REGENERATING ELECTRIC AVENUE
Gort scott P.1 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 The context Strategic Markets embody creativity, innovation, culture, and a genuine point of difference to high street chains, attracting more people and benefiting surrounding businesses. Turnover of inner london markets rose from £430m in 2008 to £615m in 2014. However, Brixton’s market traders report a decline in sales. Lambeth Council identified that improving Electric Avenue supports all three of its strategic priorities, inclusive growth; strong & sustainable neighbourhoods; & reducing inequality.
Local Brixton is a cultural destination and of particular significance to the British African-Caribbean community. Electric Avenue, 1895s, the first shopping street lit by electricity The town centre has at its heart, a series of street and covered markets, along with units in railway arches and more traditional retail formats. This mix is central to Brixton’s sense of identity and as a genuinely distinct town centre. Electric Avenue was the first shopping street to be lit by electricity, and is also a key heritage asset within the Brixton Conservation Area. The street markets, and Electric Avenue in particular, continue to provide an anchor point for local residents, but also those that have moved Electric Avenue,1904, flower stalls under the canopy away and still identify with the town centre. The Council’s Future Brixton regeneration programme is delivering 3 major mixed use developments, with around 1,000 homes & 2,500 jobs.
Brixton Markets,1960s New Electric Avenue Signage
Gort scott P.2 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 A public realm strategy (completed 2014) sets the framework for further improvements, linked to The longer-term Future Brixton regeneration programme redevelopment, but also Priority Areas to come 1 The Brixton Public Realm Strategy (2014) Future Brixton forward in advance. Key
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Centre 3 Priority Area (part PUBLIC REALM Brixton Road PUBLIC4 REALMColdharbour 1 Lane East (design development Valentia Place Linked to Electric Avenue Brixton Station Road The Recreation bour Lane SOMERLEYTON of the HSF bid) AREAS The Brixton Public Realm Strategy (2014) Priority Area (part Atlantic Road/ The Ritzy Valentia Place PRIORITIES 5 Acre Lane East 3 1 ColdharbourCentreColdhar Lane Key Somerleytonstage) Road 9 Priority Area Electric Avenue 108 1. AnBRIXTON attractive CENTRAL and modernBrixton central Central — an opportunity Brixton for thatPope’s Roadworks for all its users of the HSF bid) ROAD Brixton Station Road development 2 Valentia Place 2 Linked to SouthAtlantic Road/ 3 GreshamSOMERLEYTON Road around 250 homes, workspace,PUBLICPriority REALM Area shops (part PUBLIC 1 Coldharbour REALM Pope’s Road The Ritzy Brixton Central 6 Electric Avenue 2 Windrush The Ritzy of theLinked HSF bid) to BrixtonAREASLane Central East development The Brixton PublicBrixton Realm Strategy2 (2014) 1 LinkedCanterbury to GardensSouth The Recreation Valentia Place SOMERLEYTONand new public spaces,PRIORITIES alongdevelopment3rd Phase with Pope’s Road Village Coldharbour Lane Town Centre Brixton ROAD Atlantic Road 9 Building on the investmentBrixton areas Central Square 5 1 NorthPope’s and Road Brixton Hall Village Coldharbour Lane 32 Somerleyton Key Pope’s Road Atlantic2 Road Brixton Station Road the potential refurbishmentLinked of the to Rec 7 Atlantic Road/ Electric Avenue development 3 ROAD 5 LinkedPriorityPope’s toArea Your (part Road SouthStationSouth Road BrixtonBRIXTON CENTRAL identified in the Brixton2 SPD, Electricthe Future Avenue (delivered 2016) Windrush 1 Passage 1 North and Brixton Electric Avenue Brixton Central Electric Avenue Village 3 Town 6 New Town Hall Atlantic Road Coldharbour LaneGresham Road Square and railway arches. It alsoof includes the HSF bid) the PUBLIC REALM Valentia Place Pope’s Road Brixton regeneration strategyPUBLICLinked REALM breaks to Your Station Road Hall development St.Coldharbour Matthews 9 8 Windrush Brixton