On April 26, 2014 Kirkby Market reopened after a major refurbishment.
Eight years on and the town’s traders have been through a lot. Businesses have weathered the storm of the pandemic and put up with increasing competition from the internet and regional shopping centres.
As well as this Kirkby has faced other, more aggressive problems. The town is part of Knowsley, the second most deprived borough in the country, where typical house prices are 70% lower than a standard English home.
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For years life expectancy has been far lower than the national average and a quarter of its local population was “income deprived” in 2019.
Despite all of this, entrepreneurs at Kirkby Market seemed buoyant. Many of them talked about the uptick in sales and having a loyal customer base.
The data backed this up. Research from the Financial Times suggests the area has had one of the strongest economic recoveries out of any borough since the pandemic.
Sales made face-to-face soared by 25% between February 2020 and February 2022, according to the FT. It also reported that total in-person trade was nearly 10% above pre-pandemic levels.
Paul from Paul’s Fresh Fish, who has been trading in Kirkby Market for 28 years, was bullish about the town’s future. The Fleetwood Fishmonger told the ECHO: “I have a core group of customers and I’m pretty happy. Weekends are still busy and as long as I come to work and earn a wage then that’s great.”
The town’s renaissance has not happened by accident, according to the council. Multi-million-pound investments made by Knowsley Council have kickstarted the local economy and fired up its small but growing retail sector.
Last yea,r Kirkby welcomed its first supermarket in more than 40 years after the council agreed a deal with Morrisons. Although this worried some traders, those the ECHO spoke to saw the positives.
Beverley Whittle from Astley Pet Supplies said: “Covid affected us but we diversified. The Morrisons move has not changed anything for me, if anything it has brought customers into Kirkby.”
A spokeswoman from Kirkby Blinds, which is a family run business, told the ECHO: “We’re very positive, you have to be! The Morrisons move hasn’t negatively affected us and we’re continuing to trade.”
As well as the refurbishment eight years ago, Knowsley Council agreed to spend another £50,000 on revamping the market in January.
A Knowsley Council spokesperson said “Knowsley’s economic growth hasn’t happened by chance – the council, supported by our partners, kickstarted recovery plans at the start of the pandemic which have put us in a very good position...plus, as well as delivering an engaging events programme to drive footfall in our town centres, Knowsley is the Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture 2022 which will see the iconic Playhouse open as well as events celebrating art, culture, sports and food.”
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