Developer gets funding to support market traders (From Haringey Independent)

Is this a joke?! Grainger, a private developer, given even more public money on top of the millions already handed over!? What about traders outside the market? What assistance will Grainger give them? Clearly none.

This article is misleading about what Grainger will actually offer local traders. It conveniently hides the fact that the market will shatter if it has to move away for three years. And when it does supposedly come back, the existing traders will have to pay (according to Grainger's own estimate) 3 times as much for their retail space. So yes, they will be offered the opportunity to return - but no, they won't be able to afford it. And £144,300 might sound like a lot (the article makes it sound like everyone will get this individually) - but it's not much after you've divided that up between all the traders in the market building itself and on all the shops on West Green Road.

Still, this is a minor victory for the Wards Corner campaign, the people trying to save the market building and local traders, because it's a clear acknowledgement that not enough support was offered to traders in the plan that was passed. It's only by kicking up a fuss that this has happened. So well done Wards Corner, and keep up the good work!

The extra money is a joke as the developer is worth a couple of billion pounds. If it really cared about local people and local jobs it could pay the money from their petty cash tin. This grant along with all the millions of public money is just offensive at a time when teachers are being laid off due to funding cuts.

The Latino and Afro Caribbean shops and community market currently on the site will never survive the move to the ugly new development. As the market site only works as it has both retail and social space so acts as community social hub as well as retail space. This has increased the local and visitor footfall which has lead to many other Latino shops springing up in Seven Sisters Road and the High Road. Any loss of Wards Corner endangers other units through loss of foot flow.

Many traders on the site have numerous jobs and many jobs are interdependent on a complex retail chain by which the site has developed. For example one baker has several jobs, a couple in the market, another in a local cafe and another some distance away. Yet his job depends on the shops surrounding the market being able to supply on a flexible basis bulk cheap specialist ethnic food ingredients and store them for him and deal on credit. He also shares a local delivery van driver with other nearby shops on the High Road which lowers their costs. He also uses a local accountant. Good for everyone local and good for local jobs. Another cafe might run on small margins so will use the surrounding shops to stock, store and order in specialist food and drink. The site as a whole is too complicated to just dig up and move like it was an empty shipping container.

The developer is just treating the people as if they were a commodity to be bought and sold and this whole site plan is so badly conceived and the loss of hundreds local jobs in a recession will be catastrophic. You can not destroy over 70 businesses and call that positive. What we need for regeneration is a quality sympathetic plan that reflects a changing multicultural Tottenham.

Just wanting something to happen is not good enough for local people any more, we expect and deserve a higher standard of respect. We all want a plan which comes from listening to local voices and their needs. In short keep all the good parts of the site not throw the people and business away and pretend you care.

The extra money is a joke as the developer is worth a couple of billion pounds. If it really cared about local people and local jobs it could pay the money from their petty cash tin. This grant along with all the millions of public money is just offensive at a time when teachers are being laid off due to funding cuts.

The Latino and Afro Caribbean shops and community market currently on the site will never survive the move to the ugly new development. As the market site only works as it has both retail and social space so acts as community social hub as well as retail space. This has increased the local and visitor footfall which has lead to many other Latino shops springing up in Seven Sisters Road and the High Road. Any loss of Wards Corner endangers other units through loss of foot flow.

Many traders on the site have numerous jobs and many jobs are interdependent on a complex retail chain by which the site has developed. For example one baker has several jobs, a couple in the market, another in a local cafe and another some distance away. Yet his job depends on the shops surrounding the market being able to supply on a flexible basis bulk cheap specialist ethnic food ingredients and store them for him and deal on credit. He also shares a local delivery van driver with other nearby shops on the High Road which lowers their costs. He also uses a local accountant. Good for everyone local and good for local jobs. Another cafe might run on small margins so will use the surrounding shops to stock, store and order in specialist food and drink. The site as a whole is too complicated to just dig up and move like it was an empty shipping container.

The developer is just treating the people as if they were a commodity to be bought and sold and this whole site plan is so badly conceived and the loss of hundreds local jobs in a recession will be catastrophic. You can not destroy over 70 businesses and call that positive. What we need for regeneration is a quality sympathetic plan that reflects a changing multicultural Tottenham.

Just wanting something to happen is not good enough for local people any more, we expect and deserve a higher standard of respect. We all want a plan which comes from listening to local voices and their needs. In short keep all the good parts of the site not throw the people and business away and pretend you care.