The organisers of the hugely popular Levenshulme Market have said that they will be ‘taking a break from trading’ this summer, after blows from the cost of living crisis, problems with fly tipping on its site, and people leaving cars in the car park where it takes place.
The food and craft market, which is organised by local volunteers, began in 2013 in the South Manchester neighbourhood, and takes over the railway station car park every weekend from March until December.
In a post to Instagram, it said that it will be winding up its activities from mid-July and has also made an appeal for more volunteers to get involved once it starts up again next year.
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“As a volunteer-led organisation we’ve found operating our market difficult for a while now,” organisers said in a statement. “From ongoing issues with our site licence agreement, the knock on effect of the pandemic and cost of living crisis, staff changes, a hacked Facebook page, our battle with left behind cars, increased fly tipping onsite and more, it’s felt like everything has been thrown at us and it’s really taken its toll.
“So, with a heavy heart, we’ve made the difficult decision to take a break from trading from mid July this year. It’s clear we need some time to figure out how we move forward in a sustainable way. We need to reset, take a step back.
“We want to future-proof the market, so you can enjoy it for many years to come. So our final market of this year will be Saturday 15th July. We know you'll be disappointed and this news will come as a shock, but we fear if we don’t do this now we may find ourselves in a position where we can’t bounce back.”
It went on: “By tackling these challenges head on we’ve not been able to do what we wanted to do - that's develop the market and explore new ways in which to grow and move forward sustainably.”
The market’s 10th anniversary weekender, on June 16 and 17, will be going ahead as planned, organisers confirmed.
“We’re so proud that we’ve reached 10 years of trading and have provided a welcoming and supportive space for so many indie businesses,” they added. “If you cherish the market and the community we’ve created please join us for this special 2-day celebration.
“We couldn’t have gotten where we are today without you, for that we want to say a BIG thank you. Levy has changed so much since we started in 2013 and we’re proud to have played a key part in its flourishing indie scene.
“We've weathered many storms over the years and if you can allow us to take shelter for a while we’ll do our v best to come back stronger than ever in 2024.”
Organisers said it is looking for more volunteer directors and part-time staff for next year, and also asked fans of the market to contact their local councillors and MPs to show their support.
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