Thanks to everyone who took part in the Council’s markets consultation which had a great response from traders, residents, businesses and shoppers to make sure street markets, like Tachbrook, remain at the heart of our local communities. With this feedback Conservative-run Westminster City Council has a new plan for the future to help our street markets flourish in the future:
- bring more diversity to Westminster’s markets such as encouraging non-street food traders to open market stalls;
- attract more visitors, creating vibrant market places at the heart of our communities;
- use innovation and technology such as WIFI to recruit the next generation of traders, with increased training in areas such as card payments and customer service;
- become more sustainable by increasing recycling, reducing plastic, increasing biodegradable packaging and reusable energy, and offering in-season food. Responses suggested this was very important to traders.
Responses to the consultation also showed strong support for the adoption of concessions on the application fee for charitable or community organisations, start-up businesses and applications from Westminster residents, and we intend to implement such concessions.
During the consultation, the council also looked at the potential offer of hardship support to strengthen less profitable businesses, for example through Westminster's Pop-Up Business School. We intend to offer this hardship support. This would give businesses the time they need to become more sustainable in the long term.
