A community group battling to save an historical market in East London has blasted the council for not engaging with them in talks over its future and fear some shops and stalls will be wiped out under regeneration plans. Newham Council is planning to regenerate Queen's Market in Upton Park and is looking at two key options that would involve "retaining and modernising" the market and the buildings around it.
The first option could see a new health centre, library and community centre built but this would be within the "confines" of current buildings including the market and Hamara Ghar, which provides sheltered housing for Newham's elderly and vulnerable residents. The second option could also see a new health centre, library and community centre but this would be built on "surrounding land" while new homes could be built above the market and aim to address the council's housing shortage.
However, Friends of Queen's Market, which is made up of local shoppers and traders, argue both plans will see the demolition of the market "in some form", and fear it will become "a privatised real estate site" that could be "sold off to already wealthy developers". During a full council meeting on Monday evening (October 16), Pauline Rowe from Friends of Queen's Market said the group wanted to be reassured that "every shop and stall will stay" under the two options.
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Ms Rowe, a lifelong shopper of the market said: "Option 1 puts a health centre on the site, [measuring at] 3,000sq m, if it's on the market side this would cut a massive chunk out of the market which is only just over 10,000sq m of shops and stalls. There's no housing proposed under option 1 so how it would be paid for without Section 106 we don't know unless the proposals are for a private health centre so this concerns us."
On Option 2, Ms Rowe was worried that only some of the new housing would be for social rent and for those on lower incomes and referred to the redevelopment of West Ham football club's former Boleyn Ground; which controversially resulted in only a fraction of "affordable" homes built.
She said: "Option 2 puts apartments on the site, we know there's 30,000 [people] on the housing list but social rent homes are all that people can afford. We know from the research department from Shelter and what happened at the Boleyn Ground that only 4 per cent to 6 per cent of any development [were earmarked] for social rent - probably less."
Meanwhile Saif Osmani, who helped set up Friends of Queen's Market 20 years ago, said the council's consultation website was "very confusing" for local people. Mr Osmani said: "The council's Co-create website is very confusing and is not designed for local people to give their views. Improving engagement by listening to people would be a true innovation."
He went on to say: "Why should ordinary Newham residents engage with you when you show you don't care for our needs? We do not envision Queen's Market as a privatised real estate site to be sold off to already wealthy developers. This is a traditional covered London street market where families can feed and clothe their [relatives]."
Labour councillor, Lewis Godfrey whose ward Green Street West includes the market thanked the group for their presentation and acknowledged that there "seems to be a serious problem" with the relationship between the council and the community group.
Cllr Godfrey said: "I guess my question to you guys is there seems to be a serious problem with the relationship between the council and Friends of Queen's Market, what steps can we take as individuals to rebuild that relationship so that we can properly hear you and properly understand where you're coming from?"
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A trader responded and said: "We've been there trying to put our case towards the council, we've been asking the council to interact with us. All we're asking you to do is involve us in the consultation process, once you do that we will give you a truer picture of what's going on out there and what's going on in the market."
He added: "You need to go and use the market, it's a very, very important and very vital asset - a public asset - and that's what we want to keep it as, a public asset." Last month the group handed in a petition to Newham Council which had been backed by more than 6,000 people. The council is expected to make a decision on its preferred option for the market in early 2024.
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