Over the weekend there was great consternation over the sudden cancellation of the Southside Farmer’s Markets.
Today the market’s website explains a sorry tale of incompetence and red tape (thanks to trevar for the heads up):
Dear valued customers,
As many of you are already aware, unfortunately we were in the position where we had to cancel the market last Sunday.
As you can imagine this was not a decision that was made lightly, but we were informed that for legal reasons we were not to run the market.
Over the past days we have been holding discussions with our lawyers and the Southern Cross Club, with whom we entered into an agreement in November to use the stadium on a long-term basis. Unfortunately the club was not aware, and did not advise us until early January that using the stadium to hold the market was not permitted by government regulations. We have now confirmed that unfortunately the use of the stadium to hold the market is not allowed due to government regulations that stipulate what activity is permitted on the stadium land.
It is regrettable that our stallholders and customers have been inconvenienced.
We are now urgently looking for new accommodation. We have discussed our needs with the government, and they are providing assistance. We are actively in discussions with two possible venues. As you can appreciate we have quite specific needs, and so we want to be sure we meet them as closely as possible. We are working hard to get the market up and running again as quickly as possible.
You, our valued customers have been very supportive. We have spoken to some of you directly, and have received many phone calls and emails. Your positive feedback has also been passed on to our stallholders.
We are sure that you will want to know our progress, we will post the latest news on the market web site. Once we are ready to reopen we will place notices in the press and on the website.
We want to reassure you that we remain completely committed to our stallholders and customers. This is a temporary situation, which we will do our utmost to resolve quickly. There is absolutely no intention to close the market.
We want to thank you for your understanding during this period, your very kind offers of help, and your continued support for the market. We really appreciate it.