Britain's best market 'is beating heart of town'

Shrewsbury's market has been named best community market 2026 with judges calling it the "beating heart of its town centre".

Judges at the Great British Market Awards in Birmingham, said Shrewsbury Market Hall was a "proper market" which evolves while retaining its unique identity. They added it had "100 per cent occupancy, strong partnerships and a reputation as a business incubator".

The market has been named Britain's favourite four times, in 2018, 2023, 2024 and last year, and described the award as "equivalent to the Oscars".

"I think they're having it make up awards for us now...they had to change the rules because we won it so many times," said Steve Williams, from John Bliss Butchers.

The market was unable to enter the favourite market category because of how many times it had won previously.

"The range of choice is what does it and the friendliness; you can get anything in here - it's like a supermarket," said Williams, who has been there for 46 years.

"It's getting stronger and stronger - when everybody else seems to be struggling in the business world, we're not here."

"We attract people from all over the country," said Jenny Harvey, from Bloomers Bread.

"It's the variety of stalls we have here, the atmosphere, and all of the market holders are very chatty and willing to talk to people.

"I've worked in various stalls here for about 15 years and it's just a very friendly and nice place to work – cold, but a very nice place to work."

"The award win has come as a big surprise. It will proudly sit in our trophy collection, alongside our other national awards," the market said on Facebook.

The award was presented to its managers, Amy Williams, from Shropshire Council, and Ian Thorpe, from Shrewsbury Town Council, by Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Julia Buckley, who is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Markets Group.

"Winning this award was a huge surprise and honour," said Amy Williams.

"We're delighted to receive an award which recognises the deep roots that Shrewsbury Market Hall has within its community and its importance to the life and economy of the town."

Thorpe said that they were proud to win the award.

"The market boosts the local economy and plays a significant role in helping to keep Shrewsbury town centre alive and dynamic, by bringing people into the town centre and creating low-cost business start-up opportunities," he added.

"It's a brilliant example of how a market can evolve with the times, reinvent itself, play an important role in the community it serves and become a popular visitor attraction."

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