| Latest blog update on regeneration in Southwark The Elephant traders who face the end without new homes Sep 22, 2020 12:00 am Only 40 traders ‘found new premises’ as centre closure looms -Shopping centre developer Delancey and Southwark Council have mounted a desperate defence of their failed trader’ relocation strategy, with a joint statement claiming that all qualifying businesses have been relocated or offered relocation options ‘without question’. The centre is due to close on Thursday. The very same joint statement reveals, however, that only 40 traders have actually been found new premises through the relocation process, a fraction of the approximately 130 independent businesses identified in January 2018 by Southwark, as operating at the Elephant 1. Much of the rest of the joint statement is a lengthy account of how this much larger figure has been was reduced to just forty traders through the relocation process. The statement also outlines ‘options’ available to the unfortunate traders who have nowhere to go and makes self-justifying excuses for this miserable outcome.  The joint statement also attacks what it calls ‘uncorroborated statistics’, which show that at least 40 traders will have nowhere to go when the centre closes, and online ‘misinformation’. This is clearly aimed at the Up the Elephant campaign, including the 35% Campaign and, in particular, Latin Elephant, who have worked tirelessly to support the traders. Latin Elephant has issued its own rebuttal, noting that Delancey and Southwark have now themselves admitted in the joint statement that only 40 traders have been found new premises, ‘leaving about 40 traders who have been trading at least since January 2019 (as per the s106 agreement) without alternative premises’. Latin Elephant’s rebuttal also includes links to all the supporting research evidence on the fate of traders, through the regeneration process. This research names the independent businesses, maps their location and gives relevant dates. Who gets to be eligible? As Latin Elephant explains, while 130 independent businesses were recognised by Southwark as operating within the red-line of the development in January 2018 (the date of the first hearing for the shopping centre planning application), Delancey and Southwark take only 79 ‘eligible’ businesses as the base-line in their account of the relocation process, excluding many long-standing businesses. Delancey and Southwark then whittle the 79 ‘eligible’ businesses down to forty businesses, in successive stages– 64 applications received, 61 valid, 40 found new premises. (Southwark has acknowledged on its website that there are 33 eligible traders remaining without a relocation offer, but that is not mentioned in the joint statement). The ‘options’ for those not awarded premises are to search for somewhere else themselves, through a commercial premises database. If they do not find anywhere, they will receive payments of around £8000. The inadequacy of these ‘options’ hardly needs stating. The database has been a constant source of frustration to traders, who have criticised it for being out of date and listing premises that are simply too expensive and too far away. An £8000 payment is also very little compensation for the loss of a livelihood, built up over many years and a long way short of what is needed to re-establish a business; one of our previous blogposts has the stories of traders of up to 20 years standing who are in this situation.  No commitments Delancey and Southwark’s joint statement also takes pains to say that there was never a commitment to relocate all the traders. This is shamefully true – it is to Southwark’s great discredit that it ignored evidence from Latin Elephant that this situation was bound to arise, because there was only half the space required for a proper trader relocation in Delancey’s redevelopment plans, but Southwark went ahead and approved the plans nonetheless. Notwithstanding the lack of a formal commitment, Southwark still created the impression that all traders would be accommodated; when asked directly by councillors at the planning meeting for Castle Sq, one of the relocation sites, whether ‘given all of the different site…does that cover…enough sites for all of the current number of traders…..How many short would we be roughly?’ council officers replied ‘…across the piste there should be sufficient’. By their own testimonies traders also confirm that they have been strung along with false hopes of relocation space throughout the relocation process. Stall-holders do it for themselves Faced with the loss of their businesses the market stallholders who occupy the ‘moat’ that surrounds the shopping centre have banded together to draft a Proposal for more market stalls at the Elephant, after the centre’s closure. The Proposal was received by Florence Eshalomi, London Assembly member for Lambeth and Southwark, who met the traders at City Hall, gave strong support and undertook to take up the matter with Mayor Sadiq Khan. Local councillor Cllr Maria Linforth-Hall also met the traders and is giving her support, as are Assembly members Caroline Pidgeon and Sian Berry, Assembly Member and the Green Party candidate for Mayor.  The Camberwell and Peckham Labour Party Constituency Party also passed a motion in support of the traders’ Proposal at their meeting last week. …while UAL looks after itself Sadly, the University of the Arts London (UAL) has not felt able to help the traders, nearly all of whom come from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and despite its professed commitment to Black Lives Matter. In letters received by Southwark Law Centre UAL declines to either withdraw from the shopping centre redevelopment which will supply it with a new campus for the London College of Communication on the very spot traders now occupy, nor to offer support for the traders’ Proposals for additional market stalls. UAL is instead happy to take Southwark and Delancey’s assurances that all traders are being properly treated at face value. Division and attrition Southwark and Delancey’s treatment of the people who actually work at the Elephant now can be summed up as ‘division and attrition’. The relocation strategy and traders’ participation in decisions on their future were only put in place after Delancey had gained planning committee approval for their scheme. Latin Elephant’s advocacy on behalf of all the BAME traders was also resisted. The s106 legal agreement (negotiated between Southwark, Delancey and UAL), which determines who was ‘eligible’ and who was ineligible for relocation support uses formal criteria around leases and licences that do not reflect the way the community has developed over the years. Alongside this, the decline in footfall and in the physical fabric of the centre led to a decline in trade that unsurprisingly meant that traders left before the centre’s closure, wearied beyond hope by the whole ‘regeneration’ process. For Southwark and Delancey this is all part of the natural process of regeneration and relocating just 40 out of 130 traders is a triumph to be proud of. For the traders and the campaigners who support them it is deplorable outcome which exposes the hollow promise that the Elephant and Castle regeneration is providing a ‘fairer future’ for the local community.  Southwark Council’s Planning Framework for E&C regeneration.Going, but not forgotten… You can see a short valedictory film, by Emile Scott Burgoyne, celebrating the Elephant community here. See joint statement, heading ‘Who is being relocated?’, first bullet point. ↩ Read in browser » Recent Articles: Shopping Centre traders propose new stalls for the Elephant Southwark responds to shopping centre campaigners The shopping centre traders expelled by regeneration Campaigners demand that UAL withdraws from shopping centre development. follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend 35% Campaign |
