Ridley Road traders warn rent rise will force them out

Debbie Wilkins and Scott Lomax said empty spaces in the market had become a magnet for antisocial behaviour and were alienating customers. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon. Free to use by LDRS partners

It’s fair to say that Ridley Road market is a different vibe from the trendy popular London bazaars like Portobello and Camden.

Along with the distinct blast of fresh fish even passers-by can’t hide from, this vibrant yet gritty hub has become one the last bastions against sweeping gentrification in Hackney, known for its frenetic energy and affordable, exotic mix of fresh food and goods.

Having stood here since the 1800s, many consider it Dalston’s ‘heart and soul’. But uncertainty has stalked this street for years, not only from threats of redevelopment but financial pressure.

Now, many traders say they are being squeezed by higher rents and a drop in footfall as they brace for a fresh hike they fear will make their future untenable.

“After Covid, it’s been a really tough time, and the council’s given us more headaches,” clothes seller Mohammed Shafique told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Clothes seller Mohammed Shafique said traders need a ‘lift’ and urged the council to cut staffing costs instead of raising rents. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon. Free to use by LDRS partners

“Of course, they have their own expenses too. I understand they have to deal with waste collection and solve all sorts of problems. But they need to cut their staff and give us a little bit of a lift.”

Shoe salesman Samba Tarawally, who has traded here for over a decade, said his business and others have never fully recovered from the pandemic.

Samba recently lost his licence after falling into arrears as he could not keep up with the rent. “When I first joined, there wasn’t all this pressure,” he said. “Since the coronavirus that’s changed. And now winter is coming…”

‘Dalston’s heart and soul’

The council has long stressed its support for Ridley Road.

In 2023, it announced a £1 million refurbishment package to “protect the heart and soul of Dalston” and continues to subsidise the market.

Yet even though its figures show the total visits to Ridley Road have been buoyant (the market saw 2.15m visitors in the year after lockdowns ended), management costs have skyrocketed.

Shoppers at Ridley Road market. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon. Free to use by LDRS partners

Hackney Council figures show its markets department – which manages Ridley Road and other ‘flagship’ destinations like Broadway and Chatsworth Road – has seen costs swell by £1m in the last five years, half of which are represented by staffing.

At the same time, the cost of collecting waste has increased by 40 per cent, disproportionately fuelled by those selling fresh produce.

The council has said it cannot, by law, support the markets through council tax revenue and must do so through licence fees.

As a result, last year it floated more fee changes but paused the consultation after traders warned it would make businesses unaffordable.

It then returned with revised plans which capped the amount that sellers have to pay for waste collection – wiping roughly £500,000 off the initial estimated annual costs.

‘We’re all suffering’

While welcome, this move bewildered traders like Scott Lomax, who has had his fruit and veg stall here for over 30 years.

“I just don’t understand how the projections could be cut like that. We can’t get a straight answer out of the council.”

But his and others traders’ frustrations run deeper than the latest plans.

The council’s refurbishment may have installed new benches, street trees and greenery, but Scott said the most promising change – a dedicated hot food area on its east side – has yet to materialise.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he hoped it would pull customers through the whole of the market, which currently bottlenecks at its high street entrance.

“People don’t need to walk through the markets now, and we’re all suffering. Some families have been here for a hundred years. We’ve all got people to support,” he said.

‘It’s a ghost town’

In lieu of this development, the eastward end remains largely empty. “It’s a ghost town,” said rug seller Abdul Alizade, one of many traders worried about how this unoccupied zone has become a magnet for substance misuse, drug-dealing and low-level crime.

“If we’d seen things getting any better around here, we could justify paying more money,” Scott added, “but it’s getting worse.

If people are coming in and see drug use and loads of people standing around drinking, they’re not going to want to bring their families, are they?”

Traders at Ridley Road Market say the empty east end is attracting drug users and street drinkers. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon. Free to use by LDRS partners

Despite the basic competition like any market, Ridley Road’s traders display a real camaraderie, born of long days (sometimes starting at 3am) and a shared fear for the fate of this frenetic marketplace, where many of them have worked for decades.

Debbie Wilkins, whose partner Matt has been trading at Ridley Road “since he was a little kid”, agreed that antisocial behaviour had put even more people off coming.

“We’re finding it hard as it is. They should just keep rents where they are for now. Markets are for the community, but we’re losing people.”

A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are proud that Ridley Road market plays such an important part in Hackney’s economy and community.

“By law, market fees have to cover the costs of running the market, they can’t be subsidised by council tax or used to make a profit. That’s why we have reviewed and consulted on updated fees for the first time since 2019.

“No decision has been made yet, we will look carefully at all the feedback before making any recommendations to Cabinet.

“Our goal is to keep Hackney’s markets fair and competitive. For most traders at Ridley Road, the proposed changes mean only small daily increases (often under £4, and sometimes less than £1), with bigger rises only where running costs, such as waste collection, are higher.

Every pound collected is reinvested to keep our markets safe, clean and well managed.”