Posts in category: News

Cambridge Market are using their local media to encourage residents & visitors to vote for them to become Britain’s Favourite Market – see article here. In order to ensure that you become Britain’s Favourite Market what are you doing to encourage people to vote for you? Are you making the most of your local media, social media & the local community? What could you to get people voting for you?

Voting for Britain’s Favourite Market is open until 30th November 2017 & can be done at www.nabma.com/vote

NABMA are looking for a Communications Officer. The role will be 3 days per week & the deadline for applying is 31st October. For more information see:https://www.nabma.com/jobs-vacancies/

From 1 February 2018 the baton for the management of Harborough Market will be passed from Market Place Management back to Harborough District Council.

During their four-year tenure, which began with overseeing a half million pound redevelopment of the Market Hall, the daily market has gone from strength to strength. Footfall has increased from approximately 22,000 per week in 2013 to 32,000 plus in 2017 and so too has the range of high quality products on offer from an ever-growing pool of fantastic, dedicated traders.

Market Place Chief Executive, Nick Rhodes said:

“We have thoroughly enjoyed our role as operators and caretakers of this award-winning local authority market. We are very proud of how our management team, under the daily direction of Market Manager Sairah Butt, has helped return Harborough Market to the centre of town life. Through hard work and dedication we have increased trading days, added bespoke events and an antique and craft market to the offer. Our programme of community activities has been recognised by the National Association of British Market Authorities and our business development initiatives commended by the local business community.”

The operating and management company exceeded financial targets for the Market set by the council each year, an achievement they accredit to the relationships nurtured within the community and with the traders. In addition they delivered a range of marketing activities and increased promotions that raised the profile of the Market, not only in the local area, but also as a tourist destination. As the recipients of three awards in recent years – ‘Retail Business of the Year’ Leicester Mercury Awards 2016, ‘Best Small Indoor Market 2016’ National Association of British Market Authorities and ‘Independent Retailer of the Year’ Niche Awards 2015 – and an economically solidly performing market with stall occupancy rates increasingly above the national average, Market Place Management are confident they are handing back a healthy operation.

Market Place are sad to be bringing their involvement with the market to an end; however they fully recognise that like many councils across England, now more than ever Harborough District Council must be mindful of all expenditure and where possible bring services back in-house in a bid to maximise stretched budgets.

During the last four years Market Place has come to regard Market Harborough as a second home. The job to improve a market is an on-going one and they look forward to seeing the results of the council’s efforts in the coming months. Harborough Market is a jewel in the town and Market Place would encourage everyone to visit and support this unique shopping destination.

As everyone knows markets are about people and the company would like to thank the traders, partners and the many visitors for their unwavering support. They would also like to thank Harborough District Council for the opportunity to operate the market and wish the Market every success in the future.

For Britain’s Favourite Market category, of the Great British Market Awards #GBMAs, there is a new application process and criteria.

Stage 1. Voting for Britain’s Favourite Market is now underway and will run until 11.59 pm on 30 November 2017. The voting icon is on the NABMA website www.nabma.com. Anyone can apply and you simply need to put in the name of your favourite market.

Stage 2. On the 4th December the 6 markets that have received the most votes will be announced and will then be carried over to the next phase of the judging process. The number of votes received will not count towards the next assessment phase set out below.

Stage 3. These 6 places will then each receive a prearranged visit from representatives from the Judges panel before Christmas. During their visits the Judges will be looking for evidence of:
– stall vacancy rates on the market;
– how the market promotes itself;
– how the market meets the needs of the local community;
– the vibrancy of the market.

Stage 4. Separately on a different day, a “mystery shopper” visit will be undertaken to see why customers like the market and why traders want to trade on it.

Britain’s Favourite Market is influenced online by the people who come to your markets and your traders. This is a huge PR opportunity with local press releases to encourage shoppers to vote for their local market. Do get them involved!

Mental health problems can affect anyone, any day of the year, but today 10 October is a great day to show your support for better mental health and start looking after your own wellbeing.

