The Metropolis

Market Crash: London’s historic markets under threat

Hazelann Williams | Saturday 3 July, 2010 15:01

Street markets have been an integral part of London’s history, shaping the communities and local economies around them. Some of the city’s markets have been trading for centuries, and even from Roman times, but now many of the traditional ones are in decline or in serious threat of disappearing altogether.

There are many factors that have contributed to the instability of London’s street trade. Rises in rent and rates, the recession and competition from supermarkets have all contributed to the deterioration of the capital’s established market places.
And how can conventional markets compare? Since the recession people are unwilling to spend their spare cash on what has recently become a luxury item, clothing. Richard Miller has worked on his clothes stall for 27 years; but he can no longer afford to employ another member of staff and lately describes breaking even as a good day:

“I used to be able to work for an hour and make a profit, but this year I haven’t broken even once and without fail the council have put up the rent.”

This is a similar story with most traders, in economic hardship, people are assessing their basic needs and clothes, by tradition a necessity, have become a luxury good that many people would rather not buy from the market.
Many stalls in the markets simply cannot compete with the throw away culture, symbolised by stores such as Primark, where shoppers can buy a complete outfit for under £8.

Rates set by local councils and management associations have inflicted a fair amount of damage to the average trader. Shepherds Bush Market, which is managed by TFL, have increased their management rates by an average of 27 per cent during 2008-2009. They also charge traders interest on late payments, which has priced many traders out of business.

But even local councils are feeling the effect of the decline, with a significant loss to their income. Revenue from Camden Market, for example, fell from £30.7 million in December 2009 to £3.15 million in March 2010.

Traders are not the only casualty of the potentially dangerous decline in business for street markets; charitable shops are also feeling the pressure.
Donations to the local charity shop on Leather Lane market have also been affected. Manager Dee Waltham explained:
“The quality has gone right down. We used to get good donations but now it’s more Primark and less designer. The frequency of donations hasn’t changed, people are still giving, but now we are getting a lot of things that we can’t sell.

“We’re getting broken things, because people don’t want to pay for disposal, so we end up with rubbish on our door step everyday, sometimes it feels like a dumping ground. Then we have to pay for it to be removed.”

“We rely on the market to bring in customers, I don’t know what we’ll do if it closes.”

Some food and sundries markets are able to sustain a steady amount of customers by selling cheap, specialist foods. Ridley Road market, also known as Dalston market, has a reputation for its affordable fresh produce and ability to cater to the diverse community surrounding it. This summer it will benefit from a million pound regeneration to coincide with the 2012 Olympics. Hackney council will provide 165 larger pitches, as well as a new layout to make the market more attractive to shoppers. There will also be an improvement in waste collection and recycling facilities to help the environment around the market stay clean and green.

But even this market is not without its troubles, Hackney council have prosecuted traders and brought them to trial for selling fresh vegetables in pounds and ounces and not kilos. The traders who pled guilty to the charges were fined £615 in addition to £5700 court costs. Hackney council has also refused continued rental and demanded possession of storage properties for part of the market, leaving many Ridley Road traders without the fundamental provision.

Gary Roberts has been a green grocer at Ridley Road market for over 30 years; he explained how the council’s actions have had detrimental consequences for the traders:
“The council is not listening and it’s not helping the market. There have been over 40 stalls empty at the same time and it just gets worse. We are being driven out of the market”.

There are of course, resilient markets in London. Queen’s Road market in Newham generated £13 million in revenue for the local economy in 2009 and fills all 121 stalls every day. It is so profitable it has a waiting list for traders.

The shift of conventional necessities has seen an unlikely commodity establish its profitability in the market place. Fifteen feet away from a derelict clothing stall in Leather Lane market, a mobile phone vendor is inundated with customers. Since the recession the business in mobile phones and accessories has seen Tony’s profits triple.

“Yeah, business is very good,” he says with an animated smile. And why shouldn’t it be, now mobile phones are almost a requirement for the average person.
“Every one of my customers needs their phone, they can’t do without them, but they still want a bargain, and that’s why they come to the market.”

Tony has only been a mobile phone vendor for three years; he used to sell designer children’s clothes, but could not make a profit.

There is hope for our market places; a vital prospect for improvement is on the horizon. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, made a commitment to look into existing planning policies and find out whether or not they support street market retail outlets. He also commissioned a report, which was carried out by the London Assembly’s Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism committee that reported although London’s markets benefited local communities culturally, socially and economically, many were struggling. The report underlined the critical threat of closure many markets in the capital face and urged immediate action be taken by the mayor to save traders who are at risk in the short term.

In his mayoral statement of intent, Boris Johnson pledged to ‘support street and farmers markets and their development and expansion.’ The mayor has proposed a revision of The London Plan, a strategic policy that will set out specific directions to councils on the importance of street markets for all of London’s boroughs. But the mayor has yet to provide a clear timeline for when the guidance will be finalised or set out a clear strategy for supporting street markets across the capital.
As a result the final version of this plan is not likely to take effect before 2011, which means many markets still remain under threat and it will be far too late for traders like Richard: “We’re a thing of the past, I live day by day, I don’t have any long term plans because the stall might not be around for much longer.”

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