“An indoor community market. Could it happen in Twickenham? I think it could. Since floating the idea a month ago I have received messages of goodwill and support for the idea from many people. The positive response has encouraged me to pursue the vision as an active project. Here’s why and how it would work…
Heath Road now hosts an unacceptable number of empty retail and commercial properties. In the 50’s and 60’s this was a busy and varied shopping area with many specialist shops. It is now a sad looking entry route from the west into Twickenham, full of eateries that often don’t last very long or estate agents, barber shops and charity shops. The road is ripe for some serious thinking on a subject that was previously dropped when Poundland took over the then vacant Woolworth site.
So let’s consider the idea of a midweek and weekend indoor market. The idea here is a simple one. The empty shops that are all clustered around Rubens excellent bakery are empty for a reason. These are some of the smallest retail units in Heath Road. Traditionally they would have been taken on by budding entrepreneurs and start-up businesses but in today’s climate these units represent too much of a financial risk for a start-up. Business rates and rents are coming in at a minimum of £20,000 p.a. This is before shop fitting, stocking, insurance and utility costs.
So we need somewhere for the small retail business person to get a foot in the door. Hence Twickenham Indoor Market. Stallholders would be local resident entrepreneurs and craft persons who are unable to afford current retail rents and business rates but who would like somewhere to try out and sell their wares…
The proposal originally suggested that the Council takes on the lease of one of the larger sites in Heath Road and kits it out with purpose built stalls. It might be managed within the Town Centre manager’s department. Make sure there are toilet facilities and then offer the stalls on a day rate to borough residents at something like £20/30 per stall per day.
This would attract a wide range of craft and collector type small businesses all of whom can’t afford to take on one of the empty retail units. Potential stall holders may well include arts and craft style hobby businesses. Then there are antique and bric-a-brac style stalls. Home based jam, marmalade and chutney makers could be next to the cake stall. Every market like this would have collectors stalls selling and trading records, books and toys, ephemera and of course stamps, postcards and coins.
By introducing the community element into the equation I proposed that stalls could be used by the police, council, local groups such as history societies etc and local charities to raise their visibility and profile, promote their latest activities, and in the case of the charities have an opportunity to raise funds. The market would be open for a minimum of 5 days per week and suitable stallholders could rent on a one day, weekly, monthly or even annual basis.
To me it’s a no brainer as it would breathe life back into a dying area while helping exactly the type of ‘get up and go’ people that we need to see being successful in the town. Remember that Heath Road has the largest number of bus routes in the borough which link in to both main line and tube stations easily.
I believe this can become an affordable project for Twickenham which would become self funding in year 2.
The market would bring extra footfall into the town as a result of marketing and advertising activities by the stallholders and the market’s management. We have a lot of old and new media in this town which can be used to flag and support the market such as the Richmond & Twickenham Times, Richmond Magazine and the TW Magazine titles. Of course we mustn’t overlook the growing media power of the RTT, Twickerati and Totally Richmond local websites. Apologies to anyone omitted. [Editor: Actually, that’s enough publicity for the competition, thanks!]
If we really want it, there is no reason why Twickenham Indoor Market cannot be open this year. I therefore urge support and discussion from your readers so that we can all see that this can be a hugely worthwhile addition to the future prosperity of Twickenham. We need something to put the energy and focus back into this tired looking part of Twickenham. I firmly believe that a well-advertised and permanent indoor community market would significantly increase footfall into the area as well as the town in general.
So how do we move forward?
At this stage I would like to hear from borough residents who would consider becoming an “anchor stall” in the market. I believe we require 4 or 5 such stalls from the arts, crafts and collectables sectors who would commit to the market on a minimum number of days per week. Collectables encompasses a variety of offerings from records to books and toys, bric-a-brac, ephemera and antique watch and clock sales and repairs. If you are out there and think that this may suit you, please drop me a line at alanwinter192@hotmail.com.
Support for such a project is essential of course, so if anyone can offer or suggest practical or funding assistance please get in touch at my email address.”
About Alan
Alan Winter is a lifelong resident of Twickenham. A passionate Brentford FC supporter he is still recovering from watching the missed penalty on Saturday that prevented the Bees gaining promotion to the Championship. In his business life Alan headed up Marketing and Sales teams with FTSE 100 Companies for many years. Since taking an early retirement package a few years ago, he developed a hobby business selling stamps and postcards at fairs and markets and this is where the idea for an indoor market in Twickenham began. He sees the Twickenham Indoor Community Market as “probably my last project, but one that will give me the greatest pleasure to achieve”.
