Campaigners take legal advice after council rejects community value bid for London market

Friends of Shepherd's Bush Market said it is considering its options after claiming the council "failed to provide evidence to support its decision".

The group made an asset of community value application for Shepherd's Bush Market and New Shepherd's Bush Market in an effort to block plans from developers to regenerate the site.

The Mayor of London granted Yoo Capital's application to redevelop the market, including the construction of an eight-storey multi-use building, in August 2024.

The council issued its response to the asset of community value application earlier this month, determining that the nomination "does not meet the criteria" set out in Section 88(1)(a) and (b) of the Localism Act 2011.

On this ground, it concluded that the application failed to demonstrate why the markets are considered to be 'social interests' and not standard retail services.

It added: "The primary function of the markets are as centres of retail activity and not primarily to further the social wellbeing or interest of the community and it is not realistic to think that there can continue to be a non-ancillary use that would further (whether or not in the same way as before) the social wellbeing or social interest of the local community."

The council also highlighted "discrepancies" between the description of the asset and the map the group provided in their application, which it said failed to meet requirements set out in Regulation 6 of the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012.

This regulation specifies that a nomination must include a description of the land and its boundaries, details on current occupants and freeholders/leaseholders, and the nominator's reasons for believing the land has community value.

The third ground for refusal, meanwhile, argued that the nomination failed to meet the requirements set out in Regulation 3 of the 2012 Regulations, as the listing would include "operational Land" as defined in Section 263 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

The regulations list' operational land' as land "which is not of community value (and therefore may not be listed)".

Friends of Shepherd's Bush Market has since expressed disappointment in the decision, with a spokesperson adding that the group is considering its options and taking legal advice.

A spokesperson for the group said: "We made a detailed submission supported by extensive evidence, including a recent report on social value in London Markets and Arch-based businesses from the London Assembly, as well as academic research.

"The Council has failed to provide evidence to support its decision."

The group argued that the council wrongly found that the application included operational land "despite our application clearly stating that any operational land 'is excluded from the scope of this application'".

It added: "The Council has also claimed that the market does not 'further the social wellbeing or interest of the community', an insulting claim that dismisses the crucial social function the market has provided for the local community for over a century."

A spokesperson for Protect Our Places, which is supporting Friends of Shepherd's Bush Market, said the council's decision "indicates a clear disregard for the substantive evidence" that Shepherd's Bush Market "plays an essential role both for sustaining the local economy and for supporting local communities' social and cultural lives".

It added: "In doing so, [the council] disregards local community perspectives, dismisses ample academic and community research, and ignores conclusions from the recently published London Assembly Planning committee report on the social value of markets and arch-based businesses, to which Protect Our Places (POP) coalition members made essential contributions."

Adam Carey