Stellenbosch Market fights closure order
|Published
Cape Town - The Dorp Street Sunday Market organisers have pledged to appeal the decision ordering the closure of the weekly event.
The market with various crafts, clothing, home decor, vintage finds, condiments was shut down in June while the vendors were still trading.
Organiser Leani Breedt said they applied to continue trading in Dorp Street but Stellenbosch Municipality refused.
“We’re already in the works of finding a better-suited area in Stellenbosch where we can restart our weekly wholesome Sunday Market days.”
She explained the municipality cited that the local business had complained about litter and stalls in front of their stores.
“When we started the market we went around to every local business and asked their permission and to collaborate with them, almost all of them.
“It’s crazy what they’re saying because we don’t know where this came from and they can’t provide us with concrete evidence of where the complaints have come from. It’s shocking for us. The market was opened in October 2020, we started because we, ourselves, have a shop on Dorp Street so we started six months after the pandemic.
“We wanted to bring Stellenbosch and the surrounding townships alive again, for the locals to have something to do instead of being bored at home. It was a local initiative that saw Cape Town coming through on Sundays.”
Breedt added that they are in the process of appealing the decision.
“We want to amicably sort this, we followed all the procedures they asked about, we immediately closed the market, they didn’t even give us any notice that they would be doing this. And they never in the past four years explained that they don’t like the market or complain. They just showed up at the market and immediately shut it down in June.
There were about 80 vendors from all over the place, some from Fish Hoek and Hermanus for them to come all the way and pay their fee including transport and make their products for the day and now had to shut down.”
Stellenbosch Municipality spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar said the Dorp Street Sunday Market has been a small, private initiative over the past few years offering local vendors an intimate space to showcase their products and entrepreneurial spirit – something that the municipality celebrates and supports.
“However, what began as a small, informal gathering with a few tables outside some businesses has expanded into a large, formal market operating on municipal property, pavements and the road reserve.
“The market has evolved to the present large-scale operation where the operator benefits significantly because of having access to municipal property. This access to municipal property was however not subject to an open process in a bid to compete with other parties who may also have an interest to operate the market.
“The municipality has received several complaints regarding sidewalk obstructions, noting a shift from small displays in front of individual shops to a market setup that inadvertently restricts pedestrian flow.
“Additionally, some property owners have raised concerns over issues such as litter, vandalism, and restricted access to their establishments or residences.”
“For these reasons, the market organisers were asked to comply with the formal application and approval process … as the area is not designated for informal trading or market activities.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za
Cape Argus