LINKS:
* There are no links here but post comments and ideas below or get in touch with Alan directly at alanwinter192@hotmail.com
Twickerati 
TWICKENHAM COMMUNITY MARKET – OPENING 21st JULY!
Well folks. It has taken a year or so but I am pleased to announce that the Twickenham Community Market which will focus on Arts, Crafts and Collectables with local stallholders will open on Monday 21st July to a fanfare of good music, unusual and unique products and goodwill. Oh yes – and fabulous refreshments throughout as the location is bang in the middle of Twickenham at Mac’s Diner, Cross Deep Court TW1 4AG. If you don’t know Mac’s Diner you should be ashamed of yourselves as Anita McMahon and her team of experts have been serving up fabulous traditional American Diner Fayre in the centre of town for the last 6 months. Yes that’s right, it is where the Odeon / Luxor cinema used to be! So you heard it here first on Twickerati because there was so much support on this site last year when I first floated the concept. Thanks for that. It encouraged me to keep going! It has taken a while because introducing a new addition to the Twickenham townscape of this magnitude always will. Watch this and other places to hear updates but if you were one of the the locals who fancied running a stall with your own arts, crafts or collectables please get back in touch with me asap. We will start with about 12 or so stalls so I need to get stallholders booked in before the advertising and marketing is turned on in the next few weeks. 07875 578398 (9.30 – 5.00 please). Thanks & Regards Alan
Alan, congratulations on your commitment and thoroughness in thinking through this idea. It would be great.
I have just 2 things to add which haven’t already been mentioned, relating to off-peak footfall.
1) pushchairs and prams. Much off peak custom could come from the new mums and stay-at-home parents with pre-school children, who you may have noticed there is a certain propensity for in our neck of the woods! I am sure this section of the community would make likely off peak customers. However it would be essential for the market to have adequate space for pushchairs to get around the market, past the stalls, as well as easy entrance and exit. Entrance steps and stiff doors would be a killer to a prime set of customers. I think there could be quite a bit of cash in this group so being careful to ensure their access to the site will be important. Working to the dimensions of a double pram being able to fit around the stalls might be a good idea.
Also, providing thoughtful items like baby hanging facilities (no need for anything flash, just a clean changing mat and potty in a big enough loo) would drive some footfall – very useful as there is nowhere between the town centre and the green if you have an emergency nappy/potty situation!! Just a thought!
2) Richmond College – tonnes of students access the college via the footbridge on Marsh Farm Road from the bus stops at the top off Heath Road. Again, an off peak customer group to be attracted – perhaps via collaborations with the college or cultural aspects more attractive to the younger in our community. Be good to engage this group as part of the community than just passing through to and from college every day.
Cheers!
Becky
Thanks for your input. Really good stuff. Whilst I wasn’t unaware of your content, it will certainly go in the mix if and when I can move past the next stage of the project which is entity establishment and finance support.
Thanks again. If we keep talking about and wanting a Community Market in Heath Road I really believe this can happen.
Kind Regards
Alan
Excellent idea, as a local craft maker I would be up for it. Price would have right though as I operate on very low margins. I did have a stall in Church Street at a Twickenham Craft Market a few years back but it didn’t work out because a) I was bumped from my location at the top of the street near the shops, down to the far end (in a windy space near the food shops,) because they “needed the space for a larger stall” (selling in ersatz bought in items I might add) but more importantly, I had to buy both a street traders licence for the day and pay a fee for the craft market and provide my own stall. This put the cost beyond the reach of quite a few small traders and meant the Craft Fair was monopolised by stalls selling bought in jewellery etc. I believe if the market is off the highway on privately owned land the street traders licence is not needed. Could you perhaps check that out Alan? If you need help with the organisation I would be happy to get involved.
