The winners of this year’s Great British Market Awards have been revealed at a ceremony in Birmingham today. NABMA, announced the winners at its One-Day Conference including the coveted “Britain’s Favourite Market Award”.
The winner of “Britain’s Favourite Market for 2023” is Shrewsbury Indoor Market.
The highly contested award is predominantly chosen through a public vote, which this year attracted over 35,000 votes, with over 430 markets across the UK attracting votes.
David Preston, Chief Executive of NABMA said:
“Year on year this competition demonstrates the value and pride that towns and cities place in their local market and the innovation and diversity that applies in modern market management. Following the return from the pandemic it is clear that many local markets have a renewed trust, interest and a recognition of their importance within the day to day life of their communities.”
The other winners of the prestigious Great British Market Awards 2023 were also announced.
Best Large Indoor Market – St George’s Market, Belfast
Best Small Indoor Market – Stockport Market
Best Large Outdoor Market – Portobello and Golborne Outdoor Market
Best Small Outdoor Market – Cottingham Outdoor Market
Best Community / Parish Market – South Molton County Pannier Market
Best Large Speciality Market – Bolton Food Festival
Best Small Speciality Market – Joint Winners – Stalybridge Street Fest & Naturally North Coast & Glens
Best Food Market – Borough Market
Best Wholesale Market – New Smithfield Market, Manchester
Best Market Attraction – Bury Market
David Preston added:
“Nominations came in from far and wide and presented the most difficult of jobs for our judging panel. The judging panel was representative of some of the most experienced market professionals in the industry. We would like to pay a huge thank you to the NMTF and their Chief Executive Joe Harrison for their support of the 2023 Awards and also our sponsors Market Place and Blachere Illumination.
“A huge congratulations to all the winning markets!”
Highly Commended Awards were also presented to:
Fleetwood Indoor Market
- Fleetwood Indoor Market
- Tooting Market
- Rawtenstall Market
- Elland Outdoor Market
- Oswestry Indoor Market
- Hebden Bridge Outdoor Market
- Kidwelly Market
- Ruthin Artisan Markets
These were presented to markets that NABMA consider play outstanding roles in their local communities and have demonstrated innovation, commitment and gone that extra mile to deliver a quality markets service.
Citations from the Awards’ Ceremony
Best Large Indoor Market
This award is given to a market that is a national treasure. It is a destination point within its city and plays a fundamental role in uniting communities. It has won numerous awards but still builds on its successes and drives change. It has recently restructured its layout that has breathed new life into every part of the building. Particular mention is made of the market team that consistently seek and drive change and improvement. Day to day they ensure a positive relationship between the on-site NMTF branch members and market management. The market is described as vibrant, dynamic and continually offers new events and specialisms.
The winner of Best Large Indoor Market is St George’s Market, Belfast
Best Small Indoor Market
This market has experienced transformation. Barriers have been broken down and its new strength is as a ‘market community’ working as one with a team approach rather than the past onus resting on one individual.
The market enjoys a positive atmosphere with an excellent and exciting variance of stalls with traders and management working as a cohesive unit. The nomination confirms that Christmas 2022 witnessed the market looking its very best with huge community support and pride.
This is a market that has embraced and made change for the present and long term benefit of the market itself and its community
The award for Best Small Indoor Market is Stockport Market
Best Large Outdoor Market
This market is often regarded as several markets in one with visitors experiencing a mile of hustle, haggling, colour and energy supplemented by talented and often bizarre street performers. It is cosmopolitan, world renowned and without doubt, a major London attraction. It embraces tradition but also presents many artisan goods. It supports new businesses and after covid has returned to its original strength. What is of real note is the supporting management infrastructure for this wonderful market that fully welcomes and vigorously supports both its new and established traders.
The winner of Best Large Outdoor Market is Portobello and Golborne Outdoor Market
Best Small Outdoor Market
This is a weekly market located in what is claimed to be the largest village in England. It is the hub, and a focal point of activity, for its local community with a variety of traditional and modern stalls. The market is also renowned as a visitor attraction with many themed and special market events. It has excellent social media platforms, a huge trader buy in and has positive leadership and supportive management that is an example for others to follow.
The winner of the Best Small Outdoor market is Cottingham Outdoor Market
Best Community / Parish Market
This award is to a spacious Victorian indoor pannier market that proudly boasts a Charter and continues to be the home to over 70 stalls offering a wide variety of goods and services. It has a strong food offer and an established artisan trade of local talents. It also delivers various events throughout the year. The market is described as the beating heart of the town and the Town Council operator has made regular investment in the service. Tradition is important but change has been embraced in terms of changes in layout, branding and the use of social media. The market is regarded as a destination to visit from across Devon. Market management has also developed a local business group to encourage start up business and young traders.
