they were available.

The fact that greedy landlords and even greedier tax collectors would make it unlikely that any local produce would/could be sold from them is a moot point.
Peter Aitchison
Wednesday 7th March 2012 at 6:04 pm
There is a vast difference between what gregs may sell and what a local producer sells. And that's really the point.

The market brings those things to the area. I know what I would rather eat !

The litter issue will be addressed but it's no worse than what's left behind after Friday and sarurday nights when the street is full of vomit urine and discarded fast food boxes. Maybe you would like to see the pubs close ?

As for travelling bargain hunters in charity shops I find that comment hilarious !
Long may the charity shops last. Long may they be full.

They provide a great service and are staffed by volunteers who would be offended by your comments.

I find your reasons quite weak for not having the market. Almost as bad as the shop keeper who moaned VIP clients could not park their cars outside the shop !

I'm sure it will continue for a long time as it has such massive support.
Victoria Jackson
Wednesday 7th March 2012 at 7:01 pm
Thank you for your comment Simon Worthington. The purpose of the Artisan was to put on an event once a month in the hope that it would increase visitor numbers into Wilmslow town centre. We do hope that all businesses (not just charity shops) will feel the benefit of the higher foot fall and I very much look forward to the results of the business survey.
I think the Artisan attracts people who are looking for something a little bit different from the norm, they are looking for something delicious, special, and inspiring. I think many of our visitors like myself will be looking for value for money.
I have received feedback from a number of restaurants and cafes in Wilmslow, such as Strada, Konak, Rise, Nero and Starbucks, who do feel the benefit of the Artisan, in foot fall and takings each market.
Denise and I do litter pick each market, if any reader would like to assist us with this task please do let me know, it would be very appreciated.
I met a gentleman from the National Market Traders Federation, a Mr Harrison in passing on Saturday and we discussed Wilmslow, he’d been to visit the Artisan in January and had enjoyed the event, commenting particularly on our mushroom stall. It was incredibly interesting to listen to him give examples of what is happening in other towns through out the UK. He explained that each new market tends to attract controversy from retailers, he explained in most circumstances the benefits do become clear for local businesses. I sincerely hope this is the case for Wilmslow.
I love market day in Wilmslow. I love seeing Grove Street full of life. I love seeing friends, family, my friend’s families, my neighbours coming together once a month. I love the upbeat atmosphere, the noises, the smells, the colours, and the sense of community. I do hope the Wilmslow Artisan Market will continue.
Simon Worthington
Thursday 8th March 2012 at 10:57 am
Oh dear! I fully support the market and hope it continues to be successful and I have purchased and eaten at home many varied and delightful items which the mainstream shops don't supply. Peter may well want to eat superior produce at a market stall once a month but Greggs provide a number of jobs and pay huge rent and rates to be on Grove Street and takeaway food to be consumed on the street is surely not the aim of the market, which is succinctly set out by Victoria.
I do not intend to insult the volunteers at the various charity shops but these shops originated to utilise empty premines not to outbid for leases against genuine businesses and then compete with similar products while also enjoying tax breaks. Some of these shops do not even pay their way and are subsidised by other contributors to the charity.
The pubs do not contribute to the discarded fast food boxes and the other problems can be sourced back to the councils' permissions for vast youth orientated pubs, which, sadly, I no longer have the energy (or youth) to attend!
Peter Aitchison
Thursday 8th March 2012 at 11:40 am
Have you bothered to ask Gregs what their sales are like on market day ?

My stall on the market is very close to Gregs and it looks pretty busy to me
Pubs don't contribute to litter ?
Have you walked down grove street early sat morning ?
On market days vicky and co have to clear the pizza boxes and vomit up before setting up the market.
Try a look down Grove Street at 6am on sat/sun mornings and then tell me pub clients don't make a mess.
Then later on pop into a charity shop and see what a wonderful job they do
These shops occupy empty space.
If the market wasn't there to revive the street I suspect there may well be a few more empty shops.
Simon Worthington
Thursday 8th March 2012 at 2:48 pm
Oh dear again!!!
Pubs don't sell pizza in boxes and I agreed that they contribute to the mess. The 4 shops I mentioned would not be empty for long and "a wonderful job" does not justify the fact that they are generally an inefficient use of highstreet space.
"If the market wasn't there" etc.etc. Is Peter really claiming that the market is reviving Grove Street.
Crack on!!
Last explanation!!!
Peter Aitchison
Thursday 8th March 2012 at 5:36 pm
You really are missing the point here. Pubs don't sell pizza but they do have late night customers that buy pizza etc and dump it all over the street.

