Grocery stall 'could close' due to planning row

A woman who started a business running a fruit and veg stall says she has been told by the local council to cease trading due to planning permission problems.

Olga Malolepsza, from Peterborough, said she paid Fenland District Council more than £500 for a 12-month contract for a pitch on Broad Street, in March, Cambridgeshire, but is now facing closure.

Malolepsza said the council told her from the start that planning permission would be needed if she wanted to set up a permanent stall structure, so she decided to use gazebos and tables, which are put up and taken down on trading days.

The local authority has been contacted for comment.

Malolepsza, originally from Poland, came to the UK in 2009 and lives in Woodston.

She said that while visiting friends in March, she felt there was a lack of provision for fruit and vegetables and decided to start a business.

"There is no dedicated fruit and vegetable shop in March, so I thought I'd change that," she said.

Malolepsza opened her stall in mid-March this year, and said she was "knocked out" by the response from locals.

"I love the community... I have made so many friends," she added.

March Market, which operates over the river on the Market Place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, does include a fruit and veg trader, according to the council website.

Malolepsza said that when she was making the application to start the stall, she wanted a fixed structure, but was told by the council that it would require planning permission.

"I decided to use two gazebos and sturdy tables to run the stall, as it could be set up and taken down each night," she said.

Malolepsza said business was booming, but she received an email from a council planning officer telling her to cease trading immediately until planning permission was sought, the cost of which is more than £600 and could take a number of weeks to process.

"If I have to shut the stall, I will lose all of my fresh stock. I sell exotic fruits too; I would lose around £5,000 straight away — it would put me out of business," she said.

Michael Smalley, who lives in March, said the new stall served the community well and promoted healthy eating.

"It gives locals different options for unusual fruits and veg that they can't get elsewhere here," he said.

Smalley said he cannot understand why there was an issue for the district council.

"They don't trade when the traditional market place stalls are up on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and they pack up and leave it all tidy when they go," he added.

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