Having spoken to the Bracknell News it turns out that MBW hasn't contacted them at all and I am told this IS what he told them. I smell a bad drain here!!!

   Afternoon Tonk! Been down to the freezer getting stuff ready for the weekend. May I suggest you send a copy of your letter to MBW? I didn't even know there was an xmas draw this year! Nobody asks me to contribute to the prizes so I'm left in the dark. Re the drains - apparently there is nothing wrong with them so it must be our noses playing tricks.

The only other problem is that there is now nobody who has responsibility for the market as such. Graeme Mountford was our point of contact before he was made redundant and now all we have is MBW and Grenchurch. Well, MBW is obviously so tied up in the new town that the market is just an inconvenience at the moment and I think what he told the Bracknell News was to quieten us down. Well that backfired on him!! He is now saying he didn't say anything of the sort. I just hope he did contact the Bracknell News so they can print an apology this week if in fact he did not say the market would be outside. Wonder where they got that from then? - NO, it was not from me!

   Morning HK:

I sent the suggestions to the Toby (Market Manager) I put it in the box with my Christmas draw card outside his office. I would have hoped he would have passed it on to the powers to be; either his head office or the councillor in charge of markets and their development.

Your ideas all seem good, and dare I say, obvious to everyone except the council.

The drains do stink and that MUST put people off that are buying food etc.

If I had a market and I wanted to run it into the ground, I suspect I would use the Bracknell model as a blueprint......Food for thought perhaps?

   You're all gonna have to read those backwards lol.

So, they have had these ideas since last June and as you can tell, none of the ideas have been taken up. We haven't even had acknowledgement even though I've sent MBW this list at least 3 times.

One could give up but there is still a bit of fight in us yet.

Liver and onions on the specials menu this week £3.50 and you won't go hungry!!

   9. Why not offer new traders a reason to stay? Ask them to pay for their first month and then give them the 2nd month free. This way, they are more likely to stay in the market and usually, within 2 months, most customers will then know they are there. At present, a new stall holder will come for a week, perhaps 2 weeks and find the market is dead and never bother coming back. Giving them the 2nd month for free would at least give them an incentive to stay and get known. 10. Car boot sale/table top sale: This could be held both inside and outside the market. The new car park and the space next to the Red Lion could be utilised for people who wish to trade from their cars. People who have less to sell could be offered an indoor stall – again, £10 per pitch is a fair price to charge. There would have to be a NO NEW GOODS and NO HOT OR COLD FOOD policy. Peter could go round collecting the pitch fee at the same time he is collecting the traders rent. Peter could quite easily monitor the event. A boot sale could be held either weekly or fortnightly. Another option is for it to be on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. A boot sale is a winner with most people. Everyone likes to get a bargain and if this was to be a regular event, it would bring more people into the market and might even get us more stall holders. If we could give out leaflets advertising how easy it is to take on a stall then perhaps it would encourage more takers. It’s a win win situation – more revenue from the boot sale would enable more advertising.

   4. Advertising: More bright and relevant adverts in the market, newspapers, bill boards, signage on roundabouts. Dr. Surgeries now have advertising TV and so do post offices. This could be a lucrative way to get to people and show the market is still alive. Also, loop ads in local stores could be used. 5. Opening the market up – We think it would benefit the look and feel of the market if the stalls which are in the middle at the moment are all pushed back to the wall and the whole middle is opened up. It would be great if there could then be a number of small stalls down the middle for people who don’t want permanent pitches but want to have a stall as and when or for people who are just starting up or for crafters. These could be charged at £10 per day which is in keeping with the price of a car boot pitch. 6. Special events in the town – why not incorporate these within the market and surrounding area? This could help everyone especially if it’s raining when these events do come to town. The market and surrounding area is plenty big enough to house such events and if large, they can then spill out and up the town which would encourage people to then come to the market and see everything else that’s going on. 7. Balloons and stickers for children could be given out when special events come to the market. 8. Play area within the market. At present there is nowhere in Bracknell town centre for children. A soft play area within the market would hopefully bring more families in.

   June 2012

Things to improve present market

1. Drains – there may well be nothing wrong with the drains (apparently) BUT, none of the traders have the smell of rotting drains coming into their houses when the wind blows the wrong way yet the drains in the market do stink. The drains at the bottom end by fruit and veg, eggs and the cafe smell horrendously and it is believed this is caused by stagnant water laying in the gulley and rotting. Since the new car park has been built where the units were pulled down, the other end of the market is now suffering from stinking drains. Again, this is NOT a figment of our imagination and indeed does point to a problem as it was not like it previously. As we say, there may not be a problem with the drains themselves but something is causing the stench when the wind is blowing the wrong way and customers do comment and I am sure are put off coming in. 2. Since the Wi-Fi has been installed, it has never worked correctly. This is something which might get people to enter the market if we advertise we have free Wi-Fi (once it’s fixed) 3. We need more stalls. Ideas are – Hoover parts, bread, cheese, clothing, deli, cosmetics, shoes, music, DVD’s, along with anything else which springs to mind. We need far more advertising in the town, market and local papers to try to get people to join the market. Many people probably don’t know they can have a stall on an ad hoc basis.

