Traders at one of the oldest indoor markets in London fear they will struggle to survive if the venue’s back entrance is forced to shut early.
Tooting Market is appealing against a planning condition which requires it to shut its Totterdown Street entrance at 8pm instead of 10.30pm.
Wandsworth Council allowed the market to extend in 2017 under the condition it would close at 8pm because people live close by.
The restriction was not enforced and the entrance has continued to stay open until 10.30pm, according to market management.
The market applied in 2021 to remove the condition so the entrance could remain open until 10.30pm and operate under “controlled secure access” until midnight so traders would have time to lock up at night.
But this was refused over concerns for neighbours.
The market has now launched an appeal to the planning inspector.
Baron Deschauer, manager of the market, says disruption from large crowds gathering on the Totterdown forecourt after the lifting of lockdown restrictions and the Euros last summer was the “trigger” for the potential enforcement of the restriction.
The Totterdown entrance is “critical” for traders, he says, because food delivery riders use it to pick up orders.
The entrance also generates walk-in evening trade.
“Unless we are able to stay open, we will lose the vast majority of our food traders because they rely on the evening trade to be able to stay open even during the day,” Mr Deschauer said.
“They make their money during the evenings – especially Thursday, Friday, Saturday – and so if they don’t make the money then they can’t provide the services at noon because we really say you have to be open from noon or 11am onwards.
"Ultimately the businesses will fail and the community will suffer by losing all these independent businesses.”
Will Hide, from We Brought Beer, is concerned about the potential impact of early closure on his bar. “The evening trade on Saturday is what makes the difference between profit and loss,” he said.
“With current trading conditions, I think we’d be in trouble.”
The market has around 70 traders.
It is home to longstanding food traders, bars, a tailor, fabric shops, a nail salon and hairdressers.
It is also a space for community.
A Change.org petition to “save” the market’s evening trade has been signed by 1,748 people.
Tony Richards, director of Skin of Love, says his business would be badly affected even though it usually closes before 8pm.
“It will have a knock-on effect because a lot of our customers come primarily in the nighttime and then they see the shop, we’ve got a display that stays on in the night, and then they come back in opening hours.”
He said: “We’re all interconnected.”
Mr Deschauer added: “We provide an incubator environment where small businesses, small operators, can actually try out a business model without having to commit to a three-year, five-year lease on the high street with really exorbitant rates for rent.
“So it allows them to keep their expenses at a minimum while still allowing them to try out their brand, their business model, and if they’re successful they can expand from there.
"So that’s what it represents to me.”
Ali Reed, who owns Candy Cane Lounge near the Totterdown entrance, called the entrance a vital “cut-through” for customers. “Different people shop at different hours,” she said.
Mr Deschauer says he wants to work with residents to address concerns. He said: “We would be in favour of resolving this with the council by agreement rather than waiting for the appeal to be decided, if that was possible.
"I don’t want there to be a winner and loser because ultimately we are working with each other.”
A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said: “The market asked for and was given a planning permission in 2017 for an extension and two of the conditions attached to that permission were for the Totterdown Street entrances to remain open only between the hours of 8am and 8pm in order to protect the interests of neighbouring residents.
“The market recently sought permission to vary the 2017 planning consent and extend the hours of operation to midnight seven days a week, which was refused due to its close proximity to residential properties and the concern this would have an unacceptable impact on neighbours through noise and disturbance.
"We understand the market is now in the process of making an appeal against that decision to the Planning Inspectorate.”
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