Collinsvale Market wraps up after dispute between organiser and Glenorchy Council

The organiser of an ‘iconic’ market in Southern Tasmania speaks out on her decision to pull the pin — saying the council forced her hand.

Sharon Warwarek, Marie Thompson, Linda Ballard, Janine Mitchell and Nicole Watt are all involved with the Collinsvale Market and unhappy the market is ending. The Collinsvale Market will come to an end due to increased costs to hold the market. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

An “iconic” market will have its last hurrah on Sunday after a dispute with the local council prompted the organiser to end it for good.

The Collinsvale Market takes place once a month at the local community hall but the woman behind the event, Janine Mitchell, has made the difficult decision to finish up.

She has accused the Glenorchy City Council of being hard to deal with and of having “no community spirit”.

“The market has become iconic, because I’ve had farm animals there with the highland cows, the miniature cows, we’ve had miniature goats, llamas, the whole thing. It’s something that has just worked,” Ms Mitchell said.

“We hire the hall each month because it’s indoors and outdoors. And for the last four years, we’ve paid for one hour to go in and set up on the Saturday night so I can get the hall preset because there’s just me and I can’t do everything on the day.”

Janine Mitchell organiser of the Collinsvale Market. The Collinsvale Market will come to an end due to increased costs to hold the market. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Ms Mitchell claimed the council had recently required her to pay to use the hall for a full day on the Saturday, telling her she was “stopping someone from booking” the hall by reserving it for just an hour.

“And so that becomes a $200 fee instead of a $19 fee,” she said.

“At the moment, I owe [the council] over $600. [On Sunday] it’ll be even more. Instead of paying basically $100 a month, I’m now having to pay $400 a month.”

But a Glenorchy City Council spokesman said there had been “no change to any of [the market’s] fees or conditions” and the decision to end the event was solely that of the organiser.

“The fees that are charged for the hire of ratepayer-owned facilities remain exactly the same as would apply to any person or organisation seeking to use these facilities and are available on the council’s website,” the spokesman said.

“Should another person or organisation wish to hold a market at Collinsvale, they will be able to do so under the same fees and conditions that apply to the current market.”

Ms Mitchell said the market was never a “money-making venture” and was intended to enliven the Collinsvale community.

“Their local shop had closed down, they had no meeting place, there was nowhere for them to socialise. So the market introduced an event they could look forward to every month,” she said.

Originally published as Collinsvale Market wraps up after dispute between organiser and Glenorchy Council