{"id":50139,"date":"2025-04-25T19:15:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T19:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/50139\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T19:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T19:15:17","slug":"concerns-over-regeneration-causing-irreversible-damage-to-londons-markets-and-railway-arches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/50139\/","title":{"rendered":"Concerns over regeneration causing ‘irreversible damage’ to London’s markets and railway arches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sir Sadiq Khan<\/a> has been urged to protect vital community assets from being priced out when London\u2019s markets<\/a> and railway arches undergo regeneration<\/a> schemes.<\/p>\n

The mayor<\/a> was on Friday issued with a report by the London Assembly<\/a>, which warns he must ensure \u201cregeneration enhances, rather than erodes, the social fabric of our city\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sir Sadiq\u2019s office insisted in response that the mayor \u201cunderstands the importance of London\u2019s markets and arches, and the benefits they bring to local communities\u201d.<\/p>\n

It comes as the Assembly\u2019s planning and regeneration committee concludes its investigation into \u2018social value\u2019 assets, and whether they are being adequately protected in London\u2019s planning processes.<\/p>\n

While the committee acknowledged that social value \u201cmeans different things to different people\u201d, a mayoral official said City Hall defines it as \u201csomething about strengthening the civic infrastructure, the building blocks, the physical spaces and places where we come together\u201d.<\/p>\n

The committee said that \u201cdespite the growing awareness of social value by planners,\u201d there continue to be \u201cnumerous examples of markets and arch-based businesses under threat – facing eviction, closure, or profound disruption as a result of regeneration projects\u201d.<\/p>\n

The report added: \u201cWe have heard that existing social value is still too often neglected when places are redeveloped in London. As a result, social value can be lost \u2013 or destroyed \u2013 causing irreversible damage to communities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis loss of social value through development particularly affects low-income, marginalised and minority communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Standard last year reported on Len Maloney<\/a>, a popular local car mechanic in Haggerston, who was evicted from his arch after falling more than \u00a3112,000 behind on his rent.<\/p>\n

His landlord was Places for London, a property company owned by Transport for London, which in turn is chaired by Sir Sadiq. The rent arrears had built up after Mr Maloney\u2019s rent was more than doubled in the space of only two years, just prior to the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n

Supported by the East End Trades Guild, Mr Maloney tried to convince the mayor<\/a> to ensure that Places for London re-designated his business as a \u2018social value\u2019 enterprise, as it had \u201clinks to 12 local schools and colleges providing apprenticeships, work experience and informal mentorship to young people in need of guidance\u201d. The eviction went ahead in November 2024, though his rent arrears were waived.<\/p>\n

In its new report, the planning and regeneration committee has told the mayor that the \u201cnext London Plan should include a social value policy\u201d which would \u201cset out a process by which planning decisions will ensure community voices are heard and reflected and account for the unique character of a place\u201d.<\/p>\n

The London Plan is the key document outlining how London should develop over the coming years, and plays a central role in determining which projects receive planning permission across the capital.<\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s Tory chairman, Andrew Boff, said: \u201cRegenerating London\u2019s markets and arches can create vital new space for communities to socialise, innovate, learn and grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut too often, the social value of these places is being lost or destroyed when businesses are forced to relocate or close \u2013 and when communities aren\u2019t given enough of a say in redevelopment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese consequences all too often have a disproportionate impact on low-income, marginalised and minority communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur recommendations can help the mayor place Londoners\u2019 voices at the heart of planning decisions affecting some of their most valuable spaces, protecting and increasing the value that markets and arches provide to the communities they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for Sir Sadiq responded: \u201cThe mayor understands the importance of London\u2019s markets and arches, and the benefits they bring to local communities, which is why the current London Plan aims to deliver social value through its Good Growth objectives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor will consider the London Assembly\u2019s report recommendations, including as part of his work to develop the next London Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sir Sadiq Khan has been urged to protect vital community assets from being priced out when London\u2019s markets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16130,26997,26994,14252,26996,26995,11513,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-50139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-london-assembly","13":"tag-minority-communities","14":"tag-railway-arches","15":"tag-sadiq-khan","16":"tag-sir-sadiq","17":"tag-social-value","18":"tag-transport-for-london","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114400206698113332","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}