Thank you for your support, the petition has grown to over 10,000 signatures on paper and online and brought about our first meeting with Westminster Councillors and Economic Development team. But we’re not stopping. The privatisation continues, the petition continues. 100,000 signatures takes us to Parliament and an opportunity to protect all traditional markets from self-serving international capital investment and municipal developers. This is vital if we are to protect independent traders and small businesses with genuine community value from extortionate rents and rates demands. We are Berwick Street Market Traders and we are fighting for the right to exist for all independents. Back to the meeting. It was attended by Cllr Glenys Roberts, who agrees that Berwick Street Market should not be privatised; Cllr Louise Hyams who believes that we (traders) and they (council) are on the same page in wanting a thriving traditional market with a Soho twist; Ed Watson, the Petitionee and Head of Economic Development, who agrees that Westminster isn't good at running markets (but wasn’t aware its two previous market privatisations had ended in abject failure), David Wilkins (silent type) who is now the key contact on all letters and documents relating to the Privatisation and in particular termination of licences, Roger Austin, cheerleader and defender of the Privatisation project in the absence of Cllr Daniel Astaire (didn't come) whose idea it is. From our side was Mark Flowers, Elizabeth Cakes; Jim Fruit n Veg; Robin Dairy; with special guests Jamie Poulton (owner Randall & Aubin / former Greenwich Market Operator) and Jonathan Owen (market specialist / asset manager) who knows a thing or two and doesn’t like what he sees. The meeting was useful in that we all got to see and understand where everyone was coming from and why. Basically, the needs of the Soho community are being traded for "Blue Sky" thinking with no consideration being given to the consequences on the ground. There is no plan A let alone B. The Privatisation horn has been blown and Westminster will simply wait for the appropriate ‘market’ response. Well here it is… Dear Daniel Astaire, We are sorry you were unable to make our meeting but are grateful for the time taken by the Westminster team to discuss your privatisation proposal for Berwick Street Market. It was a good meeting in that the actual situation became clearer for all of us there. We believe it is vital that we continue this conversation if Berwick Street Market is to survive the privatisation proposal and so the traders association will be instructing solicitors. We have no choice. Confidence is being lost in the market and the only way we can see Westminster making its revenue ambition is via alfresco retail with window box market stalls, much as one might expect to see in an airport departure lounge - not on a 300 year old marketplace. It is also our view that only a retail developer with long term ambition and deep pockets will be in a position to realise that revenue, as that revenue ambition is not consistent with a traditional market with or without a Soho twist. The margins just don’t exist in fruit and veg, flowers, cakes or dairy, plus it is very likely that there will be less market stalls trading in Berwick Street than you have planned - in part due to the demolition works on two sides and the further encroachment of development works that are about to step another metre into the street, and in part due to the complete crisis of confidence that your plan for privatisation has caused. We should be talking about Emergency Service access during development and support for the market - instead you appear to be hell-bent on both the demolition of traders workplace and the market itself, and for what? A doomed-to-fail privatisation project that is undermining traders who were sold pitches during your recent marketing campaign promising us all a revival. This just isn’t right. I say that, because privatisation for the sake of it will not work. You accept that Berwick Street Market is in poor shape and beset with demolitions. You accept that Westminster has sold off the storage and that there is none available, you accept that Westminster has sold off the parking and that there is none available, and I’ll ask you to accept that it is very likely that Rupert Street would fail too if it wasn’t for the fact that Berwick Street is supporting it by taking it into its private storage that is rammed to the rafters as a consequence. Any operator coming into this scenario will either have to evolve things from where they are and take no profit, or invest heavily in providing storage, parking, washing and toilet facilities to meet criteria of a market. In other words they will have to replace all that Westminster has sold off / asset-stripped - whichever it turns out to be. We have offered you a proposal to evolve the market from where it is to where we apparently all want to be - a traditional market with a Soho twist. We ask that you support your team is this endeavour by; An immediate moratorium on any privatisation proposals or talk of it that only serves too further undermine market confidence and push traders off of Berwick Street. Sanction a rent reduction for the period of the demolition and development works, reducing the daily payment to no more than £10 per day. Not unreasonable in light of the hostile conditions the market is forced to operate under. Recognise all short licence traders as investors in Berwick Street Market and grant long-licences until such time as we have put a CIC into place to take that responsibility away from the council altogether. Build a realistically stepped rent increase so that after the period of the works the Berwick Street Market revival can be based on traders growth in revenues. It is evident that Westminster doesn’t know what it is doing as we have been consistently told by Westminster. The fact it is not aware that this market is a wholesale market with a retail presence, the fact it has sold off the market’s infrastructure, the fact that it has no viable vision of success, has not done any economic stress testing and the fact that is is looking for the market to respond to its privatisation call without any plan B or support for the community in the meantime, all bear this out. We do know what we are talking about and have an experienced team, including market operator and developer on board. Please consider this email, along with the emails from our consultant Jonathan Owen and Cllr Glenys Roberts as the Berwick Street Market initial response to the privatisation proposal as we understand it from last night’s meeting. We hope we can move this conversation forward to more positive ground with you and your team for the benefit of the Berwick Street Market community that is Soho. Robin Smith Berwick Street Traders