development 4 Electric Avenue AREAS 1 Pope’s Road 83 NorthNorthPope’s and Roadand Brixton Brixton Station Road Brixton Road The Recreation 6 PRIORITIES 10 Village Coldharbour Lane Brixton Townscape Heritage6 Initiative to Peace Gardens 3 New AtlanticTown Hall Road (design development stage) Town Atlantic Road 2 Lane West Centre down into three interrelatedKey programmes Square 2 Linked to St. Matthews YOUR NEW Brixton Road Linked to Your StationSouth Road BRIXTON CENTRAL development 4 Hall Brixton Central overview Linked to 1a — Street Market Strategy Coldharbour Lane Brixton Station Road Electric Avenue 6 restore buildings along ElectricBrixton AvenueCentral Brixton Road/ 10 Gresham Road AtlanticPeace Gardens Road/ New Town Hall 5 Acre Lane East 3 of activity. Priority Area (part PUBLIC REALM Coldharbour Lane SomerleytonLinked Road to Your St.Pope’sNew Matthews Road Town Hall development Brixton Road PUBLIC4 REALMColdharbour 1 Lane East (design development TOWN HALL4 8 development Canterbury ofLinked the HSF to bid) AREASElectric Avenue YOUR NEW1 Brixton and Atlantic Road. development 94 The Recreation SOMERLEYTON 10 Village Keydevelopment 3 PeaceNorth andGardens Brixton Valentia Place PRIORITIES The Ritzy 5 Acre Lane East Atlantic Road Coldharbour Lane Centre Key Somerleyton Road SOMERLEYTON ColdharbourGardens Key 8 Coldharbour Lane stage) Brixton Road Linked to Your 1. AnBRIXTON attractive CENTRAL and modernBrixton central Central — an opportunity Brixton for thatPope’s Roadworks for all its users The Ritzy 7 LinkedSt. to Matthews6 PeaceStation Road Gardens development 2 TOWNElectric Avenue HALL Lane East 2 ROAD Brixton Station Road Linked to SouthAtlantic Road/ 6 Somerleyton Road — around3rdNew Phase Town 300 Hall 5 AcreBrixton Lane Road/ East 3 GreshamSOMERLEYTON Road around 250 homes, workspace,PUBLICPriority REALM Area shops (part PUBLIC 1 Coldharbour REALM Coldharbour Lane ROAD ATLANTICSomerleyton ROAD Road 10 St. Matthews The Ritzy Brixton Central 6 Electric Avenue 5 8 development SomerleytonBrighton Terrace Explore alternative Windrush of theLinked HSF bid) to BrixtonAREASLane Central East development 7 homes, including extra caredevelopment homes, a 4 The Recreation Valentia Place PRIORITIES3rd Phase Pope’s Road 10 7 8 Acre Lane East 7 ColdharbourPeace Gardens Centre ROAD and new public spaces, alongdevelopment with Windrush SOMERLEYTON Passage stall types and Town Square 5 1 Brixton NorthPope’s and Road Brixton Brixton Road The RitzyYOUR NEW Linked to 6 Hall Village Coldharbour Lane 3 Somerleyton Town new theatre, chef school, communityElectric Avenue Lane East Atlantic Road Brixton Station Road Linked to 2 Square 2 the potential refurbishmentLinked of the to Your Rec 7 SouthAtlantic Road/ Hall 3rd Phase 5 ColdharbourAcre Lane East layout Windrush 3 5 PriorityPope’s Area (part Road 1 SouthStationPassage Road TOWN8 Coldharbour HALL Lane ROAD SomerleytonLinked Road to Somerleyton Road development Electric Avenue Brixton Central Electric Avenue 5 and workspace. Market 8 Somerleyton Town Square 6 and railway arches. It alsoNewof includes the Town HSF Hallbid) the development Lane West Valentia Place Pope’s Road 7 Hall development St.Coldharbour Matthews Windrush SOMERLEYTON PassageColdharbour Explore locations 1 Brixton developmentPope’s Road 48 NorthNorthPope’s and Roadand Brixton Brixton Station Road The Ritzy Pope’s Road 6 Brixton Road/ 10 Village Coldharbour Lane Brixton Townscape Heritage6 Initiative to 3 PeaceLane West Gardens Town Square Somerleyton PassageLane East Atlantic2 Road Linked to 2 Your New Town Hall —9 creating a for services – YOUR NEW Brixton Road Brixton Central overview Linked to Your StationSouth1a — Road Street Market Strategy Hall 4 ROAD 9 3rdMarket Phase 9 CanterburyColdharbour Electric Avenue restore buildings along ElectricBrixton AvenueCentral 5 YOUR NEW 8 6 New Town Hall 5 AcreBrixton Lane Road/ East new civic centre around a refurbished GardensLaneSomerleyton West electricity/water SomerleytonLinked Road to Your Pope’sNew Road Town Hall development Pope’s Road 7 Pope’s Road