Brixtons Bazaar

[Ms T]

Yes, there are; and no, they aren't.

London Associated Properties (owners of Granville Arcade aka Brixton Village) could do a lot more.

But it's a good thing that they're working with Space Makers on the UK's largest empty shops project, and I think we can recognise that!

I agree and they did a good job at getting people down there on Saturday for their food event. It's the rest of the week that's the problem.

 

[Winot]

Even WildCaper in the other bit of the covered market, which has had a fair bit of publicity off the back of Franco Manca, has not been able to survive as a deli and has become a café.

As an aside, I thought it extraordinary that I never heard them publicising Wild Caper to people eating at Franco Manca. All those peeps travelling from all over London (even from Chester last time I was there!) who probably didn't realise there was a deli a few doors down. They could even have given 10% off vouchers to diners with their bill - simple marketing really.

 

[linerider]

With the greatest of respect, do you honestly believe that anyone made a special trip to the area for Brixton Bazaar? Really unlikely imo, especially given that the nearby Farmers Market confirmed that 'all' visitors opting onto their email newsletter came from local postcodes.I'd be interested in seeing anything which disproved this, but the logic does seem against the idea of a handful of stalls pulling in punters from other well established town areas.

Equally - and this is a moot point - the Bazaar is open only briefly at the same times as the main market, so short of an organised shopper on Saturday day alone it's likely to be an either/or decision. As a general point, there's no time when all 3 markets are open in Brixton at the same time, which seemed a lost opportunity - hence the description of them as working against each other to a large extent elsewhere. You can hardly suggest that cakes and cheese aren't already available in the host of other local shops, from delis through to cafes, in the nearby area - it's this balance between bringing in new shoppers and cannibalising existing local spend which is perhaps most the most vital issue.

Yes people made a special trip to our stall.and for me the postcode point is not about where people live but if people would have been shopping in central Brixton on a Sunday.
not sure about your logic about opening times,if we're not open the same time then we cannot be taking any trade from anyone else.

 

[tarannau]

That's not really the point though, is it? You could probably argue that I made a 'special trip' to the Farmers Market last Sunday, although in reality I took a slight detour there and I cannot deny that the things I bought there affected what I spent elsewhere in Brixton both on that day, before and afterwards. For example I didn't buy some stuff from the Saturday market on the expectation that I'd get a sack of onions from the FM and equally Wing tai lost a little custom on spring onions and some shallots. Did their visit to you on Sunday make them hesitate about shopping on Saturday in Brixton, when a far wider range of shops and services are open?

I'm not quite sure why you're trying to deliberately misread my 'logic about opening times' The 3 markets do tend to be open at different times bar a brief window, which does tend to contribute to the 'either/or' decisions hinted at above. But equally there's life beyond the market stalls in the area - the aforementioned cafes and delis - and the issue of cannibalising local spend.

 

[Jonti]

I agree and they did a good job at getting people down there on Saturday for their food event. It's the rest of the week that's the problem.

Very true.

I don't know what the long-term plan is. I hope that it will continue rolling, keeping up the flow of new popups and artists' events to maintain interest for the start-ups. Even if only one or two start-ups per batch make it through to financial stability, a couple or three years would see that part of the Market fully utilised again. Once it's filled with the right mix of shops, it'll likely be able to attract its own custom, even in the week.

I'll try to find out if there's any chance of that kind of rolling programme.

 

[Jonti]

Yes, if the project works to get new permanent businesses operating in Brixton Village, then it seems likely that's what LAP will do, although nothing is set in stone for years ahead, of course. That said, a contract has been signed for about the next three months, so things are rolling.

It's now up to us to make sure the local start-ups succeed. One that's particularly taken my fancy is the new sea food cafe on 6th Avenue. That's a natural fit into Brixton Market, for sure!

I'm hoping they'll add Masala Fish and Chips to the menu

 

[Biddlybee]

Where is 6th Avenue?

 

[Jonti]

Coming in from Coldharbour Lane via the lefthand entrance, it's the first avenue on the right.

 

[Biddlybee]

Oh, didn't realise the arcade had names for each of the bits inside

I've not really explored yet... going to have a look on Monday.

 

[Ms T]

Oh, didn't realise the arcade had names for each of the bits inside

I've not really explored yet... going to have a look on Monday.

Are you workshy on Monday? Would you like to join han and myself in some workshy activity?

 

[Jonti]

Just been chatting to a couple of the traders who were in the Bazaar. The guys who'd been selling banana fritters and vegetable fritters were in the Farmers' Market today (Sunday). And the feller with the dinky coffee van, he's now next to McDonalds, right at the front of the 24-hour shop on Brixton Road.

Bottom line seems to be, the Town Hall is happy for the patch of pavement outside the KFC, used by the Bazaar, to be pitches for street trading. But with the police unhappy even to have a bus shelter on that corner, it's not going to happen. Not until some sanity creeps back into UK drugs policy anyway.

Caroline Coon has some home truths on this issue.
the link is to google cache as the piece is no longer at its original location

 

[timothysutton1]

It would seem that Brixton Bizarre was allowed to operate without a street trading licence...