Thanks for your input. Stallholders would not require a licence at the Indoor Community Market.. Stalls would be provided and the current thinking in the business plan is to charge £25 per stall per day (Tuesday – Friday) and £30 on Saturdays and Sundays. VAT will also need to be added. The market will be open 6 days per week with stalls available to rent by local residents and businesses in the arts crafts and collectables sectors on a yearly, monthly, weekly or daily basis. Thanks for your offer of help. At the moment I’m working on raising the finance but if I can overcome that hurdle, help will be appreciated as we move toward an actual opening day. Any offers of help or potential stallholders should email me at alanwinter192@hotmail.com
This is a great initiative and deserves to succeed. Just one question for Alan and his business plan – how will you drive footfall to the stalls during the “off-peak” periods (Tuesday to Friday)? Your business model’s weakness is that “off-peak” is longer than “peak” (4 days vs 2 days, respectively). A couple of tips: maybe open a play area with refreshments so local mums can congregate and browse during “off-peak”? Maybe increase the “peak” charges? All the best though!
Hi Bobster.
Thanks for that. Off peak footfall is clearly a marketing initiative that I’ll be dealing with. There will probably not be sufficient space to open a play area and there are already loads of cafes full of young mums in the area without the community market trying to add even more competition.. Your point is well made however and provides the potential for local cafes in the immediate vicinity to benefit from the additional footfall generated by the market. Good input.
Thanks & Regards
Alan
Who owns the place on Heath Road that was the Voluntary Service (?) or something like that. Or was it the CAB? Anyway, it’s a large ground floor space that’s doing nothing at the moment. Although redevelopment into flats would be more attractive to a landlord than an indoot market.
Alternatively, given the Council’s plan to buy up the Water Lane / King Street corner, perhaps an indoor market space could be incorporated into a development there. It won’t help Heath Road but is a good central location.
I seem to recall there was a planning application on the old CAB office to convert to restaurant usage. That was a couple of years ago, not sure what happened.
Hi George and Rufus. You are on the money. The old CAB / Voluntary office building in Heath Road is very much in the frame at present. It can hold 15 -20 stalls and I have now viewed it twice with the managing agents. The current focus is on funding. The project will require £150 k in the first year for refurb, kitting out with stalls, lease rent, business rates, insurances and management costs. If you can help me find a benevolent local with that sort of loose change who would like to see the market up and running this year I’d be delighted. The business plan sees the market paying for itself with stall rentals in year 2. My thanks for everyone’s continued interest and support for the Twickenham Community Market. If we want it to happen then we’ll make it happen if at all possible.
Regards
Alan
Great idea! Probably not central enough but there is an empty 2 storey unit on Heath Road (Tesco end) between Beaumont house & TH Sanders and Higgs Funeral Directors – might be worth checking it out.
That’s what used to be Scruby’s furniture store. Rumour has it that Tesco own it and have opted to sit on the site rather than sell it or develop it.
The council are Pirates! £20,000 p.a. for rents and rates? Is that for real…..
No wonder the town is dying on its feet. Who can afford that!
I say we get rid of the lot of them, then employ people with genuine ideas of how to promote a town center without trying to make a profit to ensure thier salaries… Hooray for the market idea
The idea of an indoor market sounds wonderful. The attraction of markets, as opposed to the usual corporate, clone town centres, has been demonstrated throughout London – they bring people together. It also sounds a great way of promoting the ‘local’ economy i.e. local enterprises and jobs as well as the direct relationship between the ‘creator’ and buyer – not just an anonymous product. It is so valuable. I don’t know of specific individuals, but have thought that there must be people involved in ‘ Artists Open Studios’ in the borough (see what Kingston is doing under KAOS in the central market space every so often), but could also link with local colleges (?art students, fashion students), those people who participate in the Church Street market, allotment holders (?), the Learning disability organisation much further away in Heath Road which makes cards, the learning Disability organisation which runs the riverside cafe and others (? to help run stalls as employment/work experience?). So much potential. Sounds wonderful, and a great opportunity to try something new.
Hi Alan
I’ll be seeing my daughter some time next week. She knows about a community shop scheme in Brixton and is now involved in a couple of arts projects in Bristol, where the council lent a three storey shop as a performance space and art gallery.
I’ll get back to you when I have more details. .
How about Blockbusters, that’s a good size
Thanks for your suggestion.Yes I have looked at it but it is not on the market and looks like one of the Blockbuster stores aquired by Morrisons.