Pubs also sell beer etc which some people then like to vomit on said street. Vicky and co then have to clean that up before setting out the market.

Is the market reviving Grove street? Of course it is!

A member of the market team walked down Grove Street recently on a Saturday at 2pm and counted a total of 93 people in the street. Walk down Grove Street and count on a market day (let me know when you run out of fingers).

Everyone of my arguments can be backed up by facts and figures not just moaning from a few people.

I think you are deliberately obstructive to this market and take great delight in watching it and the charity shops go from strength to strength.

Im happy to discuss this further with you on any market day rather than taking up space here. I can be found somewhere near Gregs selling fine art photography.
Colin McKevitt
Thursday 8th March 2012 at 7:48 pm
Simon I feel your pain ! the only differnce is I have a whole room full of booze to numb it !
Its a shame people only come to Wilmslow on a market day.......! ;-)

Have a great week everyone
Dave Cash
Saturday 10th March 2012 at 6:13 am
Moving the market location to Green Lane is not viable as
1.this road is effectively WiImslow bus station and a vehicle through route
2 the distance between the Grove Arcade/Tesco/Post office chicane and Bank Sq may not support a viable number of market stalls
Jeanette Webster
Tuesday 13th March 2012 at 1:46 pm
I have lived in Wilmslow all my life, and was excitied at the prospect of a market returning after many years of not having one but, to my dissapointment though, I feel that the goods however nice they may be are very over priced, and too expensive for me to purchase. It seems to be a growing trend that people outside of Wilmslow have a misconception that people from Wilmslow have alot of spare money and will pay over the odds for goods. The true fact is that about 90% of people from Wilmslow have to work to earn a living and bring up a family, and it is only about 10% of residents who do not have to. In my mind this is not a "market" of sorts that you can purchase goods cheaper than you can in the shops and am sure traders mark up prices according to the location of where they are based. That said am sure there are many people who enjoy this type of market, and as long as it does not take trade away from "our" local shops- few they may be then that's fine, me, I head off to good old traditional market in Stockport.
Victoria Jackson
Tuesday 13th March 2012 at 2:22 pm
Hello Jeanette, thank you very much for your comment. I do take your point that the market is not like a traditional market like Stockport. Speaking to traders, and town councils which hold traditional markets the opinion is that the rise of the supermarkets and the diversifying by supermarkets of what they sell has vastly affected the viability of traditional market stalls. The purpose of the Artisan was to bring ideally local, quality produce, and offer products that are a bit different, which you can't get on every high street, therefore offering another reason for visitors to stay local and visit our high street instead of visiting out of town shopping centres.
The products are specialist but should definitely be fairly priced. Dave Cash made an excellent suggestion, which is for the visitors of the Artisan to have input of which stalls they think should be at the market, looking at factors like quality, value for money etc.
I'd love to meet up with you Jeanette at a future Artisan (this Saturday if you are free perhaps?) and we can walk around the market and you can give me your input of what you would like to see, what you like and dislike etc. The Artisan market is for all of our local residents and should cater for all.
The next Wilmslow Artisan Market this Saturday will have a distinctive Irish feel as we celebrate St Patricks Day. We have organised for a professional dance group called the 'Reel Deel' who will be performing their interpretation of traditional Irish festive dancing with a modern twist. There will also be live music and of course the finest food, drink, arts and crafts stalls, many of which will have a mother’s day, and Irish theme. I hope we have some sunshine as well!
Peter Aitchison
Tuesday 13th March 2012 at 2:30 pm
The goods in Wilmslow Artisan is not the cheap tat found at normal markets
The items sold are hand made or hand crafted and as such are expensive to produce
I am a trader and sell my work at the same price no matter where the market is
Please do not confuse an Artisan market with a market that simply buys rubbish in from a wholesaler
I hope you still visit us if only to appreciate the work and skill that we all put into our products
Martin Duguid
Tuesday 13th March 2012 at 2:47 pm
I have just moved to Wilmslow from Aberdeenshire where we have farmers' markets every weekend and was delighted to see that the town had an artisan market. Full marks to the organisers for enlivening Saturday's once a month - roll on Saturday!!
Sally Hoare
Tuesday 13th March 2012 at 8:07 pm
So sorry I will miss the market this week as we will be away at a family party. The Irish dancing sounds great. Please don`t replace the stalls with cheap tatty stalls. I agree that some of the goods are too expensive for me but I love to look and then pop into the local shops as well- including the great charity shops. I was in Wilmslow last Saturday afternoon and the charity shops appeared to be the only ones with any customers. Please don`t take away this wonderful market.
Jeanette Webster
Wednesday 14th March 2012 at 10:35 am
Hi Victoria, thankyou for your reply, I would love to meet up with you one Saturday in the future.