TOWN HALL4 8 Coldharbour Lane development 9 St.Canterbury Matthews 10 Coldharbour LanePassage West YOUR NEW1 Brixton and Atlantic Road. development 4 North and Brixton WindrushTOWN HALL town hall, with council offices,Brixton 200 Station new Brixton Road/ 10 Village Coldharbour Lane Key 3 Peace Gardens Town Square Brixton Road/ Atlantic Road SOMERLEYTON ColdharbourGardens Key POP BRIXTON POP BRIXTON Explore locations Brixton Road The Ritzy Linked to Your 6 Station Road Hall 4 BRIXTON STATION Road Market 10 CanterburyColdharbour BRIXTON STATION TOWN HALL 7 LinkedSt. to Matthews PeaceLane East Gardens YOUR NEW homes, shops, enterprise space and 89 Brighton Terrace Electric Avenue 6 Somerleyton Road — around3rdNew Phase Town 300 Hall 5 AcreBrixton Lane Road/ East 7 and TEMP CAR GardensLane West and TEMP CAR for services – 8 Coldharbour Lane ROAD ATLANTICSomerleyton ROAD Road 10 St. Matthews ROAD MARKET ROAD MARKET 5 development 4 SomerleytonBrighton Terrace Explore alternative PARKcommunity SITE uses. PARK SITE 10 homes, including extra8 caredevelopment homes,Acre Lanea EastPeace Gardens TOWN HALL Brixton Road/ outlets SOMERLEYTON7 7 PassageColdharbour stall types and IndoorIndoor markets market improvements WindrushBrixton Road 10 The Ritzy new theatre, chef school, Linkedcommunity to 6 4 9 BrightonCanterbury Terrace Town Square Electric Avenue Lane East YOUR NEW Brixton Station Road Brixton Station Road Improved Hall 3rd Phase 5 ColdharbourAcre Lane East layout 7 Gardens Coldharbour Lane ROAD SomerleytonLinked Road to Somerleyton Road development 3 5 8 and workspace. Market 8 Somerleyton relationships to development 7 Lane West TOWN HALL Brixton Road/ Windrush SOMERLEYTON PassageColdharbour Explore locations 10 The Ritzy Pope’s Road 6 Brixton Road/ Brighton Terrace Indoor Markets Town Square Your New Town Hall —9 creatingSomerleyton a PassageLane East Atlantic Road 4 Atlantic Road Hall 3rd Phase Coldharbour for services – 7 5 4 YOUR NEW ROAD Market 98 Canterbury POPE’S ROAD POPE’S ROAD new civic centre around a refurbished GardensLaneSomerleyton West electricity/water Explore Pope’s Road 7 Pope’s Road 10 Coldharbour LanePassage West MARKET MARKET WindrushTOWN HALL town hall, with council offices,Brixton 200 Station new Brixton Road/ appropriate vehicle Town Square Brixton Road/ Explore locations Hall 4 BRIXTON STATION O BRIXTON Road Market 10 Coldharbour BRIXTON STATION O BRIXTON YOUR NEW homes, shops, enterprise space and 89 BrightonCanterbury Terrace servicing routes ROAD7 MAR ET TEM CAR GardensLane West ROAD MAR ET TEM CAR for services – Brixton Road Brixton Road TOWN HALL AR community SITE uses. AR SITE outlets IndoorIndoor markets market Brixtonimprovements Road/ 4 10 9 Canterbury YOUR NEW Brixton Station Road Brighton Terrace Brixton Station Road Improved BrixtonELECTRIC Markets Masterplan AVENUE within wider Future Brixton strategy ELECTRIC AVENUE 7 3 Gardens Brixton Markets masterplan within wider Future Brixton strategy TOWN HALL relationships to MARKET 4 MARKET Brixton Road/ Gort scott P.8 Brixton Market Public Space: New London Awards 2017 Gort scott 10 Indoor Markets P.3 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London AwardsBRIXTON 2017 BRIXTON Atlantic Road Brighton Terrace 4 Atlantic Road 7 O E S ROAD O E S ROAD VILLAGE VILLAGE Explore Electric Lane 4 Electric Lane MAR ET MAR ET appropriate vehicle servicing routes Electric Avenue Electric Avenue Brixton Road Brixton Road 4 MARKET MARKET ROW ROW ELECTRIC A ENUE ELECTRIC A ENUE MAR ET 4 MAR ET RELIANCE RELIANCE BRIXTON BRIXTON ARCADE ARCADE ILLA E ILLA E
Electric Lane 4 Electric Lane
Electric Avenue Electric4 Avenue MAR ET MAR ET ROW ROW The Ritzy The Ritzy
RELIANCE RELIANCE ARCADE ARCADE
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The Ritzy The Ritzy
