Sacré bleu! French take over Belsize Park street

Published: 4th November, 2010
by DAN CARRIER

SHOPS in Belsize Park have accused the Town Hall of costing them thousands of pounds in lost business by allowing a French market to set up stalls in the street over the weekend.

Shopkeepers complained about the market clogging up the street with vans and using noisy diesel generators.

Andrew Thornton, who runs Budgens in Belsize Park, said the event cost him about £5,000. 

“No one consulted us whether we were happy for it to go ahead, and we feel this is just not the right place to have this type of market,” he added.

Belsize Residents’ Association chairwoman Averil Nottage said the stalls had caused an obstruction. “We recently asked the council if we could have a community noticeboard on Haverstock Hill and were told it wasn’t possible because it would get in the way of pedestrians,” she said. “At least if we had such a thing they could have warned us about this market in advance.”

Former Belsize ward Lib Dem councillor Alexis Rowell said he had worked to block the market after its first appearance three years ago had caused problems for traders.

He said: “This is not a French market. There were simply a few French people there selling stuff dressed up as fancy French luxuries. There was Turkish Delight with a French flag in it.”

Belsize Lib Dem councillor Tom Simon added: “Budgens in particular has made great efforts to support the area. I see permitting this market to go ahead as a slap in the face for Budgens, given the efforts they have gone to in recent years.

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But some shoppers welcomed the market. Claudia Greene said: “I got some lovely things. There used to be loads of ‘Johnny Onions’ selling their goods on push bikes in Hampstead and now they seem to have gone – this reminded me of them.”

Damian Harris, who lives in Belsize Park, said: “I bought some lovely cheese. It made a nice change.”

A Camden Council press official said the Town Hall worked closely with stores to ensure events such as the French market had a positive impact for them.

The council would be gathering feedback to help improve future events, including markets in Swiss Cottage, Leather Lane and Queen’s Crescent.

The French Market, which runs the event, did not return calls and emails from the New Journal.