Cliftonville Night Market to launch in August

The Oval Bandstand

A Cliftonville Night Market will be launched at The Oval Bandstand & Lawns in August.

The event will take place on selected Fridays from next month between 5pm-9pm. Site owners GRASS will use festoon lighting for the events.

The market will bring street food, live music and DJ’s, vintage, clothing, craft and artisanal goods.

Stallholders will be encouraged to make their stalls sparkle with lights.

Non -food stall gazebos are priced at £20 per pitch. GRASS provides the gazebo with traders to bring their own table and display items.

Street food stalls will need to be self sufficient as GRASS cannot provide power or equipment. Pitches are priced at £45

No teas and coffee or alcoholic beverage, ice creams, hotdogs can be sold by traders at the market. The Oval has a kiosk on site.

Stallholders will require £5 million public liability insurance and risk assessment.

Food stallholder will need to be fully registered with environmental health.

Initial markets will be held on August 5th and 19th and September 2nd and 16th.

Interested traders can fill in enquiry forms at https://theovalbandstand.co.uk/market-trader-applications

The freehold was transferred to GRASS Cliftonville CIC from the local authority last year, so the site and associated buildings are now owned and managed by the not-for-profit social enterprise organisation.

The group, which is earmarked to receive a total of £500,000 from the £22million Margate Town Deal fund, plans to create a pavilion with café, community room/s and public toilets.

Displaying the plans at Turner Contemporary earlier this year Simon Bell and Stephen Darrer, of Grass (Gordon Road Area Street Scheme), said the proposal is to create a facility for 365 days of the year.

Plans include reconfiguring the bandstand area so it is a 360 space – a “theatre in the round.” There will also be wildflower meadows, lawns, a mini wetland, a mini-forest, and paths lined with wildlife-friendly plants to create a “coastal eco-park” alongside artworks, social and activity spaces.

45 Comments

  1. There is already a night market in Cliftonville..in drugs, prostitution and fake fags, drink and other goods.

    • A market which opens at 5 and shuts at 9 hardly qualifies as a night market. In summer especially.

    • I am nothing to do with Grass. I applaud the efforts and work being put in by volunteers.
      Well done Grass. Thank you all.

      • Do you applaud only the group Grass with all the grants and funding they get, or does it extend to the 21 year old market and the CRA?

        • I think we know which group it will be.
          The one that gets all the funding & grants for their 8 streets. Grass!

  2. Chris. In order to make improvements to the Oval Bandstand where should the money come from. ?

    Joris. Isn’t it great to have free publicity in order to encourage potentially more business, as you choose to put, it to an already deprived area. Perhaps more reporting to the police of suspected incidents may assist in the demise of these sorts of activities.

  3. Did you not read they are in line for £500.000?
    The bandstand is only 16 years old.
    O.K it needs some maintenance on it, something TDC should have been doing.
    Why do we need all the major things they want to do.
    I am sorry, in my opinion they are not ‘commumity spirited’
    To do what they did to the group who were there before, particularly the farmers markets, a true community group, says it all.
    How could any community group threaten another group with a solicitors letter.
    They are obviously well liked by members of TDC who bend over backwards for them
    A shame TDC don’t do the same for the farmers market.

    • Spot on. I for one and probably not alone was quite happy with concerts n market as was. And quite happy with a nice plain boring area of grass..Go away Grarse…

    • And if shut down by the Police for some reason like Goverement acre was years ago before improvements are carried out, where does the 500 K go.
      Just what the area needs another bar.

  4. Its not an area I would like to set a stall up at that time. Sunday afternoon be better.

    Live music , just what the area needs am sure it will get busy with some locals .
    No alcohol , guess you have to take your own.

    No tea coffee , ice cream ,hot dogs , what does one sell ? chips n burgers .

    My first thought was has this been thought through and thought not.
    With a £500 K grant involved it has.

    • They run their own bar at their events and you are not allowed to bring your own.
      A business I feel.

  5. great comments from joris , nice to hear someone that tells it like it is , and comments that have not been sugar coated by the local do gooders !

  6. I won’t support anything to do with GRASS after what they did to the Farmers Market. Self serving DFL scum.

  7. Well I think they are great. Went to the Thelma and Louise Outdoor Cinema, it was fantastic. Well done GRASS thank you for putting effort into this decaying area and bringing back life. Looking forward to the evening Market. Don’t get put off by the moaning old grinches…..many many people support you.

    • The Oval bandstand and area was not decaying as you imply.
      You probably have not lived here very long and don’t know what was put on there for over 20 yeas, without a half million pounds handout.
      The bandstand is only 16 years old, hardly decaying as you wrongly say.
      I hope all the profit that is made from their bar can be accessed by the public.

  8. Who on earth is brave enough to go to Cliftonville at night? It’s bad enough during the day. I won’t be going at night that’s for sure.

