End of Changi Village Night Bazaar

FF Fashion

Channel NewsAsia
Sunday, December 20


Changi Village flea market closes due to parking complaints.

SINGAPORE: The Changi Village neighbourhood is famed for its sleepy charm. But the area is undergoing a major shake—up with the closure of its weekly night market.

Fifty stalls have been setting up shop in the area every Saturday night for the past year and a half, peddling all sorts of goods ranging from knick knacks to vintage clothing.

Organisers of the 70s—style night market have said that it provides an additional avenue of income for many stallholders, some of whom come from needy families or are retrenched.

However, the market will cease to exist after December 19 as organisers said they have been plagued by complaints about parking over the weekend.

Residents, on the other hand, gave another reason for the closure. They said several shopkeepers have complained that the night market has snatched their business — a view that is apparently not shared by everyone.

Ng Siew Hong, chairman of Changi Village Hawkers Association, said: "The flea market brings in more customers for us hawkers, and that means more business."

Organisers said some stallholders at the flea market were too upset by the closure to attend the last session.

Mohd Noor Ismail, resident at Changi Village, said: "People come, not only from Pasir Ris, Tampines. They come from, I’ve heard, Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang."

Johan Chin, manager of Simply Living Home & Garden, who operates a stall at the weekend market, said: "All of us work together — all the stallholders know each other. It’s a weekend family."

"Without them, this place is going to be really dead," said Arriola B A, another resident at Changi Village.

Residents and visitors said Changi Village has managed to maintain its own unique charm, but they hope the area will continue to attract crowds, even as the sun sets on the 70s—style flea market