5 The challenge Strengths & opportunities Electric Avenue supports access to cheap healthy food for those on low incomes, servicing the local ethnic communities. Brixton markets are a major attractor to the town centre, with over 46% of visitors to Brixton heading to the markets as part of their visit. 44% of visitors to the market (indoor & outdoor) are defined by Acorn as affluent professionals, with 37% defined as low income families. This illustrates the potential future role of the markets to build social cohesion. Weaknesses & threats The street market was in decline, footfall had fallen by 14%, while 72% of traders said trade was down. Electric Avenue was a constrained and contested space. The retail environment for the market and shops, doubling up as space for servicing, storage & waste disposal, as well as supporting a residential community. The existing public realm was in a poor state of repair, having a negative effect on the retail environment. Rubbish collection vehicle used to drive through the market during hours of operation A culture of fly tipping alongside overpitching of shop front displays and market stalls had also developed, all to the detriment of pedestrian circulation. The location of the market stalls set to one side of the street, fronting the narrower side, compounded poor pedestrian circulation. A road to the rear of the stalls, taking much needed space, led to a “poor” side of the street impacting on the trade of shops. A refuse truck would use it during the market day, creating a cramped environment.
Before the works, poor quality of public realm & street clutter were a magnet for fly-tipping
Gort scott P.4 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 Other concerns included lack of weather proofing for their stalls, small pitch sizes, lack of way finding, and poor market infrastructure, including electricity and water. Gentrification was (and continues to be) a real concern.
Poor market layout, over pitching from shops and a service road, had led to a congested and unattractive retail and town centre environment.
Gort scott P.5 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 A street market masterplan & detailed design for The response By 2021 Brixton’s street market will be known for Electric Avenue Funding its... The Electric Avenue works are part of a wider The Council worked to establish a £3.6m Affordability & financial sustainability: The council market masterplan, produced by Gort Scott. The regeneration programme focused on Electric will continue to directly manage Brixton street masterplan will be used to define the Council’s Avenue. market as the best way to ensure they continue to approach to future development of the remaining provide easy, low-cost, low-risk access to retail It did this using its own funds, alongside securing market streets and where developer contributions space for ‘start-up’ businesses. grants from the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) should be directed. High Street Fund (HSF), Transport for London’s (TfL) Unique identity: Retain its core identity, character Gort Scott’s detailed design of Electric Avenue Local Investment Plan (LIP) funds and the Heritage and community appeal as an authentic community builds on the identified strengths and opportunities Lottery Fund’s (HLF) Townscape Heritage Initiative centred street market. A key aspect of this will be and address the weaknesses and threats. (THI). This has taken strong advocacy, but also marketing and promotion. It works hand in glove with the market strategy clear partnership working. Customer focus: The market will expand its work to help facilitate better market management customer base, attracting and selling to a broader and provides the platform to deliver the market’s spectrum of shoppers. A market strategy vision. Mix of Commodities: Over time, the commodity A key first stage was to establish a street market mix will evolve within the market, with a focus on strategy to improve the management of the street using up spare pitch capacity to achieve a balance market & inform the public realm design. of traditional and new products and services, recognising changing demand. The strategy work, led by consultants Quarterbridge, working with market researchers High standards: The market traders and ROI, took into account