RADCLIFFE Market Hall is one of several community businesses that holds the key to saving UK high streets, a new report has said.

The six across the UK are examples of how local community access and ownership of key buildings can be pivotal to help save beleaguered high streets.

Commissioned by independent trust Power to Change, the report explores how community businesses can help revive the high street’s fortunes.

Run by local people who understand their communities, community businesses offer diverse and distinctive services tailored to local requirements. This localism brings a stability to a high street that contrasts with remote corporate businesses more inclined to pull out of areas when business models stop working.

In the case of Radcliffe Market Hall, the local authority awarded a community benefit society the contract to run and manage the building and transform it into a bustling food hall. As a result, Radcliffe Market Hall now attracts more people to the town centre and is a key part of its ongoing regeneration.

Vidhya Alakeson, CEO of independent trust Power to Change, said: “Whilst changing retail habits may have kick-started the decline of our high streets, it is the underlying issue of fragmented property ownership and disengaged remote landlords that in the end will choke the life from them if we don’t act now.

“Communities not only care passionately about their local area, more importantly they understand the needs of local people and provide distinctive services that meet local needs. This new research shows what can be achieved in places like Bury when local authorities get behind communities and help local people to take ownership over their high street buildings."

Stallholders have also acknowledged the power of the market within the community.

Shabana Mughal runs the Cowshed between Thursday and Sunday, selling sweet treats including milkshakes, waffles and ice cream.

She said the market "gives people a reason to come to Radcliffe" and that it attracts people from all over.

She said: "I have had my stall for just shy of 12 months and I have seen the difference between then and now. More people have been coming in and the market has been growing and hitting capacity.

"Covid has knocked us back but we're growing again and the board have got on top of it. It's just all about the community and it has been lovely to be a part of it."

Robert Grant of Radcliffe Market Hall, said: “We are aiming to create opportunities using the market concept, offering lower rents and rates allowing small businesses to get off the ground.

“In turn, we’ve created somewhere people want to visit, where they know they can get fresh, local produce, enjoy some live music and take part in one of our many community activities, which is something you just can’t get with commercial shopping centres.”

By becoming a ‘destination’ place, Radcliffe Market Hall serves an important function in bringing people into the town centre, both from the local area and the wider Greater Manchester region.

The report further calls on local authorities and statutory funders to do more to support community businesses to grow their presence on high streets. It argues that promoting greater ownership will help secure the high street’s future by making it more diverse and less reliant on remote corporate retail organisations.