Paddy’s Market to be shut

james73 · Paddy’s Market to be shut

GLASGOW'S Paddy's Market is to be transformed from a "crime-ridden midden"
to an international tourist attraction.

The Evening Times has learned that the rundown site near the Merchant City could
become a "mini-Camden Market" - London's most popular open-air market.

It's hoped the illegal traders and drug dealers who blight the market will be replaced
by aspiring artists of different ethnic backgrounds.

Discussions are at an advanced stage to allow the city council to take over the
lease from site owners Network Rail.

When the deal is complete, the council will clear the second-hand traders from
the site in Shipbank Lane.

The council then plans to use the area to house council offices and to sub-let
property to arts and business organisations.

The state of the market - which is almost 200 years old - has been causing concern
in recent years, with one councillor labelling it a "crime- ridden midden".

Drug dealing has become a major problem and there is a growing number of
illegal street traders.

In 2005/2006, police reported almost 850 crimes in the area, mostly for drug
possession, but including one attempted murder.

James H

james73

Yep, looks like a "crime-ridden midden" to me...

James H

Fjord

where am I going to by my claes now?

Stuball

Evening Times must have been short of a story to fill a page... how many times have they reported the supposed closure?

scallopboy

They canny shut Paddies as the cooncil have no jurisdiction over the traders in the arches who pay rent to Railtrack it's only when they put their stall out in the lane they should have a street trader's license.

Plus where would I get my cheap baccy from?

james73

Paddy’s will be closed by autumn

CRIME-RIDDEN Paddy's Market will be closed down by this autumn.

Glasgow councillors today gave the green light to plans that will see the area
transformed into an upmarket centre for arts and crafts shops and foreign food
stalls. They agreed to take over the lease of the rundown railway arches from
Network Rail.

Traders who operate at the market just now will not have their leases renewed
when they expire, as revealed by the Evening Times last week.

Most will be out by May, but it will be autumn before the final lease is up and
the market is cleared.

Builders will then move in and carry out a comprehensive facelift of the area
which has been a base for traders for almost 200 years.

The move follows complaints about the level of crime reported in and around
the Shipbank Lane premises.

Last year the cost of dealing with problems at Paddy's soared to £277,000.

James H

glasgowken

james73

Traders' bid for Paddy's market

Traders have launched a proposal to save Glasgow's Paddy's market by
offering to run it themselves.

Glasgow City council wants to transform the area, which has been described
as a "crime ridden midden", to accommodate artists studios and craft stalls.

It has put forward a bid to take over the lease from Network Rail as part of
its regeneration plans.

But stallholders have made a counter offer which would see them control
the 200-year-old market.

Brian Daly, spokesman for the Paddy's market committee, said it played a
vital role in providing affordable second-hand goods.

He said: "You can't create a community like this, it just grows. It would be
a shame to lose this unique piece of Glasgow's heritage for the sake of
creating a sterile precinct."

The traders have put their proposal in a letter to every councillor in the
city, which includes a commitment to set up a not-for-profit trust to run the
market.

The group also said it had plans to help cut crime in the area, such as
fencing-off lanes and vetting traders.

James H

james73

Too little, too late?

TRADERS campaigning to save Glasgow's Paddy's market were today told:
"You're too late. "

Some of the stall holders at the Bridgegate market - due to shut in the
autumn - have launched an online petition.

They want the city council to rethink its decision and say they'll help
transform the area, which is a renowned hub of criminal activity.

Between 2005 and 2006 there were 314 drug possession cases, 268
breaches of the peace, 29 robberies, 96 thefts, 89 assaults, 46 cases of
police assault and resisting arrest and one attempted murder.

However, Brian Daly, chairman of Paddy's Market Committee, says the
traders want to help the area clean up its act He wrote to councillors and
landowners Network Rail saying the traders could set up a management
company and would take a zero-tolerance policy on illegal trading.

They said they would work to reduce vandalism and fly-tipping and
improve the appearance of stalls. But councillor Gordon Matheson said:
"The area has the worst crime figures in the city.

"I wish the traders had put as much effort into clearing it up in recent
years as they are putting into presenting themselves as victims.

"I fear this is too little too late and that this area requires an overhaul.
That said, officials will consider whatever traders present to us."

The council now plans to replace the rundown market with arts and crafts
shops and foreign food stalls.

