Queens Market - open for business

The New Scheme

Everyone involved with Queens Market recognises that the existing market is a focal point for the community, providing a valued local service and shopping experience, particularly with its quality, affordable food produce and general goods. Its presence helps promote social cohesion, providing an opportunity for people of different cultures and backgrounds to meet. It is also an important centre for young entrepreneurs to begin their careers in retail.

However, the market is housed in a tired structure with little natural light. It is difficult to keep clean, with ever rising maintenance costs associated with the decaying building. Those associated with Queens Market wish for it to continue to thrive as a vibrant and cosmopolitan centre, but recognise that there are real problems with the existing structure as well as waste disposal, recycling and access, especially for disabled people and those with pushchairs.

The new Market Hall will provide a suitable new home for this much loved community market. Exciting architecture and state of the art working practices will revitalise Queens Market as a unique market shopping experience.

At the core of St Modwen’s proposals is ensuring that the market will flourish while retaining its strong international influence and the ability of its traders to offer food produce and other goods at affordable prices.

St Modwen’s plans will also help Green Street to prosper, bringing important community facilities to the area’s young people, and contribute to making the market and Green Street a premier destination for visitors.

The new Queens Market

Particular benefits of the new Market Hall will include:

• More pitches for market traders than at present and a much improved trading environment
  
• A stunning new Market Hall that we expect will become a visitors attraction in its own right
  
• Improved visibility towards the Market Hall from Upton Park tube station and a vibrant, colourful frontage directly onto Green Street, which was previously lacking
  
• New shop units around the Market Hall for existing shopkeepers
  
• Storage units, secure facilities and permanent pitches for the first time
  
• New recycling facilities so the market can operate more sustainably
  
• Better waste and refuse handling, resulting in a cleaner and greener market
  
• Power and refrigeration facilities available for individual market stall pitches for the first time
  
• Flexible leases for market stall traders, providing security of tenure, meaning that traders will be able to sell the goodwill built up in their businesses for the first time
  
• A cleaner, safer market with 24-hour CCTV coverage
  
• A new and secure car park
  
• New and much improved toilets for traders and shoppers.
  

The design and layout of the new Market Hall have been worked up through various rounds of consultation between the traders, residents, the Queens Market branch of the National Market Traders Federation, Newham Council and St Modwen Developments Ltd.

New facilities for local residents

The proposals also include plans for a new Newham Council Front Office facility, comprising a civic building of distinction (totaling 2,000 sq metres), which will become a valuable community resource. It will provide a number of services on behalf of Newham Council and a new library which will give young people another reason to visit Queens Market.

New homes

In addition to the new Market Hall, the redevelopment proposals include 350 new homes, of which 340 will be arranged around a landscaped courtyard above the new market. All of the homes will be offered to Newham residents first, and many of the 340 homes will be affordable.

Ten large affordable family houses with front and rear gardens will also be built on a self contained plot on Rochester Avenue, adjacent to Queens Market. Newham has suffered from a shortage of new housing and the redevelopment goes some way toward meeting this need.

The temporary market – programme and phasing

Queens Market will remain open for business during construction. The phasing of the scheme for the new Queens Market has been designed to allow traders to continue to operate throughout the construction period.

During the construction period of the new market, traders will operate from a temporary market running the length of Green Street, from the tube station to Focus Furniture. Traders will also stand in the existing area to the rear of Hamara Ghar, which will be upgraded for this purpose.

Shopkeepers will be compensated for any loses incurred as a consequence of the redevelopment in accordance with the Statutory Code for compensation.

St Modwen is working closely with the National Market Traders' Federation and has engaged specialist consultants to ensure the least disruption possible for traders during the redevelopment process.

A commitment to consultation

St Modwen is Newham Council preferred partner to regenerate Queens Market. A key part of the development of these proposals has been engaging traders, shoppers, the local community and other interested parties in the proposals, and a series of consultations have taken place over the last three years.

St Modwen and Newham Council have worked closely with the National Market Traders Federation (NMTF) and its Queens Market branch, which represents the interests of market stall traders, as well as the Queens Market Traders Association, which represents the interests of the majority of shopkeepers. Regular meetings have been held with the branch, along with individual meetings with traders and shopkeepers on all matters relating to the regeneration project.

St Modwen and Newham Council held a comprehensive public consultation on the plans in October 2006, when a number of meetings were held along with a 3-day public exhibition close to Queens Market at Upton Park Football Ground on Green Street. Further meetings with stakeholder groups have taken place throughout 2007 and early 2008.

The plans currently before Newham Council include a number of significant changes that are a result of over two years of consultation.