Market could lose 100 stalls due to Google parking

There has been a surge in the popularity of North Weald Market in recent years

As many as 100 stalls at a weekly market could be lost to make way for a new Google data centre, a council said.

North Weald Market, based at the North Weald Airfield in Essex, usually hosts 300 stalls selling clothing, homewares and food every Saturday.

Google paid Epping Forest District Council £88.2m for 52 acres (21ha) of land at the former RAF airbase in 2024, and planned to build a car park on some of the market space.

Conservative councillor Holly Whitbread said the authority remained "very much committed" to ensuring the rest of its land benefited residents. However, the council has conceded there will be less space available for the outdoor market and parking for customers.

Instead, it will be converted into parking for Google employees over five years.

Whitbread said: "The airfield is a huge piece of land that the district council owns, and the market is very much part of that airfield.

"But we are also looking for the future with Google providing more technology."

She described North Weald Market as "one of the most popular markets in the whole of the UK".

North Weald Airfield was a key RAF base during the Battle of Britain in 1940

People to have sold at the weekly event include former Apprentice personality Thomas Skinner.

The council estimated 10% of parking capacity would be lost, but it did not expect visitor numbers to drop or traffic to worsen.

It did not explicitly say 100 stalls would be axed, but said there would be a reduction of about 31% from the 300 capacity.

Gary Saunders, whose company Saunders Markets runs the site, said: "The market will be broadly the same size."

He said the Google deal had given traders more security about the future of the market, which he claimed was known "nationwide".

"[It] is really going to have a home now," Mr Saunders added.

"I actually feel like our traders are more secure prior to the unknown period."