Today they said they would try to accommodate reputable traders from
Paddy's in the new-look market. But that did little to placate the angry
stallholders.

Daly, who blames the crime on the nearby Hope House hostel, said the
first they knew about the closure was when they read it in the Evening
Times.

He said: "We found it strange our livelihoods were being debated behind
closed doors without any reference to us.

"We don't want the council to go ahead with its plans because we don't
believe the reasons put forward are just, let alone right."

James H

james73

Traders face moving out as Paddy’s Market set to shut (Evening Times)

TRADERS at historic Paddy's Market in Glasgow will soon be told they have
to move out.

In March, the Evening Times revealed the rundown market, which has become
crime ridden, is to be closed and the area transformed.

The arches in Shipbank Lane where Paddy's operates belong to Network Rail
which gets £130,000 a year in rent from traders.

But the organisation has now agreed it will lease the area to the city
council - for £100,000 for the next five years.

On Friday, councillors are expected to approve the takeover Paddy's
provided all the existing traders have moved out.

The move is a major step forward in the campaign to end the market
which has been described as a crime-ridden midden'.

Steve Inch, the council's executive director of development and
regeneration, said: "It is anticipated the council can positively raise the
profile of the area over the next five years."

He said Paddy's could have a number of different uses in the future
including a new street market under the control of the council's arms
length company City Markets.

There could also be an arts project to link in with similar schemes at the
Briggait and King Street.

James H

james73

Paddy’s closure ‘devastates’ traders (Evening Times)

PADDY'S Market traders say they are "devastated" at City Council plans to
clear them from the area.

And they have warned that as many as 80 people will end up on the dole
because of the council's "hard-line" stance.

The comments come after council development director Steve Inch said
he wanted City Markets, which runs car boot sales at Blochairn and
elsewhere, to take over management of the area.

Third generation trader Brian Daly said: "We are devastated by this. If
the City Council take vacant possession of Paddy's that will mean 80
people being put out of work.

"That will be 80 new people having to sign on to say nothing of the mental
health impact in facing an uncertain and bleak future.

"Not only that, there are people who have invested significant capital in
their businesses here who will lose that without any compensation
whatsoever. The repercussions are dire. This is like the council making 80
people redundant and is bordering on theft.

"This is no way for a caring Labour administration to behave and if it were
housing stock, for example, everyone would be rehoused. Businesses and
people would be compensated."

"We have all said time and again we welcome the council's desire to get
involved with Paddy's and want to work with them. We want change for
the better.

"To have this proposed wholesale expulsion and termination of people's
working lives as well as ripping out the heart of a community is a
heartless act."

Mr Inch, in a letter to traders, said he recognised there were a number of
"legitimate traders" who operated in the market and the council was
"considering their welfare".

James H

Stuball

james73

Glasgow’s other ‘crime midden’… Buchanan Street (Evening Times)

By Sam Clarke

DARNED right it's a crime ridden midden. The figures speak for themselves:
110 crimes of serious violence in 2006/ 07 - everything from murder to
rape and possessing firearms with intent.

Drug offences? 109 of supply, possession, money laundering and the rest.
Anti-social behaviour? 928. Breach of the peace, petty assault, drunk.
Basically, every yobbish little crime imaginable.

I could go on but who needs the figures - it's a criminal hotbed and should
be flattened immediately.

But I am not referring to Paddy's Market. I'm talking about the area around
all those designer stores at the bottom of Buchanan Street, the unacceptable
face of inner city crime.

The numbers speak for themselves: Paddy's Market is a haven of peace
and tranquillity by comparison.

Oh it's got more than twice the drug crime, but a third of the breaches and
about half the violent crime.

Still, where money talks, Glasgow City Council shouts.

Paddy's sits in the middle of prime development land, so it has to go - an
argument bolstered by out-of-date crime figures proving' it is a crooks'
paradise.

Except council-crunched stats released this week are a year older, and
coincidentally higher, than those published in January by the Evening
Times from police figures.

That is not to defend crime around the Briggait and King Street. Instead,
it highlights the necessity of a flea-market like Paddy's. Every city in the
world has them and, like the designer malls in and around the city, they
cater to a market.

Perhaps not yours or mine, but one too poor and too, let's be brutal, scummy
for designer stores whose security men would huckle them straight out the
door at the first sniff.

