Is St. John’s Market Closed for Good?

To many, the sight of St. John’s Market in the centre of St. Johns Shopping Centre is a Liverpool institution as recognisable as an Everton Toffee or a European Cup.

The market was where many people would head to to pick up some bits and bobs, chatting with the people on the food stalls or looking for some clothing for cheaper than they’d pay in the retail shops.

Then, on the 11th of March 2024, posters were put up by Liverpool City Council that said that the market was closed to shoppers ‘for the foreseeable future’.

The question is, how long will that last? Is the market essentially closed forever, never to re-open?

A Brief History of St. John’s Market

What a lot of people might not realise about St. John’s Market is that it has a long history dating back to 1820. That was the year that construction started on a market hall in Liverpool, designed by John Foster Junior and quickly becoming the go-to example for other markets that were built around the United Kingdom.

Originally Liverpool had a small market close to where the Victoria Monument stands today, but as demand grew it led to people spilling out into the adjacent roads and causing issues, which is why it was felt that there was a need for a more official marketplace, with St. John’s Market opening its doors in 1822.

St John’s Market/Precinct Site, 1965 and 2024

This one must have been taken in the time after the market buildings were demolished and the site was being prepared to build the precinct and multi-storey car park pic.twitter.com/i1OaiMAJ4s

— Liverpool: Then and Now (@keithjones84) October 17, 2024

The building itself was altered twice, that we know of, during its history, firstly in 1881 and then again ten years later. The main market days were on Wednesdays and Saturdays initially, but there was still some form of market every day. It remained in operation until 1964, which was when it demolished in order to make way for St Johns Shopping Centre, which opened five years later.

Within St Johns was a marketplace that was designed to be something of an homage to the venue that had stood in its place, allowing Liverpool to continue its strong market tradition alongside the better-known retail shops that take up the main precinct.

Why it was Shut

As shoppers filed into St Johns Shopping Centre on the 11th of March and headed to the marketplace at its centre, they were shocked to read signs that said, “Regrettably, St John’s Market is now closed to the public for the foreseeable future”. There was also a QR code that allowed customers to get more information.

The reason for the closure was that Liverpool Council felt that it was owned more than £1.7 million in rent and service charges, with the amount dating back to the August of 2020. The businesses that operate in the market had been asked to make arrangements for the debt to be paid the previous October but failed to do so.

@houseoffifty1 Come and visit us 💗💗 #liverpool #clothes #ootd #market #stjohns #outfitinspo #nightout #fitcheck #whattowear ♬ Never Lose Me – Flo Milli

Initially, the Council was hoping that businesses would enter into negotiations over the unpaid debt, but when they were reminded to do so in the January of 2024 and then again a month later but failed to do so, Liverpool Council felt as though it had no choice but to shut the market down. There had been an offer made that the Council felt was ‘unviable’, which is why the decision was taken to close to market down on a temporary basis. The businesses that operated from the market were given an opportunity to go along and collect any stock that they had, as well as assistance in finding a new place to operate from if they wanted it.

From the point of view of the traders, it isn’t quite as simple as the Council have made out. There was a botched refurb job carried out in 2016 that the then Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, apologised for and said that traders would not be charged rent for a period of time. More issues hit the market when the global heath crisis shut it down for a period, with many traders then being upset and angry when they were told at the start of 2021 that they owed backdated rent payments. As a result, something of an impasse followed until it got to the point that Liverpool Council felt that it had no choice but to close the market down.

Will it Ever Reopen?

When the market was closed down, Liverpool Council stressed that it was closed ‘for the foreseeable future’, rather than ‘permanently’. That obviously offers hope that it might reopen at some point in the future. The problem is, it can’t be reopened until the Council has been repaid what it is owed, with a claim that it was costing £1 million a year; a sum that is unsustainable given the Council’s other priorities.

St Johns Shopping Centre itself has remained open, but with the closure of Wilko the previous October, essentially meaning that the upper mall was half vacant, many people mistakenly believe that then entire place was closed and revenue was lost as a result.

What we do know is that Liverpool Council has 63 years left on its lease of the market, meaning that it is extremely unlikely that it will remain closed forever. The Council has said that it will look to explore ‘all feasible options’, although quite what that means is difficult to work out.

The Chair of the St Johns Market Traders Association, Colin Laphan, suggested that this was the hope of the Council all along. He said, “They’ve smothered it to get an end result. Cutting off the escalators. Toilets and lifts, removing signage. Managed decline for this result”. Whether or not the Council has a long-term plan remains to be seen.