“Nobody in Kirkby shops in the rain,” says Peter Taker, standing to the side of his market stall.
A bold observation, but Peter at least has significant experience to back up his claim. His family run Takers Fruit, Veg and Flowers has been at the heart of Kirkby market for the last 60 years.
Kirkby’s modern history only dates back to the 1950s, so the stall has had the perfect vantage point to watch the town take shape around it, with its population gradually swelling and the market entering what Peter regarded as its golden age in the decades after - perhaps in part due the lack of other amenities in the town, given the size of the population.
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The weather has been kind to Kirkby today, but it hasn’t drawn out huge crowds of shoppers at St Chads Parade. Peter points to the empty queue at the front of his stall - a far-cry from “the way it used to be,” he says.
He laments the changes made to the market, once a throng of outdoor stalls, which was moved to a new partially indoor site in 2014 - the roof coverings redundant due to Kirkby’s rain-shy shoppers, in Peter’s view - something he believes drained the feel and atmosphere from the once centrepiece of the new-town. Peter claims this led to a drop in footfall, but it has dropped further around the market in the last 12 months after a new retail park opened a few hundred yards away - home to Morrisons supermarket, fast food chains and gym.
A gold plaque is proudly hung on the side of Peter’s stall, celebrating Takers’ 60 years on the market. Asked if he envisions his family name being part of the fabric for another six decades, Peter responds: “[It’ll be] months, not another 60 years.
“If you don't make money you can't operate. That's the situation we're in now. There’s not one customer over there.”
Progress
Twelve months ago, a new dawn was ushered into Kirkby. The town had gone 42 years without a supermarket, with its residents forced to travel to Fazakerley or further afield to carry out a full weekly shop.
This all changed when a Morrisons superstore opened on the Irlam Drive retail park in October 2021. The store is kitted out with its own restaurant, bakery, butchers and fishmongers, and sits alongside fast food chains such as McDonalds, KFC and Taco Bell.
After years of stalling by the private sector and failure to deliver on promises to redevelop the site - with plans for Tesco once in the pipelines - Knowsley Council took action. The authority purchased the land and adjoining town centre, known locally as the 'Townie', for £43.8m in July 2019 and spearheaded the developments on the new retail park.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority also invested nearly £17m to support Knowsley council’s redevelopment of Kirkby town centre, with £80m also being pumped into the new Headbolt Lane train station. Last year, the new Morrisons was welcomed with open arms, with market traders also telling the ECHO 12 months ago how they hoped it would bring people back to the town - something which could benefit their own businesses.
Twelve months on, there is a feeling that while a big positive for the people of Kirkby, the development has exacerbated disparities in the town - most prominently felt on the existing high street and market site. Few argue the importance of the supermarket and benefits, but the promise of encompassing regeneration doesn’t appear to have been met, according to some locals.
'Fast food park'
Knowsley Council claims footfall on the established high street is actually higher than in October 2021, with an increase of 12% since the redevelopment was completed. But the redevelopment has led to some gaps appearing on the high street.
Home Bargains was one of the main drivers of traffic in the town centre, according to a number of traders, but has left behind a large vacant unit since it graduated to the pristine, brand new retail park situated just behind. Long running businesses such as Banana Bunch, specialising in fruit and veg, has been impacted by the departure of the shop, according to one of its members of staff.
The staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, points to other vacant units in the town centre when asked how the high street has fared in the last 12 months, suggesting there is now less of a draw within the existing precinct - a negative for established local businesses.
A few doors along on the high street is Neil’s Quality Meats. Neil, a butcher for the last 22 years, has experienced life both on the market and the high street, moving to his current home on St Chads Parade a few years ago.
Beyond the open shop front, Neil chats to an array of customers while happily zipping from one counter to another in a bid to showcase today’s selection. The upbeat mood is somewhat tempered by the landscape the business has had to operate in of late.
Writing on Facebook in September, the well established business pointed toward rising energy bills and “new developments and changes to the town centre” as the reason for reducing its opening hours in order to stay afloat. It also noted how a “small business” cannot “compete with large company’s prices.”
Speaking over the counter, Neil says there has been wider frustration around the new retail park based on conversations with his customers. He told the ECHO: “They regularly tell me ‘we were promised a retail park, and got a fast food park instead’."
Of the new units on the new retail park, three are taken up by a McDonalds, KFC and Taco Bell. Neil says his customers believe this does not equate to the ‘retail’ promises that were initially made. However Knowsley Council pushes back on this claim and says that only 4,500 sq ft has been used for ‘fast food’ restaurants – less than 5% in total of the 96,000 sq ft of new floor space in Kirkby.
But a feeling that Kirkby’s limitations for choice, despite the development and investment, is felt across the town centre. The owner of a well established childrenswear brand on the high street for more than 30 years, who wished to only be identified in this way, believes Kirkby is still lacking in its offer for residents - particularly when it comes to men's clothing.
The childrenswear shop owner said: “You can’t get anything like a suit for the races in Kirkby. There’s not one bar in the town centre. Just a few pubs remaining.”
The owner claims rents in the town centre are not appealing to new businesses and is now on a downward spiral. They claim the existing town centre is being run “into the ground” or in a state of 'managed decline', with a view to more wholesale development further down the line. “There doesn’t seem to be a rush to sort it all out,” they added, fearing Kirkby town centre could be left behind if Levelling Up bids focusing on other Knowsley areas come to fruition later this year.
