People’s Market, Chester Street and Henblas Street
-
Posts
-
The town center has fallen apart! Iceland closing was such a loss for customers and staff there! And also may I ask which staff have said about a relocation of post office? I my knowledge staff are the last to find out anything!
The whole area from Queens Square down Henblas Street has become an embarrassment to WCBC on their doorstep. It won’t be long before BHS & the Post Office abandon this part of town to areas with higher footfall in order to keep a presence in the town. I can see the Post Office moving back up town closer to the bus station from where they were originally & BHS off to Eagles Meadow.
Can someone please take Councillor Hugh Jones on a trip around the current arts and culture centre in North Wales — his comment at the Town Centre Forum about– “We will be the prime location in North Wales”
It appears this man never gets it out:
Theatre Clwyd and Art Galleri
Venue Cymru
Bangor Arts Centre – new multi million pound complex
Galeri in CaenarfonAll of these are multi million pound captial complexes and lots of revenue sources- conversion of a car park- is it really in the same ball park!!
Add in the Mostyn Gallery Llandudno , Cambrian Arts Gallery Conway, Oriel Ynys Mon in Llangefni with its Kyffin Williams collection ,the Ruthin Crafts Centre and the competition in North Wales is already very strong. Is the concept of the People’s Market building to be a Market,Arts Centre and Car park ever going to be a viable option?
[quote quote=69233]It is sad to say the likelihood of anything happening other than the odd shop coming and going is unlikely to change unless one of the large property developers came in and looked at the total area- something in the current economic/retail climate is highly unlikely to occur even with a project that had a mix of retail and residential.[/quote]
But then you’d get the NIMBYs and the “good old days” brigade filling the forums with complaints that this shiny new building that is actually bringing in customers, bringing in business, providing employment, providing a pleasant shopping environment, giving families and kids somewhere to spend their Saturday nights “just isn’t like it used to be!”
Eagles Meadow provides all of that … but it’s 300 yards too far south and a bit too far past the 18th Century for some people so instead of praising it, all they can do is moan and complain about it! It doesn’t matter what happens in Wrexham … they still won’t be happy, it’s a town of moaners!
[quote quote=69226]As Alunh says, T J Hughes building is a big problem as it cuts the Market off from the rest of the town. A radical solution may be to relocate the market into this building and use the market completely as a cultural centre with cafe’s food court etc.[/quote]
That sounds like the best and most sensible idea I’ve heard in these forums for ages! Put the market stalls (who by now number few enough to fit into the old TJ Hughes) into a building that’s nearer to town and a bit brighter and more cheerful than the abandoned dungeon level of a multi-storey car park, then give the multi-storey car park a major overhaul and turn it into something people actually want to visit!
In the meantime, is there no way that at least a walkway could be opened up through TJ Hughes so that the market is not so cut off from town? Or clearer signage put on the General Market so that people know that it can be used as a walk-through to also get to the Peoples Market and, in so doing, would bring a bit more foot traffic to them as well?
This point about TJ Hughes seems to rear its head over and over. The Council do not own TJs and would not seek to relocate traders to a building which the Council would have to itself rent. As to a cut through, attempts have been made to try and do something about this but to no avail. The point about signs is valid.
Whilst some may moan about Eagles Meadow, it is not Eagles Meadow per se that is the problem. It is the fact that ‘Out of Town’ developments have been allowed through planning (or could not be prevented), and this has led to an imbalance in the retail offer……because punters have been dragged to the periphery. The offer in Eagles Meadow is fine….but it itself underachieves and prevents the town from really cashing in on having a prestigious retail site within it.
The reason that many go on about the Markets has little to do with the state of the Markets as they are. Many Wrexham punters visit (say) Bury and (say) Chesterfield which are good examples of how Markets can be and what they can do. We can all see how poor our Markets have become but it is not because they belong in a bygone era……they have just been left to go to ruin
[quote quote=98715]I have heard that Techniquest Wrexham is moving to TJ Hughes
[/quote]
That would be great! It’s a brilliant feature of Wrexham, it’s popular and the kids love it, but it does seem to be in a bit of an odd location at the moment. It seems like they’ve just converted a few classrooms, split across two different buildings and, as great fun as it is, it still has that feeling of being in school rather than in a tourist destination. Putting it in the centre of town in a more accessible building that can be better “branded” and styled as a tourist spot would be great. And if they do also make the changes they are discussing to the People’s Market, then it could create a tourist hotspot right in the middle of town.
Of course, a big, busy market would be great … but I would happily accept a smaller People’s Market as long as that market was bright, modern and filled with stalls people actually wanted to visit and buy from so it brought the punters in. As that appears to be the suggestion included in the proposal for the art gallery, then I think it’s great. Rather that than what’s there at the moment!
…..except that would see the viability of the Markets as Markets really compromised
Personally, I would like to see an Arts Quarter, closer to the University, including the Museum and thought through as to prospective punters……
Personally, I would like to see the Markets radically overhauled, reconfigured, gutted, devoid of banal restrictive practices (which are anti-consumer), rebranded and viable…..hence Bury
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
