Future of Local Farmers Markets Looks Uncertain

---

Council says Ravenscourt Park and Bishops Park events must close

Ravenscourt Park Farmers Market

There has been an angry reaction from the organisers of two local farmers’ markets and the traders who sell at them after Hammersmith and Fulham Council terminated their contracts with little warning or explanation.

The future of the Ravenscourt Park and Bishops Park markets now looks uncertain after the organisers were informed of the decision. An email sent from the borough’s Assistant Director of Leisure, Sport & Culture on 10 April said that the council decided to close all concessions in their parks ‘until such time as pressure on space diminishes, or, until all restrictions are lifted’. It went on to say that the council were going to take this opportunity to review ‘the purpose of markets and develop a new set of outcomes’ thus terminating the contracts.

Since then the organisers have been told by the council that the closure is to be permanent.

On the 11 January this year the council told the markets to close ‘temporarily’ with immediate effect but on 17 March permission was granted to reopen on 17 & 18 April.

A spokesperson for RMS Markets London, the local business which runs the markets said, “Our traders were so excited about getting back to work, this has been such a tough time for everyone and small businesses have really struggled. Then on 10th April we were informed by the Council that they have decided to close our markets permanently.

“We are absolutely devastated by this decision and our traders are heartbroken. We have loved serving the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham and we have worked hard over the last 8 years to build these markets up from nothing. Our markets support over 50 small businesses and having had to suffer closures for 7 out of the last 13 months these traders were relying on our markets for desperately needed income.”

Contact has been made with with Robert Griffiths QC who acted for traders in Hampstead earlier this year and got Camden Council to overturn a decision to their market. A JustGiving crowdfunding page has been set up to raise funds for a legal challenge.

A H&F spokesperson said, “The farmers markets remain closed on public health advice, but we look forward to re-establishing such attractions in our parks when the current health crisis allows.

“The farmers markets were originally introduced to encourage foot fall but as the pandemic has taken hold, pressure on space within our parks has become extremely high. We have therefore prioritised all the space in our parks for the facilitation of sport, fitness, play and recreation.

“We also recognise that the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on local shops, cafes, and restaurants so we will take this opportunity to review the purpose of the markets and develop a new set of outcomes so we best support local businesses and residents.

"Once this has been developed the opportunity to operate markets in council parks will then be advertised through a competitive tender process.”

 

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

April 19, 2021