    • This comment and your opinions about cliftonville are so outdated JJ. Ramsgate is the most dangerous area. Cliftonville still has alot of negativity, but parts of it are thriving at night

      • Ramsgate never seems dangerous to me. Except for when I’m crossing roads, as there are many local car drivers whose selfish attitude put other road users at risk.

  9. Well that’s gone down like a cold cup off? They haven’t even allowed the ashes of the Real Farmers Market to cool down.

  10. Question. Who is going to police the 22 million? How is it going to be spent? Thanet Council in charge of it? They cannot even fix their internal daily f**k ups let alone handing them another load of money which they will fritter away and waste. I despair

  11. Kick out a well established thriving local market which has been operational for 20 odd years plus so you lot can have carte blanche to do as you see fit. Community?! My a****! You are a disgrace to Cliftonville! I will NEVER support you.

  12. I wouldn’t support anything grass does in cliftonville after what they done to tcliftonville residents association that I volunteered to help for years the bandstand is not that old it’s not original the residents association worked with TDC to rebuild the bandstand after many years of vandalism the dressing rooms had been removed and demolished a new kiosk was established the association was never subsidised members subscriptions kept it going including what was collected from stall holders no need to waist more money on the bandstand it didn’t take long the last time to have vandalism again.ps I am not an old whinger all this is fact.most hoteliers supported the association.

  13. It is obvious that they GRASS want the farmers market.
    I hope Cliftonville Residents Association continue with it on it’s new site the Walpole Bay Lawns.
    It is a great ‘community’ run market, which has grown since it had to move last September.

  14. A mini-forest? So a wood then. I will never support GRASS after what they did to the farmers market. Absolute snakes in the GRASS.

  15. Brilliant idea looking forward to it. Here’s Hoping some of the vendors from the farmers market put their business heads on and sign up to the new market at the bandstand so we can buy their wonderful produce for two additional weekends in a month.

    • Most stallholders are committed to all the farmers markets in Kent at other weekends.
      I am sure, if any of the stallholders decided to attend the Grass market, they would not be welcome back to Cliftonville’s farmers market.
      Loyalty springs to mind.

    • Why would they even entertain the idea after the way they have been treated and to be in line for a £500.000 grant I feel they need to explain why they need so much considering the bandstand is only 16yrs old

  16. Cliftonville Farmers’ Market, multi award winning, will continue on its new site, the Walpole Bay Lawns, behind the Walpole Hotel.

    It has been a challenge for us since September last year, when I had a battle with the council to find a new site

    We already have 40 stalls booked for July 31st, with 3 new stallholders joining us.
    One selling hand made pork pies, scotch eggs, savoury pies and much more.

    Stallholders trade wherever they like, but as somebody has said if they decide to trade at the night market, they will not be welcomed back to Cliftonville Farmers’ Market.
    It is their choice.

    We are a 100% Farmers’ market, affiliated to
    http://www.kfma.org.uk

    The market runs on the last Sunday of the month from 10 – 1 p.m

    It is run by volunteers from CRA and will celebrate it’s ’21st’anniversary in September.

    Not bad for a commumity group, who should be applauded for their dedication to the community.

  17. I applaud you all Mrs. Chadband, not only the CRA’s fantastic market, but also all the events your group put on over many years.
    People new to this area probably don’t know this,
    that is was your group who accessed the funding for the bandstand that is there.
    I think I also read somewhere that you did the same for the kiosk.
    I used to love all the band concerts you all held each summer.
    No need for a bar at your events. The lovely home made cakes, ice cream and hot drinks were more apt.
    I applaud you for keeping it all together with your team, since the sad loss of your husband Keith.
    Hope to see you at the next market.

  18. I agree with you James. The concerts, 16 each summer ( I found one of their programmes the other day) went on until the end of September.
    They also used to hold a craft, collectibles & antiques market during the summer months.
    I bought a few nice things there.
    But as you say new people to the area would not know this.
    The concerts finished in September 2017, when the Chairman Keith Chadband passed away.
    I applaud you all for fighting for the continuation of the farmers market, after the new group Grass cancelled the August market last year.
    Well done all of you and I will be there on July 31st.
    It is a great market.

  19. How about people who live near The Oval having a say in how the £500k is spent.
    I live less than 100 metres from The Oval and there has never been any consultation with us as to how thus PUBLIC land is going to be used. While I welcome much of what GRASS are doing, the only people who can have a say in it are those that live between Sweyn and Edgar Road. Not Godwin Road which is right opposite the bandstand!?…

  20. Rabbie, they own the 4 acre site FREEHOLD. It was gifted to them in an Asset transfer by TDC at no cost.
    They crowd funded their
    solicitors fees and will be receiving £500.000 from the Margate Town Deal.
    I was told that they had recently received
    £25.000 from that fund.
    With that sort of money, they should be able to hold good events and maintain the area, something that TDC should have been doing for years.
    I would like to know, if the profit they make from their bar and other events, will it be in the public domain or is it now their business?
    The two directors are CIC’s
    Can these Directors be paid a salary?
    I thought Grass were supposed to be a community group.

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