Dear Dame
As protector of the downtrodden could you please publish this?
Your 'blog is now the 'go to' source for news of
dark doings in our Royal Borough......
.....it has long been noted that RBKC is a place beyond the reach of the law of the land.
While the ghosts of Grenfell Tower are still not at peace RBKC has conceived yet another way to rid itself of more of the largely BAME lower classes in nearby Portobello Market.
With NO public consultation, RBKC is quietly clearing the way for planning permission to be granted to ten Portobello market pubs and restaurants, enabling them to place out tables and chairs on the roadway for evening trade.
In the main, these are pubs and restaurants owned by huge international companies.
To this end, RBKC has told its market traders they must leave their pitches immediately the international corporate interests demand their spaces.
This spells the end of Portobello Market and another part of our rich history.
Apart from the simple cruelty of the plan, in true medieval style, RBKC ignores the fact that this is unlawful.
It’s not a merely a breach of local regulations, but of primary, parliamentary legislation.
The London Local Authorities Act 1952 as amended, protects the rights of some of the poorest people in society to earn a living.
Cllr Lady Catherine Faulks remains oblivious.
She recently told the traders they must adjust to the new reality.
Or perhaps officers in the multiple departments responsible for this outrage omitted to inform councillors of RBKC’s legal position.
As ever, RBKC expects North Kensington's underclass to disappear in silence.
History shows that RBKC is mistaken.
Meanwhile, Cllr Faulks will doubtless welcome residents’ views on her position regarding this matter.
In conclusion, never forget that some of Britain's greatest retailers emerged from a simple market stall...
Marks & Spencers, Tesco, Superdry, Monsoon are just a smattering of retailers who started life in markets like Portobello.
Yours truly
North Ken
Faulks is an airhead. Thick as a plank. And likes to play to the gallery. Traders need to be very firm with her and frog march the stupid woman back to the Town Hall where she can be locked up in her office.
ReplyDeleteThe levels of local anger are quite extraordinary. It's like to good old days when residents personally visited the town hall to vent their anger. This story will run and run.
ReplyDeleteThe world is full of restaurants and pubs, but Portobello is so rare in London. We cannot lose it just because a handful of businesses get together to destroy one the thing that makes this area special. If the council doesn't care, local people must care for them. Please support the future of Portobello market.
ReplyDeleteMoney is all that matters to Kensington and Chelsea's councillors. It doesn't matter whether they're Tory, Labour or anything else. Money is what this is all about.
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone is unsure about the main issue here. I can assure you that it's for real. I can't imagine how RBKC thought that no one would notice these developments and their implications. The public has been excluded from all discussion. The street traders hope they've got some sort of agreement with the council, but there's nothing official. And we all know what agreements with this council are worth. So as things stand, it's quite possible that the next time you visit Portobello Market, it will effectively have ceased to exist.
ReplyDeleteAdded to that, these licensing decisions are being made today, without public consultation. There's probably no one left in the town hall who remembers just how angry local people can get about this sort of thing and how noisy they can be about expressing their anger. We may be in for a bumpy ride unless Cllr Faulks herself makes a public announcement that they've had second thoughts.
The less said about Faulks the better. This Councillor is a menace. A thick menace
DeletePerhaps she was set up as the fall-guy for this mess.
DeleteSo these establishments want tables and chairs for the evening, ok why do the day time tarders have to be kicked out ? its the market that brings many people to the area and therefore the pub and bar trade so to kill the market will kill the area and the pubs and bars, have they even thought about that ? Hospitality needs all the help it can get but not at the cost of losing the market
ReplyDeleteTwo restaurants want to put large tables chairs in the middle of the street from noon till 11.30 at night 7 days a week near Tesco. This is the busiest and narrowest part of the market. It's shocking. Crazy.
DeleteBut this is awful. Portobello is a huge and valuable tradition, all my overseas friends and students flock there, it is a part of London and a huge tourist attraction. Come on RBK&C redeem your reputation and stick up for the traders!
ReplyDeleteThere's already plenty of gossip about all this in the market this morning. Everyone must spread the word. The council thought no one would notice while Portobello market was destroyed. That was really stupid! It's up to all of us who enjoy the market to make sure this doesn't happen.
ReplyDeleteBut why exactly is it illegal?
ReplyDeleteIn the legislation market traders have the equivalent of a lease on a designated space for certain hours on certain days and so on. There are a lot of other rules and regulations as well of course, but basically no one can shift them off their sites without due process. The law was designed to protect low income people, and it clearly works.
ReplyDeleteThe reality behind all this is the council's repeated failures to grasp the fact that low income communities, particularly bame communities, are fully functioning human beings, with the same rights and intelligence levels as Knightsbridge residents.
ReplyDeletePicking up the story about PR Man Price-Thompson...
ReplyDeleteMr Price-Thompson, had you not realised that residents from every part of the Royal Borough and beyond read this blog. By ignoring its existence you show yourself to be unprofessional and incompetent. You should have settled in this story and given a council view so as to defuse a very negative story.
The latest update on this story is that, despite entering the fray only yesterday, young Cllr Johnny Thalassites immediately acted to suggest an equitable way forward for all parties. Certain officers have also risen to the occasion. Such individuals are to be congratulated; as is the Dame, without whose guidance such a promising position may not have been reached in time.
ReplyDeleteMulti-nat profit b4 people, livlihoods, time-honoured social community trade ignoring the anecdotal (proven over decades on balance sheet) intangible asset of one of the last truly trad market streets beloved by paying tourists worldwide who rtreasure and spread their memories when they return fo others to repeat......I can't find words for soul-ripping morons like these...sort it out...a simple roster where nearby stalls help restaraunteers/pub owner to lay out the tables....1st it was busker, now this?
ReplyDeleteBut this is only a temporary scheme. The market cannot open properly until next year.
ReplyDelete