Joe Barratt FIPM
Joe Barratt is a social entrepreneur with a record of developing successful creative projects in town and city centres across the country.
Joe’s passion is creating unique destinations that provide a vibrant and diverse offer, powered by the local community. In 2012, he co-founded The Teenage Market, which has gone on to become a national initiative that offers young traders and performers a free platform to showcase their talents and build confidence.
Since 2012, Joe has also been part of the driving force behind the revitalisation of Stockport, particularly the Old Town, through chairing the Portas Pilot Delivery Group and helping to deliver ‘Foodie Friday’, a hugely popular evening street food event which brings thousands of visitors to the town every month. The event is regarded as one of the main catalysts to improve the town’s image and attract investment, and has won multiple awards including recently been nominated as a finalist in the global City Nation Place Awards for “Best Placemaking Initiative”.
Among Joe’s many other roles, he helped co-ordinate the government’s High Streets Task Force and is a Fellow of the Institute of Place Management.
Joe’s specialisms
Joe’s project examples
The Teenage Market
Joe is the co-founder of The Teenage Market, an initiative that gives young people a free platform to showcase their creative talents.
In April 2012, he co-founded the initiative with his younger brother Tom in their hometown of Stockport, in order to find a creative way to revitalise the town’s market area. The event proved incredibly popular, and The Teenage Market has since been expanded across the country.
It gives young people who are already trading online a chance to trade at their local market, and inspires those who haven’t considered the idea of trading on a market, the chance to have a go.
The Teenage Market is the perfect opportunity for markets to connect with their town’s large population of young people, by providing a free platform for them to be entrepreneurial, try out a new a business idea and sell creative products.
Its work has played a part in revitalising town centres, and helping to develop young people’s skills, pride, and opportunity in their local areas.
The Teenage Market was described by Mary Portas, retail guru and government adviser, as “innovative, inspiring and game-changing”, and has the support of NABMA, ATCM, and DCLG.