Funding announced to revive Birmingham's street markets

National World - LocalTV

Street markets in Birmingham are set for a £300,000 funding boost to attract new traders and revive high streets. Councils can offer free stalls, mentoring, and marketing support to bring back shoppers and fill empty spaces.

Transcript

00:00Markets matter because they put money straight back into the local economy.

00:05When stalls stand empty, high streets lose their energy and the people running them lose their livelihoods.

00:11Some markets across the West Midlands are reporting nearly half of their spices vacant,

00:16a problem Birmingham knows only too well.

00:19The mayor says £300,000 is on the table for councils to tempt new stallholders.

00:25That means short term free pitches, mentoring for startups and even better facilities.

00:31It's not a fortune but it could give small traders a way in at a time when costs are driving many out and opportunities feel scarce.

00:40Traders say support like this can make the difference between carrying on or packing up.

00:45Free pitches let people try an idea without the risk of crippling rent.

00:50Advice and mentoring mean good businesses might actually survive and even expand into something more permanent.

01:00Footfall has been drifting away from high streets for years, squeezed by online shopping and retail collapse.

01:07Without people through the gate, stalls don't last.

01:09That's why councils will be expected to use the fund for events and marketing too,

01:14to give markets a reason for shoppers to return and keep coming back.

01:18For long standing traders, it's a lifeline that brings fresh blood to the empty stalls.

01:23For newcomers, it's a first chance to test the dream.

01:26And for Birmingham's high streets, it's a reminder that keeping markets alive is about more than just nostalgia.

01:33It's about jobs, resilience and the character of the city itself,

01:37which depends on people seeing value in something local.

01:41and therefore, it's about ten times to change.

01:42It's about five hours a day.

01:44And for us, we look outside and there's lots of places to match in their own.

01:46So that's the moment there's going to be a lot of places where we can do,

01:47through our demand, so that people are staying in their own.

01:49I love to see where we can go.

01:50So we'll see where none of them go.

01:52And I agree that we can go.

01:53And anyway, we're gonna reach out the window,

01:54we want to go.

01:55We'll see where we can go.

01:56And again, even if we have some changes to the speed of the game.

01:59We are going to be able to do it.

02:00And we're going to try to do it while.

02:02This is not the same thing.

02:03To be a lot of people coming out of the time,

02:05we're going to take the effort.

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