The Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market campaign is preparing to picket Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Planning and Development Control Committee tonight, after their concerns about the redevelopment of Shepherd’s Bush Market were “consistently ignored”.
33 traders – around half those permanently operating at the market – have submitted a letter to the council expressing their opposition to the redevelopment plans. Their key concern is “big rent increases” which they say would be a “threat to diversity” and “push traders out of the market”.
But other traders – represented by the Shepherd’s Bush Market Tenants’ Association – will be speaking out in favour of the redevelopment, which they say offers a long-awaited chance for rejuvenation.
Opinions over the development plans are split, with some traders backing the development and others warning it would risk “pushing them out of the market”.
From rent caps to rent hikes
Until 2011, Shepherd’s Bush Market was owned by Transport for London (TfL), who provided protected leases to traders. When the market changed hands to private ownership, traders retained the old protected leases.
But under the new redevelopment plans by real estate firm Yoo Capital, business-owners will eventually be expected to sign new lease agreements at ‘open market’ rates.
Planning documents reveal that they will initially be offered a package of financial support, including the pausing of rent payments during construction and freezing at 2015 levels until 2031, but may face rent increases thereafter.
Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market demands that plans for open market rent are abandoned and rent caps are introduced on lease renewals.
Over 30 full-time market traders have submitted a letter to the council expressing their opposition to the redevelopment plans.
Jake Simms, on behalf of Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market, stated: “Yoo Capital’s plans are designed solely to line the pockets of their investors. The plans would tear the heart out of a 109-year-old market renowned for its diversity and affordability. Massive rent increases would drive out traders and the communities who rely on the market to get by.”
@LBHF council should follow @LDN_planning Policy and demand that Yoo Capital:
🚨Plans for open market rent are dropped & rent caps are included in the lease renewals
🚨The new lease agreements keep the same level of protection as the existing Transport for London leases
— Protect Shepherd's Bush Market (@savebushmarket) December 3, 2023
109 years of tradition
Campaigners have also warned that the traditional character of the market will be eclipsed by higher-end shops and restaurants if the plans get the green light.
Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market organiser, Beatrix Grant, says the market “currently serves people from low-income backgrounds and a range of cultures and immigrant communities. What we’ll see [with Yoo Captial’s development] is places that serve people from a different classes and backgrounds.
“People will be forced out to different areas of London and the character of Shepherd’s Bush will completely change.”
Yoo Capital’s redevelopment would see new stalls and shops, an eight-storey office building, and up to 40 new homes. Architectural mock-ups show stalls replaced by brick shops.
Yoo Capital has released mock-ups of their vision for the redevelopment of the market. Source: Yoo Capital
From 2012 to 2016, traders and tenants were engaged in a lengthy legal battle with former owners Orion Land. Orion acquired a compulsory purchase order to build 230 luxury flats and a retail space – a plan eventually overturned by the Shepherds Bush Market Tenants Association via judicial review.
But current owners Yoo Capital say they have a distinctive and fresh approach, placing more emphasis on “working with communities” to transform “under-managed and overlooked” spaces.
“We must move with the times”
Laura is the owner ‘This is Nuts’, of one of the oldest stalls at Shepherd’s Bush Market, and supports the redevelopment plans.
Laura, who runs one of the oldest businesses at the market, is among those who will be backing the proposals. Her stall – which sells nuts, dried fruits, legumes and sweets – was first founded by her father in 1933. She says “the market has changed a lot over the years through lack of investment.
“When we had London Underground as our landlord, there was very little investment […] so it’s been on a downward spiral for the last few years.
“The market desperately needs renovating. The traders need to not be in limbo.”
The Planning and Development Control Committee is expected to approve the planning application submitted by Yoo Capital. If Hammersmith and Fulham Council approves the plans, campaigners will have to turn to Mayor Sadiq Khan for redress.
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HeadlineShepherd’s Bush Market traders raise alarm ahead of landmark redevelopment decision
Short HeadlineShepherd's Bush Market braces for redevelopment decision
StandfirstConcerns about the redevelopment of Shepherd's Bush Market were "consistently ignored".
The Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market campaign is preparing to picket Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Planning and Development Control Committee tonight, after their concerns about the redevelopment of Shepherd’s Bush Market were “consistently ignored”.
33 traders – around half those permanently operating at the market – have submitted a letter to the council expressing their opposition to the redevelopment plans. Their key concern is “big rent increases” which they say would be a “threat to diversity” and “push traders out of the market”.
But other traders – represented by the Shepherd’s Bush Market Tenants’ Association – will be speaking out in favour of the redevelopment, which they say offers a long-awaited chance for rejuvenation.
Opinions over the development plans are split, with some traders backing the development and others warning it would risk “pushing them out of the market”.
From rent caps to rent hikes
Until 2011, Shepherd’s Bush Market was owned by Transport for London (TfL), who provided protected leases to traders. When the market changed hands to private ownership, traders retained the old protected leases.
But under the new redevelopment plans by real estate firm Yoo Capital, business-owners will eventually be expected to sign new lease agreements at ‘open market’ rates.
Planning documents reveal that they will initially be offered a package of financial support, including the pausing of rent payments during construction and freezing at 2015 levels until 2031, but may face rent increases thereafter.
Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market demands that plans for open market rent are abandoned and rent caps are introduced on lease renewals.
Over 30 full-time market traders have submitted a letter to the council expressing their opposition to the redevelopment plans.
Jake Simms, on behalf of Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market, stated: “Yoo Capital’s plans are designed solely to line the pockets of their investors. The plans would tear the heart out of a 109-year-old market renowned for its diversity and affordability. Massive rent increases would drive out traders and the communities who rely on the market to get by.”
@LBHF council should follow @LDN_planning Policy and demand that Yoo Capital:
🚨Plans for open market rent are dropped & rent caps are included in the lease renewals
🚨The new lease agreements keep the same level of protection as the existing Transport for London leases
— Protect Shepherd's Bush Market (@savebushmarket) December 3, 2023
109 years of tradition
Campaigners have also warned that the traditional character of the market will be eclipsed by higher-end shops and restaurants if the plans get the green light.
Protect Shepherd’s Bush Market organiser, Beatrix Grant, says the market “currently serves people from low-income backgrounds and a range of cultures and immigrant communities. What we’ll see [with Yoo Captial’s development] is places that serve people from a different classes and backgrounds.
“People will be forced out to different areas of London and the character of Shepherd’s Bush will completely change.”
Yoo Capital’s redevelopment would see new stalls and shops, an eight-storey office building, and up to 40 new homes. Architectural mock-ups show stalls replaced by brick shops.
Yoo Capital has released mock-ups of their vision for the redevelopment of the market. Source: Yoo Capital
From 2012 to 2016, traders and tenants were engaged in a lengthy legal battle with former owners Orion Land. Orion acquired a compulsory purchase order to build 230 luxury flats and a retail space – a plan eventually overturned by the Shepherds Bush Market Tenants Association via judicial review.
But current owners Yoo Capital say they have a distinctive and fresh approach, placing more emphasis on “working with communities” to transform “under-managed and overlooked” spaces.
“We must move with the times”
Laura is the owner ‘This is Nuts’, of one of the oldest stalls at Shepherd’s Bush Market, and supports the redevelopment plans.
Laura, who runs one of the oldest businesses at the market, is among those who will be backing the proposals. Her stall – which sells nuts, dried fruits, legumes and sweets – was first founded by her father in 1933. She says “the market has changed a lot over the years through lack of investment.
“When we had London Underground as our landlord, there was very little investment […] so it’s been on a downward spiral for the last few years.
“The market desperately needs renovating. The traders need to not be in limbo.”
The Planning and Development Control Committee is expected to approve the planning application submitted by Yoo Capital. If Hammersmith and Fulham Council approves the plans, campaigners will have to turn to Mayor Sadiq Khan for redress.
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