Ashton town centre has certainly seen many changes over the past ten years with physical changes to the market ground and investment in Tameside One and the Ashton Interchange.  On Saturday March 12th  we encouraged you to show your love for Ashton.

The Love Ashton event was funded through the Welcome Back Fund which aimed to attract people back into town centres following the covid-19 pandemic. The event was supported by Ashton Town Team and Tameside Markets.

On the day there were characters from Mossley’s No Eyed Theatre on the Market Ground themed to Alice In Wonderland providing some unique photo opportunities for shoppers. In addition there were martial arts demonstrations from the popular Sitsiam Camp from Stalybridge with demonstrations from adults and children.  The Tameside Air Cadets was also present providing some rousing music from their band to entertain everyone. Children were also be able to go ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ for our Alice In Wonderland character trail to find Disney’s character cutouts in shops around the town centre to win a prize! The Town Team  also hosted their popular prize Tombola too, joined by the infamous Black Knight himself.

 

Here are a few reasons why Ashton Town Team think you should LOVE ASHTON!

Home Of Independent Retail

The town centre has an incredible variety of independent businesses that cover a wide spectrum from luxury jewellery and clothing to high quality furniture, professional beauty services and specialist businesses.  There’s no need to travel out of the area to find artistic tattooists,  beautiful fabrics,  pet supplies, giftware,  baby and nursery goods, balloon designs and wonderful fresh flowers.  You’ll also find a wealth of café’s and restaurants that can cater for your every need from a substantial meal to a refreshing drink. These small local businesses provide the highest calibre of service to customers that big name retail cannot match.

 

Ashton Market

Multi award winning Indoor and Outdoor retail and specialist markets

Ashton Market Hall is home to more than 70 fantastic independent traders, offering a wide range of goods and services.The Market Hall sits within the heart of Ashton Town Centre, opening six days a week Monday – Saturday 9am – 5pm. With its broad offer of food and non-food retailers, the Market is popular with shoppers of all ages, welcoming on average 50,000 visitors per week.

 

Heritage

Back in the 14th century it was Sir Ralph De Assheton, known locally as The Black Knight, was instrumental in the town gaining its market charter back in 1412. You can find out more at the display inside Ashton Market Hall.  Portland Basin also provides a wealth of heritage information on the town centre and other areas of Tameside. There are also several statues around the town centre too which include The Pieman on Market Street This life sized bronze statue commemorates John Allen, known locally as “Uncle John”. This former collier turned caterer sold pies at local football matches and was well known for his generosity during the cotton famine.

With work being undertaken to restore Ashton Town Hall, groundworks to be carried out on the market ground and a new visitor/shopper app from DSCVR on the horizon there’s still a lot to come and a lot more to love.

 

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Who are Ashton Town Team?

Following the Portas review, an independent review into the future of our high streets, the Ashton Town Team was formed in 2012 with local businesses, Tameside Council and key stakeholders within the town centre.

It’s a voluntary organisation which relies on funding and sponsorship to achieve its aims in supporting our town centre and its small independent businesses. Small businesses offer something unique that provides an essential element in the mix of national retail and leisure which should form part of Ashton town centre.  Over the years the Town Team have introduced events like Scarefest, Heritage Day and supported Totally Locally campaigns like Fiverfest. We have campaigned on issues like parking, town centre signage and security. In 2019 we produced a map for the town centre and this year we launch the Independent Business Awards for the town centre.