About Us

The Community Interest Company (CIC)

In the autumn of 2021, a group of town, district, and county councillors pledged to work together to reinvigorate Fleet’s Saturday Market. Underinvestment in the infrastructure and marketing, coupled with the Covid pandemic had reduced the market to a few stalls. We felt that a town like ours deserves a vibrant, busy Saturday market that works for everyone – existing stallholders, small businesses, and of course local residents.

When it came to getting the new market up and running, we had a few rules that we all agreed to abide by. There was to be no politics involved, no point-scoring, and any profit had to go back into the community. The best way to make sure that everything we do is for the good of the town was to create a Community Interest Company, a special type of organisation that exists to benefit a community, not shareholders, ensuring every penny we make is reinvested back into the local area. That means our overriding aim is to maximise the value of the market to the town, not the amount of profit it makes.

Jo Hogan

I moved to Fleet in 2008 as we fell in love with Fleet and all the lovely green spaces we are so lucky to have! I am married with two children who both attend fantastic local schools. Since moving to Fleet I have always worked for local businesses and I love the community feel we have here which is quite different to where we lived before. When I am not at work I do spend a large amount of time in the gym lifting really heavy weights which is my passion!

FUN FACT! In early 2022, I competed in my first strongman competition and placed first in my category!

Robbie Richmond

I moved to Fleet about 5 years ago and joined Fleet Town Council as a Councillor in 2020, hoping to be able to contribute positively to the area we live in. The Saturday Market provided a great opportunity to give something back to the local community, and to support the town centre and market traders after what has been a very difficult few years. I’m married to Kirsty, have 4 grown up kids and am the owner of The Spice Merchant in Crookham Village and Chimera VR on the High St.

FUN FACT! Poker is a big hobby of mine, and in 2016 I finished 2nd in the largest poker tournament in the world outside of Las Vegas!

Mark Butcher

I’ve been a Fleet resident since birth (don’t judge me) and was lucky enough to be elected as Hart District Councillor for Fleet Central in 2021, with a plan to try and give something back to the community that I’d been lucky enough to grow up in. We have some great independent retailers in our High Street and I want to do whatever I can to help support them. As well as being a councillor, I’m married with two grown up children also run a small local IT company focused on the world of digital sustainability.

FUN FACT! In a strange insult to my surname, I’m actually an exceptionally keen baker and will bore senseless anyone who’ll listen about sour dough baking!

Ben Willcocks

I've lived in Fleet for 20 years. My wife Esther is a local teacher and our two children both attend Fleet Schools. I am a Civil Servant, a youth football coach, a moderator of the ‘Fleet Parents’ Facebook group, and a member of Fleet Town Council.

FUN FACT! In my younger years, I was quite the amateur actor, appearing in a handful of low-budget films, and playing Hamlet on stage at the age of 18.

Tyler Harman

I'm the owner of 217 Menswear in Fleet and have 12 years’ specialist retail experience working for independent retailers and has a thorough understanding of the issues they face. I was a member of the Fleet Business Forum and is a member of both the Improving the Experience, Money Saving and Marketing working groups, and am the current Chair of the Fleet Business Improvement District.

FUN FACT! I love my anonymity, so the picture to the left is actually not really me :) I am also really slow at responding to requests for fun facts!