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/removal_of_brixtons_bazaar_from#comment-8470

...Hopefully this is a healthy sign that Lambeth are trying to encourage free enterprise in the borough.

 

[psycherelic]

Real shame this is gone, I liked the sausages and it was better than dealers or ranting religious types.

 

[Jonti]

The contractual agreement was duly signed in May 2009, with the organizers clearly informed that the pilot would cease in December 2009.

Please be advised that at no stage was a specific license issued for this activity, we have therefore not taken the decision to revoke a statutory street license

I think this can be read as saying that there was never a license for street trading on the corner for after December, so there was no revocation. That there was a license up to that time, and that license was not revoked, but merely time-expired, is implicit.

There were no formal complaints by traders, or traders' groups, and the pilot ran its scheduled course.

One may still wonder, was there some expectation that the Bazaar would continue, should the pilot prove successful? That seems likely, for why not?

So what did scupper it then? Gentle reader, again I draw your attention to the lack of a bus shelter on that corner

 

[Gramsci]

Yes people made a special trip to our stall.and for me the postcode point is not about where people live but if people would have been shopping in central Brixton on a Sunday.
not sure about your logic about opening times,if we're not open the same time then we cannot be taking any trade from anyone else.

Havent got time to read all recent posts. I have had it on good authority that the Bazaar was closed at the request of the Brixton Business Forum.

Officers have said that the Bazaar was a temporary experiment which ran its course. Seems they are , at best, be disingenous.

Why is it that when decisions are taken by the Council its,

a) difficult to find who took it.
b) find who can explain why the decision was taken.
c) why officers take decisions which local Cllrs dont know about. I get the feeling that Cllrs are kept in the dark as much as residents about how and why decisions are taken.
d) If its correct that Brixton Business Forum got this decision taken who did they talk to ? Seems to me that decisions like this are taken unminuted.

 

[Gramsci]

A resident put in a FOI (not me) and got this reply to there questions,

I am writing to you in response to your Freedom of Information request
(dated 31 December 2009) relating to the Brixton Bazaar street market
event.

Your initial response was formally recorded by Lambeth Council and was
forwarded to me, as we at Lambeth Street Care have overall
responsibility for the management of street trading activity within the
borough.

- A copy of the Market Licence, Street Trading Licence or other Licence
under which the 'Brixton's Bazaar' market was established. -

I can confirm that the organizers of the Brixton Bazaar have been
instructed by Lambeth Council not to continue trading at the location
concerned, however their appears to be some confusion over the exact
nature of this decision. The majority of street trading activity within
Lambeth is carried out under license conditions in line with the
statutory provisions contained within the London Local Authorities Act
1990 (as amended), the aforementioned conditions allow individual market
traders to trade at various designated pitches throughout the borough
(pitches mainly centered in Brixton and Lower Marsh markets).

We at Lambeth Street Care were initially approached by the Brixton
Bazaar organizers in May 200; the event organizers outlined proposals to
introduce a new specialist market into Brixton Town centre, proposals of
this nature tend to relate to the existing Brixton Market, however in
this particular instance the Brixton Bazaar organizers took the view
that competition with other market operators/licensed traders meant that
they were unable to accept any proposals to trade within the Brixton
market itself.

We at Lambeth Street Care took the opportunity to invite Brixton Bazaar
to enter into a short-term contractual agreement; which would allow
trading activity to take place at the junction between Brixton Road and
Coldharbour Lane, our intention was to deliver a short-term program
which would eventually play a key role in establishing the viability of
a long term market within the re-developed Windrush Square. The
contractual agreement was duly signed in May 2009, with the organizers
clearly informed that the pilot would cease in December 2009.

Please be advised that at no stage was a specific license issued for
this activity, we have therefore not taken the decision to revoke a
statutory street license, we have instead followed a consistent course
of action; which may well lead to the future re-location of the Brixton
Bazaar event (possibly to Windrush Square).

- A copy of the minutes, letter or other document detailing the
termination of the 'Brixton's Bazaar' market. - We at Lambeth Street
Care have no record of any formal minutes, letters or other
correspondence relating to the 'termination' of any license in respect
of the Brixton Bazaar, as no such decision has been made, we have simply
confirmed the completion of the agreed pilot program in line with the
initial agreement.

- Any correspondence between council officers, the police or business
groups regarding, requesting or suggesting the termination of the
license for the 'Brixton's Bazaar' market. - We at Lambeth Street Care
have no record of any formal minutes, letters or other correspondence
relating to the 'termination' of any license in respect of the Brixton
Bazaar, as no such decision has been made, we have simply confirmed the
completion of the agreed pilot program in line with the initial
agreement.

- Any assessments or considerations of the impact the termination of the
licence 'Brixton's Bazaar' market might have, or had produced, on
anti-social drug dealing on the corner of Brixton High Street and
Coldhabour Lane. - There is no statistical information available in
relation to this matter.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact me at the address supplied below.

I hope you find my response to your query satisfactory. However, if you
have any feedback on this response please let us know by following the
link below this will assist us in identifying areas we can take action
to improve both the quality of responses and the ME service overall:

 

[Ms T]

Interesting - it seems from that reply that there are plans for a market in Windrush Square then...