Harvest market.
Plans for a food feast at the Maitland Showground have progressed, if a little slower than first thought.
Just don’t call it a farmers’ market.
“This is not a farmers’ market and doesn’t purport to be,” proponent Catherine Blanch said.
“We’ll be including on-sellers and processors, which will limit our ability to get some farmers, but at the end of the day we want to support the fresh food industry as a whole.”
The traffic management plan – the final hurdle – is before Roads and Maritime Services after a small delay and barring any issues the “harvest markets” are expected to be operational by October.
“October is still spring,” Mrs Blanch said.
“It’s just taken a little longer but council has been very supportive.”
With plans for about 100 stalls on private grounds the market is subject to council approval via a development application.
Part of this ensures traffic is managed correctly, necessitating the RMS report.
Mrs Blanch said other components were already falling into place, including rides for children, “more than enough” stall holders and a catering firm for food service.
“We needed to make sure all the boxes were ticked and that the traffic management wasn’t going to be detrimental on surrounding residents,” she said.