Traders pack up stalls as Spencers Market closes down
Saturday 23rd July 2011, 11:29AM BST.
Traders were packing up their stalls for the final time today as a long-running indoor market hall closed down.
The 30 stallholders at Spencers Market in Dudley High Street were left reeling three weeks ago when they were told itwould shut.
Some had already moved out earlier this week but others were still trying to sell off the last of their goods at a cut price.
The closure of the market after 21 years was blamed on a rise in rents by market manager Phil Clarke, along with plummeting trade.
Some businesses will move to other sites in Dudley while others are taking up premises in West Bromwich and Birmingham.
The closure plans for Spencers Market comes as Dudley Council works on plans for a £6million revamp of Dudley Market Place.
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In a few year’s time I think there’s going to be practically nothing left to ‘revamp’ in Dudley, other than a humongous mosque/community center.
What a sad state of affairs compared to how this town once was. No, I don’t believe you can attribute this decay to on-line shopping, not when there are other historical towns in Europe that have not only survived, but continued to thrive. I think the Council has done it’s best to turn this town – and it’s zoo and castle – into something best avoided. Thank you very much.
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Loved going for a meal in the market cafe, I hope they are relocating!!
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Soon there will be knowhere for small and start up businesses to begin their businesses.
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I moved to dudley 22 years ago and what a lovely town it was now i don’t go to the town anymore because of parking and lack of good quality shops its still a good market but it needs some more upmarket shops to draw in the people and parking is a big problem.
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Dudley will end up like Brierley Hill, charity shops and takeaways. If the council took away the parking charges it may help get more people into the towns and maybe made the rates cheaper there are so many empty shops they can’t be making any money if theres no one in them.
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As a ‘retail experience’ there is absolutely nothing worth going to Dudley for any longer. John’s comment is spot on – what else is left ‘revamp’
Shame the level of money being put into the mosque (£6million?) could not be better spent on something else for Dudley – 60 THOUSAND people said ‘no’ but it gets the go ahead.
And there-in lies the root of everything that is wrong – a council that will not stand up for its people. A council that after overseeing Burnt Tree works for 18 months couldn’t sort out getting the cones and traffic signs put away on 21st July when the new layout opened.
Pathetic…totally, utterly pathetice.
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Dudley is just horrible and has been for a long time !!
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A real shame there will be nothing traditional left in the country at this rate, markets closing, pubs closing there will only be big supermarkets left the way things are going. Really sad
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