Cardiff's Splott Market could stay open for at least another six months despite previous concerns it would close down in March.
The management behind the popular market had previously announced in January that it would shut on March 31, after more than 40 years of trading, following a directive from Cardiff Council.
The site is set to become the new home of Willows High School, which is moving from its current building in Tremorfa.
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Traders and shoppers, many of whom have frequented the market for decades, said they were "devastated" by the news and believed the closure of the market would be a "real loss" to the community.
But in a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday, February 9, the operator of the market said it would continue trading until the end of September and thereafter would "hopefully" remain open on a three-month rolling lease.
However, Cardiff Council has clarified to WalesOnline that the three-month rolling contract that has been agreed will be between April and September - so it's uncertain whether the market will remain open beyond September.
The management added that Cardiff council was helping them to look for new premises and that the market may trade over weekends at the school site.
Operating as a car boot sale every Thursday and Saturday, and a market proper on Sunday, the market has been a social hub for people young and old from Cardiff and beyond since 1980.
The eventual closure of the market in its current site comes after the termination of another popular car boot sale in the city on Bessemer Road, which ran for 30 years.
In January a spokesman for Cardiff council explained the number of traders at Splott Market had decreased in recent years and many had not returned after the pandemic.
The statement from Splott Market's management announcing the latest update said: "We’ve had a meeting with Councillor Huw Thomas and colleagues from Cardiff City Council about the future of the market.
"It has been agreed that the market will continue trading until the end of September and there on after we will hopefully be on a three-month rolling lease.
"The council are working with us to keep the market open for as long as possible. With the help of the council we are in the process of looking for new premises to continue the market.
"Once the new school has been built there is a possibility the market can be held on the weekends at the school site."
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