2 days ago
Farmers' markets are a fresh food lifeline – but will they survive the housing crisis?
The car park next to Blackheath station is one of London's least remarkable places. With a dilapidated bike rack at one end and a nondescript shed at the other, it's a far cry from the grandeur of nearby Greenwich or the handsome Victorian and Georgian homes of Blackheath 'village' itself. But this acre or so of tarmac, bordered by shrubbery and fencing, is the unlikely epicentre of a very British crisis – a battle for the future of the farmers' market.
'It's like the Sword of Damocles,' says Keith Bennett, of meat purveyors Chiltern Farm Foods. 'It hangs over us, with no sure knowledge of what's going to happen, or whether the market will be feasible.'
A developer has submitted an application to build housing on the site, a move causing considerable uncertainty among producers, punters and a star-studded cast of locals. While the glossy plans for the new estate show space for a market alongside several large blocks of flats and housing, some stallholders and residents' groups doubt the practicalities of such a plan.
Bennett is one of many traders for whom Blackheath, and other London markets, are a vital route to a loyal customer base. And Bennett's are certainly loyal – he's known some since they were toddlers; others have invited him to their weddings. But he worries the disruption could affect his business significantly, especially as he battles the wider systemic challenges facing UK farmers. Bennett says he needs to bring his chiller van onto the site and at his age is too old to carry hundreds of kilos of meat to and from his pitch. Any change in location, he says, however temporary, could reduce footfall enough to make his attendance unviable.
The fracas bears the hallmarks of a classic housebuilding quarrel. A developer wants to build 45 residential units and has produced a slick presentation arguing its case. Local residents firmly disagree with said plans, with 632 objections (97 per cent of respondents) sent in response to the application.
At the centre of the conflict is the market, which the developer claims has a bright future on the longer, narrower strip of land left over after the flats go up, but which locals fear will be irrevocably harmed by the current plans. Some traders are nervous to publicly criticise the proposals, but none I spoke to supported them.
'It's too narrow,' explains nearby resident and regular shopper Barry Shaw, referring to the area the developer has allocated the market. 'There isn't actually space. The problem is that they've taken a notional market stall and calculated the space [based on that]. But that's not how markets work. People mill, there's a really good social scene, and a lot of us come out and meet our friends. It's a proper local village market.'
The rise of farmers' markets
Since being re-imported from the US in the 1990s, the number of farmers' markets has grown by 400 per cent, according to Speciality Food. It would be reductive to put this purely down to the quality and seasonality of the produce. There is something powerfully convivial about meeting in town to buy fresh meat and veg, instead of ordering it on an app or piling plastic containers into a Sainsbury's trolley.
But it wouldn't be the first time a London farmers' market has been turfed out of its space by housing developers. Bloomsbury's has had to move to make way for works, and Notting Hill's permanently relocated for similar reasons. The same is true for city farms and allotments, with Mudchute City Farm struggling to secure long-term security on its Isle of Dogs site, and Angela Rayner under fire for selling off allotments across the country. In a city powered by supermarkets, food infrastructure often gets deprioritised, but these much-loved assets now risk becoming fair game for exploitation.
High-profile critics of the proposal include Vic Reeves, Jude Law, Nick Ferrari and Sandie Shaw. sports writer Barney Ronay has pleaded for the council to 'save this community hub for future generations', while Chris Difford (from Squeeze) says the application is 'heartbreaking'. Former local Labour MP Dame Joan Ruddock has joined a growing who's-who sounding the alarm. The community is clearly vehemently protective over the market and its 40-odd stalls.
Sam Clarry and Felicity Crimes live in one of the many architecturally renowned buildings in the area. Clarry, an architect who works on large-scale projects, takes a moderately dim view of the application. 'I fully understand the idea behind the development,' says Clarry. 'But if they'd proposed housing that was a nice scale, and then kept this [market] space and worked on it to improve the public realm... Instead, they've just squeezed in as many houses as possible.'
A sense of community ownership
Mistrust of housing developers is widespread, but so too is a sense of community ownership of the market. Many stallholders and shoppers (and dogs) clearly know each other. Elena, from Granada, says it's the closest she gets to the fresh food she remembers from Spain, and comes once a week because her new-build development has no bakery. Several young couples say their market morning has great significance within their stressful weekly schedule. There is more to this space than tables and tents.
John Bartram, of local group The Blackheath Society, has popped down to the market for a chat when he learns of The Telegraph's presence. The Society has spoken in favour of good quality, affordable homes on the site, but doesn't feel the plans currently fall into that category – and is sceptical of its practicalities.
'One man's meat's another man's poison,' concedes Bartram. 'But in terms of pure massing, we think it's trying to put a quart into a pint pot. Then they're saying a market will work in what's left. It's obvious that the development has come first, because that's where the investment lies. Consultancies we've talked to about this plan have warned us that, in their experience, 'hybrid' developments like this will face challenges from new residents. After a while, those people think 'I really don't want all this noise on Sunday morning' and kick up a fuss.'
Bartram adds that 'London Farmers' Markets [LFM], who are the operators, together with the developer, say the market's not threatened at all. They think that the whole thing will work. We have our doubts.'
The proposed development isn't universally unpopular
LFM has come out in support of the plans. Director Ian Smith says LFM's stance pertains only to the market provision, and that any plan explicitly accommodating the weekly event is worth agreeing to.
'It's swings and roundabouts,' explains Smith. 'In an open car park space, you can organise it how you like. There's slightly less scope for that [in the new plans]. But we run 18 other markets, some of which are in that ribbon format, and they're perfectly fine.'
Smith concedes there will be less room for vans, which could be a problem for certain traders, but points to specific sweeteners agreed with the developers – a water supply, electricity, and anchor points for gazebos.
How worried are they about being displaced by another subsequent, less amenable development? 'It's happened at other market sites,' says Smith. 'At Notting Hill, we had to move. It's now running successfully in a school playground around the corner, but for years the planning to-and-fros went on there, including plans to develop the market square. We had to make a permanent move.'
Is the proposed future of Blackheath's market the best of a bad bunch? 'It's not the least-worst outcome, it's a reasonable outcome,' Smith argues, adding that even in a worst-case scenario, the market will find a home. 'No move is a win across the board. You win on some things and lose on others.'
In a statement on behalf of the project, a spokesperson from Kanda Consulting said: 'The proposed development will deliver 45 high-quality sustainable homes, including much-needed, entirely social-rented, family-sized affordable housing, re-provision of the farmers' market and a substantial number of public benefits prioritising a socially, environmentally and economically sustainable development that supports both residents and the natural environment.'
The fight for Blackheath Farmers' Market is complex, with several warring factions and little consensus on the compromises that lay ahead. But the conflict is about more than merely a smooth-talking developer versus disgruntled locals. At its centre, this debate is about food, and our increasingly dismissive approach to where it comes from or how it reaches us. Whatever happens in Blackheath station car park next year could echo across Britain for decades to come.
