A popular fruit & veg stall that has been trading for up to four days a week in the town square at Bradley Stoke’s Willow Brook shopping centre since last summer has announced that it has ceased operating until at least Christmas.
A message placed on the stall’s Facebook page on 28th August stated:
“As we creep into the autumn and winter months, we are only going to be trading Saturdays down at the Willow Brook. It’s a long story and I’m not allowed to disclose why we aren’t there four days a week anymore, but I will push for it to go back to how it was before. “
A further message appeared on 11th September saying:
“Just to let you all know that we will be closing from now until Christmas week, when we will be open for a few days. This is not a decision I have taken lightly, but unfortunately circumstances have changed slightly. Thank you for all the support and keeping us going for over a year and a half nearly. The plan is to get the stall back four days a week again, starting next spring.”
In July last year, stallholder Warren Shepherd told shoppers he had been given notice to quit the centre because of “objections from Tesco” and a customer petition was started. The stall was allowed to continue operating, but had more recently reduced the number of days on which it traded to two per week.
Willow Brook manager Andy Wynn said the centre had agreed to allow the stall to reduce its trading days to two per week but had not been informed of any subsequent variations.
He added:
“We are aware that the business has not traded for a number of weeks now, and this is disappointing.”
The Journal attempted to contact Mr Shepherd for comment, but received no reply.
This article originally appeared in the October 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
