We have taken the decision to cancel all our markets for the next three months.
Last week we cancelled all our March dates with a plan in place to see if the official guidance that emerged would make opening the market any time soon seem like a feasible idea. It’s now looking fairly evident that the safest option is the one which allows as many people to stay at home as possible for a little while.
This means we’re cautiously hopeful that we’ll be back in June. That said, as everyone is by now well aware, this is a fast moving situation which has made any of the usual planning for future events completely impossible. If, during the coming weeks and months, it’s looking like the public health safety measures are going to be extended through the summer, we’ll reassess our plans to return.
Although the market is out of action, we still have a long list of traders who have fantastic businesses to run. You can find an ongoing list of all those currently doing home deliveries, as well as various community groups, in our How to Create a Market in Your Own Home guide.
Market stallholders have limited options when it comes to working from home and are invariably self-employed at a time where the financial support on offer is limited. So we’d urge you to use the current situation as an opportunity to be as supportive of one another as possible: get involved in a local group, order something from one of our traders and, most importantly, stay home.