Zoë Garbett AM: London’s markets are cultural heritage

Created on

12 September 2024

Zoë Garbett AM: London's markets are cultural heritage

Following her numerous visits to London's markets and meetings with traders, today Zoë Garbett AM asked the Mayor directly to recognise the importance of markets as a form of cultural and living heritage, and to lay out a plan for better engagement with traders going forward.

Zoë focused her questions on the shortcomings of the Mayor's Good Growth Fund (GGF) investments to support London's regeneration, emphasising the need for meaningful community engagement. [1]

For instance, Zoë pointed to Newham Council's decision to invest in a 'creative wellbeing space' adjacent to the Queen's Market rather than fix the floor in the market itself.

Additionally, Zoë highlighted Hackney Council's choice to use money from the GGF to pay for decorative flooring at Ridley Road Market, while the market's traders were told there was not enough funding to replace rotting awnings above their shops.

Following the Mayor's commitment to Zoë to meet with a group of traders at Queen's Market to discuss these discrepancies, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett said:

"London's markets are cultural heritage sites. If the Mayor is sincerely committed to investing in these sites, then he must ensure he is also investing in the traders who bring them to life each morning.

"The Good Growth Fund was meant to be a source for that kind of investment, but, as I laid out before the Mayor today, the reality just isn't matching the policy.

"When I hear from traders about the low levels of investment, the absence of consultations, and the broken trust between the Fund and communities, I can see just how far we are from spending the money in a way that meets our own intentions. I look forward to visiting Queen's Market with the Mayor."

Zoë Garbett AM's full exchange with the Mayor can be found here.

Notes to editors

[1] Good Growth Fund: supporting regeneration in London