86 | Tees Business
Bidding big – (left to right), Laura and Steve Claxton (Top
of the Hops), Claire Dalkin (Claire’s Blooms), Brian Holmes
(Station) and Louise McGrogan-Wright (Poppy Rose) are
all part of the Stockton BID team.
ON THE UP
BIG BID TO
TALK UP
HIGH STREET
OFFERING
I
f you pay a visit to Stockton today, what
will you find?
Well, the answer might well be just as
wide as the historic Teesside town’s High
Street.
The area has, of course, been in the news
just lately with the loss of stalwart Marks
and Spencer and the impending closure of
retail giant Debenhams.
Yes, they might leave a gap - but look
again.
What you might not see at first glance,
and what shoppers, residents, families
and the people of Teesside at large are
just beginning to notice, are the sprouting
shoots of a different type of retail offering in
the town.
It goes under the hashtag
#BigUpStockton and is being driven by
Stockton Business Improvement District - or
BID for short - a partnership between more
than 400 local businesses and organisations
with the ultimate aim of making a difference
to the town centre.
A simple walk around on a weekday
morning will reveal that much more is there
than you might have thought - from niche
and unique shops to destination watering
holes, cafés and eateries tucked in the
nooks, crannies, squares and streets of
a town famous for pioneering the world’s
first passenger railway, not to mention the
invention of the friction match.
The nature of high streets all over Britain
is changing - and the business community
in Stockton is well aware of it. What it
has to offer, similar to neighbour Yarm,
for example, is its very uniqueness in the
shape of these 21st century high street
pioneers.
And it is time to shout about it.
Jason Maxwell is Stockton BID’s
manager. “We are here to do what we can
to help. There’s more and more of a focus
on what the local shops, businesses and
WORDS: JOANNE BARRETT
PICTURES: CHRIS BOOTH
services have to offer,” says Jason.
“Just look around, there’s lots here. We
have 400 businesses in this area. Any other
smaller or narrower high street with that
number would be crowded.”
Our meeting place is the Hope and Union
pub in Green Dragon Yard, a leafy little
square just off the high street that is also
home to places including entertainment
venue, The Georgian Theatre. Pop round
the corner and there’s a little flea market
in full swing, while a few steps away is
pedestrianised Silver Street, full of unique
shops and independent businesses.
Poppy Rose is one of them, a craft and
pottery store that sells handmade and
individual gifts and items. Owner Louise
McGrogan-Wright also runs pottery classes
teaching people how to make and create.
She’s been on Silver Street for a few
years and loves what she does - her
charming pieces are made with heart
and soul, and are things you cannot buy
anywhere else.
“I make them because I love to make
them,” says Louise, whose talent is self-
taught. “I run classes for all kinds of people
as well as selling handmade items - I’ve