Shoppers are hopeful the construction of a new multi-million market place in a busy Nottinghamshire town will bring more people back to the area. The £4million Arnold Market Place, which will be known as the AMP, is currently being constructed at a time when many new independent cafes and bars are starting to open in the town.
The AMP will have provision for 16 stalls which should be ready to use later this year. People in the town have their 'fingers crossed' it signal the return of high street shopping, but many worry high streets will simply never be like their glory days with the rise of online shopping.
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Jane Baker, 56, who has lived in Arnold for 25 years, said: “This generation will never know or experience what markets used to be like. Markets were great. There were so many stalls in the Victoria Centre market, Arnold market used to be packed and I remember Sneinton market too. There are so many highstreets and markets now that have gone completely downhill.”
Jane, a nurse, browses through Arnold on a regular basis. She continued: “I’m very happy to see all the independent cafes and businesses [in Arnold], the cafes especially always seem to be packed but people want other places to go to, too.”
Keith Smith, 69 has lived in Arnold for 25 years. Now retired, Keith remembers the old Woolworths and a now closed down fishmongers owned by twins which were “great.”
Keith told Nottinghamshire Live that shopping in Arnold has “changed dramatically.” He said: “I’d like to see shops open to people and proper businesses, in our younger days, you had to queue up for the proper market. The city centre isn’t too brilliant either for shopping.”
Keith and his wife Jennifer Smith, 70, enjoy shopping in the discount store Boyes, the clothes store Peacocks or eating at the Refresh Cafe at 4 Market Place, where there’s “1st class food.” The pair are looking forward to the market redevelopment.
Jennifer added: “One thing I have heard is that people would like to see more women’s clothes shops, the old New Look has closed. I do like Peacocks, especially for kids' clothes.”
Felix James, 35, feels that online retailers are taking over. The self-employed resident from Arnold told Nottinghamshire Live: “I’m guilty of online shopping because of the convenience. As sad as it is, high streets will probably never be the same and it’s the old-school-minded business people I feel sorry for who like face-to-face service rather than posting off their products.
“I have my fingers crossed that the new market takes off. It’ll be good for the town and market stall holders.”
Conservative MP for Gedling Tom Randall has said: “We’re living in a period of transition as the way people shop is changing – there’s been a big growth of online retailing recently, that ramped up during the pandemic, and the high street has struggled to keep pace. Some of the big names that I remember from my childhood in Arnold, like Fords or Barry Austen, may have gone, but I think that it remains a great place to shop.
“Like many high streets, the Arnold of the future will be one where people come for experiences, like coffee with friends, or for specialist advice. I think that’s where independent shops can play a key role: Mark Levy’s passion of music at Vinyl Destination in Front Street, for example, can’t be replicated by an online retailer. Arnold has strong potential.”
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