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Levenshulme Market Re-opening
Bookings for Shop & Go markets open tomorrow
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Hi all,
I have some good news. Levenshulme Market will re-open on Saturday 27th June and we shall be opening for bookings from 7pm tomorrow.
However, there are going to be some changes.
In order to incorporate social distancing and a number of public hygiene measures, the market will be operating in a modified form for the time being, something which we're calling Levenshulme Market Shop & Go. |
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The market site will be closed off with customer access restricted, a one-way system around the market for browsing, and no eating, drinking or socialising taking place on the site, as well as a few other measures, all of which are listed below.
We'll do what we can to keep the Levy Market spirit alive, but we'll essentially be opening for customers to come, make their purchases and then leave. We're also cancelling all our Friday night markets for the time being and replacing them with a standard Saturday market. Likewise, the Tuesday food markets we usually run at the University of Manchester are on hold for the foreseeable until the campus returns to a kind of normality.
Please read the whole of this email before making your booking request. Even if you're a regular at Levenshulme Market, we've had to make a few changes which it's best you're aware of.
Dates
As you'll all no doubt be well aware, the public health recommendations in place seem to change regularly, so saying how long we'll be running the Shop & Go is impossible at the moment, but we're anticipating it to operate for the following dates:
- Saturday, June 27, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, July 4, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, July 11, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, July 18, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, July 25, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, August 1, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, August 8, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, August 15, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, August 22, 2020 - 10-4pm
- Saturday, August 29, 2020 - 10-4pm
Traders
For all this to work, we are going to have to reduce the number of stalls we take bookings for each week. Ordinarily, we're able to book up to around 50 traders for one of our Saturday markets, but for a while we'll have to restrict this to 21. It's important that Levenshulme Market does all it can to support as many of you as is possible, but it's unlikely everyone will get to trade on all the dates they want. This isn't intended to put anyone off applying to trade, just to forewarn you all that saying 'sorry we're fully booked' might be more common than in the past.
One of the things we'll be looking to do is give customers a decent range of the kinds of products they'd usually hope to find at Levy Market, as well as the kinds of staple purchases they might ordinarily make at the supermarket.
I know that during the past few months a great many street food traders have switched from preparing hot food to making 'ready meals' which are cooked at home. We are planning to offer both hot food which is cooked onsite and taken home/to the park to be eaten, as well as pre-cooked meal kits which can be taken home along with other grocery purchases, so don't feel like choosing one over the other will put you at a disadvantage when it comes to booking.
We will email you tomorrow at 7pm with a reminder to book and a link to the webshop. Once booking opens, please book ASAP to avoid disappointment. The later you get your applications in, the more likely it will be that your preferred dates will be fully booked. You'll be able to access the webshop here.
Levenshulme Market Shop & Go
These are the key points about Shop & Go which you may need to consider when booking.
- This is a socially distanced market, with separate entry and exit points and our staff monitoring and restricting customer access.
- Hand sanitizer will be available for customers on entry.
- We will operate a one way circuit around the market, with one customer a time at each stall.
- We have a supply of PPE and cleaning products onsite but all traders must bring their own hand sanitizer, face-masks and gloves. Those preparing food onsite must also bring their usual hand-washing facilities.
- There are only to be contactless payments onsite - if you currently operate as a cash only trader and aren't sure about how to go about setting up for card payments, let me know and we'll do what we can to help so you can continue trading with us.
- We're aiming for customers to browse with their eyes rather than with their hands which may affect what products you intend to sell and how you merchandise your stall. We won't be allowing any free samples.
- This is a work in progress, one to which we expect to be reacting and adapting as necessary when changes in the government medical guidance are announced or if unforeseen factors require us to make some changes to how we operate.
The booking process
- The webshop works just like any other retail site, where you add products (in this case, market dates) to your cart. Simply click on a date, select your stall size and electricity options and click 'add to cart'.
- We do not request any payment at this stage, as you are simply requesting the dates you would like. Given most of you will have seen your earnings take a knock, we'll be altering the ways in which we request fee payment to hopefully make things easier for you. The link for payment will be provided once we email to confirm which dates you've been allocated.
- You can add multiple dates to your cart - you don't need to check out after adding each one . You can make use of the 'Back' button near the top of the page, under our logo. The website should also remember the items you've saved in your cart, so you can navigate back to the list of dates in another way and your previously added dates should still be in your cart.
Prices
Despite the market running below half-capacity, we've taken the decision to maintain our stall fees at our usual rate. This is £37 for a single stall or a vehicle that is 3.5m or less. Due to the changes we're making to the market, under Shop & Go we're unable to offer shared or double stalls and won't be able to accommodate vans or trailers which are 3.6m or over. The cost for electricity (if required) is £6 per single allocation (1400w use) or £12 per double allocation (2800w use). You can view and download a full list of our standard stall fees for 2020 here.
Night markets
Our night markets, usually held on the third weekend of the month, have been cancelled for the time being. Once we feel it's safe to begin running them again we'll make sure to be in touch.
Terms and conditions
All of the information contained in this email is supplemental to our usual Terms and Conditions for traders which can be found here and you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you fill out your booking. Please read them carefully before booking.
Payment
As always, we will be requesting online payments in advance via bank transfer or our payment processor Golden Giving. This is a charitable giving website (which is why it uses the word 'donation') but also supports social enterprises such as Levy Market. All payments are secure and you should receive an automated email receipt. When making any payments, please follow the instructions provided on the payment link page.
We will send you a link to pay only once we email to confirm your booking. As I mentioned, we will be changing the payment deadlines we usually use, but the principle remains that payments must be made in advance of your trading date.
Finally
Thank you all for your patience and perseverance during the past few weeks. I know this has been a very difficult period for everyone but hopefully we are now turning a corner. Seeing the inventiveness, resilience and solidarity you've all deployed to keep your businesses afloat has been the thing which has kept us going. While I'm aware that this isn't the Levenshulme Market we were all hoping would await us at the end of the tunnel, our aim is to make the Shop & Go as fun, profitable and enjoyable as possible for everyone.
If anyone has any questions, please drop me a line.
Until then, set a reminder for 7pm tomorrow and happy booking!
Richard Hirst
Market Manager, Levenshulme Market CIC
richard@levymarket.com
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