Tottenham market traders get boost from the Mayor

The entrance to the new market at Wards Corner.

by Flora Drury Sunday, September 16, 2012
7:00 AM

More than £428,000 is now available to help market traders who will have to move if the Wards Corner development goes ahead.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has put aside £284,500 for the traders from the Seven Sisters Market, should they have to be moved off the site above the Tube station temporarily to allow developer Grainger to build the new “Gateway to Tottenham” which will include a market, retail area and 197 flats.

This will be added to the £144,300 for relocation assistance, a three month rent-free period in a temporary market, as well as a 30 per cent 18-month rent discount in the new market.

Grainger says the market will provide “like-for-like” space for traders to return to.

David Walters, Grainger’s development director, said: “We are pushing forward to deliver the regeneration of Seven Sisters and this funding, alongside the guarantees and funding we have already put in place will ensure the continued success of the market.”

Haringey Council leader Cllr Claire Kober added: “The funding we have secured from the Mayor of London is a further boost to the support being offered to market traders to help them to flourish under the development plans.”

But Raul Mancera, chairman of the London North East Federation of Small Businesses, has urged caution before getting too excited about the new deal.

“The Mayor’s help is always very welcome, but the Wards Corner traders’ problems have to be fully understood and solutions put together before the project goes ahead,” he said.

But the project’s future is still in the balance. The Wards Corner Community Coalition launched a legal challenge against the decision to approve the scheme last month, which means it could yet be blocked.