Winter 2010 - Shipshape Magazine Bristol

feature
at festivals including Glastonbury, V
Festival and The Big Chill. Recently, he’s
introduced a series of successful themed
markets along Welsh Back, including Fish
Fest, Eat Cheese and Summer Fayre.
“I’m a passionate believer in the future
of Bristol’s docks, and I see markets
as a central part of the docks’ future
wellbeing,” Magnus observes. “But it’s
fiendishly difficult to get things moving
in Bristol. The Council’s Markets
department does a perfectly good
job, but is hiding behind a 650-yearold
piece of legislation [the Markets
Charter] that no longer has a function.
“Steve Morris [Bristol City Council
Market Manager] is actually a very
good market manager – he looks after
St Nicholas Market and its traders
very well – but it’s only on a limited
scale. The general view is that any new
markets would compete with St Nick’s –
but, in fact, other markets will only bring
benefits, because you get people into
the market habit, get them thinking, ‘OK, it’s
cold and wet, but at the market we can get
interesting, good-quality stuff.’”
He also underlines Bryony’s point about
markets’ crucial role in getting small businesses
moving. “Everyone’s asking, ‘Where are all
these jobs going to come from?’ You’d create a
few hundred jobs just by getting markets going
in Bristol. The current climate is bringing mass
redundancies – one way people can take back
control of their lives is through market trading.
Overheads are cheap, you’re in direct contact
with buyers: markets are the rawest and most
immediate way of learning to manage your
own venture. Some will fail, others succeed,
“I’m a passionate
believer in the future of
Bristol’s docks, and I see
markets as a central part
of the docks’ future
wellbeing. But it’s
fiendishly difficult to get
things moving in Bristol”
Magnus Macdonald,
Chairman of the Glassboat Company
others will go off and think about how to do
things differently – but at least you sow the seeds
of people’s future independence.”
Magnus has similarly ambitious plans for
the parts of town (Welsh Back, King Street
and Queen Square) adjoining Glassboat, as
Bryony does for the stretch of harbour further
west. “The pedestrianisation of King Street
would be a brilliant idea. Regular events there
would animate this area and give Bristol a
whole extra two miles of quayside to generate
visitor income. King Street is a dead end at
the moment – one of the most beautiful streets
in Bristol, yet one of the least used. Ten years
ago it was home to various drinking clubs, but
these have all died off and it’s in urgent need
of a new lease of life – partly to take advantage
of such a gorgeous street but also to ensure it
doesn’t become derelict or intimidating.”
What might be the template for a modern
market in the area? “You could have a weekly
CD/book market on King Street and Welsh Back.
And King Street is just asking for a Christmas
Market. Pedestrianise the street to create a regular
market area, move the bins between Spyglass
restaurant and The Apple cider bar and
install a bandstand in their place, where
you’d invite buskers to play. Combine that
with some sensitive traffic management, and
you have an inexpensive way to animate an
underused gem in the heart of Bristol.”
But, warns Magnus, markets aren’t
plain sailing. “They need hard work to
succeed. You’ve got to give people reasons
to come to markets, and numbers take
time to build up. If it’s cold and wet
people won’t come. And if traders don’t
make money they won’t come. Markets are
delicate things – they need nurturing.”
Back to the Charter
Magnus is less than enamoured of the
650-year-old Markets Charter – or, at least,
of its modern application. “The Markets
Charter is a wonderful historical anachronism.
But in today’s shopping environment, it’s
damaging rather than benefiting Bristol. It
gives the Council the right to decide who has a
market within six miles of the city centre – but
I would argue that Tesco, Sainsbury’s and so
forth are basically indoor markets. Worse, they’re
not bringing any of the benefits that markets
would – livelihoods, animation of an area, social
interaction, using local producers and makers. It
would be interesting to see what happened if the
Markets Charter was put up against Tesco!”
George Ferguson is yet more adamant on
this point. “Why they did not think of using the
Markets Charter to restrict the domination of the
supermarkets is beyond me. A thriving market
culture is a major attractor at a time when cities
have to compete for attention, tourism and outside
investment. They’re also a fundamental element
in the greening of cities, in terms of reducing food
miles and all sorts of wasteful energy practices.
They are also extremely sociable places.”
The Council was unwilling to comment in
depth before the findings were made public, but
Steve Morris issued this comment: “The City
Council has an excellent market track record, with
nationally recognised and award-winning markets.
We are currently conducting an independent
review of markets in the city and are also looking
at the potential for developing additional,
sustainable markets in Bristol.
“The Council and its partners such as
Destination Bristol know that sustainable
and viable markets bring many benefits to
residents and the wider region. This review
will inform a markets policy and examine
potential future opportunities for markets in
the city. The review will also help to shape
a robust business plan for the Council’s own
market operations at St Nicholas.
“The Council believes that markets will play a
key role in Bristol’s future sustainable economic
growth. We are aware of the huge economic,
social and environmental benefits markets bring
to the city, from creating small-scale, start-up
opportunities for burgeoning businesses to
attracting more visitors and from providing a
platform to showcase locally sourced goods and
services to encouraging reuse and recycling in its
widest possible sense.”
Last word to Bryony, back on the
Harbourside. “We want the harbour to be
a focal point of our city again, rather than
somewhere people should feel scared to go.
It’s Bristol’s USP – we are a port, a centre of
commerce, and what better way to show that
than by putting commerce right back onto the
waterfront, where merchants have unloaded
their goods from boats for centuries?” s
For more on the Market Charter and a detailed analysis of the Markets Review,
see www.bristol.gov.uk/retailcentres. Bristol’s first Christmas Market takes place
in Broadmead West until 19 Dec, selling arts, crafts, food and drink from
across the region. The German Christmas Market also returns to Broadmead
East until 22 Dec. See http://tinyurl.com/39mdku4 for more info on both
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