Brixton Village/Granville Arcade indoor market, Brixton

[matt m]

Sort of. From what I saw, the vintage frock shops and gallery/arts/theatre/poetry spaces were patronised almost exclusively by white, middle-class people.

But there's not very many of those left really. The shop units that seem to be here to stay are mainly food places. And those cafe and restaurant spaces seem to have a fair old mix of customers. I don't think there are any limits to Brixton's appetite for eating.

Yes, overall, it's not unfair to say that the tendency of the new shop units is towards the goods and wants and tastes and livestyles associated with the metropolitan middle class, as typified by the weekend Guardian and Observer supplements.

But at least the new units rub shoulders with the already-existing butchers and fishmongers and clothes stalls. You can't say that about Spitalfields market or Portobello. And some of the new units are occupied by some of the cheap trainer and boot stalls you'd find in the other market arcades.

And also, well, I don't think anyone in spacemakers would say they were saving the world, or curing cancer, y'know?

If, say, the spacemakers project had resulted in an identikit extension of the existing market, we'd probably all be complaining about that instead.

 

[miss minnie]

And also, well, I don't think anyone in spacemakers would say they were saving the world, or curing cancer, y'know?

No? What do you mean?

 

[Orang Utan]

Sort of. From what I saw, the vintage frock shops and gallery/arts/theatre/poetry spaces were patronised almost exclusively by white, middle-class people.

But there's not very many of those left really. The shop units that seem to be here to stay are mainly food places. And those cafe and restaurant spaces seem to have a fair old mix of customers. I don't think there are any limits to Brixton's appetite for eating.

Yes, overall, it's not unfair to say that the tendency of the new shop units is towards the goods and wants and tastes and livestyles associated with the metropolitan middle class, as typified by the weekend Guardian and Observer supplements.

But at least the new units rub shoulders with the already-existing butchers and fishmongers and clothes stalls. You can't say that about Spitalfields market or Portobello. And some of the new units are occupied by some of the cheap trainer and boot stalls you'd find in the other market arcades.

And also, well, I don't think anyone in spacemakers would say they were saving the world, or curing cancer, y'know?

If, say, the spacemakers project had resulted in an identikit extension of the existing market, we'd probably all be complaining about that instead.

yes, i'm glad there's more food places for sure!

 

[Orang Utan]

No? What do you mean?

the communist shop might disagree!

 

[Ms T]

it's nice to see the space being used, but hasn't it become a bit of a white middle class ghetto? it looks like some kind of apartheid is at work.

My favourite new shop (Circus) is part run by a black woman, as is the sweet shop. The Federation Coffee clientele is very mixed

 

[matt m]

No? What do you mean?

I just mean that it's a project to make use of under-used spaces that would otherwise be going to waste. So I think you have to be quite sanguine about the fact that when that under-used space happens to be a market, you end up with, essentially, a market, not a whole new Brixton with all its race and class demographics beautifully aligned.

 

[netbob]

From the LAP annual report.

At our markets in Brixton, South London, we have focused over the last year on improving occupancy and increasing the footfall across both of the markets that we own there. This has been particularly the case with those units in Brixton Village, one of the two markets, that have historically been hard to let away from the main pedestrian flows. We have enjoyed some success through the introduction
of flexible leases for an initial 3 month trial period. These have only been available for retailers who we believe will add substantially to the quality of the tenant mix.

The result of this initiative is that Market Row, the more successful of the markets, remains effectively fully let while Brixton Village now has 90% occupancy for the first time. Of the 17 tenants that commenced trading on flexible leases, 10 have now converted to full leases at a market rent. As a result the rental income for these two properties has increased by 9.4% over the last 12 months.

My reading of this is they hired Spacemakers specifically to move the market up-market. That would also explain the rumours of rent increases for some of the existing tenants.

 

[matt m]

I think you're probably right.

But it's not a clear-cut situation.

London & Associated Properties wanted to sell the market. So it would make sense that they would have been trying to make it more upmarket (no pun intended) to try to get the best price on a sale. Those 'flexible leases' could be seen as simply a cynical way of inflating the market's kudos, irrespective of whether or not a shop unit lasts longer than 3 weeks.

Then it won listed status, which means suddenly it's not really of interest to any developers that LAP would've been hoping to sell it to. So I imagine LAP will be hanging onto it for a lot longer.

It'd make sense if LAP would be, therefore, hoping to maximise their returns by getting as much rent as they could out of their tenants, seeing as they're stuck with the market for the foreseeable future.

While that's not nice, it's capitalism and not unusual among landlords: charging whatever rent they can get away with charging.

"Flexible leases" aside (which I think have finished now anyway), I'd be surprised if they were hoiking up rents for units they considered 'downmarket' but not doing so for ones they considered 'upmarket'. Someone better informed than me could tell me whether or not that would be illegal (I suspect so).

But quite apart from anything, pizza stalls, cakes and frock shops are just as financially vulnerable as fishmongers or butchers. Witness how many places from those new units haven't actually lasted. If anything, those 'downmarket' units have stood the test of time, unlike many of the new units, and LAP aren't fools: it wouldn't be in their interest to price them out of the market (!) on the untested gamble of newer chi-chi places. Surely?

 

[innit]

It depends whether you read the sentence as turning on "quality" or on "tenant mix", I guess. They've certainly increased / improved the diversity of tenants compared to last autumn, even if the initial spacemakers bunch were heavily weighted towards vintage places. OTOH if you read it as being about "quality" then that does sound as though they wanted to take things in a more upmarket direction.