consideration of street management will have improved performance by trading economics, consumer habits, future trends, regularising trader presence, improving customer trading time-scales, potential operating models, as service, adhering to license conditions and traffic well as council priorities. management orders, and ensuring visible product pricing. The strategy team worked alongside the Council and Gort Scott to provide an evidence base Attractive streets & good quality infrastructure: to inform the design interventions, based on The market will have benefitted from the local customer feedback and an understanding of the development and investment with the three market retail sector. streets enjoying improved pedestrian/shopper circulation, new paving, utilities, seating, greening A vision for the street market strategy was and market stalls. developed and guided the first stage of improvement work at Electric Avenue. It will be Effective waste management and focus on used to inform future improvement work to the environmental sustainability: Traders, neighbouring markets at Pope’s Road and Brixton Station Road: shop retailers and markets management will have worked together to dramatically improve the levels of waste management and hygiene, including food and other waste recycling. The market will continue to support and promote local supply chains.
Gort scott P.6 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 ATLANTIC
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Electric Avenue works within the Brixton Markets masterplan, showing the relocation of stalls and public realm works
Gort scott P.7 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017
The Print House 1 Ashwin Street London E L Rev ate Notes o not scale o this drawing. Any discrepancies or ueries should gort scott E: in o gortscott.com T: (20) 72 62 be brought to the attention o the authors. Gort Scott Ltd retain copyright o these drawings and the work depicted on them. No unauthorised reproduction o work. PR ECT: Brixton Market This drawing is or the purposes declared in the Status Box only. Whilst all reasonable e orts are used to ensure drawings are accurate Gort Scott Ltd accept no responsibilty or liability or any TITLE: Brixton Market Proposed reliance on these drawings or purposes other than those stated. RAWING: B M 02 01 RE : A STAT S: SCALE: 1. 00 A1 1:1000 A Tender ATE: November 201
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The design fulfils the overall aspiration for a pedestrian-priority public realm, with more legible entrances and widened public access. STAT S: In ormation
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designers, to create a graphic identity for the are reta Electric Avenue and Pope’s Road ‘gateway’ all depicted purposes signage. Both signs place importance on P
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gort scott o . ueries should be brought to the attention o the authors. Gort Scott Ltd retain copyright o these PR ECT: Brixton Market drawings and the work depicted on them. No addressed. only these unauthorised reproduction o work.
TITLE: Indicative Street Section RAFT no This drawing is or the purposes declared in the RAWING: B M S 001 1 0601 RE : Status Box only. Whilst all reasonable e orts are STAT S: and • Street market pitch sizes were shifted to the used to ensure drawings are accurate Gort Scott SCALE: 1:100 A Gort
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centre of the street with the service road scale Box stated
removed altogether. This enable the size of to drawing accept
pitches to be increased and new gazebo style not
stalls to be introduced. td o ueries authors drawings unauthorised This Status used L reliance those • The public realm design includes the demarcation of display zones outside shops to control the size of displays. Land ownership searches provided evidence to licence all shops on the street. • Using innovative new powers available to local authorities, the street lamp columns have been removed and relocated as wall mounted lamps.
