A letter to the Mayor of London organized by the East End Trades Guild has been signed by over 140 small, independent and creative businesses in the area including Tatty Devine, Mother London, Pellicci’s, Ally Capellino and Mark Hix’s Tramshed. The letter is also supported by the Federation of Small Businesses.
The growing list of local businesses is saying that the plans – modelled on Canary Wharf – will irrevocably damage the area’s independent, successful small business character which contributes to London’s diversity and should not be ignored. A more beneficial scheme must be found for the 11 acre site, owned by Network Rail.
“It’s an area like East London that gives those quirky slightly off-the-radar ideas a chance. Why can’t we make more of that? Why does change always have to mean the corporate, the chains coming in? Because for me that’s when development actually stops, because you’re getting more of what everyone’s seen before.” says one small business owner S. Khan.
Add your business name to the list before Boris Johnson makes his decision in March by emailing bgybusinesslist@gmail.com
Sign the petition and tell others #borisseethelight
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To the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
Dear Mayor Johnson,
Bishopsgate Goodsyard offers the potential for an exemplary development with local enterprise at its core, benefiting the surrounding community and wider East End through sustainable growth. But we believe the current proposals would do irreversible damage to one of London’s most distinctive neighbourhoods.
As local entrepreneurs, we are the heart of the area’s identity – comprising independent businesses, small traders and creatives – attracting people from far and wide. It is the particular diversity of enterprises that have made our area a unique success, contributing immeasurably to London’s culture and creative energy. Many small businesses here have been trading for generations, representing a living heritage that is part of the East End’s history, while many others have come to join the successful mix.
Brick Lane, Columbia Road, Bethnal Green and the historic streets in the immediate vicinity of the Goodsyard in Shoreditch and Spitalfields contain a varied economy which exemplifies sustainable growth. Yet Hammerson & Ballymore’s proposed development ignores the context entirely, offering tall buildings in a bland international style on a scale that would completely overwhelm the character of the place.
The provision of affordable workspace on the Goodsyard site is a key aim for local authorities. Smaller enterprises are more likely to provide local jobs than larger companies, yet the current Goodsyard proposal is designed for major office occupiers and chain retailing. The plans appear to ignore the volume of similar retail space already approved in adjacent schemes – for example Principal Place, The Stage and the Highgate Hotel, a total of over 10,000 sq m.
Large-scale developments of this kind can kill off diversity of economy through increasing land values that in turn raise local rents, displacing even the most viable of small businesses. This pattern is visible in Spitalfields Market where, over time, virtually all the independent businesses have disappeared, making the area increasingly homogeneous. Similarly, at Canary Wharf there has been no trickle-down benefit to local people or small businesses. Consequently, Tower Hamlets has become one of the most unequal boroughs in London and is still one of the poorest, even twenty-five years after the construction of Canary Wharf.
Small and micro businesses are the future of local employment and entrepreneurship in East London. A development on the Goodsyard must offer affordable workspace for tech and creative sectors to flourish and innovate. The Federation of Small Business’s London Manifesto states that the cost of doing business in the capital is a barrier to growth and that over half their members are adversely affected by high rents, both work premises and housing for employees. The Goodsyard development proposal would exacerbate these problems by building predominantly luxury apartments, with only a small percentage of affordable housing.
We believe strongly that the Hammerson & Ballymore scheme must be refused and a more beneficial form of development be found for this important site, which has local people and businesses at the core of its conception.
In 2010, you said to Londoners: “What is the great genius of this city? Why is London such a fantastic place to live? Because it is a diverse city.” We could not agree with you more. It is in your power to help us create a development on the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site that keeps this “great genius” alive.
