Today, along with a considerable number of my fellow Brownhillians, I visited the relaunched Brownhills Market. Due to family stuff, I didn’t get there until 12pm, but it looked like it had been fairly busy – and the gridlock happening on the Tesco car park attested to this. Coming down into Pier Street from the pedestrian bridge, my heart sank when my eyes alighted on a trestle table under the trees on Pier Street – after all that was the modus operandi of the pirate DVD sellers. I was, however, pleased to note that the pitch belonged to Walsall Trading Standards. Whether erecting their stall there was a deliberately ironic gesture or a chronic lack of historical awareness I couldn’t tell, but they seemed to be doing brisk business explaining how to spot fake trainers and jeans to passers by. As this is a subject that I suspect many of the local teenagers are far better qualified in than the officers concerned, I found it quite amusing, but all power to them.
There was an impressive mingling of council officials, trading standards, reporters from the Express & Star and even a couple of coppers at one point – one must assume they were lost and had stopped for directions. I even noted Walsall Council’s publicity officer, Dan Slee, who must be the first person in internet history to actually look like his twatter avatar, except that in real life I don’t think Dan is overly concerned that anyone might call him weedy.
The market was quite a bit smaller and occupied a more compact area than the original, and worryingly, some stalls remained vacant. It was also clear that some traders needed to get used to the new style of stall without a fixed roof, the stalls that were without a cover gave a peculiarly ‘open’ feel. Business was quite brisk, with a steady flow of people wandering round, and there seemed to be a reasonably wide diversity of stalls – household stuff, clothes, mobile phone accessories, butchers, shoes, car accessories, food and even computer consumables. There were a couple of confectionary stalls to satisfy my craving for jelly sweets.
If the momentum can be maintained – and it’s going to require plenty of publicity and good policing, just like there was today – I think there’s every chance that the facility will grow and improve. The atmosphere was quite good, the aisles broad and airy, with a relaxed feel. If the past reputation can be conquered – and that will require plenty of plugging in the media – then there’s ample potential to restore a bit of bounce back into Brownhills. The High Street was noticeably busier today. Lets hope it continues.
Clicking on any of the photos below will open them in Panoramio.
Good to see they fixed those floodlights!
The aisles are quite spacious...
I was concerned to note that some stalls were vacant.
Fruit and veg seemed to be doing well.
A steady flow of shoppers ebbed through the site...
The area of the new market is quite a bit smaller.
It was good to see some of the old favourites.