P Section and plan of new market layout which maximises sales opportunity & pedestrian flow
Gort scott P.8 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017
The Print House 1 Ashwin Street London E L Rev ate Notes o not scale o this drawing. Any discrepancies or gort scott E:in o gortscott.com T: (20) 72 62 ueries should be brought to the attention o the authors. Gort Scott Ltd retain copyright o these PR ECT: Brixton Market drawings and the work depicted on them. No unauthorised reproduction o work. TITLE: Indicative Street Section RAFT This drawing is or the purposes declared in the RAWING: B M S 001 1 0601 RE : Status Box only. Whilst all reasonable e orts are STAT S: used to ensure drawings are accurate Gort Scott SCALE: 1:100 A Ltd accept no responsibility or liability or any reliance on these drawings or purposes other than In ormation ATE: une 201 those stated. Notes ate Rev WHOLE MASTERPLAN
Sketch of proposed view from the Brixton Road entrance
Gort scott P.9 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 • A row of bollards along one side of the street have been removed. Informed by the market strategy, new gazebos given to traders at no cost, which are quicker to erect, weather-proof and present a unified visual market identity, are now in place. Stalls are located back-to-back to remove the front and back condition. Those traders, preferring to use traditional costermonger barrows are free to do so, providing a strong connection with the heritage of the street market. The market pedestrian zone times have been extended to mirror those of the operation of the market, making the market safer and a more pleasant experience. Additional loading bays outside the pedestrian area have also been provided, while permits allow traders with heavy goods to enter the pedestrian zone until mid-morning, when the market is still quiet. The design has also directly addressed the significant waste problems on the street, dramatically reducing fly-tipping and the accumulation of waste on the street • Relocating the stalls into the centre of the street removes the ability for the Refuse Collection Vehicle to drive down during hours of market operation, which while positive, reduces waste collection capacity. • To address this the street market waste compactors have been relocated to increase their capacity and emptying frequency. Additional electric trollies are provided to collect waste in the pedestrianised zone.
Central pedestrianised event space created at junction with Electric Lane
Gort scott P.10 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 • Linked to these improvements, waste collection rules have been changed to make it illegal to put waste on the floor. This was not possible without increased collections & the creation of extra waste disposal capacity. • A review of waste collection contracts is underway to ensure businesses are paying for the waste they dispose of. The implementation of pedestrianisation hours are set in line with the market opening hours to allow for a new paved central event space at the junction with Electric Lane.
Central pedestrianised event space with new public realm
Gort scott P.11 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 Before (top) & after (bottom) - relocating stalls into the centre, removing lamp columns, street furniture & the service road, & increasing waste collection capacity combine to dramatically improve Electric Avenue.
Gort scott P.12 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 Before (top) & after (bottom) - stalls are now positioned to welcome shoppers into the street, while the culture change and increased waste collection capacity has created a more welcoming retail environment. The new gazebos have improved stall display.
Gort scott P.13 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 The Electric Avenue Townspace Heritage Initiative (THI) Electric Avenue is at the heart of Brixton Conservation Area, epitomising the town centre’s historic character since its Victorian development. An essential part of the Electric Avenue improvement programme is a focus on enhancing the street as a heritage asset. This includes replacement of the large and out-of- character street lamp columns with traditional style lanterns fixed to the buildings. Over £2million has been pulled together to repair and restore the historic buildings of Electric Avenue, reinstating lost architectural features and traditional shopfronts, improving signage and where necessary bringing empty residential units back into use. 3 projects are currently underway on site and due to be completed by June 2017, with another 5 in the pipeline. We expect to complete 12 by the end of the programme. Whilst there were more than 40 historic costermonger barrows being used in Brixton’s street markets even up until the 1980s, this had dwindled to less than 10 by 2015. The Council, working with the Heritage of London Trust and the Brixton Market Traders Federation, launched and invested in a crowd funding campaign to undertake the much needed restoration of the remaining traditional barrows. To date six have been restored and are being used on the market. A complimentary programme of work is also underway with local schools, artists and heritage groups.
Shop-front prior to works Work in progress - Reinstated shop-front and refurbished building (fridge still to be painted) Gort scott P.14 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017
Work currently being done to reinstate Historic market barrow launch Complementary school heritage the shopfront of 45 Electric Avenue architecture project.
Gort scott P.15 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 The process Community co-production, alongside construction while the market was still operational have created challenges. Before submitting a bid to the Mayor of London’s High Street Fund, Council officers met with the market traders to understand what needed to improve. A Steering Group met monthly. This included the Brixton Market Traders Federation, Brixton BID, Brixton Society, Groupe Geraud (the operators of the indoor market), local ward members, FM Conways (the main contractors), the GLA, and key Council officers. Throughout 2015 and into 2016 a series of consultation and engagement events were convened. This included 1-2-1 and group meetings, workshops, public consultation events in the market, a design for all workshop and a customer survey, including focus groups, which reached over 400 shoppers. 3 different layouts were physically modelled and shown at an event on the market, held within one of the proposed new gazebo stalls. The traders where most keen on the optimal centralised, back-to-back layout. One of the fruit & veg traders agreed to take a new gazebo stall on a 2 month trial and became its strongest advocate.
