ALL HEROES WEAR OVERALLS!

ALL HEROES WEAR OVERALLS!

Yesterday with his customers and other members of the East End Trades Guild, Len Maloney from JC Motors sang the Ben E Classic Stand By Me with the choruses replaced with the words “So Sadiq, Sadiq, Stand By Len”.  The Guild hoped to woo the Mayor into agreeing to stop the imminent eviction of JC Motors on Tuesday 12th November by TfL-owned Subsidiary Places for London (PfL) due to rent arrears. Sadiq Khan did not respond to Len and his community who all sang with great gusto! However, London Assembly members from across the political spectrum did go outside to recognise small businesses’ importance to London.

The Guild awaits a meeting date from the Mayor. Meanwhile, Len is still facing eviction this Tuesday the 12th. If you can, please contribute to his fighting fund here. The past year of crippling uncertainty imposed on him by his landlord has been eroding Len’s ability to stay afloat.

In these dark times of division, Len, his customers and the Guild community are leading the way in bringing people together of all ages and from all backgrounds to help make London an affordable place to live, work and play.

The Mayor last met the Guild ahead of the 2021 election when small businesses proposed long-term solutions to the damaging effects of lockdown. Ahead of the London Election this year the Guild secured commitments from the top three Mayoral candidates to meet Guild members if they were elected. The elected Mayor already signed pledges to support both affordable rents and a Community Land Trust initiative that would provide permanent affordability for small businesses like JC Motors that inject social value into the local community saying it would “take some time to find the right site.”

Three years on the Guild proposes that PfL keeps JC Motors in situ while Social Value Leases are incorporated as part of a PfL affordable workspace policy on the arches estate, reflecting the vast contribution Len’s business makes via training and apprenticeships. They also seek funding for a viability study to transfer the ownership of the JC Motors arch and two neighbouring arches currently home to Signature Brew E8 and TripSpace Yoga & Dance for the Community Land Trust. All three businesses can demonstrate a long and impressive track record of generating social value for Londoners. 

Accounts from Kabir & Co Ltd show JC Motors has paid an average of £41,688 per year in rent to PfL over the last 6 years between June 2018 to May 2024, a total of £250,130 and over 10k more than the 30K that Len Maloney has told PfL he can afford. The action highlights the challenges for small businesses facing rents and rates increases and focuses on solutions from the Guild’s Manifesto for the New Economy, which aligns with the new government’s core mission for economic growth and stability.

“We hope the Mayor will keep his commitment to meet us soon and work in partnership with the Guild to support the local businesses that take care of the community” Len Maloney, JC Motors.

“In light of the US election news, our work is even more important than before. Together Guild members can demonstrate that grassroots action is the best driver for sustainable change. This is a long fight and the Guild won’t stop until we make rent affordable for Len and all small businesses like his and ours that provide social, cultural and economic value so our diverse communities can thrive in a united London that makes room for everyone no matter their background or gender” said Giuliana Majo TfL tenant and Guild member.

“The reduction of Business Rate Relief announced in the budget will hurt London’s small businesses the most because rates are set on property value. Many small businesses will see their rates bill double in April on top of paying for the highest rents in the country. As a public landlord and one of the biggest commercial landlords in London TfL should be leading the way for affordable rent to support not impede the growth of the capital’s economic engine. You would expect a public Landlord to have published a responsible and affordable workspace policy. In the 12 years that the Guild has been active, we have never seen one. PfL has not responded to requests for transparency over how they set Len’s rent, omitting key data for fair comparable evidence. This falls short of RICS standards on lease renewals”. 

At the state opening of Parliament this year, the King’s Speech announced the English Devolution Bill with new powers to metro mayors and combined authorities to support local growth plans that bring economic benefit to communities including strengthening the right of communities to buy local assets. In London, the GLA’s listening process for the city’s Growth Plan revealed that only 23% of Londoners to engage in the GLA’s survey feel that London’s Economy is currently fair. The principles of the Guild Manifesto have been included in the Growth Plan where themes such as “Supporting Local Economies to Thrive” and “Delivering an Inclusive Economy” have emerged.

Further information on the Social Value of JC Motors: The Guild estimates that since Len has been a tenant of TfL he has supported 300 local young people over the years either via formal apprenticeships in partnership with Hackney Inspire, through work experience in partnership with 12 local schools and colleges and via informal mentoring. The value that the apprenticeships would offset in terms of lifetime benefits would wipe out the arrears Len accrued via the unaffordable rent imposed on him with just one apprentice;

https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/research/research-cost-benefit-analysis