The winner of Best Community Market is South Molton County Pannier Market
Best Large Speciality Market
This speciality event market has been described as the largest food and drink festival in the UK. Without doubt it is a national and destination event. Year on year it is successful but it never rests on its laurels. It continues to seek to improve, to refine its offer and make its connections with visitors and the local community even better. It is visionary and a huge influence on the economy of its northern town expanding its trading boundaries year on year. It allows young traders to experience a major event and involves local schools. The festival engagement with chefs of international fame also gives the market industry itself a welcome promotion.
The winner of Best Large Speciality Market is Bolton Food Festival
Best Small Speciality Market (Two Winners)
This was a very difficult award for the judging panel to determine and so we have joint recipients.
Our first award is for a market described as a family friendly community event for those with a penchant for good food. It has been a focus of local regeneration and helped its town achieve a ‘Town of Culture Award’ in 2022. Month by month, since 2021, it has got bigger and better, constantly attracting large crowds into the traditional market square, making use of the waterfront, the town centre, and spreading into the civic hall. It is a continental-style street market with stall-holders offering a vast array of mouth-watering food and drink. The interest has been so great that near-by shops and businesses have remained open into the evening to benefit from a welcome increase in trade.
The joint winner of the Best Small Speciality Market is Stalybridge Street Fest
The other winner is an award-winning social enterprise that delivers a travelling artisan market throughout the year. It is a community market where the emphasis is on local support, good food and local produce, and handmade merchandise. The markets are a showcase of local food, culture, heritage and traditions with visionary and exciting management and partnerships. The markets provide the opportunity to start and grow a business as evidenced by many young people now trading. These successful events support communities and tourism and are footfall drivers for towns and settlements around the Causeway Coast and Glens region of Northern Ireland.
The Joint Winner of the Best Small Speciality Market is Naturally North Coast & Glens
Best Food Market
This is an award-winning market open daily and is the home to over 150 traders. It is run by a charitable trust with a Board of volunteer trustees. It has a thousand years of history and is regarded a source of quality British and international produce with a reputation as Britain’s most renowned food market. It has excellent leadership and management and continually seeks to improve, diversify, and excite.
Traders are described as innovators and the market has a commitment to sustainability. Traders undergo a rigorous selection process. The market’s social media platform is immense. Waste reduction is central to this market’s drive to promote a responsible sustainable approach to food production and consumption.
As part of its many strategies going forward, young entrepreneurship continues as a flagship.
The winner of the best Large Food Market is Borough Market.
Best Wholesale Market
This market is described as diverse and a credit to its city. It is ingrained in the local history of food and markets and remains an integral part of the supply food chain serving some of the most recognised and celebrated restaurants and hotels in the hospitality industry. It welcomes over 500,000 vehicles a year and has a vison to be the wholesale hub for the north west. It has a high occupancy level and recently enjoyed an influx of new traders that have benefited from an operator support package. The market is a base that is continuing to expand its services particularly addressing food poverty as it works with partners and celebrities to support its local communities.
The winner of best Wholesale Market is New Smithfield Market, Manchester
Best Market Attraction
This market is described as one of the best markets in the North West and a destination that attracts customers and visitors from far and wide. It is multiple award winning and is regarded as a ‘regional treasure’. It has charisma and atmosphere and the layout offers visitors the opportunity to easily seek out and visit stalls within a very large traditional market in a modern setting. Management is visionary and innovative constantly seeking improvements and always responding to the national and local threats it faces. The future is exciting as its council operator has been successful in securing £20 million from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to support market improvements with enhanced public realm changes to improve linkages with the town centre.
This market has a vital role within the local economy, providing jobs to hundreds of individuals, bringing in large amounts of money to the town, and supporting a loyal customer base – with the market being particularly well-used by people living in deprived neighbourhoods, and elderly pensioners living alone.
The judging panel was unanimous that the Best Market Attraction for 2023 is Bury Market.
Britain’s Favourite Market
Since the launch of the 2023 on line voting we have published regular updates as week by week the votes came in. When voting closed before Christmas over 35,000 votes had been recorded. One market in particular had huge support.
Year on year this competition demonstrates the value and pride that towns and cities place in their local market and the innovation and diversity that applies in modern market management. Following the return from the pandemic it is clear that many local markets have a renewed trust, interest and a recognition of their importance within the day to day life of their communities.
The public vote for Britian’s Favourite Market has chosen a market known locally as a unique food & drink and shopping destination that offers a vibrant and eclectic fusion of the hand crafted and the hard to find. It has over 60 traders that are described as “ proudly independent and gloriously innovative”. It has joint local authority management and is a market located in a 1960’s building of architectural interest. The market is part of part of the history of its town and as a new town vision is being debated it is clearly regarded as part its future. The market has respected leadership, is not frightened of change and continually seeks to evolve and provide exciting business and start up opportunities.
The winner of Britain’s Favourite Market 2023 is Shrewsbury Indoor Market.