   Hi Tonk, Thank you for taking the time to send your letter into the management. However, when you say management, did you send it to the council or Grenchurch? Grenchurch manage the market for the council. If you sent it to the council then I am not surprised you didn’t get a reply. We traders are still waiting for a response to a whole sheet of A4 on different ideas for the market (which MBW asked us to produce for him) which we sent to him last June. Don’t hold your breath but don’t forget MBW is “Committed to a market” and is a “Fan” of markets. He did tell me the other day that although he is a fan of markets, Bracknell market doesn’t have anything he wants in it hence he’s only been down 2 or 3 times in 2 years. Funny you should mention the market in Oxford because I sent him a link to it yesterday! I will obviously get no reply (I am used to this form of one way communication with these people). I have also taken up the slogan of “use it or lose it” as you will see on the posters on the doors and on my car rear window!! When the suggestion of having the farmers markets etc join the normal market I’m afraid the reply came “If that happened, it would take trade away from the town!!!!!!!!!” Heavens forbid it would bring trade to the market. If they came to the market, at least they wouldn’t have to employ security guards each night to protect their stock. The suggestion was also made to have signs to let the public know they can turn up on a Friday, ask for a stall and get one on the day. Best keep that one quiet or people might just take the offer up. I am going to suggest to Harrods that they take some stalls over once they close. They could fill the market with a plethora of different stalls. Blow it, I will post the list of ideas I sent to the council. Bear with me!

   HK:

Here is the text of the letter I sent to the Market Management last November which did not even receive a reply......(I mentioned it to you on Saturday whilst having a tea with my wife.) I have removed my personal details from it. I have had to divide it over a couple of comments due to the character limit.....

18th November 2011.

Dear Sir,

Bracknell Market.

Further to my response on the Christmas Hamper Draw card, the following are a few suggestions on ways to improve Bracknell Market and hopefully, improve its long term prospects.

It is my view, that the market now finds itself at the wrong end of town; all the main shops are in a far more attractive part of the town centre, especially now that the buildings surrounding the market are boarded up. People need to make a special trip to venture into the market. With so few stalls and none of the atmosphere associated with normal markets, there is little to attract would be customers and thus, increase footfall. The market looks tired and run down.

The market is in dire need of more stalls offering a wider range of goods. It needs a baker, a deli, a cheese specialist and some quality clothing outlets.

The answer may be to offer themed markets at regular intervals; I would suggest farmers, French, German, Italian, crafts markets and specialist meat suppliers, such as rare breeds and sausages and a WI homemade cake type stall etc. Cont/-

   Cont?- I have been coming to Bracknell Market since before it moved under 3M House and it was located at the back of Woolworth’s, on The Ring. Even today, I still spend about Fifty Pounds every week in the market on fresh fruit and Veg, animal feeds, fish and meat and I would spend more if the products, as mentioned above, were available. The market was always lively and supported several Green Grocers and a good selection of other stalls. I understand that markets have to compete with the predatory supermarkets that have all but destroyed our local high streets but, there is now a real interest and demand in locally produced food where quality is the driver, rather than price, this may be the niche that could perhaps secure a future for Bracknell’s Market. Have the market’s management considered using the model of Oxford’s indoor market with more permanent units offering more specialist food items at the Bracknell site?

I feel that any improvements should be well advertised and shouted from the rooftops, especially if you did decide to go down the “local produce” route. Every house in the area has a free newspaper delivered and I am sure the editor would be prepared to write a feature on the new look market. Local radio is a good advertising medium, although expensive but again, perhaps you could invite the news teams at BBC Radio Berkshire, Meridian Tonight and BBC South TV News to attend for a grand opening or reveal. This could be done along the lines of a local market fighting back against the big supermarkets and bucking the trend. “Bracknell Market; use it or loose it” could be the tag line for any campaign and an emphasis on the fact it is local and often cheaper than the supermarkets..

I do not know whether the opening of the new Waitrose, just behind the market, will help or hinder but it should, at least, attract more people to the end of Bracknell’s town centre where the market is located.

I hope this helps.

Yours Faithfully,

   Having spoken to MBW he tells me he didn't tell the Bracknell News that the market was defo going to be outside. Lip service to shut me up or fact? Only time will tell.

   Following the regeneration I can imagine demand for market stalls actually increasing. I believe 'Harrods' pays a peppercorn rent and much as I like the shop do not think it could entertain the idea of paying the high rents which will be demanded for it to continue in its present form. When you look at the variety of goods they offer there has to be scope for others to step in and fill the vacuum. Assuming of course our local politicians are serious about wanting a market.

   LOL, oops! it's 9 out of the 14. See, it's addled my brain just thinking about it!

   CrazyCatLady - I see what you are saying but if the future of the market was better served in the centre of town then so be it. It would be a shame to lose 'unique' stalls but at some point it you have to make a judgement.

Because some stalls don't have roof elements, does not mean they cannot be added. How do the French markets and such like that have been in the town centre in the past do it?

'If' I were in charge, I'd allow market stall holders into the town centre for next to nothing if it meant they could put any rent toward upgrading stalls and gave Bracknell a unique element.

Winstanley, thanks, I immensely proud to be from Bracknell and still spend a large proportion of my social time involved in clubs and activities in town and the whole place DESERVES far more credit than it gets, particularly from Mr Lee who, Manor appearances aside, does not seem to give a Monkey's about the town he represents.

   @Winstanley, best of luck, I will be behind you 100%