LUKE MARSDEN: our market is precious - use it or lose it!

​Sadly, legendary newsagent Ryding’s shut up its stall for good last weekend. After serving the good people of Wigan the news for over five decades, it was time for Frank to go.

The term "use it or lose it” is often applied to high streets up and down the country but it couldn’t be more fitting when it comes to (what is left of) our market.

The destruction zone around it will have no doubt had a serious impact on trade but the decline has been there for years.

Wiganers are flocking to nearby Chorley and Warrington which have seen a boom and influx of commuters seeking proper markets.

And our traders have suffered some serious blows.

Last week I headed to our market and realised that getting to the entrance was like an experience on the Crystal Maze, with puzzles, obstacles and dodging debris.

But, unlike the Crystal Maze, there’s no shiny crystal at the end: just the remnants of what was a staple of our town.

Stallholders have been promised a "state-of-the-art,” purpose-built new market hall ready by the end of 2024.

My question is: how many can possibly survive until then?

The impact of transforming Wigan is reverberating throughout the town. Wiganers are worried and as I’ve stated publicly many times in this column, I believe our town is at a serious tipping point.

If you’re reading this and haven’t visited our market for a while, please go! Seek out the bargains, the stalls that are left, the atmosphere of a greater era gone by and you’ll see why we need a permanent market presence in Wigan.

For unless we continue to support the traders during this hardship they won’t be there by late next year.

I don’t want us left with a new empty building because we’ll probably just have to knock that down as well!