All-conquering superstores drive out street markets

Shoppers prefer convenience and speed to the cheap and cheerful, writes Glenda Cooper

BRITAIN'S street markets are in danger of being wiped out by the relentless expansion of supermarkets, according to a leading food policy expert.

Tim Lang, professor of food policy at Thames Valley University, says urgent action is needed if such markets, whichplay a vital part in local economies, are to survive.

The Assocation of Private Market Operators is "very concerned" that numbers of traders in some places have halved in the last three years. The few markets which thrive tend to be ones which rely on consumer goods such as arts, crafts and clothes, rather than basic groceries. Camden Lock market in north London, for example, attracts up to 100,000 people a day.

As the food markets close, people who rely on them and cannot get to out-of-town stores - the poor, the unemployed and those without access to cars - lose their best chance of a cheap and varied diet.

More affluent shoppers will also miss out if street markets disappear. According to Professor Lang, those prepared to pay more for the "convenience and speed" supermarkets bring should be aware that this is largely an illusion. According to his report Off Our Trolleys? published last year, between 1975 and 1991 the average annual number of shopping trips grew by 28 per cent and the total distance travelled for shopping by 60 per cent. In the 1980s, people spent an average of 70 minutes a day shopping, compared with 41 minutes in the 1960s.

A survey carried out last week by the National Market Traders Federation found that an average shopping basket at a market could save consumers more than pounds 5 a week.

Whereas rindless bacon cost pounds 3.37 at a supermarket, it cost pounds 2.29 at a market stall. A dozen grade 3 eggs cost 84p at a market compared with pounds 1.73 in the supermarket.

In Berwick Street market, central London, the number of stalls has dwindled from 80 in its heyday to only 35. Still a family concern with sons and nephews taking on stalls from the previous generation, it has suffered from the growth of big stores.

Alan Hambury, who has worked on his fruit stall since the 1960s, said: "We used to get families coming down at the weekend in the car or train but these days the supermarkets have taken over. You just get casual, lunchtime 'apple and orange' shoppers now, those who are passing by. People like supermarkets - there's free parking, no restrictions, no time limit. They'll have a post office, tobacconist and chemist all in the one shop."

Mr Hambury's cousin Brian Berg, who runs a fashion stall and has worked on the market for 25 years, said: "No one is going to carry a bag of potatoes home on the train if they can go and park in a nice shopping centre where they can relax. You can see the results. Up to last year we were over both sides of the road. Now there's only stalls on one side and there's still spaces. No one wants them."

Later this month the Low Income Project Team, set up by the Government's Nutritional Task Force, is expected to recommend more investment in local initiatives, including street markets.

Markets, says Professor Lang, bring benefits to a community. They can be an important way of creating local jobs and have low set-up costs. Because they are often within walking distance, pollution caused by cars is also reduced.

They also have a "tremendous cultural role" says Professor Lang. "When people go to supermarkets they're like zombies. There's minimal human interaction. It's a fragmented experience, the downside of modern shopping. In markets, people talk to each other, there's humour and vitality."

The National Market Traders Federation is organising the first Great British Market Week next month to raise the profile of street markets. More than 38,000 traders will take part, organising competitions, fun days and charity events.

"We are trying to remind people that markets exist and that they're not only fun, you can get big bargains as well," said Roy Holland, spokesman for the Federation.

"Out-of-town shopping means that everyone is used to the one-stop shop and won't come and visit markets additionally. Supermarkets can also provide parking, which we don't have. The rise of car boot sales has also been a problem. They're subject to far less regulation than markets - they are only meant to sell second-hand goods, but quite a lot sell new ones as well.

"Markets are also open too many days. They used to be held once a week. But the local authority gets more rent if we're open more days. But it doesn't really make sense for us as our customers are just spread out over more time."

Professor Lang said: "There is a need to rethink food retailing and markets in particular." He said a simple but effective step could be for local authorities to invest more in covered markets which are suitable for all kinds of weather.

But David Glasby, secretary of the Association of Private Market Operators, argues that it is only possible to beat the supermarkets by joining them.

"This is my personal view rather than that of the association, but the only way for markets to play a balanced part with out-of-town supermarkets is to establish out-of-town shopping centres. If we established market shops on these sites then people would come to us. Shoppers are not going to come back to the town centres just to visit us."

Brian Berg agrees it is time to take radical action: "The traders end up fighting between themselves on prices but we can't compete with the big stores. We feel as if we're watching our market fall apart. Something's got to be done or we'll end up just standing in the gutter."