Despite trialling the venue in various formats throughout 2013, they have concluded that "it does not lend itself sufficiently for the needs of an antiques fair".
"Logistically the site did not meet requirements for our events," said Keith Harris, director of IACF. "Parking in particular was a real issue, with buyers being unable to park nearby. We carefully researched the disappointing visitor figures received throughout the year, and decided that while the site did offer a reasonable amount of undercover space, there was no real capacity for the event to grow beyond a few hundred stallholders."
IACF said they had been approached to trial the venue by the Stoneleigh management team, having hosted a fair there some years before in more buoyant times. "Unfortunately, it didn't work before and it's not worked again," Mr Harris said.
IACF added that "a change of management team at the venue also brought a considerable increase in venue hire charges". Mr Harris said: "The new charges at Stoneleigh would have meant an increase in costs for our customers - in these already difficult times this is not something we are prepared to do."
