An all-year-round car boot sale is to be launched at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium on Sunday (August 21).
The car boot sale, run by experienced operator National Car Boot Sales, will be held on the top car park off St Andrew’s Road.
The car boot sale will be held every Sunday morning unless there’s a Huddersfield Town or Huddersfield Giants game or another major event at the stadium. As an opening offer sellers will pay just £5 per vehicle.
The car boot will be Huddersfield’s first privately-operated car boot sale after Kirklees Council granted a licence.
Jerome O’Malley, of National Car Boot Sales, said local authorities had the exclusive rights to operate markets and generally refused permission to regular, commercially-run car boots.
“This is the first private licence in Huddersfield and I have been trying for 20 years,” said Jerome. “Kirklees had said no for many years and were still saying ‘no’ last year and six months ago.
“However, there has been a recent change in market management and they have said ‘yes’ and I would like to thank the council for their support and also the stadium for giving us a cracking deal.
“It’s a fantastic site and this is the only regular car boot around Huddersfield, Brighouse and Halifax. The only other one in Kirklees is at Dewsbury Rams.”
Jerome, who operates around 10 other car boots including big ones at Leeds-Bradford Airport and Wetherby Racecourse, said he had waited until Huddersfield’s only other regular car boot sale – at Grange Moor – had finished for the season.
“Grange Moor held its final car boot of the year last weekend and they are a charity and we didn’t want to take anything away from them.”
Jerome, who has run car boot sales for 30 years after working on markets with his parents, said his company did everything the right way.
“Some of our traders travel 100 miles to come to our sites,” said Jerome. “They make money so they are prepared to travel.”
Jerome said car boot sales had changed since the pandemic and there were now more people buying and selling to make extra money to supplement their income.
“I can go back 30 or 40 years doing the markets and car boot sales are now the new kind of market,” he said. “People are now trading five or six days a week and earn a living at it.”
Sellers arrive at 7am with buyers from 8am, and all the car parks around the stadium are available for buyers. The toilets inside the South Stand are also available. The car boot is also dog friendly. The car boot closes at 1pm.
For more information search Huddersfield Car Boot Sale on Facebook or go to www.nationalcarbootsales.co.uk