The council however refutes these claims and says ‘managed decline’ of the existing town centre would involve minimising costs, with the authority pointing towards the £43.8m invested to buy the town centre and retail park expansion. The council also says it has spent significant public funds on maintaining the existing town centre and curating a public events programme.
'No black cabs to be seen'
Beside the flowers stacked outside of Peter Taker’s market stall is the entrance to Cosy Bed and Bedrooms. It’s been a fixture of the town centre for 23 years and in its current unit for the last 11.
Its owner, Justin Chean, regards the new development and its impact on the town as “swings and roundabouts”. In the last 12 months he believes a wider array of people have been drawn back to Kirkby, but the town hasn’t necessarily excelled in retaining the footfall. The enormous car park outside of the Morrisons and the array of drive through restaurants add to the feeling that Kirkby has become more transient, with people passing through rather than typing in its postcode as a final destination.
Pointing to the row of shops on the side of the precinct, Justin says all of the pubs that once existed “always used to be full”. His friend Thomas, who has dropped into the store, notes how black cabs used to come out as far as Kirkby - signifying its popularity and stronger connection to other parts of the region.
“You don’t see any now”, says Thomas, noting how they seemingly vanished with Kirkby’s nightlife offer. People are now in the hands of other private operators that aren’t always present in the area, he says, as if to suggest Kirkby has become more provincial despite investment in new train links. There’s some frustration given Kirkby was once touted as the new home of Everton FC for many years, and the investment and change that would have brought.
Outside back on the market, the final few sales of the day are being carried out at Takers Fruit, Veg and Flowers. Looking at the relatively new structure, Peter Taker notes how it “doesn't compare to the old outdoor market, adding: “The footfall has gone from here. You'd have people passing all of the time.
“There’s free parking over there [at the new development]. There’s free parking by the market but only for an hour.”
The council’s footfall figures may suggest otherwise to Peter’s point, but Morrison's offer of fruit, veg and its own flowers is likely to have had some impact on the stall - and wider interest in the market. A few units across at Martin’s Deli, Will Sudlow, who has worked on the stalls for his uncle for the last 10 years, says they’re still “getting by” - but cannot say what the future holds for the family run business as it gets back to its feet after covid interrupted years.
Referring to the design of the retail park a few hundred metres away, he says it was perhaps “built wrong” and that not everyone was “considered” in how it eventually took shape - facing away from the existing town centre and market. But there’s hope that the two areas can still complement one another.
There’s less optimism for David Litchfield, who is another long standing trader on the market specialising in women's’ clothes. Dressed in two jumpers to stave off the cold, David believes there is now a divide in the town, despite the proximity between the high street and the new retail park. But it’s the cold where his fears lie when considering the fate of the marketing in the coming months.
He told the ECHO: "I’m quite concerned that when the winter bills start coming in how that will affect whether people will turn to the market. We’re a little bit cheaper, but at the moment it's hard work for most of us."
He says there remains activity in the market, but that there is now less of a relationship between the old and the new in Kirkby. While Peter Taker questions aspects of the resign and the decision to operate the market six days a week, Knowsley council says the market continues to receive support and direct investment, with £50,000 spent earlier this year in carrying out repairs and cosmetic improvements.
Commenting on Knowsley Council’s work redeveloping Kirkby since 2019, Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development said: “We are extremely proud of what we have achieved in Kirkby, for the people of Kirkby. This is a town that was continually let down by private sector developers for decades. Without our intervention and investment back in 2019, it would be a very different picture in Kirkby today. The impact of ‘doing nothing’ would have been catastrophic for town centre businesses, local traders and the community as a whole.
“Instead, what we have seen is multi-million pound investment from this Council – it is laughable to call this ‘managed decline’. Our regeneration of the area has resulted in footfall increasing across the whole town centre (not just in the vicinity of the new retail), new businesses opening up, and hundreds of local jobs being created. People from Kirkby can and do shop in Kirkby and, as well as an improved retail offer, we have also seen lots of landscaping improvements and big attractions and events which have brought in thousands of people to the town centre throughout 2022.
“All of this has been achieved despite 10 years of austerity and cuts to council funding, a global pandemic, Brexit and a cost of living crisis.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “For anyone who cares about Kirkby, watching the decline of the Townie at the hands of the private sector over a number of decades was heart-breaking. So, to see the transformation that we have been able to deliver in partnership with Knowsley Council has been incredible.
“It has not happened overnight and has taken serious investment – including around £17m from the Combined Authority – to help catalyse that transformation. But local people are seeing the benefits through new jobs, even more investment and, above all, a town centre to be proud of once again.
“It’s unthinkable that the area had to get by without a supermarket for decades. Now they are talking about the supermarket as just the first phase of the redevelopment of an area that once appeared to be in terminal decline.
“Opening next year, the new Headbolt Lane station is an enormous £80m statement of intent, helping to connect local people with each other and opportunity. The Kirkby line will also be the first to benefit from the region’s £500m new trains and we will all benefit from the work we are doing to reregulate our bus network.
“Kirkby has had a difficult few years, but thanks to devolution. determined local leadership and partnership working, we’re helping to turn things around and give it a much brighter future."
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