Westhoughton Market launch click and collect service as they miss out on support

Contrary to popular belief, the traders on the market do not qualify for Government help ­— and need the support of their customers more than ever.

TRADERS on Westhoughton Market had just started getting ready for what should be their busiest time of year.

Stalls were laden with everything from speciality cakes and food, to pyjamas, gifts and furniture ready to meet festive demand ­— but the announcement of the second lockdown meant the majority of stalls had to, without hardly any warning, shut.

Now traders are desperately putting in place a click and collect service for the first time as best they know how ­—using everything from Facebook to phone ­— in a bid to save to Christmas and, in many cases, their livelihoods

They are in most days, just hoping that someone has placed an order.

Karen Hargreaves, who runs the card stall, explained that traders do not qualify for help under the Government schemes.

She said: "Yes there is a grant available if you pay rates because these don't have a rate reference they cannot apply for the grant.

"Fingers crossed for everyone they bring a discretionary grant out for people like this who do have a business.

"Even the ones that are open are suffering because of the lack of footfall. There are people who have mortgages to pay, there are single parents, yes they may get mortgage holidays but you still have to pay it back.

"There is zero income coming in for them – we have all got upset about it but we all have each other, we have a good support network.

“There are a few people wondering whether they should pack in and we have said no it is not going to be like this forever, keep going.

“I just hope there is custom left for us when we open on December 2 and we can pull something back in the last three weeks of Christmas."

Karen added: "We are like a big family, so it's like the family is being punished, you just feel for everybody."

Sharon and her husband Geoff Coyne from Undi World ploughed redundancy money into the stall which opened in June. Christmas stock had been ordered at the start of October.

(Sharon Coyne with Cllr Martyn Cox)

Sharon said:“The stall started to pick up probably in the last three weeks before lockdown because people knew we had special items in for Christmas – pyjamas, dressing gowns.

“I have got one order, someone ordered on Facebook and I’m here for that, but also to get out the house.

“I am doing click and collect via Facebook ad I am doing free local delivery within five miles.

“We haven’t been trading long enough and are not entitled to claim anything.

“It’s horrendous, you do think what are they are doing for us. The most annoying thing for us is going into local shops and they are selling everything we are selling here. I just can’t comprehend it, I was nearly in tears about it on Sunday when I was in the supermarket. It should be a level playing field.”

Rob Griffiths from the Fishing Tackle stall is trialling click and collect.

He said: "It is the first time I have ever had to do this and it is very quiet ­— but you have to keep going. You try so hard and you sometimes think why are you bothering.

"The problem is people think we are shut.

"This lockdown has had a big effect on market traders. I have been doing this for 30 years and have never known it like this.

"Towns like this need us and we should get more support, we are trying to earn an honest living."

It should be the busiest time of the year for Ismail Ahmed, who runs the phone stall.

"November to December is my busiest time, with people placing orders," he said, "I started click and collect as soon as the Government said we could."

Ismail added: "I do not understand why people can go into a supermarket and pick up what they want but they cannot do that same here."

Michelle Price (pictured) has has to close three of four businesses ­— gifts, printing and school uniforms ­— and turn to click and collect. But she is allowed to sell sweets.

She said: "We have four businesses altogether on the same plot but we can only open one of them. It's madness, supermarkets can open up everything, but we can't.

"We are trialling click and collect, you have to try every avenue."

Michelle said she felt small businesses were losing out to big corporations.

Her business missed out on a grant to upgrade technology because they were going to hotels, which are already getting Government support.

"So we don’t even get a few thousand to upgrade machines so when we do come back we can come back ready," said Michelle.

Ripps Furniture opened on the market in August and was doing well, with plans to move to the front of the market.

Rish Chohan (pictured) said confusing messages over the number of restrictions Bolton has been facing due to the pandemic had an impact.

He said: "From August to October we were doing really really well, there was a lot of custom coming through. Then the messages about the restrictions in Bolton were confusing, some people thought we were closed and then there was the second full lockdown."

Rish said shops which were allowed to remain open are still selling furniture. Now the stall is promoting safe home deliveries.

Artisan cakes are on sale for Christmas ­— at a cheaper price than found in the speciality food halls of department stalls ­—at the Mad Hatters Cake Shop, and should be flying off the shelves ­— but the lack of footfall is having an impact.

Steve Bott, who runs the stall, said: "I moved into this about a month and half a go and haven't been running long enough to get the self-employment help.

“I have just got my Christmas stock, but I still have the stock before the new lockdown came in, nothing is moving off the shelf.

“We are looking into click collect. It is hand to mouth at the minute.

"This indoor market is no different than as upper market – people walk down aisles like they do in supermarkets and we would limit numbers at a time."

Hayley Lynch (pictured), who runs three businesses, selling beauty products, shoes and carrying out beauty treatments, added: "The Christmas stock I have got should be flying off the shelf.

"Maybe if we were in the same boat I could handle it better , but we are not. I was in the supermarket, they can sell anything they want and all their Christmas stock. It's a hard pill to swallow."

(Sam Wartnaby with Karen Hargreaves)

At the age of just 20, Sam Wartnaby set up his own barber's business a week before lockdown.

"Here we are and you have just got to hope for the best,"

“The first week I was busy which was good so it is a shame that we had another lockdown.

“The big companies will always get support what else would you expect.”

Deputy leader of Bolton Council and ward councillor Martyn Cox said: "It is a fantastic market, going from seven stalls to 30 odd stallholders and it is a shame so many can’t open as they were.

“I didn’t know so many had fallen through the cracks, many have only been trading a few months, I have made the point when the Government does a big scheme it has sharp edges. It is like a cliff edge and if you are one side of the cliff you are fine if you are on the other side metaphorically you are in deep water.

“People who set up market stalls are by nature entrepreneurial, so they will do everything they can to try and stay in business, so it doesn’t surprise me at they are trying different methods at all because that is the nature of these people.

“Lots of us will sit there and say what can we do, entrepreneurs generally say this is what we are going to do, but they want customers through the door.

“It is important for people to know the market is open,  whilst to the outside world it looks like the place is closed you can still buy a lot of the goods that are on offer, not the services unfortunately, but there are people here who are trading and I hope people do support them.

“The sooner the lockdown ends the better, because I think if we are not careful we won’t be talking about lockdowns we will be talking about things we are no longer be able to reopen, I’m more worried now about reopening rather than lockdowns.

“I have said this many times but I will say it again, this is Bolton’s sixth lockdown, sixth different type of restriction, and it is making it impossible for people to trade and we have to balance health risks, which are real, with the need for people to earn a living, if you can’t earn a living then we facing different types of problems.”

For more information on Westhoughton Market and how to order, visit its Facebook page