Shoppers and traders express their views on the proposed closure of Concord Market, Sedgley.
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00:00Good morning, we're in the centre of Sedgley where the Concord market's just over the road.
00:08The owners have announced it's going to close in January the 12th after nearly 50 years
00:13of trading. We're going to be speaking to traders and some shoppers to see what they
00:19think of the news. The owners haven't said why, they've said it's down to a number of
00:23factors. They've apologised but the shop will close on January the 11th. So let's go and
00:29find out more. I use it regularly, every time it's open, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Thursdays,
00:37Fridays, Saturdays. How long have you used it? Oh, ever since it's been open basically.
00:41Right, because that's nearly 50 years isn't it? Yeah, and it used to be bigger than this
00:45obviously. Yeah, do you live in Sedgley? Yes, I live on the north bank. What do you think
00:50about the shopping generally in Sedgley? Do you do all your shopping in Sedgley? Mainly
00:56yes, mainly. Do you ever go into Wolverhampton? I just have a walk up, I go into Wolverhampton
01:00occasionally, maybe once every fortnight. But basically it's here, it's up here. You
01:05find most of the stuff that you need. I just have a walk up, I can walk up here and I can
01:09use the facilities. Yeah, they're friendly? I use the bank, I use the bank there, that's
01:14shut. Yeah, so I guess you'll miss the stallholders as well, friendly atmosphere. Yes, definitely,
01:22I'm just going to the butchers round the corner now. I'm really sad because we've built
01:27up a good business and we've got to know all our customers and it's been great, I love
01:33the market, so it's just very sad. And although you've been running this stall for 10 years,
01:39you've been on the market as it were for 13, so that's a few years isn't it? Yeah. So what
01:46is it you like about market trading? I just love all the atmosphere, the people coming
01:51in, the chatting, and you just have a laugh and it's lovely, lots of characters, lovely.
01:56Are you going to miss something? You must have made quite a few friends here. Oh yes,
02:00yeah, and all the stallholders that's come and gone. Yeah, but you're going to try and
02:04stay in Sedgley and looking for another stall or shop? Yes, definitely, I'll try my hardest.
02:09Well in here it's good, but I mean, shopping down the bowling, down here, it's a waste
02:14of time. We've got now florists, we've got now butchers, we've got nothing. That's all
02:17we've got here, that's what we have to rely on. Now if this is closing, we've got nothing,
02:22it's either Asda or Aldi now, if this closes. Because I mean, the customers in here, the
02:30people that use the card shop here, they're fantastic people, the same as the butcher.
02:35They've all been good, they're as good as gold, they know you. And they help you. But
02:41somebody else to get it in you now, they come in, they think, I ain't got time for her,
02:45she's bloody stupid. Yeah. You know what I mean? What are you looking for this morning
02:50in your shopping, are you doing any of your Christmas shopping here? No, I've just got
02:53to get my cards off the card shop, because they're marvellous. They're marvellous here.
02:57Popular stall, isn't it? Popular stall, and the clothes, when he sells the socks and stuff,
03:04they're good. So what are you going to do, say in January, when you come and do your
03:07New Year's shopping? That's a good thing, I'll do. I'll have to go to the card shop
03:11down there, to get the cards, if they're closed. You know, there'll be nobody in here to tell
03:14you about the cards, because these are good in here. They help you. I mean, I come up
03:19here, and I tell them what I need, and they go round and sort for me what I want. And
03:23I don't have to go rummaging through the card shop. I tell them what I want, and they get
03:27some for me. That's the people you've got in here. You know what I mean? Customer service.
03:33People that do help you. Yeah. Okay. When you get somebody that can help, they won't
03:37say, I want to know, they'll just say, I'll push you to one side, or I'll just say, push
03:41you to one side, I don't care. But if this goes, I think I've got nothing. I mean, we
03:46used to have a grocery store, we've got nothing. Well, the market for the last few years, there's
03:49been nothing really in it. I mean, if you look for yourself now, a lot of the stalls
03:54are empty. There's a bread stall, the card stall, the fruit and veg stall, and the butchers,
04:01that's about it, really. I mean, years ago, when I was younger, every stall was taken.
04:07But now, over the last few years, it's just got less and less and less and less.
04:11Yeah. Because you told us you lived in Sedgley before, lived elsewhere, and then came back to
04:16Sedgley for the last eight years. Do you do most of your shopping here in the town? We do now, yeah.
04:21Yeah. Yeah. And what do you think of it generally? Is this your wife over here? That's my wife.
04:26Yeah. She was saying a lot of the shops have closed, or essential. I mean, you haven't
04:33actually got a butcher's in the main high street. Right. You haven't got a greengrocer's in the
04:36main high street. All the banks have shut. I mean, basically, it's all hairdressers,
04:42barbers, things like that. Yeah. Yeah. So, do you think there's much future for shopping in Sedgley?
04:48Well, at the moment, I'd say you've got, obviously, you've got the two
04:52stores, like Asda in Iceland, and now Aldi. Yeah. A lot of the people would be using those,
05:03rather than the main streets. Because, like I said, no butchers, no fruit and veg.
05:10And, I mean, a lot of people have said here this morning about the atmosphere here,
05:14the friendly welcome you get at the different stalls, the card stall in particular has been
05:19mentioned. Yes. I mean, you do get that. I mean, I come here on a Saturday to get the cobs and
05:25bread. Yeah. On a Saturday morning. But, like I say, everybody's very friendly. But, as you've
05:32walked about, there's not a lot in here, really. So, we've heard from plenty of people this morning
05:38who've talked about the community feel, the friendly welcome they get in the Concord market.
05:44So, they say you don't always get it on the high street or in big stores. So,
05:51we'll wish them all the best for Christmas and all the stall holders. Let's hope they get fixed up
05:56in new shops.