Ian Rinkin, Ballina.
Saturday May 26 was the Final Market Day here in Ballina for the weekly Missingham Park farmers’ fruit and vegetable market stall that was operated up until now by Arthur and Joanne Smith of nearby Brooklet, in Ballina Shire.
They have been successfully operating a weekly market stall on that particular site ‘near the Bridge’ for over 28 years pretty much hail, rain or shine and provided a great variety of seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables – at a reasonable price too – for the Ballina community who were happy being able to buy local produce, grown here in the shire.
The changed situation has come about as a result of the Ballina Shire Council having finally decided at the April council meeting not to renew the Smiths’ fruit and vegetable market stall licence for a further 12 months at that site.
This recent poor decision by our council staff and councillors follows on from the initial February council meeting earlier this year when a petition with over 200 signatures from the Smiths’ many loyal customers who have been purchasing produce from them for years, was presented in support of a further licence renewal being approved by Council in due course.
However, as things have panned out, that was not to be the case.
Surely this ongoing market stall licence issue, can’t be too difficult a task for the Shire’s 10 Councillors including the Mayor, to have put on the agenda – as an item for review at the next Council Meeting later this month on 21/6/18
