Fury as iconic market that's the ‘heart & soul of tiny UK village's economy' is suddenly AXED by airport chiefs
LOCALS have slammed the decision to shut down the "heart and soul" of their tiny village's livelihood.
Airport bosses have scrapped the weekend market held at an airfield in Thanet, Kent.
4
4
The iconic stalls, set up at Manston Airport, had been popular with the community since opening last year.
The owners made their devastating announcement on social media this week.
In an "important notice" on Facebook, Stevens Markets wrote: "Market closed permanently.
"It comes with great sadness that we have had to stop operating at the Manston airfield market.
"I just want to say a huge thank you to all the supporters out there.
"That stuck with us when everyone else was going against us. It means a lot and you can continue to follow our journey with bray markets.
"All traders that paid a two week deposit, we will be refunding this to you and we will give you more information on how to get this back in due course."
The statement appears to blame Thanet District Council for rejecting planning permission applications.
But, it has now been reported it was due to the airport - not the local authority.
However, it has subsequently emerged the decision was actually taken by the airport itself and not Thanet District Council.
The Viking Centre: Britain's first American-style mall faces demolition
Fans and residents hailed the market and penned messages of support.
"What a sad day for everyone," wrote one under the Facebook statement.
"Wow I'm gutted loved coming up there," another agreed.
A third added: "Oh my god that's terrible enjoyed going there every weekend, met some really nice traders."
An independent trader wrote: "I'm absolutely gutted! Hands down this market saved my business! I have absolutely no words."
"No I'm crying, this is so sad," echoed another.
Heartbroken Les Stevens, of Stevens Markets, told KentOnline: 'Planning had been going through but then we got a memo from the airport saying we had to cease trading.
"I have no idea why. But it wasn't the council as we first believed.
'I was in Turkey at the time and had just been told planning wasn't granted.'
A spokesperson for Thanet District Council said: 'The market needs planning permission to continue to operate on the Manston Airport site. Council officers contacted the operator and requested a planning application, to change the use of the land.
'To date, an application has not been received and therefore no application has been rejected.'
The thriving market was heaving every week and Lee Stevens added how they are looking for a new location.
It is understood there may be two sites in consideration, with one being close to Manston.
Stallholders have also been told they will be given their deposits back.
Airport execs made the move as they continue with development on the airfield.
It is understood to be considering two sites - at least one of which is close to Manston.
A spokesperson for airport owners RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) said: 'Manston Airport and the operators of the Saturday market have decided to part company by mutual consent.
"It is understood that the market is now pursuing other sites in east Kent.'
4
4
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Sun
I bought an abandoned house with no electric for 75p – I've funded renovations by sharing my DIY online
A YOUNG woman has revealed how she transformed an abandoned house and got paid for it in the process. Tia Weston bought the abandoned property for just 75p and quickly got to work with her dad to turn it into her dream home. 3 3 Taking to YouTube, Tia said: "I'm taking you through the full start to finish process of turning this abandoned house into my dream home. "It had no heat, no water, no electricity and it was used for storage for over 30 years. "It was in such bad shape that at one point it was going to be given to the fire department to be burnt down." She said that in total it cost her £29,000 to renovate the property. While some of the money came from selling her previous home, some of the cash came from sharing the renovation journey online. Through posting the transformation on YouTube she was able to get revenue from advertisements to help fund the cost. Tia and her dad had their work cut out for them, some of the wood on the roof had gone rotten and the flooring was also affected. She also had to pay to get the entire house to have electricity running through it as well as new windows because the house was so old. New plumbing also had to be fitted into the house so that Tia could renovate the bathroom. After the basics were done, Tia moved on to clearing the house out and redecorating the space. 3 Mrs Hinch raves about £2 Home Bargains buy that 'adds charm to your garden' & a £10 product that's 'cheaper than Amazon' The house had been left in disarray and used to store wood and old furniture. But she managed to transform it into a colourful modern space for herself. Inside the house, she used a light, pine wood for the floors, doors and finishes to add some much needed light into the home. She used pastel colours throughout to make it more homely as well. Home upgrades that add the most value to a house The best renovation to add value totally depends on your property, the local market and your potential buyers. Zoopla shared a list of upgrades that will instantly add value to your home. Loft conversion - increase of 15% Off-street parking - adds £50,000 to property price New kitchen - increase of 15% Garage conversion - increase of 15% Cellar or basement conversion - increase of 10-15% Open plan living space - increase of 3-5% New bathroom - increase of 3-5% The transformation had left people stunned and they were quick to praise Tia and her dad for their hard work. One person wrote: "The coolest part is that you did this all with your dad. You will always hold this memory in your heart." Another commented: 'I am a 61-year-old lifetime remodeler. You did a GREAT job young lady!" "Well done. You've done an amazing job," penned a third. Meanwhile a fourth said: "I wish more people would renovate instead of tearing down older houses. You all did such a great job!" Someone else added: 'The contrast between where you started and where you ended up is insane! Your hard work has really paid off."
BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Greater Lincolnshire mayor Andrea Jenkyns in the BBC hot seat
The Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns has been in the hot seat on BBC Radio Reform UK representative was elected last month after recieving 42% of the Andrea was taking questions from presenter Carla Greene, as well as those from are the four big takeaways from what she had to say – and you can listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds. 1. Trade college to be built Matthew Burke from Grimsby wants to see more job opportunities in North East Lincolnshire. The 33-year-old said: "Look at what other cities are doing and just try and bring that to Grimsby."Bringing investment to the local area is a key role of the Greater Lincolnshire Andrea announced she wanted to build a trade college in the area. She said: "We know right across the country we've got a shortage of plasterers, plumbers, builders. "Lecturers make more money in the private sector than actually teaching so we need to look at that skills gap." 2. Fair funding across the region Dame Andrea was asked specifically what she would be doing to help people in Northern responded: "I don't have this silo approach".The mayor was keen to stress that she would not be favouring one part of the region over another and said her role would help to bring a better said: "The good thing about a mayor is that you've got an overview of the whole county so you can ensure fair funding across the area."You can't have one part missing out." 3. Improvements to the care sector Corrina Pett is a mental health support worker in North Lincolnshire. She said she wanted to see more unemployed people trained to help fill the gaps in the care said: "There shouldn't be a shortage with the amount of unemployed people here."Dame Andrea said she wanted to change attitudes towards the sector."These are valuable roles and they're not to be looked down on."It's about working with the councils, colleges and care providers to ensure school leavers see this career as a viable option." 4. Transport plans Bill, a BBC Radio Humberside listener, asked why the East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire area missed out on billions of pounds worth of investment for transport Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday funding for tram, train and bus schemes in mayoral authorities across the Midlands, the North and the West Andrea Jenkyns said she wanted to come up with a fully costed transport plan for Greater Lincolnshire and promised to fight the business case for more transport investment for the said: "The Government has given money where they've got Labour mayors and this is why we need to clean up politics."The mayor made transport one of the key pillars of her election campaign by pledging to create investment in major roads such as the A15, A52 and A17, along with "proper integration between buses, trains and cars".HM Treasury for a comment. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Daily Mail
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Wet and windy weekend! Met Office warns of 40mph gusts in London plus as much rain on Saturday as ALL that fell in May - but heat will rise to 25C next week
Brits are warned of 'unseasonably windy conditions' this weekend, while as much rain as England experienced in the whole of May could fall in just a few hours, the Met Office has predicted. Forecasters said about 30mm of rain could fall in just three hours in southern parts of the UK, with up to 50mm over the course of the day. Met Office data shows England had 32.8mm of rain last month, almost half the month's usual average. They have forecast heavier and more frequent showers on Saturday, with hail and thunder possible and some unseasonably strong winds in coastal areas. There could also be a risk of surface-water flooding, which 'could lead to challenging driving conditions'. From June 1 to June 3 there has already been 10.7mm of rain, a fifth of the 50.9mm recorded for the UK during May. Sunday looks to be drier and the better day of the weekend, before further rain in northern England on Monday. Meteorologist Honor Criswick said the wet weather was because of low pressure. She said: 'At the north of the country this brings in a north-westerly wind, so gradually drags in frontal systems out from the west and south-west, and that leads to some pretty changeable and wet weather at times.' Met Office spokeswoman Andrea Bishop said the weather for the rest of the week would be 'changeable'. She said: 'Generally the theme is the continuation of something a bit cooler, a bit breezy at times, and a bit wet at times too. 'We are keeping an eye on a new front which looks like it will move in on Friday night, bringing rain which could be heavy, and possibly thundery at times on Saturday. 'Rainfall totals of 20mm to 30mm are likely in places and, at present, this looks like it will affect the southern half of the UK. 'We are keeping a close eye on this to see how it evolves over the next 24 hours or so.' Next week temperatures will rise to above average for the time of year, with highs of 25C next Wednesday in London and 23C in Manchester. The National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the change in weather would be welcomed by many farmers. Rachel Hallos, NFU vice president, said: 'After such a dry start to the year, this weekend's rainfall will be welcome in many areas. 'However, heavy downpours aren't the ideal way to restore soil moisture, what farmers really need is steady, consistent rainfall to support crops and grazing without causing run-off or damaging soils. 'These changing weather patterns, from long dry periods to intense bursts of rain, highlight the need for long-term planning and investment in water, particularly the water we need to produce the food we enjoy. 'Things like rainwater harvesting and more flexible abstraction rules are important steps in adapting to these new conditions.' Luke Hindle, duty manager for National Highways, urged drivers to plan journeys carefully.