The link shown here is advertising for staff at their new Twickenham store.
https://www.moreatmorrisons.co.uk/jobvacancy/view/id/3777
Regards
Alan
Having just checked with Planning Officers there is an application in for change of shop front and plant, but awaiting details of Application number and validation as yet. I am hoping we can encourage an in keeping shop frontage to the overall architectural.style of the area and with regard to Shop Front Design guidance.
Thanks Anita.
I have looked at the Blockbuster site but it is not available. Likelihood is that it will become a Morrisons local as they have acquired many of the Blockbuster locations. They are currently advertising for staff at their new Twickenham store.
Regards
Alan
The old Citizen’s Advice Bureau could work.
Scrubies too if Tesco are feeling generous.
Alan due to the uniquness of the business units inside as well as selling online..it may alos encourage ppl to visit the area..also i like the idea of some high street shops becoming art/photo galleries and art/craft outlets..
something that makes the area distinctive and not just like everywhere else.oh and ban tesco from taking up a space inside the market too..
Tesco haven’t asked me for a stall yet! Of course it will encourage people to visit the area.
Alan
Alan, space for delivery vans? and mail? eg unit 6, indoor market…
In a project of this size of course your question is dealt with.
Alan when you go past shops in high street you get to know where such and such shop is..in a indoor market its not clear what businesses are inside? will there be a sign outside listing them? and one that is noticeable and readable?
Of course. Do you think I would open a market and then not tell people who the stallholders are! There will be maximum awareness of the stallholders in all media every week.
Alan
so Alan its not going to be just another shopping mall that makes everywhere look like everywhere else? how will it be distinctive looking and look local…also security..usual low paid uniformed plods?
It will be distinctive looking and local because that is what it is! Twickenham Indoor Community Market! Stallholders will be local residents.
Given that the local police will be invited to have an outreach stall in the market, security will be dependent on their acceptance.
Alan
I like this idea, however, as a trial run I would like to see the council and business association working with the landlords of empty shops to allow market traders to use on a temporary basis empty retail units as pop-up shops. I have seen this work in Bath where arrangements were put in place to allow, say a school PTA, to run a book stall in an empty shop over a weekend. It has also been suggested to me that when the units are not being used landlords should allow other businesses, associations, school groups & artists to advertise, show art, school projects in the windows instead of the mess, uncollected post etc that we currently see.
This year’s Twickenham Festival looks excellent but, probably too late for this year, it would be good, in addition to the French market, if there was a local market for some of the stalls Alan describes.
Roger
Thanks for your input and support. I’m grateful for all the positive comments. Please keep it coming!
I just want to clarify that what I’m proposing here is a significant and permanent addition to the Twickenham townscape of an indoor arts crafts and collectables market with 15 – 20 stalls.
This project is much too large to consider pop up shops etc which have never been shown to offer any business sustainability. They can only really work short term for charities and one off events etc.
Purely to enable focus here is the 10 point plan that will enable us to have a Community Market in Twickenham this year.
1. Find the indoor market location.
2. Create a commercial entity to manage the finance.
3. Find the finance for year 1. (I believe the market will pay for itself in year 2.)
4. Sign a 5 year lease.
5. Refurbish the building to required standard. Kit out the building with stalls and appoint a market manager.
6..Prepare stallholders rota (permanent and temporary.)
7. NOMINATE OPENING DAY
8. Erect appropriate signage on building exterior.
9. Turn on all available media for advertising, editorials and awareness.
10.We have TWICKENHAM INDOOR COMMUNITY MARKET up and running this year.
Regards
Alan Winter
alanwinter192@hotmail.com
Great idea. Find the right venue in terms of size and location could be tricky. It might require a philanthropic landlord (is there such a thing?) to let at below market rates although on, say, an initial 12 month lease might be attractive to some in the current climate. Better than an empty shop surely. And it would need to be busy in the week, not just on Saturdays. Having said that, there are plenty of talented and entreprenerial people in the area so there should be no shortage of potential stall holders.
Thanks Alan. Keep pushing ahead with the thinking!
This seems an excellent way of rejuvenating the town centre and also helping young businesses. The original suggestion, the old Woolworths, was the obvious place for this but as that site is no longer available, where do we have which would be large enough? I hope to see this idea progressing.
The main problems for Twickenham are the inane ideas to move the bus stops, and the farmers market making most of the offroad parking in the town unavailable on Saturdays. Move it to outsode the council offices and free up the parking.
