Off-shore landlord tells Ridley Road Shopping Village traders to get out ( again)

Larochette Real Estate Inc., the offshore company based in the British Virgin Islands secretive tax haven which owns the Ridley Road Shopping Village, has once again told the indoor market traders to get out. Its lawyers have written to traders saying "We are imminently to receive a Community Protection Order and have been advised by the police that the market should be shut".

The letters go on to say " the market will close from the 31 March and occupiers will not be offered renewals [of their leases]" and "this letter is not an allegation of wrongdoing against you personally".

Larochette also issued a press statement, which Hackney Citizen faithfully reported but apparently without speaking first to the police or traders. #SaveRidleyRoad requested our local Green Councillor Zoe Garbett to make enquiries with the police who have now replied to say "To clarify, a Community Protection Warning (CPW) was issued, which is the lowest form of enforcement in an ASB and crime setting...the grounds were based on the continuing failure of the building owner and the building management company to take reasonable and necessary measures to address safety concerns and reduce ongoing criminality in and around the Indoor Market. In this case, the persistent inaction of the responsible parties resulted in conditions that contributed to anti-social and criminal behaviour and posed a continuing risk to public safety. Despite prior engagement, the issues remained unaddressed...the decision for the closure is with the building owner and is not a condition of the Community Protection Warning. The wording used by Larochette in their press release is inaccurate. We have not requested the closure of the Indoor Market space and have not issued a closure order.. "

So it appears that it has been Larochette's own failings, including failing to report serious incidents on their premises to the police, which have contributed to criminal activity locally and risks to public safety. Larochette's response has been to misrepresent the police's position, to claim that there is an Order rather than a Warning to improve management,  and to seek to destroy the livelihoods of traders by evicting  them despite acknowledging they have done nothing wrong - in other words "No fault evictions".  It is collective punishment - all are to punished because of the few.

Larochette has tried to evict traders before. It had planned to demolish and re-develop the Shopping Village as luxury flats and offices in October 2018. It gave traders just 14 days to get out - despite many having been there for decades. 

You can read the backstory from these links - how #SaveRidleyRoad resisted the evictions, got the Shopping Village declared an Asset of Community Value, how the Council agreed to take over management if Larochette refurbished the indoor market, and how we defeated Larochette's plans for slum flats on the top floor. And you can watch the film -  "Ridley Road 2020 - a street market under threat

     

But, after 4 years, Larochette's refurbishments are only half finished and the agreement with the Council has expired. The indoor market traders position is now even more precarious.  Our community, and particularly the Black and Global Majority traders and customers, who rely on the affordable services and goods which the traders offer, are under threat. What will the Council now do to protect our interests and culture?  

 

We have tried to make the Council and the public aware of the threats to the indoor market traders. #SaveRidleyRoad made this artwork "Timeline of Resistance" but the Council's 'cleansing' service tore it down within days and sent it to be burnt in their incinerator. We made this film to memorialise the artwork.