Wayne Hemingway attacks Camden Lock proposals
Red Or Dead boss who started out at market says council must support young designers
Published: 30th June, 2011
by DAN CARRIER
LEADING fashion designer Wayne Hemingway has fired a broadside at plans for a glossy multi-storey overhaul of Camden Lock market.
Mr Hemingway, who launched his global brand Red Or Dead from a stall in the Buck Street market, told the New Journal that the market owners, Camden Market Holdings, should be forced to ensure stalls are let at peppercorn rents to young businesses to ensure retains its reputation for being a fashion power house.
Camden Market Holdings last week unveiled a multi-million-pound scheme that would see a four-storey “market” shopping centre built on the canalside at Hawley Wharf. They also plan to build 220 homes, new offices, an arthouse cinema, small independent shops, workshops and public squares.
But there are fears the new market area will simply be packed with “clone town” stalls and dilute Camden Lock's cool reputation.
Mr Hemingway, currently the chairman of design pressure group Building for Life, first worked on his own stall at Camden Lock 30 years ago with his girlfriend Geraldine.
The couple ran the stall for nine years, selling an eclectic mix that market punters loved – from clothes to magazines, small bits of furniture to second hand Doc Martens – and eventually they raised the funds to start their own label.
Mr Hemingway said: “I hadn’t considered the fact I could run my own business until then. All we were trying to do at first was earn some extra cash to sort out our precarious finances.
“Without Camden Town there would not have been Red Or Dead, and we would not have gone on to achieve what we have achieved.
“We learned how to deal with customers, what to sell, what not to sell.
“Today, my children, who are in their 20s, would be hard pushed to find somewhere similar. There is nowhere doing this anymore – rents in places like Camden Town are so expensive. What we need to do is ensure opportunities are kept open. It worries me, if you take this away, what is left?
“The main thing is to remember that part of this is down to the council. Developers have to make a return on their land and there will always be intensification, but the main thing is they have to provide opportunities for the next generation to come forward. You can have developments but you need to strike a balance.”
Mr Hemingway said the Town Hall should consider placing a covenant on the development, meaning a portion would be let for low rents for young designers, fashion students.
He added: “You could be doing a real service by ensuring a third of them go for peppercorn rent. You could be doing a deal so it is affordable – you could ensure that is put in the leases.
“You could use a covenant. The council could really dig their heels in. They have to stand up for the foundations of what Camden Town’s reputation is built on.”
Mark Alper, of Camden Market Holdings, said: “Our intention is to keep a market with independent shops in keeping with Camden markets’ heritage.
“The proposal is predominantly an open market on levels, without an enclosed facade, and does not provide any services and facilities for large high-street retailers. I can assure you it will not be a shopping mall: it simply doesn’t work as one.”
The proposals will be formally submitted to Camden Council for planning approval over the summer.