 The theme for World Mental Health Day 2017 is workplace wellbeing, and the fabulous traders and people who work at Warrington market have got together to star in a music video aimed at encouraging young people suffering with mental health problems to step into the light and start talking about their issues.

A great way to show support is to take part in this thunderclap promotion by clicking on this link http://thndr.me/2IP2qL Then selecting “support with facebook and/or twitter” it is as simple as that. Then on 27 October we will all send a huge message of support to those suffering with mental health problems.

Dancing in the Shadows is a 360 degree pop video set in the basement area of the old Warrington market building and includes a butcher, a baker and even a medieval candlestick maker.

The song is about what can happen when you stay in the shadows too long, with the message,

“Step into the light and start talking talk about your issues”.

This video has been several months in the making and is the collaboration of a group of lifelong friends inspired to help raise awareness of mental health issues. Viewers are also encouraged to make donations direct to a charity of their choice.

At the beginning of this year and after retiring from working at Warrington market, Stephen Pickering got together with a couple of friends to record some music for fun.  The three musicians have been playing live together for years, and are established performers in their own right. Stephen has also produced many television commercials and wanted to have a go at a music video in the new 360 degree technology to create a totally immersive virtual reality experience.

While recording the music track in the studio, they came across a young talented rapper named Kyle Hignett.  He is a really nice lad with a powerful story around his unfortunate mental health condition.  Kyle was the subject of national news in 2016 when his mum revealed that she often had to restrain him with handcuffs to stop him killing himself. Kyle had border line personality disorder and psychosis.

Due to the song being about Holden Caulfield, who himself had mental health issues in the book “Catcher in the Rye”, it seemed obvious to invite Kyle to perform on the track.

After the music was completed, filming of the music video started and a wide cross section of the local community with connections to the market were invited to take part as dancers in the audience. Each person filmed individually against a green screen background ready for inclusion in the video.

It soon became apparent that most had experienced issues around mental health, either with themselves or close friends and family.

Commenting on the video, Stephen said, “If Walt Disney had directed The Exorcist, I think it would have looked something like this. It is a humorous retro-horror flick aimed at engaging with young people. The reality is that mental health is a very scary experience and if we can help to encourage anyone who might be suffering to step into the light and start talking to someone, then that would be fantastic”.

“I am very grateful to everyone involved and particularly to Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of Warrington Borough Council and Chairman of Warrington Wolves for dancing in the video. Steven demonstrates how he is an ideal candidate for the television show Strictly Come Dancing”

The video will be released on youtube on Friday 27 October in time for Halloween, utilising the “Thundclap” promotion to help create a buzz and get people talking.

At the recent NABMA Conference we received an update on the Benchmarking Project that has been undertaken by APSE with the support of ten of our members. This Project was a great success and has led to APSE agreeing that markets can be included within the “family” of local authority services that they currently benchmark.

As many NABMA members are already members of APSE access to market benchmarking will be part of the service that you already receive so there will be no extra cost involved. If you are not an APSE member but you want to participate in market benchmarking then you can do so but there is a fee to pay. Having up to date information to make informed decisions about performance is vital to the well being of markets and NABMA is delighted to be working in partnership with APSE.

Here is the Market Operations Flyer from APSE. You are encouraged to sign up and demonstrate your support. We need as many markets as possible to get involved.

Congratulations to Tony & the team from Manchester Markets who won the Team Award for outstanding commitment and dedication to the Real Deal Charter from 2009 till the present day. Tony Sproston was presented with the award in London on 13 September.

