Statement: Gloucester Car Boot & Flea Market

We are very sympathetic to all the vendors who have lost this source of income during the Covid-19 pandemic. We understand and appreciate the ongoing implications of not having somewhere to trade and that vendors are keen to start up again, with social distancing and safety measures in place.

The operator of Gloucester Car Boot & Flea Market has not had his licence revoked, nor has he been ‘evicted’ from the site. When the previous licence was agreed, the operator was informed of the end date of 31 May 2020, and was reminded of this on 8 April 2020. Had the operator found an alternative venue in that time and submitted the appropriate paperwork, we would have gladly received the application for review, as part of the proper process.

With the knowledge of the markets licence ending, it gave us the opportunity to propose Hempsted Meadows for the new regional testing facility, and we are immensely proud to support the national response to the Covid-19 crisis.

In order for the operator to hold a market in the city he needs a markets licence, and appropriate permission from the landowner. Currently, he does not have either for the Gloucester All Blues RFC site, nor did he approach us about this location or submit an application prior to announcing it to his traders and customers. We have looked in to alternative sites but so far none of them are suitable or meet the requirements to grant a markets licence. Should the operator find another alternative, we would expect him to follow to correct procedure for obtaining permissions and licences, which we ask all potential market operators to do.

If the operator submits an application for the rugby club we would need to go through the proper procedure, which includes consulting with other agencies such as Highways and the Environment Agency to determine the viability of the site, something we do for all applications. However this would not come to a conclusion before Wednesday 10 June, when the operator has advertised the market will reopen in the city. Traders and customers should not turn up at the site expecting a market. Anyone who has paid to trade at this location should speak to the operator if they want a refund of their fee.

Gloucester City Council