Good morning Alan,
Thanks for your well researched proposal and I totally agree with you – it’s just what we need here in Twickenham. It would provide an interesting focus for the area especially in the weekends.
I’m an artist based on Eel Pie Island where there are many like myself who are professional artists and hobby crafts people. Unfortunately due to the residential nature of the island it is impractical for us to open our studios to the public more than twice a year so having a local outlet/market stall could provide a means of exposing our work to a wider public and gaining commissions.
I will be following this proposal with great interest.
Lee
Lee
Thank you for your positive comments. Your group would be made most welcome because you would be a fundamental part of a local community market. This is what I’m looking to achieve. An outlet for local residents to display and demonstrate their products and skills, while re-energising a pretty dull part of Twickenham.
Thanks & Regards
Alan
alanwinter192@hotmail.com
Hi Alan, Russell and all other good people on this great site. I am very actively involved as Councillor in businesses (both here in Twickenham Town, Lebanon Park area, around The Crown and the other end of my ward East Twickenham, and the little bit inbetween Marble Hill) as well as the parks and galleries offerings, and I also actively recruited the shop and businesses to put their collective powers together for both East Twickenham Traders Association and Twickenham Town Busines Association (TTBA). And now Mosaic Partnership are running up the final pitch for the approval of a business plan for the Businesses Improvement District (BID) in Twickenham Town made up of the really active and interested TTBA members (mostly retailers) whose vote in September through the Business Rate paying community will sanction a predicted annual [charge?] coming from every single businesses rate-payer totalling around £1/4m to invest through this initiative and a separately formed company run by people from the TTBA Exec and membership and with professinal stewardship. If this idea is put in front of the BID steering group as part of the business plan to vote on (in September), this could be live and going if adopted and a route to supporting this very enterprising inclusive idea.
I have long loved Greenwich covered market, a really thriving very old purpose built space surrounded by shops and pubs, most recently threatened but saved from the wrecker ball and inevitable hotel and residential proposal, and seen others including a visit with my 15 year old daughter after touring the Olympics waterway routes leading to the main Olympic site and hooking down Brick Lane on the way back. For some different cultural experience redundant big buildings used for garment manufacturing and warehousing are used similarly with lively themes and mixes of community and micro businesses on market stall type set up as suggested by Alan whom I do know.
Alan, let’s get together with Bruce Lyons our Town head honcho of the TTBA based in Crusader Travel and making so much happen here and coordination to boot, Cornelius O’Brien his side-kick TTBA coordinator (and part timer manager for Richmond too), and I am very happy to join this and yourself with any others interested to see what the proposed business plan could look like and refine it between several heads. I know several groups who are interested in this concept, the idea of a pop-up shop appeals but takes a lot of work for a small period and intense marketing resource for a limited period, whereas this work would be rolling so much more cost effective to run as almost a ‘cooperative’ which is another idea to consider like Greenwich Printmaking who are 20 artists sharing the lease and overheads and share the manning of the shop too, another model perhaps to be considered. Eel Pie Island artists have
expressed to me a similar wish (I am sure Alan knows many of them), we can go and talk to them together. I know who is thinking what and what the main drivers are. They are dead keen to do something more creative since Par Ici with the wonderful Michele was forced to close, I am sure we can take all of this previous wisdom and fresh ideas and combine them, there are so many creative people some semi-retired like Alan, some at home with kids but with little micro-industries just bursting to get out and sell their front-room creations and wares.
Richmond Council’s resources through setting up TTBA when it was really needed a year and a half ago now (wow that was a nerve-racking concentrated effort of pure will to get it going, against all odds but now the fruits are beginning to be seen and felt) are firmly in there with the BID, Boris powered up the original formative work from his Outer London Fund we won here in Twickenham Town through the good work of Sean Gillen the very able Business Development Officer and then, most importantly, the Council funded £70,000 for Mosaic to get the whole BID engagement, plan and vote through; a total of an accelerated 10 months of work with a fantastic manager Helen along with the MD Mo. Susan Shaw is the other person we can call on, the Council’s Retail Champion who works closely with all of these people I have mentioned and more daily hands-on.
I will be really excited to see everyone’s views and comments, ideas etc, so well done Russell for grabbing this with Alan and focussing on it again. Any ideas on which retail units would work in your mind?
