Future in doubt at Paddy's Market

By David Calder
BBC Scotland

It's been part of the Glasgow scene for about 200 years but Paddy's Market is embroiled in controversy.

It lies in the historic heart of the city, just down from the High Street, near the banks of the Clyde.

Generations of the same families have run stalls underneath the railway arches, selling anything from second-hand clothes and shoes to cookers, fridges and even the kitchen sink.

Paddy's Market has been part of the Glasgow scene for 200 years

Generations of the city's poor and unemployed have come to buy.

But the market now has a run-down, neglected air about it.

George Ryan, who chairs Glasgow Council's Regeneration Committee, describes it as being "..a bit tired", pointing to the shrubs growing wild out of the stonework above the stalls.

He's also concerned about what he calls the "exceptional criminality, those attempted murders, assaults on police and drug dealing, not to mention the counterfeit goods which are sold from the market."

One of his colleagues on the council even went so far as to describe it as a "crime ridden midden", something that really upset the people who work there.

They admit there is crime in the area, but say it's all caused by the drug addicts the council has housed in a hostel just round the corner.

I've worked all my life here and built up a successful business. Without this, I'd be on the dole. Patsy Woodward

The real fight however is now centred on the council's plans to "improve" the area as part of its regeneration plans.

These talk of transforming some of the shops in the railway arches into studios for young artists and of turning the area into something like Camden Market in London.

The proposals came as a shock to the Paddy's Market Traders' Committee.

As its spokeswomen, Patsy Woodward, explained: "No-one from the council ever bothered to come and talk to us about these plans. All we knew about them was what we read in the local paper.

"If they wanted to improve the look of this place, why didn't they ask us?

"We could paint out the graffiti on the walls. We could put gates at each end of the street to keep the criminals out at night. But no. They just want to get rid of us."

As Councillor Ryan visited the site this week, he found himself surrounded by traders and visitors alike.

All of them wanted to know more about the plans.

All of them condemned the council for its lack of consideration.

One woman who insisted that she regularly brought tourists to the market was openly contemptuous of the idea of turning it into a series of artists' workshops.

She insisted it would 'destroy the character' of the area.

'Difficult conditions'

Stall holders and traders insisted that the media had totally misrepresented the crime rate in the market.

They said the assaults and drug dealing had nothing to do with the 'honest, hard working people' who tried to make their living in difficult conditions.

They all pointed their fingers at the residents of a local hostel.

As one of them put it: "These are the folk the council can't house anywhere else. But they're druggies and, where they are, that's where the dealers are. When the dealers come, crime follows."

They're afraid for their own futures if the council's plan come to fruition.

Although Councillor Ryan claims that many of them would be welcome to carry on trading, very few believe it's even possible.

"What would I do?" asks Patsy Woodward.

"I've worked all my life here and built up a successful business. Without this, I'd be on the dole. I'm nearly 60. Who would employ me? Who would pay my mortgage? I could lose my house. Have they thought about that?"

What gives her some grounds for hope however is the fact that, while the council has its plans, it doesn't own the land on which the market stands.

That belongs to Network Rail and it is investing in improving the fabric of the arches and the shops below.

She said: "The council claims that they'll buy out all the properties by August. But we've spoken to Network Rail and they tell us there's nothing even on the table. We could be here for nine months but it could be nine years the way things are going."

In the meantime, she and her fellow traders are fighting to restore what they insist is the good name of their ancient market.

They say it's providing a vital service to the very people Labour councillors in particular should be striving to help.

"The people who come here are the poor, the unemployed, the pensioners," says Patsy Woodward.

"The people who can't afford to go to the big shops. These are also the people who vote Labour. Turn us out of here and they won't forget who did, who let them down."