Action Plan has boosted Nantwich Market, says council report

Town councillors have praised the ongoing rebrand of Nantwich indoor and outdoor markets.

A number of targets in the council’s “Market Action Plan” have already been hit in 2025, a report shows.

Now work is set to continue on some of the medium and long term projects designed to boost footfall to the market in the town centre.

And town council clerk Samantha Roberts is set to be a guest speaker at a national markets conference in February to highlight all the positive work being done.

“I will be giving a presentation there about our little town and how amazing our market is,” she said.

“On the back of everything we are doing, we continue to get recognition which is putting us on the map, which can only be a good thing.”

Aimed at “protecting and enhancing the market into the next 10 years”, the Market Action Plan has been ongoing for a couple of years.

Some shorter term plans already completed include the appointment of a new marketing officer, better social media presence, and more publicity including of the market’s national award in 2025.

They also staged new pop-up events during the year, a Merry Market Day and Santa’s Grotto, and extended opening hours during the food festival, jazz festival and Christmas lights switch on.

They have increased the number of external stallholders throughout the year on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, which has boosted income for 2025/26.

In 2026, they plan to locate flags around the town promoting the market, increasing the number of outdoor stalls along Churchyardside.

And in the longer term, the council is proposing to take over the market carpark and build an extension to turn it into a “Market Festival Square”.

It also includes major refurbishment projects on the market hall, including a better heating system, repairs to the roof and installation of automatic entrance/exit doors.

Later opening hours are likely to continue in 2026 which would centre on events such as Late Night Shopping, Santa/Christmas, Youth Festival, Food Festival and other similar dates.

It could also see a stage placed on the car park to provide live entertainment, but previous attempts with no extra budget were unsuccessful.

Other short and medium term ideas included expanding the indoor café to offer take away food/drink and a full rebrand of the market with new signs and banners.

Future plans include updating the market hall’s internal back wall to promote its history with potential for a youth art project, and a plan to take over the market’s car park and build an extension to develop a Market Festival Square.

This could involve a transfer of assets to the town council from Cheshire East, who have been approached with the idea.

Around £20,000 of capital reserves were earmarked in 2025-26 for repairs to the market hall.

New automatic entrance and exit doors could cost around £40,000m and a new heating air source heating pump system would cost around £140,000.

Cllr Riddell Graham said: “I welcome this report, it’s really heartening to see 85% of what we suggested has been taken on board.”

And Cllr Geoff Smith added: “I’m delighted with how the market has gone and it’s fantastic news we are going to be a national conference to highlight this.”

It was a busy 2025 for the market, which included winning national award as “Small Markets Manager of the Year” for market manager Mike.

The market also featured on BBC News, as well as regularly in Nantwich Life and Nantwich News.

Customers have also been voting for Nantwich in “Britain’s Favourite Market” campaign with the results to be announced in the coming months.