I think Peter slightly missed my point, I know the items for sale are not tat and as I posted, very nice and some quirky.

I don't think we can assume that all items for sale in a general market are "Tat & rubbish" far from it sometimes. I do like the market and like looking at the items for sale, I was just making the point that some items can be purchased cheaper in shops but I realise that the home crafed items are more specialised and this is reflected in the price.
Rachel Webster
Monday 19th March 2012 at 9:57 pm
Hi
I would just like to say the markets gets my full support - I've been a few times and considering we're currently looking at the death of the high street in many towns I think Wilmslow should be grateful that there are people making an effort to try and prevent this. I like the fact that the markets offer something different to buy.
The town centre is much busier when the markets are on and I would like to say to the owner of the Boardroom that if it wasn't for the markets on Saturday I wouldn't have come in and had a drink!
Keep up the good work :)
Karen Challinor
Tuesday 27th March 2012 at 8:52 pm
Jeannete,

I am from Rushey Hey Farm and can assure you that the price of our meat is the same at every Farmers Market we attend. Incidentally are you aware that we in Congleton pay a higher rate of council tax than you do in Wilmslow. We also have to earn a living, from the land with our pigs, which is no easy task. If we dont make the money then we have no income. If we are sick and cannot work we again have no income. We and many other traders at the market work very long hours to produce our fantastic products and our ethics in the way we do things with our pigs are second to none. With regard to your comment of goods being over priced, this view has come about by the population having access to "cheaply priced food" from supermarkets and this trend cannot continue, even Tesco is losing money. If you go back 60 years you will discover that a much larger proportion of your wage would have been spent on food than it is today. So we need people like you to trust in what we are trying to do and support us in our efforts. We sell high quality meat that cannot generally be found in shops and our thanks go to Vicky and Denise in giving us this opportunity to do so.
Jeanette Webster
Wednesday 28th March 2012 at 7:15 am
Hi karen, thankyou for your comments; firstly I was not here 60 years ago (my parents were, just) and secondly am vegetarian, and thirdly if I am ill and off work I do not get paid. Farmers do get subsidies from the government, as I do not, so I have to shop within my means and that means purchasing from the most competitive source. That said am sure your products are of high quality and enjoyed by many customers. Regards Jeanette
Karen Challinor
Wednesday 28th March 2012 at 7:45 pm
Hi Jeanette,
I appreciate many people have to shop within their means and that also includes myself. Many farmers can and do claim subsidies as you say, which are really just a benefit payment, but we do not. We believe that a farm should be self funding and not rely on state handouts to make a living. This has become a large problem in our country but having attended many farmers markets I am gladdened to see so many people trying to make themselves a living from what they are capable of producing and the amount of hours they put into it should be rewarded with a fair price. I also know Stockport market and have to say you get what you pay for, although I know there are a lot of people on low incomes who may find it difficult to shop at more expensive outlets. In my experience farmers/artisan markets offer high quality goods at very reasonable prices. With regard to your comment "taking trade away from our shops" surely this market is helping bring attention to "your" shops with the amount of visitors we see on Grove St. The people of Wilmslow obviously want this market so lets all embrace it and make Wilmslow a success. All the best.