· Manchester Markets identified some serious issues in 2008 – illicit traders were selling counterfeit and dangerous goods on Council and privately operated markets within the city.
· A multi agency focus group was formed with Trading Standards, GMP and other agencies. Action was taken which included multi agency raids on privately operated markets. Several Council traders lost their licences to trade in Manchester.
· Manchester Markets were the first local authority to sign up to the National Real Deal Charter in October 2009. The majority of UK local authority markets have since signed up to the Charter.
· The multi agency approach continued and Manchester Markets worked closely with national organisations including the Federation Against Copyright Theft and the British Recording Music Industry. In 2013 Manchester Markets received an award from FACT, in recognition of exemplary standards in tackling Intellectual Property Crime.
· In 2011, 5 criminal gangs were prosecuted. These were the major suppliers of counterfeit goods to market traders throughout the city.
· Baroness Wilkinson reported to the Deputy Prime Minister that the work done in Manchester was a beacon of best practice.
· The work has also been recognised by Warner Brothers. In 2010 where the Manchester story was told at their AGM in London.

The work continues:

· Manchester Markets recently banned Android/Kodi boxes from sale on all markets.
· Manchester Markets and Trading Standards recently carried out unannounced visits to Longsight and Gorton Markets. No counterfeit items were found.
· Market Managers regularly inspect their markets for counterfeit goods and will continue to be trained by Trading Standards regarding current counterfeit trends.

The recent annual conference held by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) celebrated success for a further 19 officers from across the UK who have achieved a formal qualification in Market Administration.
Now in its 6th year, over 100 people have now successfully completed the NABMA Diploma course resulting in this qualification becoming the standard benchmark in the industry.
Formally recognised as equivalent to the national framework HNC/D or NVQ this level 4 qualification is accredited by the Institute of Place Management which is part of the Manchester Metropolitan University.

The course is offered to NABMA members at a subsidised rate thanks to the generous sponsorship of “Marketplace”. Allan Hartwell, one of the original founders of Marketplace commented: “It is recognised that market management is an excellent grounding for acquiring a wide range of business experiences, which means the transferrable skills obtained through this diploma make it an ideal investment for the future of any officer working in the industry.”

Hilary Paxman, Chief Executive of NABMA, is delighted with the ever-increasing demand from officers wishing to gain the qualification, “People attend the course for a variety of reasons, either to gain formal recognition for their years of experience, or as a fast-track introduction to market management. Everyone on the course benefits from establishing contacts within the industry that become an invaluable resource for the future. NABMA also offers a wide range of support for market managers and opportunities for continuous professional development”.

Stephen Pickering, [experienced market manager]and the NABMA course leader commented, “After completion of the 6 day diploma course I always endeavour to speak to the senior managers responsible for each candidate to ask if they have noticed any difference in their employee. The consistent responses always report increased confidence in work performance and a drive from students to introduce new initiatives to benefit their market investments.”

Further details of the 2018 course are now available on the NABMA web site or by emailing diploma@nabma.com Anyone interested in registering for the course is advised to make early enquires as places are limited and likely to reach capacity very soon.
For an informal chat about the course please telephone Stephen Pickering on 07756326022

Note: Photo – Class of 2017 celebrating their diploma success at the National conference held in Stratford Upon Avon, September 2017.

On Monday 18th September at the NABMA Annual Conference the winners of the NABMA & Blachere Illumination Annual Market Awards were announced. The number and quality of the entries for this year’s Market Awards were the highest we have experienced and testify to the commitment and dedication of Market Officers around the country.

The winners are as follows:

Market Manager of the Year – John Walker, Calderdale Markets
Market Team of the Year – Cambridge Markets
Market Innovation of the Year – Fleetwood Market
Market Young Person of the Year – Luke Matthews, Saffron Walden and Lucy Bye, Kirklees Markets

Special Market Team Awards – Borough Market, London and Glasgow Wholesale Market

Krys Zasada Award for Outstanding Contribution to Markets – Colin Wolstenholme, Bradford Markets

NABMA Appreciation Awards – Allan Hartwell, Market Place and Joe Harrison, NMTF

NABMA want to thank Blachere for their sponsorship support which enables us to make these Awards and Manchester City Council for their continued support of the Krys Zasada Award. NABMA also want to thank all the people who have submitted nominations which gave the judges lots of difficult decisions to make on the eventual recipients.

Shown below is NABMA President Cllr Chris Rosling-Josephs with the Cambridge Markets Team who won Markets Team of the Year.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave