Green Deputy Mayor visits, but locals ask: who’s really standing up for Queen’s Market?

There’s never a quiet day when those in power keep trying to pull the rug from under our feet.

Recently, Green Party Deputy Mayor Zoë Garbett visited Queen’s Market. Zoe likely cycled down from the new Greater London Authority (GLA) that’s moved into Newham now. Funny, isn’t it? All this “movement” from City Hall, yet so little progress for the local communities living right where they’ve set up shop.
To be fair to Zoë and the Greens at the GLA, they have always bothered to listen to the plight of Queen’s Market’s traders, so we really appreciated them coming down.

During their visit, market traders shared powerful stories about why Queen’s Market matters: it’s not just as a place to shop, but is the beating heart of the community. One trader pointed out that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, seems to view everything through a narrow “investment” lens. Well, if the Mayor truly wants to invest in London’s future, he should start by investing in the people who make this city alive, and not into sterile, privatised developments that push out working-class families and erase our cultural heritage.

London doesn’t need more glass towers and corporate plazas. It needs places like Queen’s Market – places where people connect, trade, and thrive together. But instead of supporting us, the powers that be are letting our markets crumble while calling their plans “regeneration.”

Across London, ethnic minority and working-class neighbourhoods are being steamrolled by gentrification, dressed up as “progress.” As one local put it bluntly: “They’ve proper gentrified the lot.” And for what? So we can pay more for fruit and veg while decision-makers sit in air-conditioned offices paid for by our taxes? No thanks, we won’t stand by and let that happen here.

Meanwhile, even the basics are being ignored. As the days grow shorter, Friends of Queen’s Market, alongside shoppers and traders, are once again pleading for proper lighting inside the market. The issue has been raised time and again – yet still nothing. It’s a simple, essential fix that would make the market safer and more welcoming. We’re calling on those responsible to act now before the new year, before another winter in the dark. Because this market isn’t just a retail place, it’s a community and social space worth fighting for.

Photos (above): Zoë Garbett, the Green Party Deputy Mayor visits Queen’s Market to hear the views of local people.

Delays in the Good Growth delivery beckons Mayor of London’s office

This week, an area manager from the Mayor of London’s office and the Greater London Authority (GLA) visited Queen’s Market (21/01/2025) with a community-led envoy of shoppers, traders and shopkeepers at hand to tell the truth about their experiences regarding the fast disappearing Good Growth funds, that promised so much, but simply delivered cheap decorations!

The envoy including Friends of Queen’s Market, representatives from the traders association and independent shoppers who walked around the market with the GLA area manager and a Newham Council manager for an hour. Local people were visibly frustrated with the terribly slow progress with the Good Growth fund amounting to £7.3million, saying that that they have been ‘kept in the dark’ by public officers, and to add salt to injury, Newham’s “digital divide” a.k.a. Co-create website wasted another £3.1million. When asked about the money re-directed from Queen’s Market to suddenly “save” Stratford’s Market Village (formally Inshops), the manager from Newham Council described the re-directed £700,000 as a “small amount” – seems like a big number to us, seeing as the Council have recently announced near bankruptcy, and wanting to increase Council Tax by a whopping 10% – WHO MAKES THE DECISIONS ABOUT THE PUBLIC FINANCES, WE ASK ?

Friends of Queen’s Market meet with the GLA and Council for a ‘reccy’ of the works to date

The fact that there is no new roofing nor improved flooring to date, despite the early promises is an absolute travesty.

The terribly ineffective Con-sultation process and money allocated to deliver the outcomes was raised with the GLA manager, as was the 11 consultations that took place at one time for Queen’s Market – local people were left confused throughout the entire process. Behind the fake consultation façade, the Council was scheming to demolish our historic market, and to pile on luxury flats that locals cannot afford in a lifetime. “The Council have their own contractors, so there’s no way in. It’s like a closed shop, it’s their way or the highway”, said Jamshed, a local trades person.

The lighting that fails to light anything effectively was described as “substandard” and of “poor quality” by the traders association representative. “Millions were spent without asking anybody”, said one shopper visiting from North East London. It transpires now that further lighting will be added by the Council – what about reimbursing the lighting bills for the traders?

The pigeon-netting still allows pigeons in, and structural fabric of the market building has not been improved – see photographs below:

Cheap lick of paint cannot **cover up** the state of the shop windows – is this really what was “co-created” ?

The Market Manager who was also present during the walk around appeared to shrug off genuine concerns, and gave ‘off-the-peg’ answers to what were basic maintenance issues. “It’s so frustrating to communicate with management, who are always first to cover their backs and play the Blame Game, but never do the right thing. We’re not asking for much”, said a shopper.

A hole in the ground that visitors almost tripped into

The community-led envoy told the listening GLA area manager that procurement took an extraordinary long time, and that works were due to be completed in May 2023. We’re almost 2 years over schedule. There’s the markets department, asset management, highways, planning department, property service (One Source) and carpark departments to get through, so decision-making takes too long, and to the detriment of the community and the market traders.

“It’s like a game of Russian dolls inside the Council. We’re told to speak with this department, this head, that officer, that new department – where is the accountability?”

_{Image (above): Dealing with Newham Council is like a “game of Russian Dolls” say locals [Image source: goldencockerel.com]}

The aggressive and annoying loud tannoy that blares out warnings to shoppers about pickpockets fails to welcome visitors to the market. Instead it puts people off from visiting. This is counter to any marketing strategy in the United Kingdom – “We’ve never seen anything like it. [Market] Management appear clueless”, said another local shopper. (The tannoy announcement appeared to have been switched off during the hour-long GLA visit, and then switched back on afterwards).