To the snoots at the City Chambers Paddy's is an embarrassing eyesore,
not a thriving market for the poor.

Evidence? Read Councillor Gordon Matheson's words: "This plan ... provides
a clear way forward that will regenerate this area to the benefit of local
people."

Presumably they will flock to the new designer blocks and bijoux little stores
ready to pop up and replace the 80 or so traders who earn a crust from
second-hand clothes and junk.

Of course, the council has quantified the cost to local tax payers: policing
at £95,000, Customs and Excise £42,000, Federation Against Copyright
Theft £30,000, cleansing £80,000 and trading standards £30,000.

Customs officers are probably involved because of cheap cigarette sellers
earning an illicit living due to Government-imposed tobacco duty pushing
prices to a level that makes smuggling viable. Police are there, most likely,
as foot soldiers to defend the other three groups of investigators.

Trading standards and Federation Against Copyright Theft look out for the
indisputable rights of brand and copyright owners determined to stamp
out fakes, rip-offs and copies on behalf of big business.

Not that big business feels much hurt since Paddy's customers are unlikely
to ever be able to afford the real thing anyway.

They say as much in the City Chambers: Paddy's Market? No loss!

James H

james73

40 traders in protest over Paddy’s axe (Evening Times)

ANGRY traders from Paddy's Market demonstrated outside Glasgow City
Chambers today in protest at council plans to evict them.

They hope to force councillors into changing their minds and allowing
them to continue selling goods at the railway arches in Shipbank Lane.

Around 40 protesters held placards saying: "Say Yes to Paddy's" and
"Labour is the Crime".

A number of opposition councillors, including the SNP's Billy McAllister,
joined the protesters.

Mr McAllister said he and his colleagues were going to argue for Paddy's
to remain open on the basis it was part of the city's "tradition and culture".

The premises, near the Merchant City, has housed the market since 1870,
but councillors say it is now run down and "crime-ridden".

Today's Executive Committee meeting will be discussing plans to take over
the £100,000-a-year lease of Shipbank lane from owner Network Rail.

Former trader Michael Taplin, 55, was among those outside the City Chambers.
He said he and his mother before him had run a stall in the market.

Mr Taplin said: "The people at the market are not getting justice, they are
the ones being victimised.

"The market has been in Glasgow for more than 100 years and it is now
more relevant than ever. "It is a way of life for a lot of people."

Trader Hazel McGeachin said: "We are willing to work with the council, we
don't want put out.

"We are not the criminals, we don't condone the crime. The traders don't
cause the problems."

Trader Brian Daly, whose grandmother set up a clothing stall there, said:
"We recognise that there have been problems with Paddy's.

"In many cases we have been trying to highlight these issues ourselves.
But the majority of us are law-abiding citizens who are trying to make a
living in these tough times.

"For a Labour administration to turn its back on Paddy's, which has been a
feature of Glasgow working class life for 150 years, and which is recognised
the world over, is a disgrace."

SNP councillor Craig Mackay said he would be supporting the traders.

He added: "Legitimate businesses in Paddy's provide employment for a
significant number of people and it is not the council's job to put these out
of business.

"Traders must be given the opportunity to negotiate new sub-lets with the
council before their leases with Network Rail are terminated.

"This way they could remain in their premises rather than being turfed out
on the street."

James H

james73

Paddy’s cafe boss fears losing home (Evening Times)

A trader at Paddy's Market fears she will lose her home because of Glasgow
City Council's decision to take control of the area.

The council is to take over the lease of the Shipbank Lane market from
Network Rail, provided the traders are moved out.

Patsy Woodward, who runs two cafes at Paddy's, says the decision has
left her distraught.

She opened her first cafe at the market seven years ago but her husband's
family have been involved with Paddy's for more than 100 years.

Patsy, 57, said: "I am devastated. I have just taken out a mortgage for a
new house in Mount Vernon and am now worried I will lose it.

"This decision by the council means I will lose everything.

"I have worked hard all my days to better myself and to keep off benefits
and I am so hurt."

Patsy insists her cafes are more than just places for shoppers and traders
to stop for a quick cuppa.

She said: "We have a great rapport with the customers and for some of
the older ones I am the only person they speak to all week.

"I love Paddy's and I love all my customers and they love me."

