Everything Must Go?

Traders, shoppers, conservationists, developers and the city council fight it out over the future of Leeds’ famous Kirkgate Market in the wake of the devastating fire of 1975.

The ongoing battle between conservation and modernisation, and small retailers and big business, is being fought out in this 1987 documentary, as the soul of the famous Kirkgate Market in Leeds is on the line. Strong opinions are voiced by the stall holders who want to keep the traditional feel of a market their families have been part of for generations, whilst shoppers distrust the city planners and developers who have plans to build a large new city centre complex.

The cause of the fire that saw the loss of 150 market stalls remains uncertain, but thankfully no lives were lost, and thanks to the courage of 100 fire fighters the 1904 hall remained intact. The Market opened in 1857, with a design by the famous architect, Joseph Paxton. It expanded in stages, including a domed glazed roof in 1895, to become the largest indoor market in the country. The need for some modernisation led to the city council leader, George Mudie, bringing in Dutch developers MAB to propose a wholesale redevelopment. But the Compulsory Purchase Order, noted in this YTV documentary, was rejected by an Inspector’s Report in 1989, upheld by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Nicholas Ridley.