Case Studies
| Region | North West |
|---|---|
| Location | Manchester |
| Postcode | M16 9LZ |
| Type | Country Market |
| Legal | Other |
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Background: Greater Manchester Country Market
Greater Manchester Country Market is a new group working to establish a Country Market in Greater Manchester. The 53 producer members hope to sell homemade food items such as bread, cakes, jams, chutneys using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible and the produce will reflect Manchester’s ethnic diversity. They also aim to sell crafts, knitting and wooden items. Socially they would like to bring like-minded people together and provide high quality home-produced food to the local community. In the near future they hope to have their own regional society and run markets all over the Greater Manchester area.
Background: South Yorkshire Country Markets (SYCM) and Sheffield Country Market
South Yorkshire Country Markets Ltd (SYCM) is a co-operative, registered under the Industrial &
Provident Societies Act 1965. It is run by a Management Committee elected by its members who
are the Producers and other Helpers. It has a membership of over 150, of whom two thirds are
active Producers.
SYCM enables home Producers to sell items locally and co-operatively directly to the public. The Producers (aged between 16 and 90+) come from all walks of life.
South Yorkshire has 5 Markets at Doncaster, Holmfirth, Penistone, Sheffield and Tickhill plus Pennine - a 'virtual' Market that manages indirect sales through other outlets.
The Greater Manchester group wanted to visit another urban based country market and they identified Sheffield Country Market as a suitable place for a study visit.
Objectives of the visit.
The visiting group wanted to find out more about the reality of running a country market as it can seem quite daunting. They thought it would be helpful to talk to the committee members and also the producers; to find out and observe what sort of products sell and also to be able to seek practical guidance and advice from the producers.
This visit will hopefully provide some momentum and encouragement until the Manchester group is in a position to open their own market.
The visit will enable the group to make more informed decisions about how to set up their own market and hopefully sharing best practice will enable the new members to learn from another
group’s experiences (both positive and negative). Read the full report of the visit here.
