Having announced on Twitter in March that Ravenscourt Park and Bishops Park farmers markets are to re-open from 17 April, H&F Council has now gone back on that promise. They shut the two markets down in January whilst allowing other markets in the borough to continue. I don’t work for the markets and am not a trader but I know very well that stallholders relied on the markets for some if not all of their income.  What’s more, the council demanded stringent measures from the markets (sanitiser stations, one-way systems, signage etc) which they fulfilled entirely. I have visited other markets in the borough and they have not provided any of these measures. Quite apart from non-essential shops re-opening on Monday, outdoor shopping is much safer than indoor shopping. And the markets were extremely popular and provided a very welcome addition to the community. When the markets were closed I understand that the people who run them appealed to the council and requested help from local MPs and others. This clearly put H&F’s back up and its response is to cancel the markets. It is logically incoherent and done out of spite. They are playing politics with people’s livelihoods. Oh, and their announcement in March that the markets were to re-open... they announced it with great fanfare on Twitter. They have now deleted the tweet.

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