As previously reported in the Evening Times, council bosses decided to
take control of the area as a result of soaring crime.

In 2005-06, there were 314 drug possession cases, 268 breaches of the
peace, 29 robberies, 96 thefts, 89 assaults, 46 cases of police assault and
resisting arrest and one attempted murder.

The council plans to gut Paddy's and look at a number of future uses, including
a new market and an arts quarter.

But traders say they are being forced out.

James H

big drew

I still maintain that any statistics are based on the Police catchment area, which includes the Barras and other noteable areas.
Having just visited the Barras, i am glad to report that the pirate trade for dvds, fake tops and fake perefumes is booming, and I would estimate that there are probably twice as many pirateers selling stuff openly at the Barras
than ever before.
So at least someone is benefiting from the 'flavour-of-month- Police scrutiny
in and around Paddy's.
Always maintained that the Council needed to justify the millions they spent on the Briggait building, and the fact that King Street and environs has become a Mecca for those with big bucks to spend on luxuries....so an area where people are rummaging for second-hand underwear and clothing, cannot be sold in their glossy brochures of Glasgow...

Delmont St Xavier

I don't like the Barras and even more so Paddy's but nonetheless to close this Glasgow institution down by claiming it is a 'crime ridden midden' is just unbelievable.

I might not like either of the places and to me the Barras has never been the same place for many years but to pretend they are getting rid of this place due to crime is laughable. Everyone knows it has to do with image, beautification and getting the east of the city ready for the Commonwealth Games.

Some claim these games will bring money pouring into the city. Do you thnk you'll see a penny of the monies? Not on yer life!

james73

Traders protest closure as Paddy’s D-Day arrives (Evening Times)

TRADERS fighting to save Glasgow's oldest surviving market will stage a
demonstration today as a meeting takes place to decide their future.

Dozens of protesters are expected to gather outside the City Chambers as
councillors discuss plans to scrap 150-year-old Paddy's Market.

Last month the council's executive committee agreed to take over the £100,000-a-year
lease of the Shipbank lane site from owners Network Rail.

The local authority want to redevelop the area and let the units to arts
and craft outlets.

However, both the SNP and Green councillors have separately called the matter,
which means that it must be debated again by the original committee.

The site, near the Merchant City, has been home to the market since 1870, but
councillors say it is run- down and crime-ridden.

However, traders and opposition councillors argue the business provides employment
for around 80 people and has historical significance for the city.

Paddy's tenant, Patsy Woodward said: "All we want is to be able to continue trading.

"We have for many years been urging the council to talk to us so that we can
jointly make the place a more attractive area, however our requests have been
ignored.

"Instead, they have mounted a smear campaign against the traders, blaming us for
crime and anti social behaviour which is clearly nothing to do with the people
that work in Shipbank Lane.

"Closing Paddy's has become a vendetta by some Labour councillors for their own
personal and political gain.

"Some of the traders' families have been at Paddy's for four generations and many
of our customers families have been coming here for generations also.

"But its not just the old timers that shop at Paddy's, we play a vital role in
providing a warm and welcoming community for new immigrants and refugees as well
as giving them a place to shop for affordable goods."

Stallholders will deliver a petition to the council with several thousand signatures
backing the market.

James H

Smartalex

I just heard on the radio that the decision has been made to shut paddy's down but canny find a postable news link.

Hugo Drax

Don't worry smartie, we consider you to be a credible source.

james73

Last bid fails for Paddy's Market (BBC)

A last-ditch attempt has failed to stop a development which could spell the
end for Glasgow's Paddy's Market.

The city council's executive committee voted last month to take over the
site's lease from Network Rail.

This paved the way for redevelopment plans in the area around Shipbank
Lane, in the face of opposition from traders.

Attempts on Tuesday by some councillors to have the proposals reconsidered
were voted down. The planned development will now go ahead.

The council is poised to take over the lease of Shipbank Lane with a rent
of £100,000 per year.

It aims to raise the profile of the area and possibly operate a new market
and arts-related development.

The SNP and Green groups on the council separately called the matter in,
which meant it had to be revisited by the council's executive committee.

Traders held a protest outside the city chambers in George Square while
the meeting took place on Tuesday.

But they were left disappointed when councillors passed the proposed
redevelopment by 11 votes to five.

Paddy's Market tenant, Patsy Woodward, said: "All we want is to be able
to continue trading.