^{Photograph (above): Eagle-eyed volunteers at Friends of Queen’s Market showed the GLA and Newham Council managers what local people were presented with at stage 1 of the Co-create process, and what they are now being lumbered with.}

“We’ve never seen business this bad. Trade is down. The Council just don’t care, and cannot see how months of disruption affects us. We want to be respected by the Council. Right now, we’re being treated sub-human”, said one longtime trader.

The GLA area manager and Council manager admitted that certain promises from the Good Growth fund have not been delivered adequately and that decisions had changed from the first instance. They said that they will encourage better communication on Queen’s Market with the community and traders, and chase up the current status of the Good Growth expenditure to hasten its delivery. Well, we’ve waited long enough!

^{Photograph (above): the community-led envoy at Hamara Ghar Square, located next to Queen’s Market. Traders say that their ideas were not integrated into the final renovation of the square, and that maintenance is woefully negligent.}

^{CLICK TO VIEW the video (above): In September 2024, FoQM made a request to the Mayor of London’s office through Zoë Garbett, Green Party assembly member. The current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that he would visit the market to see how the Good Growth funds have been used – or squandered, as we’ve seen so far.}

And to top it off, the lighting in the carpark is practically none existent. It’s so dark after 4pm that it’s scaring shoppers away…

Photo (above): The Queen’s Market carpark where a trader recently counted only “1 light of 36 working” [Source: QM trader]

NEWSFLASH (21/02/2025): We never give up! at last, two sort-of wins In the fight to save and improve the market….

The tannoy now welcomes people to the market as well as going on about pickpockets and thieves (the welcome is only in English: wot no inclusivity?)
Newham’s “digital divide” Co-create website has been updated for the first time in months. It says that there is an ‘internal review’ of the two ‘demolish and develop ‘ options for the market’s future. And they actually invite ‘residents with immediate concerns’ to email them on HFGfuturestrategy@newham.gov.uk

So if you are a resident, trader or market shopper and if you are concerned by the threat of luxury flats on the market site: if you have questions about the Council’s less-than-transparent dealings with our market, why not email in and ask. If you like you could copy in friendsofqueensmarket@yahoo.co.uk so we can monitor public concerns. The council even promises to put ‘relevant’ responses on the website. FoQM says don’t hold your breath!

Traders furious at being ‘left in the dark’ over new lights that fail to deliver

^{Photo (above): In July FoQM and the Traders Union led a demonstration to highlight the ineptitude by Newham Council and it’s ‘well-paid’ private consultant firms.}

Sorry to say “we told you so”, but Newham Council have make a mockery of the public funds meant to help restore Queen’s Market. Over the last few years we have been keeping a close eye on the £7.3million of public funds secured under the Mayor of London, Greater London Authority’s (GLA) ‘Good Growth Fund’, Levelling Up Fund and from Newham Council’s own funds, but sadly there’s little good about it when the funds are in ‘dodgy’ hands.

Friends of Queen’s Market and the Traders Union have put pressure on the Council to explain themselves: they say they will be investigating why the new lights by private consultants have failed to deliver adequate lighting into the market and possibly even poses a public safety risk. Yet, more officer time is being spent on their self-made mess, and some officers are on annual leave during these summer months, which means further delays for the traders!

^{Image (above): sums up any investigation by Newham Council.}

The pigeons have come home to roost

The PIGEON NETTING, meant to stop pigeon has consistently failed to keep pigeons from making home in the inner roof structure, and now the LIGHTING has failed to light up the market! Both cost a whopping £731,000 – that’s for some basic pigeon netting and new lights. This was after the Council spent £116,530 on just removing the pigeon netting. Kerching – looks like a whole bunch of people making a lot of easy money behind the scenes!

400 lights were removed from the market and replaced with just 99 lights. These new lights were suppose to be much brighter and better, but the lighting does not reach the market stalls on the ground.

**New lighting fails to light up walkways**

^{Photos (above): On the left, shows how the new lighting does not even light up the central walkways, and on the right how traders are forced to use their own flood lights to showcase their goods. Thankfully it’s summer and the light wells on the roof help bring some natural light inside, but come winter, it will be a different story say traders and shoppers.}

“It’s a disgrace” says a local shopper “we were led to believe that the £millions will be spent on a much-needed new floor and roof, but it’s just all cheap decorations with no substance – sums up the Council well, I guess.”

“My customers can’t even see what they are buying under these new lights, so I’ve got no choice but to use my flood lights to light up my stall”, saying one trader who sells fashion accessories.

Naveed Choudhary, Chairman of the Traders Union at the market says:” The Council is saying because it’s darker, it will lead drug users away but it’s the opposite way. When it’s bright, less pickpockets and crimes are committed here, because the drugs users will be scared to come inside… they [the Council] are not listening to us.”

The Good Growth funds were suppose to “cocreate” improvements to the market – another waste of public money – where Newham Council created a ‘Newham co-create’ website for £3.1million that many local people do not access, and is accused of being prejudiced towards many local people who are not digital savvy and cannot understand the jargon.

The amount of funds being wasted by Newham Council from the Good Growth Fund is STAGGERING – see the breakdown below:

Have you shone the light onto the finances at Newham Council?
The latest lighting saga is just the tip of the iceberg, of what’s been decades of systemic incompetence and inertia inside Newham Council. Who knows what you find in your investigation…