A VISIT FROM THE DEPUTY MAYOR OF LONDON FOR BUSINESS!
Krissie Nicolson – EETG Director, Giuliana Majo -Tripspace Yoga & Dance, Howard Dawber – Deputy Mayor of London, Len Maloney – JC Motors, Montse Ventura Tripspace Yoga & Dance, Tom Bott – Signature Brew. Photographs by Chris Hopkinson.
Thanks to the perseverance and collective power of Guild members, a date for a roundtable discussion to identify a site for our Trades Guild Community Land trust with three deputy Mayors of London, the Mayor of Hackney and members of her cabinet is now set at Hackney Town Hall. However, this meeting will not take place until 6th May and Tripspace Yoga and Dance needs your help now! If they do not find £25,500 deposit for their lease renewal by April, they will suffer the same fate as JC Motors. If you can please help by chipping in to their crowdfunder and sharing it in your networks today. CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT.
Last Wednesday Howard Dawber, Deputy Mayor of London for Business, visited Guild members in Haggerston. The visit was in response to the relentless campaigning on the EETG’s Manifesto for the New Economy, culminating in an action at People’s Question Time in December. Giuliana Majo from Tripspace Yoga & Dance reminded the Mayor of London about his commitment in 2021 to help find a site for our Community Land Trust. Sadiq Khan responded saying, “I thought this was sorted, if it’s not then we’ve got to sort this out”.
Deputy Mayor – Howard Dawber joined a walkabout of the arches that the Guild proposed as sites for our CLT, which were put forward in our Manifesto for the New Economy in the absence of any ideas offered by TfL. Howard heard from all three member businesses about PfL ignoring potentially dangerous issues with the arches until leases are up for renewal and about the lack of communication and poor customer service.
He also visited the neighbouring empty arches left vacant on the TfL subsidiary’s watch. Until November last year, our proposed sites were all full with essential small businesses. Regular readers will know that JC Motors was evicted due to the intransigence of PfL who would not consider any of the Guild’s alternative and innovative solutions that would have prevented the loss of JC Motors business from Hackney together with the vast social value accumulated over four decades from the borough that created it.
Now JC Motors’ previous neighbours are under threat of displacement too. The Transport for London owned property arm is demanding a six-month lease deposit at quadruple what they paid in 2013. Yet fellow members next door of a product-led business, Signature Brew E8 have not had an increase in their deposit despite their lease also being up for renewal at the same time.
It would appear that TfL are continuing to use tactics to erode the business on their estate, they do not deem profitable enough. Yet it is these very businesses that have been the engines behind the market value in the first place, through their creativity, blood, sweat and tears making the area safer and a desirable destination for London’s residents and global investors alike.
“PfL refuses to acknowledge that their present blanket market driven approach is killing off small businesses that are most valuable to Hackney’s residents. They maintain that seeking market rent for all small businesses based on comparable evidence from privately owned Arch Co is acceptable conduct and responsible practice. The Guild has long argued that Social Value Leases as used by other public landlords such as Islington Council to maintain & grow social value would enable small businesses like Tripspace Yoga & Dance and JC Motors to thrive. Successful crowdfunding for our ideas to keep these businesses in situ proves they are needed and wanted by Hackney locals!” Krissie Nicolson EETG Director.
JC Motors arch on Stean Street has been empty since Len Maloney’s community protested on his eviction day on 12th November. During our tour, Len explained the story to the Deputy Mayor outside the vacant arch that was once a thriving home to apprentices, locals and their vehicles, that has now sat unoccupied and strewn with rubbish for five months.
“I am feeling more and more optimistic for small businesses that serve our community when it comes to fair rent after Howard came to meet us in Haggerston and to listen to the financial pressures that Places for London is continuing to push on the businesses our community needs. It was also quite a thing to see Howard with a work experience student and good to hear he will meet with PfL to have a word off the back of his visit. We won’t give up our pursuit for justice.” Len Maloney, JC Motors.