Scott
Email: Cllr.snaylor@richmond.gov.uk
I can signpost, bring people together and convene as you need me, just let me know.
P.S. I was hoping what has now turned into Diamond Jubilee Gardens, the old Swimming pool site, could offer a large market square potential. We have to work on the rest of the site to see how that can turn out, it needs to be fully connected with King Street the top of Water Lane and Church Street to achieve this, work in progress with the whoever owns the Santander Car Park and the whole South side of King Street shopping parade eventually when a buyer is found, it is being actively marketed now the Twickenham Area Action Plan is being put to bed by the Examiner in Public (awaiting final report on active frontage/residential for the car park done Water Lane and usages of the service road/breakthrough to Water Lane in Policy terms).
That was a party political boredcast by Twickenham Riverside’s UKIP candidate for 2014.
That was a quip from a Lib Dem Cllr or supporter! Clearly upset by anyone who talks about leaving Europe!
Significantly, there was no UKIP denial from Cllr ‘Scott’ ‘No Big Ears’ ‘Twickregenerate’ ‘Out of Europe’ ‘Hard as Nails’ Naylor.
Has he turned purple?
Well councillor. What a lot of information! Thank you. To make my market idea come to fruition the last thing we need is to dilute the project over all of these acronyms and minor committees that you refer to. I’m keeping this simple so that it will actually happen. The few required steps are:
1. Find the indoor market location.
2. Create a commercial entity to manage the finance.
3. Find the finance for year 1. (I believe the market will pay for itself in year 2.)
4. Sign a 5 year lease.
5. Refurbish the building to required standard. Kit out the building with stalls and appoint a market manager.
6..Prepare stallholders rota (permanent and temporary.)
7. NOMINATE OPENING DAY
8. Erect appropriate signage on building exterior.
9. Turn on all available media for advertising, editorials and awareness.
10.We have TWICKENHAM INDOOR COMMUNITY MARKET up and running this year.
Regards
Alan Winter
alanwinter192@hotmail.com
Glad to share Alan. Gladly the Twickenham Town Business Association is hardly a talking shop, it is a very sound organisation and it is daily making things happen, just look at http://www.ttba.org.uk or twickenhamthetown.org.uk and also see the Twickenham Festival Guide coming through 20,000 letterboxes anytime now, mine arrived yesterday, you might be part of this in the future hopefully, celebrating success! The Twickenham Town Business Association and Business Improvement District are hardly ones to be ignored, it could be a rich source of funding going forwards for businesses of this Town. See in the town soon!
Alan,
This is a great idea and initiative.
I wish you all the best and thoroughly hope you succeed. 🙂
Plus credit to twickerati for his suppport.
Absolutely. Don’t get hijacked by the suits. Sounds a great project. I hope there’ll be the flexibility for lots of occasional stalls to supplement the anchor stalls so visitors never quite know what they’ll find today.
Spot on Roger. Once we have establshed the anchor stalls, the rest are open to local residents – collectables, arts and crafts etc on an occasional basis if need be. The idea is that there will always be new stalls appearing although I will do my best to give them PR and let people know who is there every week. The idea is to provide affordable outlets for borough residents to use to promote their products etc..
I appreciate your support.
Thankyou.
Alan
Hi Roger.
Thanks for your comment and support.. Spot on ! The community market idea is intended to suport local people to develop their sales by making stalls available on a daily hire as well as a weekly, monthly or annual basis..
Alan
Not only the longest post ever on twickerati, but the least informative.
To be fair, the stream of consciousness could probably be summarised as, “Great idea, we need to get things moving, there are lots of people who could help, including me”
And apologies for posting anonymously which annoys me. The 7.52am post was made by this contributor. Keep it short and legible, I say.
Why say 10 words when you can say 100…blimey
I think this is theoretically a very good idea. Practice of course is another matter, nonetheless I am convinced by the well written and well thought article.
To add further detail to the proposal, what I would like to see is a site for the market located. If there is an actual site that has been identified then talks with the landlord could be initiated and full costings worked out.
Commiserations to Alan and his beloved Bees. From potential ecstasy to stunned agony in moments! What a finish. For those who might not have known what happened last Saturday, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwFD0dJfoBY will give you the details.
Good luck against Swindon…hope the Bees make it to Wembley.