Business blooms for arcade traders
| Published date | 13 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Huddersfield Daily Examiner |
He says that an average Saturday would see around 1,000 people pass through Imperial Arcade - not all of them shoppers - but this has risen to around 2,000 and as many as 3,500 during craft market events.
Ant told YorkshireLive: "Eighteen months ago there were eight empty units in here. Now we have one unit up for rent."
He's desperate for a business to move into the former Trattoria Domenico which closed in 2021.
"What we need is someone to take it on - that would be the making of the Arcade. I would like to see an afternoon tea type place."
He added: "There is such a good footfall in the Arcade now. It has improved massively. We are trying to slow people down in here and show that there are shops."
One idea to 'slow people down' - and so they don't just use the Arcade as a cut-through - is the creation of an outdoor seating area and a floral display.
Shopkeepers have worked together to make the partly-covered shopping arcade a more inviting place and in the last six months have transformed it, adding a splash of colour thanks to 1,700 bulbs and plants.
Imperial Arcade now hosts monthly craft markets on the second Saturday of each month and the flower bed has now been put back to its original intended use after years of being used as a place to throw litter.
It's see spirit and in full Trader Cullen
Several businesses and members of the public have donated plants, cuttings, bulbs and seeds which are now growing well.
Ant has tended the garden daily since moving to the larger shop facing the flower bed. The 'Growing Minds' friendship gardening group will relaunch on Mondays in the coming weeks where Ant will pass on his skills in horticulture to anybody who would like to learn.
Businesses within Imperial Arcade have now clubbed together to pay for cushions which will be pegged out onto the garden wall top on dry days to create an inviting place to sit and enjoy the garden.
Yorkshire Rose Holidays, Pro Bodies, Bakehouse, Moda Imperiale, Clothing Direct and Handmade in Huddersfield, all based in the arcade, joined...
To continue reading
Request your trial