Either way they have increased the number and diversity of customers walking through the market - I now have friends buying veg in there who'd never been in until a few months ago.

The old tenants don't seem unhappy about the changes at all.

 

[miss minnie]

A bit of a Japanese event there yesterday with a kimono-clad lady performing tea-ceremonies for customers next to Cornercopia all afternoon.

Was nice to see the 'geisha' still in costume as she queued for a latte from Federation Coffee afterwards.

 

[Greenfish]

everywhere in south london that starts up these days looks vulnerable. i am so used to seeing shops fizzle out instead of prosper; not their own fault, just the times.

i always find it very, very sad to see a small local business fail

 

[Ms T]

Apparently Brixton Village is going to be in the New York Times travel section in July. A lady who works for the NYT was staying with friends in the area and loved it so much she's going to write about it.

Does that mean we'll get American tourists in Brixton?

 

[Winot]

Wasn't there a woman that used to do tours of the Market a few years back?

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Yes, she posted here for a while...can't remember her name though.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Can't find that poster, but here's a thread from 5 years ago...

www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=120691

 

[miss minnie]

Japanese girls in kimonos on stilts dancing to a rockabilly band. This was the entertainment at the Granville Arcade this evening. Food was pretty good, not the best I've had but the sideshow made up for it.

Pix here

 

[editor]

The protests have started about the proposed mahoosive rent hikes. What the fuck are the owners thinking? The market's only just getting going and now they're trying to price locals out.

 

[netbob]

The protests have started about the proposed mahoosive rent hikes. What the fuck are the owners thinking? The market's only just getting going and now they're trying to price locals out.

Once the owner's plans for the flats/private park were scuppered, something made permanent by the subsequent listing, and they were left with one way of making it pay for them - work out how to the maximise rents.

The quote from the annual report suggests that they saw hiring Spacemakers as a successful way of going upmarket and raising rents (assuming I'm reading that part correctly, I agree it's open to various interpretations) and the profile of the market.

Personally I think Spacemakers (totally aside from the businesses they helped bring in) have some questions to answer. Directly complicit or just nieve (I've heard different things from different people) they have helped create a situation where LAP are able to consider a sweep-out of long-term tenants in both markets.

I'm really hoping all the tenants (old and new) manage to stick together over this and Spacemakers support them all.

 

[editor]

Even if they did successfully evict the current tenants, what high end businesses would went to move into a space that is still massively under-performing? At the moment, it's only the wacky student stuff and the quirky shops (and excellent coffee shop) that are driving new traffic into the place.

If they tried to shove in some of the rumoured expensive Borough Market-style chi-chi businesses, I imagine it would simply head back into a slow decline as such shops would never create much footfall, given the location.

 

[Ms T]

Agreed. Most of the businesses, old and new, are likely to be priced out.

 

[editor]

Coming soon in Brixton Village:

Straight outta Clapham: Breads Etcetera patisserie/bakery/cafe

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2:1522/breads-etcetera

Also: Federation Coffee is moving a few units down to new one twice the size of the original.

 

[Orang Utan]

tis a whitewash, though a pleasant-tasting one

 

[tarannau]

I'd like to say this was a surprise, but I've been cynical about the effect of Spacemakers and the likely actions of the landlords for some time.

 

[miss minnie]

I had my bets on Borough Market traders moving in given what is happening at their site and their little expansion into Clapham.

After all, we desperately need a Monmouth Coffee House given the utter lack of caffeine availabe in the area!

 

[editor]

tis a whitewash, though a pleasant-tasting one

I'm unlikely to be shifting my allegiance from the lovely bread available from the Atlantic Rd deli unless their bread is reasonably priced and spectacular.

 

[miss minnie]

Iirc, compared to the FM bakers... better than Old PO Bakery, cheaper than Born and Bred but not as good as Luca imo.

The thing people rave about are their baked beans apparently. So friends tell me at least, I've not tried them.

Have had a couple of nice meals in there, not spectacular though. The 'unlimited bread basket for making toast at your table' idea is quite good value.

 

[nat1]

Does anyone else find it very annoying that it seems for half of the week that cornercopia and bellantonio's is closed?? It's totally hit and miss. Please, particularly cornercopia, your food is so tasty and popular, be open every day! Or at least be consistent...

 

[nagapie]

I've had that a few times as well. Cornercopia told me they were thinking of not opening on a Friday. I think they get really busy on a Thursday night and can't be arsed with Friday, which is apparently not that busy. They're also not open Monday and maybe Tuesday? They're also only open between 12 and 2 a lot of the time. And the market is closed Sundays. So getting to eat lunch there is trickier than you'd imagine. As a local I go and look but if I was coming from further afield, it might not work.

 

[Ms T]

I've had that a few times as well. Cornercopia told me they were thinking of not opening on a Friday. I think they get really busy on a Thursday night and can't be arsed with Friday, which is apparently not that busy. They're also not open Monday and maybe Tuesday? They're also only open between 12 and 2 a lot of the time. And the market is closed Sundays. So getting to eat lunch there is trickier than you'd imagine. As a local I go and look but if I was coming from further afield, it might not work.

A lot of small places that are open on Saturday don't open on Monday, tbf.

 

[nagapie]

A lot of small places that are open on Saturday don't open on Monday, tbf.

I didn't mean it as a criticism. I wouldn't open Monday if I was them and can see why lots of those market traders wouldn't want Sunday openings either, family day innit. I'm not particularly bothered by their laid back attitude, I quite like it, but it does make organising to go there a bit hit and miss.

I'm back at work now anyway so it's unlikely I'll ever get to sample their delicious food again as Friday's the only day I can make it down.