Decision

RESOLVED:

This report recommends that Cabinet:

1. 1.  Approves the final draft of the Market Strategy 2024-2029 and the recommendations contained within (as set out in Appendix 1) to be actioned and  implemented.
2. 2.  Delegates Authority to the Director Environment and Climate Change (formerly Strategic Director Sustainability and Public Realm) to approve any add ons or amendments to the Market Strategy 2024-2029 following Cabinet approval.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The last Markets Strategy (2017-2020) focused on the financial sustainability of individual markets by promoting and increasing awareness of all locations to grow and retain occupancy rates. The Strategy was approved with a budget of £1.4m to deliver actions that mainly focused on getting the markets to be self-sustainable, as the Service was running at a deficit for many years. The successful delivery of this Strategy saw the service achieve a break-even financial position consistently, but also saw the market portfolio and commercial opportunity grow exponentially, which contributed to driving local employment within Hackney.

The final draft Markets Strategy for 2024-2029 was carefully curated through extensive surveys, engagement and research to identify the needs and aspirations of the community consisting of members of the public and Hackney market traders. The Strategy will concentrate on maintaining and developing what has been achieved by exploring new opportunities to increase the market and street trading locations, reviewing additional operating days, and introducing new licenses to encourage regeneration and local employment within the Borough.

The Strategy will follow an Action Plan to ensure the Market Service takes specific measures to reduce the number of illegal trading activities by educating those who want to work and assisting them in obtaining the necessary licence(s), thereby encouraging all licenced businesses and traders to maximise their income opportunities. It will also support our traders by providing them with necessary entrepreneurial skills training, mental health support and an opportunity to expand their business in different street trading locations/ types of markets.

The Markets Service was able to use the approved budget to deliver the Markets Strategy 2017-2020 that made a major impact on local employment, but was unable to reach its full potential due to lack of resources and financial constraints. The new Strategy aims to exceed the proven achievements but to also secure the long term sustainability of the markets by supporting several of the mayor’s manifesto commitments and by activating other locations within the borough for commercial use:

We will develop a Hackney Nights Strategy to provide clarity to residents and businesses on our approach, including supporting growth while tackling antisocial behaviour and crime in partnership with the police.

We will build community wealth and create opportunities where residents are the first to benefit as the local economy recovers and reopens - ensuring more of the jobs, opportunities, growth and money spent in Hackney stays in Hackney.

We will ensure that goods and services are procured locally and sustainably, securing good jobs and opportunities for local people. We will also link this with our ambition to create green jobs for Hackney residents, and we will refresh the Council’s Sustainable Procurement Strategy to include principles such as an end to Fire and Rehire, promotion of the London Living Wage, a focus on tackling climate change and enabling local people to access future net zero jobs.

We will work to expand the Chatsworth Road street market.

[We will] explore with local businesses and residents a new street market for Stoke Newington Church Street.

[We will] continue to explore and grow new smaller street trading areas around Hackney.

We will ensure the street markets at Ridley Road, Hoxton Street and Broadway Market are supported, working alongside local high street businesses to keep our local economy alive and thriving.

We will celebrate and promote all of our street markets so more of us shop at them, and ensure they remain London’s most vibrant and popular destinations.

We will celebrate and promote all of our street markets so more of us shop at them, and ensure they remain London’s most vibrant and popular destinations.

We will invest in the welfare and wellbeing of Hackney’s market traders with quality trading and storage facilities, offering training and help to traders, and work to ensure trader associations are supported and resourced.

We will bring forward a single council approach to enabling community regeneration in Hackney. Across the boroughs estates, neighbourhoods, high streets and town centres all will focus on delivering places that can support good growth that includes the new homes, workspaces, cultural and social spaces that a growing borough needs. An approach that will require all our public services to combine resources and focus on ‘the quality of place’ delivering quality public services - from social services to Streetscene, Planning to Finance, Street Markets to Housing Services and schools - all have their contribution to making a sustainable Hackney.

The first draft of the Market Strategy went to consultation for a period of 6 weeks between 12th June 2023 and 23rd July 2023. Based on the feedback from the consultation, the Markets Service have made some amendments to the final draft of the strategy. The main points are below.

·  Revision of the dates of the strategy - From 2023-28 to 2024-29 (pg 1)

·  Revision to content of the enforcement process in response to internal feedback (pg 18).

·  Revision to content of the trader onboarding process and amended recommendation to highlight the feedback form (pg 22) in response to: Majority of respondents stated that they agree with providing a welcome pack and feedback forms as part of trader onboarding process (pgs 38/39 draft).

·  Revision to content of street trading sites and market sites (pg 30) in response to: High number of respondents disagree with having street trading activities in Abney Park and Clissold Park (pgs 16-20 draft) and Additional feedback received from the public outside the consultation process where a number of objections have been received around issuance of licenses for any trading activities in/near the Morry Levy Memorial site on Yoakley Road (pgs 49-53 draft).

·  Revision to content of A boards (pgs 33) in response to: Over 50% of respondents are in agreement of having additional licences for Ice Cream vans, Night trading, A Boards and no fixed abode (pgs 42-44 draft).

·  Mention of “Mayor of London” included in sections associated with the Good Growth Fund in response to internal feedback (pgs 6,15).

·  Revision to content of “Paper-free” changed to “Virtual licences and digital processes” in response to internal feedback (pgs 39).

·  Appendix page added to provide the following key links in response to internal feedback (pg 40):

Business and Planning Act 2020

The Highways Act 1980

London Local Authorities Act 1990

Part III of the Food Act 1984

·  Relocation of tables to improve readability in response to internal feedback (pgs 41-42).

·  Any errors in grammar and punctuation found were amended.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

Adopting no future strategy was considered but rejected due to the risks involved in sustaining the Borough’s Markets and street trading activities - Please refer to Section 5.6 (Risk Assessment).