A university expert has urged city bosses in Newcastle not to forget the Grainger Market’s “huge” importance to poorer families and the elderly.
Dr Sara González issued a plea for the historic market’s traditional traders and customers not to be pushed out, under plans to try and breathe new life into the centre. The associate professor at Leeds University said she had been “quite saddened” after a Newcastle City Council report last week labelled the Grainger Market a “resource draining asset”, which is currently costing the local authority £300,000 a year to keep open.
A new initiative has since been announced to have monthly food and entertainment nights at the city centre institution in order to attract more visitors, something which could become a more regular feature if it proves popular with businesses and customers. But Dr González has cautioned against reimagining the market as a street food and leisure destination.
She published a report last year which praised the market as a "welcoming and supportive community asset benefiting particularly elderly and low-income groups" – with 89% of its customers coming from less affluent groups and almost two-thirds having visited it for more than 20 years. Dr González told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I was a bit upset to hear the market described as a ‘drain’.
"Of course the council is looking at it from a financial point of view, as a commercial property. But you have to look at its community value too because it delivers huge value for lots of people and it has been doing that for decades, particularly people from low income groups and older people.
“I was quite saddened to see it being described by the council in that way. In the past it has been making a surplus for the council for many years and if that had been used for maintenance and to support the businesses there then it would probably not be in the position it is now.”
The cost of over-running repairs to the market’s roof have spiralled above £5m and traders have rent arrears of more than £500,000, something which Dr González said was “no wonder” after the council refused to waive rent fees for stalls forced to shut during the pandemic. Dr González said that it would be a “real shame” if a drive for profits now saw the Grainger Market turned into more of a food hall, without the eclectic array of traders it has housed for decades – ranging from butchers and fishmongers, to jewellers and cobblers.
She added: “It should be a place where everyone can go, without compromising the more long-term customers who really enjoy being in the market, sitting at the cafe, and maybe not spending loads of money. Without a conscious effort to support them, those people can become alienated and it would be very easy to lose them.
“I don’t know what the council has in mind, but I would be worried if they do not have a real angle to promote the more traditional stalls. If not, then they will simply go and that could easily happen.
“The council has a duty to all of its residents and should not just focus on the wealthier ones who will help generate a profit. Those people will be fine, it is the ones who cannot afford to hang around in expensive city centre coffee shops and restaurants that you should be concerned about.”
City council bosses insisted that they “fully appreciate” the Grainger Market’s role and believe it has a “very positive future as the home of independent traders in the city”, saying that the new night market events would be “much more than just a food hall”. A spokesperson added: “However, if it is to survive well into the future, it must also be financially viable, which is what we are working towards.
“We recently successfully secured £7m from the Government’s Levelling-Up Fund to make further improvements to the building and are about to start formally consulting with traders to find out how they would like us to spend that money to improve visitor experience. Some of the issues we believe that need to be considered are improving the toilet facilities, wayfinding and signage plus measures to improve the ambient temperature within the market during the colder months.
“During the pandemic, we worked hard to keep the market open to help traders provide vital food parcels to struggling families, many of which were delivered by our own workers. We gave grants of £10,000 to the vast majority of traders to help pay their bills and rent in difficult times, and in accordance with Government instructions, we did not pursue rent payments.
"Now that the moratorium has come to an end, we have written to traders to reassure them we will offer all support we can to help them repay their arrears over an extended period and with easy payment plans so they do not need to worry. The council does have a wider commercial property portfolio to consider, and has to treat all of its tenants fairly, we simply cannot let traders operate rent free when we have to fund services for the public, however we understand the cultural and social value of the Grainger Market, and believe that it, and its traders, have a bright future in Newcastle.”
