Customers and traders in Little Lever have fears for the future as ‘community hub’ goes up for auction

One of the smallest ‘old style’ market venues in Greater Manchester is facing an uncertain future.

The tiny village market hall on the outskirts of Bolton, will be auctioned off next week.

The Little Lever Market Hall – home to a handful of traditional stalls and an award-winning café – is being sold in an online auction on Tuesday, with a guide price of £300,000.

It is a move which has caused uncertainty among the traders and unease from customers, many of whom have been shopping there for decades and fear it may close in its current form.

‘There’s no certainty for us’

The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited Little Lever market hall to talk to shoppers and traders about future of the building and what the market means to them.

Lenny’s Cafe, which occupies the front of the market hall, is buzzing with customers when we visited this week.

Lenny Boardman, 40, has run the business for nine years, his hard-work paying off with a recent accolade of ‘best café in Bolton’. However, he said the sale process has left him ‘uncertain of the future’.

He said: “We’ve been aware its been up for sale for a while but it came into focus when the ‘for auction’ signs went up.

“There’s just no certainty for us, none of us even have leases in place because of this so I can’t be sure of even the short term future for the business and the people I employ.

“We’ve got dozens of regulars, some of them here every day we’re open and it’s so important to a lot of them.

“Our worry is if someone comes in with a lot of money, buys the building and knocks it down to build flats. When a village like this loses somewhere like here – that’s it, it’s gone for good.”

Sitting at the cafe’s ‘table one’, her usual spot next to the counter, is Lynn Dingley, 77. She has lived in the village all her life as is currently recovering her health after having two strokes.

She said: “This place means everything to me. I come here every day apart from Sunday, I have the special for my lunch then I only need a sandwich for tea.

“I meet my friends here, my mobility’s not very good so I can’t get very far. I also shop at the stalls.

“If it closes I wouldn’t be going out as much.”

Terry Horrocks, 79, said: “I’m here every day, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s a place of laughter and friendship.

“You meet people here, otherwise you’re stuck at home.”

Hazel Parker, 66, who has just retired and lives in Little Lever, said: “I’ve been coming here for 36 years.

“I’m here at least once a week. I buy all my cards here – it’s a brilliant stall. I also using the sewing lady and Michaela who runs the florist and sells perfume.

“It’s like a hub for everybody in the village. It gives a centrality to the village and is a meeting place for a huge number who make new friends.

“It would be a very sad day for our community if we were to lose it.”

For one stallholder, Tomi Rasanmi, this week is her last at the hall as she is relocating to a nearby shop near the village square as a result of the uncertainty.

Tomi, who runs Tiam Alteration & Dry Cleaning, was in the middle of a live fitting, adjusting a prom dress for a teenager during our visit.

She said: “I love being here among the other traders and I have been happy with my location in the market hall.

“But I cannot operate with the uncertainty so I had to make the decision to go elsewhere. I could not leave myself in the position of possibly having to move out with a month’s notice.

“So I will be moving from Tuesday, July 8.”

And Michaela Brown, who runs Floral Sense at the market hall, selling fresh cut and dried flowers, along with perfumes and gifts, was another to be fearful of the uncertainty.

She said: “There’s a strong sense of community among the customers and other businesses here. But the place being put up for sale has been unsettling and we don’t really know how the future will turn out.

“We’re in limbo at the moment.”

The hall, described by one shopper as ‘the heartbeat of the village’, is being auctioned on Tuesday, July 8. Marketing material for the property mentions it ‘may be suitable for sympathetic development for apartments subject to the necessary consents’.

It states: “Well-known market hall located in a prominent main road position in Little Lever. The property comprises accommodation over ground floor level set up as a market hall with stall areas including a bakery and café.”

The sales material states it generates a gross income circa £28,000 a year with the potential of £50,000 if fully let.