News Exclusive: EXCITING SATURDAY MARKET PLAN FOR KING’S HEAD CAR PARK IN TEDDINGTON
A planning application has been made to set up a Saturday morning food market called Ted’s Market in the car park of the King’s Head pub, in High Street, Teddington, we can reveal.
The market, which will include six or seven traders, is hoped to take place on the last Saturday of the month between 9am and 2pm with traders on site from 8am until 3pm for set up and close down.
The area, which currently operates as a car park for the popular pub, was converted into a large marquee during the pandemic and attracted lots of support locally when large TV’s were installed for big sports events.
The application is for a ‘temporary change of use (for a 5 year period) and it is hoped traders will provide, fish, meat, cheese, deli items, bread and pastries as well as fruit and vegetables.
The proposal has received significant support from the local community and only attracted two objections and is due to be considered by Richmond Borough Council over the next few weeks. The pub operators are hopeful of approval for the plan.
The proposal outlines the plan: “A new, fun, vibrant food market taking place on the last Saturday of each month. Produce only – no hot food.
“In partnership with The King’s Head for temporary use of their car park for 1 day per month.
“Location of food market for social media communication when/ if permission granted from the council.
“We have space for 6 traders with respective sized pitches (3×3, 4×3 and 6×3). We could possibly fit 7 along the top, but we don’t want to crowd the other traders too much, so leaving as 6 to begin with to keep it open.
One local resident supporting the application wrote on the Council’s website: “What a wonderful idea! I often travel far and wide so get to a farmers market and to have one on our high street would be amazing.”
Another wrote: “This is a wonderful idea. It will bring vitality to the local area, be a source for high quality (and local) produce, support small traders and stimulate economic activity which will benefit the town as a whole. I wholeheartedly support this and caution strongly against previous NIMBY instincts that have led to other initiatives on our beautiful high street being voted down and not able to provide new services to our community.”
And another person living close to the pub wrote: “This would be a truly lovely addition to Teddington. The car park is large enough for a market and associated parking is available at the public car parks not a hundred yards down the high street.
“Any food smells would be no different from the general smells of the pub kitchen and I think it would really add to being a resident of Teddington.
“We are bereft of such a facility when our neighbours in Twickenham and Richmond have this available to them, also surrounded by housing.
“The pub is very conscious of its impact on the local community and yet provides a similar service during Teddington lights up and Christmas, and for a few hours every few weeks this would not in anyway impinge on the aesthetic of the town.”
Another read: “I think this is an excellent idea and I fully support this application! A market like this is something which Teddington is really missing, especially when local areas such as Twickenham have similar.
“I am excited at the variety of fresh produce which this would bring once a month and think it would be a great benefit for the community. As someone who lives very close to the site, I would love this to happen!
One of only two objections raised the issue of ‘more noise on the High Street.’
It added: “We are also concerned that live music will be introduced and a major issue is parking. It’s already difficult for residents to park in this area, a market is going to increase numbers of people visiting and wanting to park which then creates more parking issues for residents particularly at weekends.”
The planning application states: “This is a planning application for the temporary change of use of a public house car park to provide a food and produce market. I have been looking around Teddington for a suitable location for a food market (bread, cheese, organic fruit, vegetables, sustainable meat etc), but it has been quite difficult.
“We do not have many streets that can be easily closed or town halls / market squares. It is a shame that the community of Teddington doesn’t have a market like this, as we don’t have a butcher or a fishmonger either.
“The premise of the market is to bring local, sustainable and high quality produce every month to excite our community and offer something a bit different each time with 1 guest trader each month.
“The traders that we have confirmed for the monthly market are as follows; Olivier’s Bakery (French bread, pastries, brownies), Wild Country Organics (organic fruit and vegetables – also trading at Twickenham Farmer’s Market), Downland Farm (meat), The French Comte (cheeses), Wild Fish Project (fresh fish from Dorset), and a rotating trader so we can ensure that other producers can come too.
“We are limited on space, so we will have the guest spot to avoid people missing out, and also offering different foods each month.
“The King’s Head on Teddington High Street are supporting the use of their car park on the last Saturday of each month from 9am – 2pm to allow for a very small food market to trade. We won’t be serving hot food, so there will be no gas on site.
“The wastage will be sorted by the market organiser and the pub with Zero Mile Recycling at the end of the market – there will be zero trace of a market afterwards.
“Teddington doesn’t have a food market, so in similar fashion to Twickenham, Surbiton, Thames Ditton etc, it would be great to have this for the community every month.
“It is a car park for the pub. The pub have allowed Ted’s Market to use the site on the last Saturday of each month from 9am – 2pm. We will have access to the car park every market day from 7am for deliveries and then taking stalls down by 4pm, before it returns to a car park.”
Anyone planning to use the pub car park during the normal pub opening hours between the opening hours of 12pm and 3pm will have to find alternative parking.
If the application is successful it is hoped the first market could be up and running on Saturday October 26.
The application adds: “The timings of the market are designed to be user-friendly for the local community and restrict any noise to daytime only. We have instructed all traders that they are not allowed to play any music, as signed in their trader agreement form.
“We are very limited on space, so with 6 traders only, we should not see a huge noise increase to the High Street.
“As form of a management plan, a member of Ted’s Market will always be on site for the setting up, and working in conjunction with the General Manager of the pub to oversee the running of
the market.
“It is very hard to anticipate the number of visitors to the market without having put this event together before, but we should be expecting in the region of 500 local residents over the course of the day. We can update this number accordingly.
“We will have regular traders and a few guest traders throughout the year, depending on space available. The regular traders consist of Olivier’s Bakery (French bread, pastries, brownies, cakes), Wild Fish Project (fish and shellfish from Dorset), Wild Country Organics (organic fruit and vegetables from an organic farm in Cambridge), Lorna’s Indian Kitchen (‘finish at home’ curries and samosas), Ralphs (deli and tapenade items), and French Comte (cheeses and charcuterie).
“Some guest traders will include food such as olive oils, soups, olives, coffee and cakes, amongst others.
“As the organiser of this market, we want to build something sustainable and popular for the local community, as well as successful for our traders We have set a 5-year period for this market to run, but hopefully can extend this.
“We will review the market success each year with The King’s Head and ensure that all parties are happy with the results, including the local council.
“We will be using First Mile, and bags supplied by The King’s Head at mutually agreed cost. Any rubbish from the day will be taken away, or put into rubbish bins provided.”
You can read about the application here: Planning detail – London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
