Mayor Waves Through Shepherd's Bush Market Plans
Campaigners opposed to scheme claim due process not followed
Visualisation of the new market. Picture: Yoo Capital
July 23, 2024
London’s City Hall has opted not to call in approved plans to redevelop Shepherd’s Bush Market. Mayor Sadiq Khan had the option to choose whether or not to review the scheme following Hammersmith and Fulham Council green-lighting the proposal in December last year.
It was ultimately delegated to Jules Pipe, the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Services, with a notice of his decision issued on Friday (19 July).
Zoë Garbett, Green Party London Assembly Member (AM) and member of the London Assembly’s Planning and Regeneration Committee, is among those to have spoken against the redevelopment, warning “we have all seen the devastation that comes alongside gentrification”.
Real estate firm Yoo Capital, which owns the site and is behind the application, said its support packages for traders underline the company’s “long-term commitment to ensuring the market retains its much-loved character, sense of community, and diversity”.
Yoo Capital’s plans for the market, which runs between Goldhawk Road and Uxbridge Road, include the introduction of new stalls, 40 council homes on the adjoining Old Laundry Yard, a nine-storey commercial building, and aesthetic works, such as new entrance signs.
Hammersmith and Fulham’s Planning and Development Control Committee approved the application in December 2023, with three councillors in-favour and two against. Concerns were raised by groups such as Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market about the extent of the support being promised to existing traders, and the leases they would be offered under the plans.
Yoo Capital has said it will halt rent collections during construction and freeze them at 2015 levels until five years after work ends, after which it will move to ‘open market rent’. Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market argued this will result in costs being hiked and force some traders out of business.
Yoo Capital however points to the package of financial aid proposed for tenants, including £10,000 for each trader to upgrade units or improve the quality of the arches. Andrew Thorpe, Managing Director at Yoo Capital, told the committee in December: “The market needs investment to survive. Our plans provide this while respecting the character of the market and the individuality of its businesses. We are proposing to improve the infrastructure of the market, and provide a £5.5 million package of support for the traders.”
In Mr Pipe’s letter to Hammersmith and Fulham Council, he wrote that having considered the submission, “I am content to allow the local planning authority to determine the case itself, subject to any action that the Secretary of State may take, and do not therefore wish to direct refusal or to take over the application for my own determination”.
The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) report, which recommended Mr Pipe leave the decision to the council, detailed a series submissions both for and against the application. Responses from statutory bodies were also listed, including from Historic England, which found ‘less than substantial harm’ would be caused to the local conservation area. It had advised the council “to consider whether clear and convincing justification has been provided based on the harm identified and whether sufficient public benefits would outweigh the harm”, the report noted.
Mr Pipe further wrote in his letter that the council should engage with Transport for London (TfL) “to ensure the timely transfer of funds to deliver the station mitigation works”. This relates to the identified need for improvements to Shepherd’s Bush Overground station, which is expected to be addressed by a £250,000 contribution from Yoo Capital to TfL to bring forward the works.
Friends of Shepherd’s Bush Market, which says it is the ‘leading representative group for market traders’, has however queried whether the Mayor’s office has followed due process. The group points to the notification informing the public the case had been referred to the Mayor being issued on 19 July, despite Mr Pipe’s letter indicating a decision had been made on 18 July.
City Hall has been approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
A spokesperson for Friends of Shepherd’s Bush Market said, “Sadiq Khan’s office have made a mockery of due process and given billionaire real estate investors access to a ‘VIP lane’ to allow their speculative office development. These plans would rip the heart out of Shepherd’s Bush and offer no community benefit to the people of London.
“For two years the concerns of independent traders and local people have been dismissed and ignored. This decision is a stich-up that must be reversed. If politicians won’t stand up to protect Shepherd’s Bush Market we will consider taking legal action”.
Ms Garbett said the Mayor “had a real opportunity here to put local communities over big corporations, and most importantly people over profits.”
She added “we have all seen the devastation that comes alongside gentrification”, and that any plan “must prioritise the rich and unique cultural heritage of Shepherd’s Bush Market.
“There are also environmental standard concerns (such as flood risk), which haven’t been addressed and need to be”.
Visualisation of entrance to market showing nine storey building. Picture: Yoo Capital
Peter Wheeler, Chair of the Shepherd’s Bush Market Tenants Association, praised the decision. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “After too many years of indecision and uncertainty the traders of Shepherd’s Bush Market are very pleased that the GLA has given the go ahead for the plans for the new development of Shepherd’s Bush Market. We believe this is the right decision.
“The right decision for all the traders who can now make plans and to secure the future of this 110-year-old market that we love. We are now looking forward to the development starting as soon as possible.”
Mr Thorpe said Yoo Capital also welcomed the update from the Mayor’s Office. “Our investment in the market and the support packages we have created for the traders underlines our long-term commitment to ensuring the market retains its much-loved character, sense of community, and diversity.
“We are committed to delivering community facilities and benefits in every element of the masterplan, including a Market Academy to train new and existing traders for free, free space for community use in the market, a programme of free community events and activations in the market, affordable lab space for the next generation of innovators and 40 affordable homes for Hammersmith and Fulham Council. We look forward to continuing to work with the traders on the next part of the process towards construction.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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