Levenshulme Market are offering a breathe of fresh air alternative to supermarket shopping with their re-opening on Saturday 27 June.
Levenshulme Market, closed since the lockdown in mid-March, is to re-open, giving Levy locals and visitors an opportunity to shop in a safe and socially distanced manner with public hygiene measures in place.
Offering a breath of fresh air alternative to the big supermarkets, who have seen sales soar over lockdown, the re-opened market will give people the chance to once again support local independent traders who have been struggling over the lockdown period. The market organisers are launching the re-opening as ‘Levenshulme Market Shop & Go’ with a switch in focus from the lively social side of the Market to an emphasis on shopping in a safe manner to reduce the Covid-19 risk.
Customer access to the site will be monitored to prevent overcrowding, hand sanitisers will be available at the entry points, only contactless payments will be accepted and customers will be encouraged to browse with their eyes rather than hands.
The opening day on Saturday 27 June, 10am – 4pm, will see the usual mixture of street food, arts and crafts stalls with an enhanced range of shopping staples including, cheese, eggs, fresh fruit, meat and vegetables. There will also be beer, wine and cocktails available to buy. All food and drink will be available to take away from the market, customers will not be able to eat and drink on site.
Richard Hurst, Market Manager, says he and the Levenhsulme Market team are excited to be back after this long enforced break:
“The past few months have been a dark and difficult period, for our traders, our customers and the wider community. Not being able to run our market when it has felt like Levenshulme needed its weekly community hub more than ever has been painful for all of us. But the resilience, the solidarity and the positivity we’ve seen demonstrated by our community have kept our spirits high and we’re looking forward to finally being there for them once again.”
The award winning market was established in 2013 as a Community Interest Company, a social enterprise run by the community. Prior to lockdown it operated every weekend from March to December, on the car parks next to Levenshulme train station, where it will be again on 27 June.
The realities of lockdown meant many small markets were closed across the UK, and their self-employed or small business owning stall holders left unsupported, while the big supermarkets have remained open and received a great deal of government support.
Sales at UK supermarkets jumped by 14.3% in the twelve weeks before the 17 May, the highest rise since the statistics were first recorded in 1994. Tesco is expected to make £300m in extra profit during the Covid-19 lockdown. Tesco also paid out a £635 million dividend to its shareholders, after receiving a £585 million government support package due to Covid-19.
The Levenshulme Market team describe their “Shop & Go” model as a work in progress, that will need to adapt to changing circumstances and government guidance as it is announced. While the popular monthly Friday night markets remain suspended, it is hoped that these will also be able to restart as lockdown continues to ease.
Conrad Bower
Levenshulme Market Shop & Go opening dates – click here
Levenshulme Market website
Levenshulme Market Facebook Page
Featured image: composite made with photo’s provided by Levenshulme Market
Steph Pennells says
Whilst it is understandable that people are asked to use cards only to avoid transmission this is regrettable. For anyone with limited money wanting to keep out of (further) debt having cash in your purse is a useful protection- when it’s gone, it’s gone. Undermining the use of coin and notes anywhere is not only exclusive in the short term, it pushes people back up the street to ASDA and acquiesces with corporate interests.