Dear Members of the Public,

Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced by not being able to attend the market on Sunday. Regrettably, we had to make the very difficult decision to cancel the market at short notice, a decision that was made simply because we did not have sufficient stallholders booked to justify running the event. Had we gone ahead with the small number of stalls that did book, you would have been equally disappointed by a market that did not meet your expectations.

We believe that the reason our stallholder numbers have declined to such a great extent is largely due to the fact that the Kumeu A & H Society (who we rent the Showgrounds from) have prohibited us from using any outdoor or grassed areas, which in turn has meant that the market no longer has a "country" feel to it. In addition, the A & H Society has increased our rent – this cost had to be carried over to the stallholders, making the market financially unviable all round.

Unfortunately, the decision to cancel was made very late last week as were trying our best to increase the bookings. At such late notice, we were unable to cancel our advertising in the newspapers, change our website and get all our signage removed in time.

Again, we apologise most sincerely for any disappointment or inconvenience you may have experienced. We are equally disappointed, and very sad to have to permanently close down a market we worked so hard at establishing. The market’s closure is a great loss for the community of Kumeu, the stallholders and small businesses who traded there, and for us as the Organisers. It will be sorely missed!

With thanks and kind regards,

The Organisers Kumeu Country Market