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If you are a local business and you would like to add your name to this growing list of businesses before Mayor Johnson announces his decision in March please email: bgybusinesslist@gmail.com
| 40 Colori | Cheshire Street |
| 7 Upholstery | Boundary Street |
| A Corner of the World | Bethnal Green Road |
| A Portuguese Love Affair | Columbia Road |
| A.Gold Shop | Brushfield Street |
| Acid Jazz | Bethnal Green Road |
| Arctic Poppy | Redchurch Street |
| Adam Dant | Artist |
| Adventure Pictures | Ezra Street |
| Aellson Products | Boundary Street |
| Al-Amin Travels | Hanbury Street |
| Ally Capellino | Calvert Avenue |
| Atticus Finch Ltd | Columbia Road |
| Bashir & Sons | Brick Lane |
| Baddeley Brothers | Hackney |
| Bernadette Iglich | Tower Hamlets |
| Bobby Dazzler | Brick Lane |
| Bookart Bookshop | Pitfield Street |
| Boundary Street Laundrette | Calvert Avenue |
| Bridges & Brows | Redchurch Street |
| Brokedown Palace | Boxpark |
| ByWalski | Redchurch Street |
| Cafe Art | Tower Hamlets |
| Cafe Caribbean | Spitalfields Market |
| Café Columbia | Columbia Road |
| Café @ Sonos Studio | Club Row |
| Cake Hole Café | Columbia Road |
| Calverts Coop | Bethnal Green |
| Caravan Style | Columbia Road |
| Catherine Yass, Artist | |
| Cats Brothers | Well Street |
| Chaat Ltd | Redchurch Street |
| Charlene Mullen Ltd | Calvert Avenue |
| Choosing Keeping | Columbia Road |
| Coffee Corridor | Columbia Road |
| Columbia Pottery | Columbia Road |
| Comfort Station | Cheshire Street |
| Coppermill Ltd | Cheshire Street |
| Corner Savoy | Great Eastern Street |
| Craffti House | Brick lane |
| Cream | New Inn Yard |
| Crescent Trading | Quaker Court |
| Damasco | Bricklane |
| Daniel Sannweild | Hackney |
| Dazzle Ship | Bethnal Green |
| Deli Downstairs | Hackney |
| Dot Productions | Redchurch Street |
| Dragana Perisic | Redchurch Street |
| Duke of Uke | Cheshire Street |
| e5 bakehouse | Hackney |
| East End Manufacturing | Whitechapel |
| East End Prints | Hackney |
| East End Trades Guild | East End |
| East London Design Store | Hackney |
| Elsa Winterstein | Columbia Road |
| Epitome | Columbia Road |
| Federation of Small Businesses London | London wide |
| Gardner’s Bags | Commercial Street |
| Genesis Cinema | Mile End Road |
| GH Cityprint | Middlesex Street |
| Glitterati | Columbia Road |
| Hannah Stanton, Designer & Maker | Hackney |
| Harry Brand | Columbia Road |
| Here Today Here Tomorrow | Hackney |
| House of Vintage | Cheshire Street |
| Hunky Dory Vintage | Brick Lane |
| InSpitalfields | Spitalfields Market |
| Islamic Shop | Brick Lane |
| James Brown Ltd | Hackney |
| Jenny Lewis, Photographer | Hackney |
| Jeremy Freeman, Photographer | Brick Lane |
| Jessie Chorley | Columbia Road |
| Jill Green, Print Maker | Brick Lane |
| Jimbob Art | Cheshire Street |
| Johnston Architecture & Design | Cheshire Street |
| Kickmouth | Hackney |
| Labour & Wait | Redchurch Street |
| Larache | Calvert Avenue |
| Leila’s Shop | Calvert Avenue |
| Leyden Gallery | Leyden Street |
| Lik + Neon | Sclater St |
| Lillie O’Brien | Hackney |
| Linda Wilkinson, Writer | Jesus Green |
| Lucinda Rogers, Artist | Columbia Road |
| Luke Jacob | Commercial Street |
| Mackenzie Wheeler | Redchurch Street |
| Maidan Properties | Wilkes Street |
| Mama Thai | Toynbee Street |
| Mark Hix Tramshed | Rivington Street |
| Mason and Painter | Columbia Road |
| Material Material | Rivington Street |
| Mercadito Productions | East End |
| Mie Mani | Great Eastern Street |
| Milagros | Columbia Road |
| Milk Architecture and Design | Old Street |
| Mosaic Del Sur | Columbia Road |
| Mother London | Redchurch Street |
| Nelly Duff | Columbia Road |
| Nine Yards | Shoreditch |
| Nordic Poetry | Boxpark |
| O’Dells | Calvert Avenue |
| Out The Box Wine | Cheshire Street |
| Paper & Wood | Cheshire Street |
| Pellicci’s | Bethnal Green |
| Peponita | Columbia Road |
| Play Vinyl | Ezra Street |
| Porcelain & Red | Cheshire Street |
| Pot Luck | Columbia Road |
| Pressed & Folded | Hackney |
| Printers and Stationers | Ezra Street |
| Rachel Entwistle, Jeweller | Club Row |
| Rochelle School | Arnold Circus |
| Savoy Cafe | Norton Folgate |
| Simon Rees, Jeweller | Columbia Road |
| Smokium | Cheshire Street |
| Snap Store | Roman Road |
| Space Station | Leonard Street |
| Sparks | Hanbury Street |
| Spitalfields Small Business Association | Greatorex Street |
| Start Space | Columbia Road |
| Taberna Do Mercado | Spitalfields Market |
| Taj Stores | Brick Lane |
| Tatty Devine | Brick Lane |
| The Brewery | Chiswell St |
| The Cube Smart Spaces | Commercial Street |
| The Garden Shop | Columbia Road |
| The Gentle Author, Spitalfields life Books | Tower Hamlets |
| The Red Mud Hut | Columbia Road |
| Toby Glanville, Photographer | |
| Towpath Cafe | Hackney |
| Trades Compass | East End |
| Tramontana Brindisa | Curtain Road |
| Triangle Store | Hackney |
| Urban Species | Cheshire Street |
| Val’s Sandwich Shop | Columbia Road |
| Verde & Co | Brushfield Street |
| Village Underground | Holywell Lane |
| Vintage Basement | Cheshire Street |
| Vintage Heaven | Columbia Road |
| Window Café | Hackney Road |
| 13one6 | Chatsworth Road |
| 4COSE Ltd | Vyner Street |