Over the last three months, only two officially-sanctioned Dorp Street Sunday Markets have been hosted due to municipal zoning issues, said Regine Ewan, owner of Sweet Dreams Fudge. PHOTO: Kiara Wales
Organisers of a local street market are having weekly meetings with Stellenbosch Municipality to try and find a solution to reopen the market.
This was according to Leani Breedt, the market’s co-organiser.
This comes after the municipality initially closed the market in October 2024, with promises of relocation.
In a statement at the time, Stuart Grobbelaar, the municipal spokesperson, said that the municipality is in “active collaboration with market organisers to find a new, ideal location where the market can thrive”.
However, Breedt said that they were “not looking at relocating or giving up on the market” as this was not in the interest of small businesses.
No approvals ever granted
In a statement released on 27 February by the Dorp Street Sunday Market via Instagram, organisers said that the market was approved again in December 2024, but that “two months later, there are […] new by-laws and regulations being given […] stopping [them] from hosting the market again”.
Dorp Street is not designated for informal trading or market activities, and “there have never been any approvals granted and taken away”, said Grobbelaar in his statement.
He also said that several complaints regarding sidewalk obstructions, litter, vandalism, restriction of pedestrian flow, and restricted access to property owners’ establishments had been lodged with the municipality.
According to Dorp Street Sunday Market’s Instagram and Facebook pages, the market is currently operating on a weekly basis, at the Rooiplein on Wednesdays and the botanical gardens on Saturdays. Uncertainty persists amongst vendors regarding whether the market will take place in its original form again, says Regine Ewan, owner of Sweet Dreams Fudge. PHOTO: Nadia Swart
“The municipality didn’t announce that [the market] would be closed,” said Regine Ewan, owner of Sweet Dreams Fudge. “We arrived there one Sunday morning in October to find law enforcement on the road wanting to stop it that day.”
“[The municipality] came one day, said not to worry… that they were just doing a check,” said DJ Paulie, owner of Vinyl DJ Paulie. “They then said that we couldn’t have it the next week because it was against the by-laws.”
DJ Paulie of Vinyl DJ Paulie said that moving the Dorp Street Sunday Market to the Stellenbosch University Botanical Gardens has resulted in “less exposure” for his stall. “The difference is that Dorp Street had a buzz about it. It isn’t the same,” said Paulie. PHOTO: Kiara Wales
Following the market’s closure, organisers announced the launch of the ‘Market in the Garden’, hosted at the Stellenbosch University Botanical Gardens on 30 November 2024. This was announced via Facebook and Instagram.
Blake Govender, owner of FabrikHunter second-hand clothing, said that he felt that the new venue came with a shift – and decline – in their clientele, resulting in him no longer attending the market.
Ewan said that the ‘Market in the Garden’, occurring on a Saturday, meant that she could also no longer attend, due to resource availability and markets overlapping.
“A lot of people who were working [on] Dorp Street […] that was their main income,” said Ewan. “It was bringing in tourism.”