This bold idea turned tired Altrincham into a buzzing town, now everywhere else is copying it

It all started with Altrincham.

The arrival of a business in the town centre transformed a once-tired district into a vibrant destination bustling with shoppers, revellers and day trippers.

Just over a decade ago, the leafy suburb on the edge of Greater Manchester was becoming run down, with low footfall and shuttered shops. 

Then, the idea for a food hall sparked new life into the area.

Sacha Lord, the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, believes the arrival of Altrincham Market attracted people back to the town where he grew up. 

When people came to the town to drink and eat at the revived market, soaking up the atmosphere as they chowed down woodfired pizzas and bao buns, the retail sector followed suit.

Trendy restaurants, cafes and shops all started popping up in the empty commercial units on the high street.

Now Altrincham sees thousands of visitors walking the streets at the weekend, visiting the plethora of bars and shops the town has on offer.

“There was this huge explosion of the night time economy in Altrincham,” Mr Lord explained.

“On the back of that the retail sector moved back in. 

“So the food hall definitely did trigger this and we’ve seen this time and time again with food markets.

"The reason why I like them is that they’re a really good business model for smaller independents that don’t want to take on the bigger overheads of having their own shop units with business rates.”

There are already a number of successful food halls in the city-region, with Mackie Mayor and Society in the city centre as well as Stockport’s Produce Hall.

Now, it looks as though Denton in Tameside wants to piggy back on their success after an application was tabled for a food hall right next to Jubilee Square. 

The plan for what is being dubbed as ‘Hatters Square’ would see the four old retail units replaced by a huge food hall across two floors.

According to the applicants, Hatters Square Limited, their vision is to ‘revive the town centre high street’ for local people and attract a new demographic to ‘live, work and play’.

Denton is the latest in a long line of towns hoping a new food hall would breathe new life into their area, just like Altrincham did all those years ago.

Currently there are applications for Hyde town centre and Wigan’s Eckerlsey Mill on the go. 

The Hyde project would see the food hall built under 21 apartments off Market Place.

The Wigan scheme is part of a huge £200m overhaul of the historic mill by the Heaton Group – which is expecting to see hundreds of new homes and leisure spaces created. 

They’ve already got an outdoor street food set-up named Feast at The Mills that is providing a sample of what is to come when the actual food hall opens.

“I support any applications for food halls because I’ve seen the difference it can make,” Mr Lord added.

“People are copying the Altrincham model. It works.

“I can see a food hall working in these areas currently looking at.

"It can reinvigorate the high street and make a difference.

“I remember when they were planning to open the Alty market food hall and people said ‘it’s never going to happen’ or ‘Altrincham has had its day’, but look at it now.

"There was huge scepticism.”

The Parklife festival founder said he was looking forward to seeing what happens with Greater Manchester’s two recently opened food halls in Bolton and Oldham.

The newest of the two is Oldham’s Egyptian Room, which was the final part of a multi-million pound renovation of Oldham’s Old Town Hall building on Parliament Square.

Opened in November, the project combined the town’s history with contemporary dining, food stalls and a bar amongst the Egyptian-inspired architecture.

Egyptian Room has indoor seating for around 150 guests, six kitchens and a bar – alongside a music nook where live bands and DJs will play on the weekends.

More seating on an outdoor terrace is expected later on this year.

In June of 2024, Bolton Market welcomed their own version of a food hall.

Although it was slightly less grand than Oldham’s, it boasts an offer including gourmet burgers, Japanese food and freshly-cooked kebabs. 

It formed part of an ambitious £5.9m transformation of the market, which will play host to live music, sports screenings and other events in a bid to boost the town’s night-time economy.

Although it is too early to see whether these towns will succeed as Altrincham did, there is a clear trend towards building these food markets in a bid to boost struggling town centres.

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