A popular mobile butcher’s van and other market traders are expected to return to the town square at Bradley Stoke’s Willow Brook Centre in the coming days following a near-six-month break caused by a licensing issue.
Mark’s Mobile Butchers began trading at the Willow Brook site in May 2021 after moving from the Stokers public house in Little Stoke where business was being impacted by the long-term road closure and traffic management on Gipsy Patch Lane.
But on 7th October 2021 the firm announced on their Facebook page that they would not be able to trade at the Willow Brook Centre “for a very short time due to a problem with [the centre’s] market licence”. They added: “We are assured this is a very temporary problem and we will be back ASAP.”
A similar message was posted by fruit & veg stall trader Dean Cooper, who was also a regular trader in the town square.
However, the licensing issue turned out to be anything but “very temporary” and weeks and then months passed with no sign of the traders returning.
Confusingly, one particular trader, the Pappu Dosa food van, did continue to trade in the square. Enquiries by the Journal revealed that this was because this business has it own mobile street trading licence, so was unaffected by the issue with the centre’s ‘block street trading’ licence under which the other traders were operating.
On contacting South Gloucestershire Council, the Journal was told that a routine inspection had discovered that the Willow Brook Centre’s ‘block’ licence had expired in 2017!
Acquiring a new licence might sound like a trivial task when it would effectively be a renewal, but that has turned out to be far from the case. An application form, signed by the applicant on 12th November 2021, was submitted to the council at some unknown date, but it is understood that various issues with supporting documents meant that the council was unable to formally validate the application until several weeks later.
A three-week consultation period was then entered, running from 16th February to 9th March 2022, when neighbours were notified and posters displayed at the site. The Journal has learned that no objections to the application were received during this period, meaning that consent should now be granted without further delay.
Mark’s Mobile Butchers say they plan to make an announcement very soon, while Dean Cooper says he is hoping to return to Willow Brook in April.
More information and related links:
- Licence application L121/4579/STB [332kB PDF on Dropbox]
- Markets in and around Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2022 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 11). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
Butchers set to return
UPDATE added 5th April 2022.
Mark’s Mobile Butchers have told us they hope to return to the Willow Brook Centre in the week commencing 11th April 2022.
Butchers back, one day a week
UPDATE added 7th May 2022.
Mark’s Mobile Butchers have resumed trading in the town square, initially on Thursdays only (8am to 2pm), as of 5th May 2022.
A statement on their Facebook page says: “We are doing every Thursday for a few weeks and then building the days up to do more.”
Butchers now trading twice a week
UPDATE added 7th July 2022.
The Willow Brook Centre has announced that Mark’s Mobile Butchers will now be attending on Fridays as well as Thursdays, 8am to 2pm each day.
