A market trader who has gone viral for his stacked jacket potatoes has spoken of his relief after a council boss reportedly apologised to him as the social media star battles to keep the pitch he’s held for more than 22 years.
Ben Newman, 39, known on TikTok as Spudman, has been serving up piping hot potatoes overflowing with toppings from his trailer in Tamworth, Staffordshire since he was 18-years-old.
But his livelihood has came under threat due to Tamworth Borough Council’s plans to replace his trailer with a flower bed to brighten up the town centre.
Mr Newman, who has more than four million followers on the social media platform, had threatened to leave Tamworth market after 22 years with a petition fast approaching 100,000 to keep the business at his current pitch.
In his latest TikTok, Mr Newman provided an update on his productive meeting with Tamworth council’s chief executive calling him a “very nice bloke”.
He told his four million followers: “First thing they did was apologise that we have got into this position.
“They apologised for the no communication. There has been sod all. They started off at the right foot.
“Firstly, they cannot force us out of our old contracts. They didn’t lose them, they just haven’t looked for them. They are going to the council offices, dig through some boxes and find our contracts. So we are safe.
“That’s a relief on my front. That makes me want to stay in Tamworth that makes me happy.”
On the flowerbed, he added: “They couldn’t promise me anything there and then but they are going to go away and talk to the engineers, site designers and builders and see what they can do. We will see what comes of that.
“Our petition is up to 95,000 signatures so hopefully they are going to go ‘hold on a second the people of Tamworth and from around the world don’t really want this flower bed.’
“The reason for having this flowerbed is drainage. But my pitch hasn’t flooded in 23 years so why would they need drainage on top of the hill - I don’t know.”
He added that he would have to apply for planning permission for a permanent shipping container on the site which he feels will help future-proof his business.
He said: “I have to go through the planning implications despite the previous council promising it for me. That wasn’t quite right.
“But they will help me with planning applications. I’m not a bright spark, the forms scare me but they have promised to help me.
“The chief executive is a nice guy and he couldn’t be more apologetic that it got to this position. Let’s hope they come to the right decision on it.”
Mr Newman sells £5 hot potatoes with speciality BBQ Pulled Pork priced at £8 five days a week, bar Wednesday and Sunday, in the shadow of St Editha's Church, which is closed whilst undergoing a costly development.
He had previously spoken of supporting his nine children with the stall which has attracted international attention and lengthy queues.
“It's my livelihood. It's what feeds my children, keeps a roof over their head and stuff like that”, he said.
“But it seems I have lost my pitch to a flowerbed they want to install in my place. I feel destroyed by this but I will fight it.
“I spend more time there than I do at home. It's my spot. My dad was a potato merchant who used to supply the stall holder here before me.”
“I can't imagine it's going to be the most famous flowerbed if they do build it. I don't think it would be very popular,” he said before joking: “Maybe we would plant potatoes in it?”
Stephen Gabriel, Chief Executive for Tamworth Borough Council, told The Independent they had met this morning to discuss Spudman’s future in the town.
He said: "Our discussion was positive and constructive, and we are currently looking into any previous contractual arrangements, we will continue to keep these discussions open.
"We acknowledge that we could have communicated better with our street traders, and for this we apologised. We are committed to improving our engagement in the future, particularly our efforts to make St Editha’s Square a welcoming public space.
"We are eager to collaborate with all traders and businesses and will be reaching out more in the upcoming weeks.”