Market layout consultation
Gort scott P.16 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 The requirement to undertake the work, while both shops and the street market were operational, created the need to ensure good community relations. • A phasing strategy was devised that minimised the number of times traders needed to be relocated and meant that shops never had to shut. • A community liaison manager, crucially working contractor-side for FM Conway also worked at the market, 3-days a week throughout the construction. They developed an excellent rapport with the market traders, local shop owners and residents, regularly communicating (including via a newsletter) information about the construction works and working to understand different stakeholder perspectives. • This ensured that FM Conway were able to identify and address issues early and made it possible to deliver the project in a complex and congested environment. To improve operation of the market, it was important to help the street traders and shop- owners see themselves as part of one entity. This enabled coordination on key contested issues. Working in a congested & contested space required open & continuous community liason. The Brixton BID set up, and continue to facilitate, an Electric Avenue forum which is attended by key Council officers and its contractors to discuss changes and resolve any issues that have arisen as a result.
Market stall trial day.
Gort scott P.17 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 Working with the Brixton Market Traders Federation Funders (BMTF), an allocations policy for new traders has been implemented that will see the commodity mix gradually improved to provide a balanced shopping experience. This is informed by the street market strategy. Working with the Brixton BID and BMTF, the HSF grant was also used to develop a programme to provide traders with contactless payment consoles, the roll out of which is currently underway. The Brixton BID have just signed a licence to take on the event space at the junction with Electric Lane and will run music events on Friday and Saturday lunchtimes, to attract more people to the market, alongside putting out much needed tables Local steering group and chairs for shoppers to sit and dwell. members
Strategy, design & construction team
Partnership working within the project
Gort scott P.18 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 Conclusions Electric Avenue, despite its former glories, was a street in decline. Concerted partnership working across businesses, residents, operators, funders, designers and contractors has worked to ensure the status quo would not continue and that change has been positive. Supported by an evidence based retail and market strategy, the public realm improvements, engagement and redesign of the market has also worked as a catalyst and bedrock for enforcement and management improvements. As a direct result of the changes: • 6 new market traders are moving into Electric Avenue, with the next wave expected int he summer. • The commodity mix is re-balancing, with the first food uses moving into the Electric Avenue street market. • The Brixton BID has signed an agreement to manage the new event space, including putting out tables & chairs for market customers to sit and dwell. • The police report anecdotal evidence of reduced crime & safer environment, both day and night. • The Council is a better position to manage and monitor waste contracts, bringing in additional income. • Additional market pitches have been created, bringing in new income. • The market street is much cleaner and the Refuse Collection Vehicle has been redirected towards other priorities. • Regular meetings are now held, facilitated by the BID, between the street traders, shop
Opening ceremony with Eddy Grant, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Leader of Lambeth Council, Cllr Lib Peck
Gort scott P.19 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017 owners and key Council officers involved in town centre management, with this feedback loop delivering better outcomes for all (especially shoppers). • The Brixton BID have taken a greater role in managing the town centre, including maintaining the Electric Avenue sign, facilitating the Electric Avenue forum, managing a markets event programme and now, elsewhere in the market (Brixton Station Road) taking forward a proposed night market. It is a testament to the success of the project that cultural icon Eddy Grant was a guest of honour at a switching-on ceremony for the Electric Avenue sign and blasting out a rendition of “Rock down to Electric Avenue” at the project’s grand opening. The event for locals and market traders was hosted by Lambeth Council and also attended by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and the Leader of Lambeth Council, Cllr Lib Peck. While now complete, the work to build on the physical improvements and address the market’s decline is still underway. Better enforcement, made possibe by both the public realm improvements and the culture change it has helped to effect, will continue.
The completed new market layout from Atlantic Road
Gort scott P.20 Regenerating Electric Avenue: New London Awards 2017