Camden’s street markets – at the heart of the community
Camden’s street markets are important locations to many of the borough’s residents and visitors, going far beyond just being a convenient location to purchase goods and services.
Camden understands that these can play an important role in many other areas of the life of a community, directly addressing a range of social issues and helping to make Camden a place where everyone has a chance to succeed and nobody gets left behind.
Councillor Nadia Shah, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities at Camden Council, said:
“Realising how important our markets are, we were very keen to obtain an expert view from outside the council on how we could help reinvigorate these.
“Wayne Hemingway and his team are firmly rooted in Camden and its market history, are retail ‘gurus’, as well as being experts in numerous areas that could assist us in developing our markets to their fullest potential.
“This made them an ideal fit to undertake a wide ranging survey and consultation on our behalf.
“Residents and visitors told us how their local market was important to them, and as well as providing the goods and services they require, should act as community hubs, that help stimulate local enterprise whilst also promoting a sustainable environment.”
Wayne’s team received a comprehensive range of responses through their on-line questionnaire, face-to-face meetings and discussions that helped shape Camden’s recommendations and develop approaches to refresh the markets.
Councillor Shah continued: ‘We would like to develop our markets as community hubs, with shoppers becoming regular visitors, and provide experiences that will help create connections that will strengthen our communities. We want our markets to be as inclusive as possible, enhancing appeal for residents, visitors and people working in Camden and neighbouring areas too.
“I would personally like to thank all those that took the time to share their experiences and views of our markets. We are now working through the report’s recommendations to see how we can best implement these to make this a reality.”
Wayne Hemingway said: “I started in business almost four decades ago on a market stall facing Inverness Street and spent almost 10 years in Camden developing an understanding of what makes it tick and how markets matter to entrepreneurs and consumers.
“Human values haven’t changed, people still enjoy the “spirit” that markets bring in terms community and opportunity. Our research undertaken in the borough has informed a deliverable vision for Camden’s street markets that provides wide opportunity, and we look forward to seeing this being implemented over the next months and years for the benefit Camden’s residents and all those that visit the borough.”