Neighbourhood Development
35% Campaign update – Shopping Centre traders propose new stalls for the Elephant
| Sep 14, 2020 12:00 am Traders appeal to Mayor Sadiq Khan for his support -Traders who will be losing their market stalls when the Elephant and Castle shopping closes have come up with their own proposal for new stalls at the Elephant. Around forty traders face the loss of their businesses and livelihoods when the Centre closes its doors for the last time on 24 September.The traders’ proposals are for new stalls to be sited around the Faraday Memorial, by the railway arches along Archer St and outside the new Elephant Arcade, at the bottom of Perronet House. Traders are proposing at least 45 new stalls. Most of the new stalls would be around the large silver Faraday Memorial in the middle of the Elephant roundabout. This will become an even more important commuter route between the train station and the tube stations, with the closure of the shopping centre. The proposal would keep established traders at the heart of the Elephant and maintain the ‘sense of place’ that they have created. The proposal builds upon a previous Transport for London (TfL) project, from 2014, but never delivered.The proposal has been sent to the Mayor of London for his support. The land around the Faraday memorial is owned by TfL, which the Mayor leads.Local London Assembly member Florence Eshalomi MP has submitted a formal question to the Mayor asking him if he will support the proposals.Traders are also looking for support from local councillors from all parties and representatives at the London Assembly.Traders believe that with wholehearted support from the Mayor, Southwark Council, councillors and London Assembly members, all the displaced traders from the shopping centre can be found new homes. Only 45 out of 97 traders had secured relocation space, up to the end of April 2020.The proposal was devised by Alice Chilangwa Farmer and is supported by the Up the Elephant Campaign, Latin Elephant and Southwark Law Centre. If adopted it would provide shopping options and continuity to a local community facing a prolonged period of disruption and construction work.The complete proposal can be found here. This is what the traders and supporters have to say;Trader Shapoor Amini says: ‘ I’ve worked at this market since 2001. These people promised us so many things, they said we’ll give you a space, we’ll look after you guys, but they’ve done nothing for us. …I applied so many times—I’ve made calls, been to the council, been to the office, done lots of paperwork […] been to countless meetings, and still nothing. My whole life has been spent in this market, in this area, and now I don’t know what to do…..I have a kids, a wife it is very difficult’.Trader Edmund Attoh says: ‘I’m working here over 20 years. Things are very difficult people who have been here for a long time didn’t get nothing. That’s what we don’t understand, that’s why we are frustrated. We don’t know where we are going now. I applied for a space, and anything they asked, we give to them. They turned us down. But they didn’t say [why].’Traders Mathew and Eden Onuba say: ‘We’ve been 5 years at Elephant and Castle. We don’t know what to do in September, it is a very difficult situation. I don’t want much, but to save the business we’ve built up together.’Read in browser » Recent Articles:Southwark responds to shopping centre campaigners The shopping centre traders expelled by regeneration Campaigners demand that UAL withdraws from shopping centre development. Aylesbury estate regeneration to have new council homesfollow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend 35% Campaign |
Latest on Shopping Centre traders
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35% Campaign update – The shopping centre traders expelled by regeneration
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New Housing Strategy – Consultation
Dear TRA Chair,
Over the past year the council has been consulting on a new housing strategy. This has included a stakeholder session back in June 2019, and a public consultation between January and May this year.
We were in the process of consulting on the housing strategy when the COVID-19 pandemic started to seriously impact on the United Kingdom in March 2020 therefore the consultation period was extended to May.
Many thanks for all the comments received so far.
The housing strategy is a long term document covering the next thirty years but the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a significant impact on the delivery of the strategy in the short term to medium term, and there may also be longer term consequences.
The pandemic has impacted on every principle of the housing strategy. We have have added new text throughout the strategy.
We have also made changes to the strategy in response to comments made so far during the earlier consultation, such as adding more text about tacking climate change.
All changes since the past consultation draft are included in purple text.
As there has been considerable change since the original consultation we have decided to do another quick final round of consultation.
We want to give partners and other key stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes, and to highlight any other changes you think are required to respond to the new challenges with the pandemic.
Please email any comments you have to housingstrategy2@southwark.gov.uk by the end of August 2020.
We look forward to hearing your views.
Many thanks,
Rob
Robert Weallans, Housing Strategy Manager
Housing Strategy and Business Support, Resident Services Division, Housing & Modernisation Department
( 020 752 51217 | : robert.weallans@southwark.gov.uk | Tooley Street, 5th floor, Hub 3
Copies of the housing strategy are available at www.southwark.gov.uk/housing/housing-strategy
Visiting address: Southwark Council, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH
Postal address: Southwark Council, P O Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX
www.southwark.gov.uk/mysouthwark For council services at your fingertips, register online. You can also manage your rent or service charge account, pay your council tax as well as report and track your housing repairs.
London Tenants Federation Summer Newsletter: Protecting the social housing we have and building more
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35% Campaign update – Campaigners demand that UAL withdraws from shopping centre development.
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Planning Application 20/AP/1159, deadline extension to 14th September
Comment on this application here.
Construction of 4 new flats at Balin House
Planning Application 20/AP/1159
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20_AP_1159-EXISTING___PROPOSED_ROOF_PLAN-868970
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35% Campaign update – Aylesbury estate regeneration to have new council homes
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