A MARKET threatened with closure has won a last-minute reprieve.

But stallholders at Hulme and Moss Side market, built at a cost of £1.3m just three years ago, today pleaded: "Use us or lose us."

Geraud, the French landlord of the 70-stall market on Hulme High Street ordered it to be closed on Monday. The firm was disappointed in both the number of stalls taken up and the market's popularity.

But market manager Phil Halliwell, a Geraud employee, persuaded bosses at the company HQ in Paris to grant a stay of execution.

He told them 35 traders had either taken up, or were due to take up, one or more stalls.

It means the market will be at least 80 per cent occupied within weeks.

"Last week, for a lot of reasons, many of the traders were not able to open up when they thought they would," said Phil.

Co-operative

"For instance, a crèche was due to open. It became a bit frustrating. I was told to close the market but I persuaded them that the decision should be delayed. The crèche will be open next week. Others are coming. At the eleventh hour, they said 'OK, we will see what happens'.

"If everybody pulls together and tries very hard we will do it. But they need the local population to come and have a look at them. They've tried so hard and it would be sad to see it fall flat on its face. We need a lot more people coming through."

Last year stallholders clubbed together to form a co-operative so that they could run their own affairs. It resulted in a change of style.

The market had started off on a continental theme - perhaps because of the French owners - but this proved not to everyone's taste.

The market was changed to make it more relevant to the multi-ethnic local population.

Now the market boasts a florist, a designer clothes stall with its own label, a Caribbean take-away, an Asian take-away, an internet caf' selling Somali food, a halal butcher, a Christian stall and an Islamic book stall.

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