Ford market plans rejected

Sue Abbott, the joint owner of the former airfield site of the popular weekly attraction, had her proposal unanimously refused because of four reasons.

The councillors said the cover was unsuitable for the rural area, it was excessively large, it would lead to an intensive use of the location and no proof had been given that nearby retail centres would be unaffected by making the market more attractive.

But Mrs Abbott's son, Graham Abbott, said: "There is a good chance we will be appealing against that decision.

"One of the arguments was that we could use the structure to turn the site into a supermarket. We have been running the market for over 20 years.

"We are not going to throw that away by turning it into a supermarket. It is a totally illogical site for that."

Mr Abbott was one of two speakers who urged Arun District Council's members to support plans for the structure to provide all-weather trading conditions for the market's traders.

He told the development control committee the site was unlike the usual rural locations the council's countryside policies were intended to protect from unwanted buildings.

"This site has no environmental benefit. It's not the type of site this policy was meant to cover, like the South Downs and the Climping Gap.

"I urge the council to support the 82 small businesses that make up the market and employ about 165 people with another 20 people employed by the market operators directly," he said.

The proposed structure was small compared to buildings, such as the wastewater treatment works and recycling centre, which surrounded the market site.

He said it was the minimum size needed to accommodate the lorries which supplied the stalls.

Baker Colin Shepherd has been a regular at the market for about four years. He said the cover was essential to keep the market thriving in the winter.

"The roof over Ford Market will not only make it an all-weather market for the 5,000-7,000 people who attend the market on a weekly basis. It will secure the living of 90 market traders over the winter months," he said.

The southern runway of the former airfield have been used as a market since 1991. It is held between 9am and 3pm on Sundays. Car boot sales from 7.30am until 2am on Thursdays and Saturdays followed in 1997.

But they have taken place in the open air. Mrs Abbott applied to put up the weatherproof structure (39m wide x 180m long x 11m high) to enable the activities to take place regardless of conditions.

Council head of development control Nikolas Antoniou told councillors the application was unsuitable.

"There are too many unanswered questions," he said. "When you look at the size of the building, and the possible uses of the building, neither falls within any of our policies."

Committee chairman Dawn Hall said: "If you cover a market in, it ceases to become a market. The fun of a market is to go out there and freeze or enjoy the sunshine."