It was given a £1.2m revamp just over ten years ago. And now it’s being demolished.

Hyde has a proud market trading history, but the outdoor market has now been torn down, much to the horror of stall holders.

The fixed stalls outside Clarendon Square Shopping Centre were revamped in 2012, but the bulldozer came for them last week. Only two of the six market stalls will remain.

They’re being replaced by a plot market by a large umbrella – which traders say are not fit for purpose. 

Traders using the parasols will have to go without electricity and provide their own tables to trade off. They say the umbrellas do nothing to protect their stalls from the rain. 

Tameside Council have defended the umbrellas, saying they are ‘health and safety compliant’ and ‘able to withstand windspeeds up to 41mph’.

Market traders first came into work on December 30 to find their usual spots cordoned off.

Eventually they were given new plots, just a few metres away to watch the outdoor market armageddon. Traders feel the council is trying to push them out of the place where they have been flogging their wares for decades. 

Paul, who’s had a stall just outside the entrance of Clarendon Square Shopping Centre for decades, says his stand is thankfully staying put.

But the work took him completely by surprise.

Pointing at the parasols, Paul said: “If anyone showed us this, who would’ve said this is a good idea? When they did the market years ago, that was the catalyst for everything that went wrong in Hyde.

“They’ve told me nothing. They’ve told us nothing.

“Those umbrellas might look good in Barcelona, but this is Hyde.”

The idea behind the parasols is to open up the area and create a more flexible space for community events. The £737,000 project is one part of a wider masterplan to regenerate the shopping centre, town hall and public realm in the town centre.

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to market traders last year, stallholders wanted more people coming to support their trade. Back then many felt the £1.2m spent 13 years ago was wasted and delivered no real benefit to the town centre.

In 2024, Umair Hussain – who has been trading outdoors for the last 16 years – said he had to expand his range due to the number of outdoor traders dropping out. He defended the council’s efforts to support the market just over a year ago. But that has now changed.

This time, after beckoning over a regular customer to his new plot closer to the town hall, he explained the impact of the change to the stalls.

“Every week I can make about £500 after bills. I made £260 in two weeks (since the changes).

“When you come next they won’t even have the umbrellas. Now I can say I’m a trader, if I don’t make money I’ll move on.”

After he serves his fifth customer of the day, he gets a phone call. News of the demolition work is a hot topic in the town centre, and fellow trader Marie Cunnah is on the other end of the line.

She asks to have her say on the matter to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Marie has worked the stalls for over 30 years. 

She says the new umbrellas provide no protection and that they “may as well be standing out in the open”. 

Explaining why the fixed stalls are better, she highlights the benefits of their guttering to keep the rain off customers and electricity sockets so market holders can make a brew and keep warm. 

Marie said: “We had a meeting where we voiced our concerns about three months ago where they took notes but they obviously didn’t listen.

“One day it was all just fenced off. All the traders arrived and we couldn’t use our stalls.

“No management turned up to allocate stalls and that disrupted everything. 

“Those umbrellas are useless. The rain pours off the side and onto customers. 

“They’re not fit for purpose. We’re better off standing out in the open.”

Umair’s friend Ian stood at the stall alongside town centre regular Alfredo Pisani. The three chums bemoaned what has become of their town centre.

Ian, 56, said: “This means the markets are over. Everyone will go and get a different job, because they’ll end up losing money. There’s nothing left in Hyde anymore.

“Everyone used to come here but now it’s deserted, there’s nothing. Nothing for people to come for. 

“Lots of people are going to lose their livelihoods. It’s soul destroying, you take a sigh of relief when you’re home because there is nothing left.”

Why is this happening now

Although these changes aren’t popular with everyone locally, Tameside Council want the overhaul of Market Place to take centre stage in their masterplan for Hyde – which captures how the town could be redeveloped over the next two decades.

A repurposed town hall, the overhaul of Clarendon Shopping Centre, creation of a more attractive public realm and a redesign of the markets are all touted in the plan. The shopping centre itself would be the most significant changes proposed on the plan with a key aim being to demolish it.

But the vision is not the problem for many – it is what happens in the here and now. Coun Phil Chadwick, who represents the Hyde Werneth ward, walked past the markets and slammed the council’s decision to rip down the fixed stalls.

“They’re going to be charged £15 a day to stand under umbrellas and are told they will have to bring their own tables,” Coun Chadwick said. “I’m not for this. 

“I’ve been open from the start that I would’ve improved the multi storey and put the market on the pedestrian exit from the car park.

“The master plan is a great idea. But if you look at Hyde, there is only a certain amount of money people in Hyde have to spend.”

What Tameside Council says…

Councillor Stephen Homer, executive member for towns, transport and connectivity said: “The approved Hyde town centre masterplan has identified a number of areas for improvement across the town. 

“The Market Ground in Hyde was one of the areas highlighted where a more flexible space for markets and events could be created, enhanced with new planting to encourage more people to visit the town.

“Following a workshop and discussion with market traders, a number of the fixed market stalls have been removed and replaced with more flexible parasols which have been permanently installed alongside the two remaining fixed stalls. 

“The parasols have been installed within the paving and are health and safety compliant, able to withstand windspeeds up to 41mph.

“The parasols will be in use on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when the market is open providing flexibility and ensuring there is space for the market to operate and for events to be held adding to the vibrancy of the town centre to increase footfall as demonstrated in recent weeks with the successful Halloween themed event, Tameside Lantern Parade and additional Christmas events.

“These works have been funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Funding. In addition, further improvements will also take place across the town centre including projects being progressed by the Hyde Accelerator Partnership Group. The works will include tree maintenance, replanting of granite planters and improvements to Millennium Park.”