Paddy's Market packs up

THE corrugated iron shutters were down, the old shoes and second-hand underwear strewn on the street. On a wooden stall rested a black hardboard coffin, decked with flowers and the words: "Paddy's Market, died 15 May, 2009."

The famous Glasgow market, celebrated in plays, poems and paintings as a place of dodgy deals, where the only genuine gold was in people's hearts, closed yesterday after a history that extends back almost 200 years.

Condemned by Glasgow City Council as a "crime-ridden midden", the market in Shipbank Lane, popular with the poor – and the rich, according to stallholders – enjoyed its final day yesterday, and with prices rarely passing 1, there was no closing sale.

For Cathy Welsh, 72, it was the end of an era. For more than 50 years she had rented a small railway arch and sold a mixture of costume jewellery, handbags and assorted bric-a-brac. Her mother, Mary, had a stall 20 years before, shortly after the market opened in this spot in 1935.

"It's terrible," said Ms Welsh from her stool. "It's a disaster. People have been coming here for so long. There is a real sense of community."

A few doors up Hazel McGeachin, 49, loaded up, for the final time, her white van with boxes of crisps, biscuits, juice and sweets. She has been at Paddy's "20-odd years", and in a good week of six days, 9am-3pm, would clear 50 or 60. Pin money, she explained, to "keep the wolf from the door". She said the council was breaking up a family.

"People say this is a crime-ridden midden full of prostitutes, but I beg to differ. We don't allow drug dealing here. If we see them we ask them to leave. We are being punished for a problem the council created. I still don't believe it is over. I can't believe the city council is doing this to their ex-Labour voters, because they will not be getting our vote."

To Glasgow City Council, Paddy's Market is at the centre of a crime hotspot. In 2008 Shipbank Lane was, according to Strathclyde Police, the scene of an attempted murder, three robberies, three assaults and 42 drug offences.

Last November, a raid by the UK Border Agency recovered 101,000 contraband cigarettes and 21kg of tobacco. Drug dealers are drawn by nearby Hope House, a Salvation Army homeless hostel for 100 men.

Today, Glasgow City Council will officially take over the lease of the railway arches from which the stallholders have plied their trade and plan to redevelop the area into a cultural quarter with artists and craftsmen and women selling work. Councillor George Ryan, executive member for business and economy, said yesterday: "The plan identified for the development and management of the Paddy's Market and Bridgegate site offers a fresh start and the best opportunity to revitalise the area. Traders who share the new vision for the market can participate in an exciting way ahead for this historic site."

At the bottom of the lane, Michael Burns, 54, was not excited; he was mourning the death of a family tradition that extends back five generations. As Mr Burns dismantled the stall where he has worked for 30 years he said: "The majority of the people in this city don't know this is closing, but it has a place in people's souls and when they realise today what has happened, it's going to hit them hard."

Outside on a stall sat the cardboard coffin, donated by a local craftsman. An old woman, carrying the last of her stall in two bags, stopped to place a purple flower on top. It was plastic.

Revamp aimed at attracting a more sophisticated clientele

WHILE Paddy's Market was celebrated by Tony Roper in his popular play Paddies and will be mourned by its patrons, Glasgow City Council will be glad it is gone.

The railway arches in Shipbank Lane where the market has been based since 1935 are now to be redeveloped with an eye to a more up-market clientele.

The council has now leased the property from Network Rail for five years at 100,000 per year with a view to developing "a vibrant new market for the 21st century".

One idea is for the market to be part of a new cultural quarter where artists and craftsman will be able to both work and sell their wares.

The idea behind the changes is to extend the affluence and sophistication of Glasgow's Merchant City, which has been successfully revamped with stylish boutiques and trendy bars, down towards the River Clyde.

While under the previous scheme stallholders rented the arches from Network Rail, the new tenants will deal with Glasgow City Markets, who will provide services such as security.

Councillors are also keen to close Hope House, a nearby hostel for 100 homeless men which has attracted drug dealers and move them to smaller hostels and so further improve the area's image.

As one councillor said: "We can't be blinded by sentimentality."