Market revival boosts Lower Clapton renaissance
Chatsworth Road Market is back. Photo: © Hackney Citizen
Chatsworth Road Market has made a successful return after more than 10 years, opening earlier this month (Sunday 7 November) to the delight of local residents, stall-holders and shopkeepers.
Diane Cunningham, of the Chatsworth Road Traders and Residents Association, said that the businesses taking part were largely thrilled with the opening day. “Feedback from stallholders has been really positive. Nobody was sure what to expect. For some it was the first time they had traded at a market,” she said. “Three stalls sold out of goods completely. All stallholders from the first market are keen to trade at the next two markets on 5 and 12 December.”
Victorian breakfast stall, ‘What the Dickens?’, selling kedgeree and devilled kidneys, was a new venture for three friends who live just off Chatsworth Road. “We sold out!” stall-holder Michael Quinn said.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start. We saw there was a new market starting in our neighbourhood and we wanted to be involved. The fact that it was local to us gave us an opportunity to test out an idea without having to invest too much money.”
Independent businesses have reinvigorated this part of Hackney in recent years. Alongside the stall-holders, shop owners also experienced soaring sales on Chatsworth Road Market’s first day.
“On the Sunday the market happened I sold over 300 coffees on a day when I’d normally sell 70,” said Venetia Strangwayes-Booth who runs Venetia’s Coffee Shop. “I think it’s about community, I think people are beginning to get a sense that they’d rather shop locally and be part of the local community.”
The shop has provided a popular meeting place on Chatsworth Road since it opened four years ago and has helped create an ethos now reflected in the market.
Cameron Bahar’s family has run Carnival Cards for over two decades. He is excited by the additional custom attracted by market day. The Bahars are hopeful that the market will become a weekly fixture and grow in the coming months. He said: “I think if there are more stalls running, with a variety of things, it will make a big difference.”
Leabridge councillor Ian Rathbone has been a champion of the market, even prior to its closure in the late 1990s. He emphasised the opportunities for everyone to get involved with the market’s renaissance.
“The message is: get on down here and support what is Hackney’s newest market and one of the most exciting. It will only survive if it has customers. We also welcome any new stall-holders.”
Diane Cunningham was also keen to stress the burgeoning community spirit already flourishing. “The market is a very local affair,” she said.
“Results from the first market showed that over 95 per cent of visitors walked to market and most lived in E5 or E9. This also reflects the stall-holder demographic as stallholders have to, ideally, be local to Chatsworth Road and it’s compulsory that they live within Hackney.”
Speaking about the significance of Chatsworth Road’s revival, Cllr Rathbone said: “People are realising that small shops are very important, one of the most important foundations of our local and national economy. They bring money, they bring business, they bring life.”
“We are seeing a community, which has been on the edge, beginning to thrive again and that’s good for everybody.”
The next two trial markets are running on Sundays 5 and 12 December.
To find out more about the market and watch a video of the opening day visit ChatsworthRoadE5.
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