"We have for many years been urging the council to talk to us so that we
can jointly make the place a more attractive area, however our requests
have been ignored.

"Instead, they have mounted a smear campaign against the traders,
blaming us for crime and anti-social behaviour which is clearly nothing to
do with the people that work in Shipbank Lane."

James H

james73

Stall over for Paddy's (Evening Times)

THE final death knell has been sounded for Glasgow's historic Paddy's Market.
Pleas to overturn a decision to close the market and transform it into an arts
and crafts centre were thrown out at a special meeting of the city council, as
reported on our online edition last night.

Council officials claimed none of the people currently trading at Paddy's
had a market licence so the market was effectively being run illegally.

But they appeared to offer an olive branch to existing stallholders, saying
they had a place in the new set-up if they became "legitimate traders".

And they dismissed suggestions they were trying to "yuppify" or "gentrify"
the market which was opened in the 19th century by an Irish immigrant
to sell cheap goods to poor citizens.

The decision came after angry protesters joined in a demonstration outside
Glasgow City Chambers yesterday.

Traders and opposition councillors had argued that the business provides
employment for 80 people and has a histori-cal significance for the city.

Those against the market's closure planned to hand in a petition with
thousands of signatures of people against the axe plan.

Executive member for regeneration councillor George Ryan said: "There
will be a place for legitimate traders within Paddy's.

"We don't have new traders lined up, we don't have a plot to cleanse Paddy's
Market and gentrify it."

He told SNP councillors who were trying to force a change of mind: "I want
a good thriving market, an alternative market to places like Buchanan
Galleries."

The market has been under attack for months for its soaring levels of
crime including drug dealing and the selling of pirate DVDs.

Director of development and regeneration Steve Inch insisted the plan for
the area did not include throwing out all the traders who currently operate
from the railway arches at the Shipbank Lane site.

He told the meeting yesterday afternoon: "There is no intention to yuppify
the market. We need to keep traders on site to run the market."

And he claimed that traders who were defined as "legitimate" could be
temporarily housed in council-run markets or the Barras until Paddy's was
upgraded.

Mr Inch said he had sent letters to Paddy's Market traders asking them to
contact the council but that none had responded.

He said a feasibility plan into the future of the site would be carried out by
Christmas and that plans for the new-look market would be complete by
May next year.

Mr Inch said existing traders had until then to get in touch with the council
which will take over the lease from existing owners Network Rail.

But despite attempts to reassure traders, stallholders were sceptical
about the plan.

Carol Salvona, who runs a stall with her sister, said: "Some of the
language was encouraging but the bottom line is they want us out.

"We don't care what they say, we believe they have ulterior motives.

"We have never had any letters from the council and we have never been
consulted in any way.

"If we had to get market trader licences we would get them. We are
happy to meet and talk but we have never had the opportunity."

The meeting was held to hear two appeals - or call-ins - by councillors
who opposed the plans to close the market and take over the lease of the
site from Network Rail.

One, led by SNP councillor Craig Mackay, objected on the grounds that
the council were insisting on vacant possession of the premises, effectively
evicting' stallholders while the premises were upgraded.

The second, led by Green councillor Dr Nina Baker, claimed there was no
business plan in place and that the proposal was financially flawed.

A motion by councillor Kenny McLean opposing the closure was defeated
by 11 votes to five.

James H

big drew

As indicated several months ago, The labour councillors and planners who put this through had designs on how they would 'upgrade the King Street, and surrounding areas to reflect what 'they saw' as the Glasgow people should see....and of course to finally justify the £millions spent on the 'white elephant'...The Briggait.
So, one should never have expected to block these people..."Money Talks".......and the rest you know..!
This is of course not the end of this 'purge' of poverty images to Council Design......The charge for the Blochairn Car Boot Market, is now up to....wait for it...£13.50.....amazing isin't, what was a great resource for the 'poor' to try to get bargains, is now being 'upgraded' so that the Mercs & Beemers will be the only ones to afford to set-up a stall.
Roll on the Commonwealth Games....then we will all see what has been done in our name to upgrade to Edinburgh II, by then the real villains will have cut-up every fiddle and created every known piece of villainy known to man, and of course when questions start being asked.......all these 'do-gooders' will have disappeared...leaving us in the S*** once again......cheers..!

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