Market Village: Traders' despair at being shut out of Stratford market

GT Spice Caribbean Takeaway is one of the many family-run businesses at the market that have been forced to close

Traders in east London have been shut out of their market after the company that runs the site went into administration.

Over 60 traders at the Market Village in the Stratford Centre have been serving local customers since 1974.

Samantha Scott, of GT Spice Caribbean Takeaway, said she thought it was a "joke" when she was told the market would be closed.

Newham Council said it had been unable to make contact with the market owners.

Ms Scott said their family was told at 20:15 GMT on 10 January that the market would be closed from that night onwards.

"Trading had ceased from that point," the 48-year-old said. "We thought it was a joke.

Samantha Scott and her partner Wade Fraser-Trout thought the closure was a joke at first

"I had done all my food prepping for the next day. Nothing was said and there was no inkling to suggest it would be our last day.

"We had to go get our meat and perishable goods because it would go bad. Our electrical goods and other belongings are still in the building."

Her business started a petition calling for the council to reopen Market Village, which reached more than 1,400 signatures in four days.

Ms Scott said the Guyanees takeaway opened in September last year and was run with her partner, mother and aunts.

"I used to hang around in the Market Village when I was younger, it's part of my heritage and it's been really nice to be a part of the Market Village family.

"A lot of our shops are what Westfield doesn't have - it's most definitely a gem for locals."

The market pre-dates Westfield Shopping Centre and the Olympic Park.

Mohammed Awais Amjad said the market closing would be a "huge loss" for the community

Mohammed Awais Amjad, 36, who owns a tech shop in the market, said: "After Covid, this was the highest footfall we've seen in years.

"Tenancy occupancy has been high too - almost all of the 60 units were occupied. We haven't seen it like this for a long time - this gave us the impression things were looking up.

"It's going to be a huge loss for the community. The community is the real family for us.

"Sometimes things have to come to an end, but doing so in such an abrupt way with only a matter of hours' notice is shocking."

'Heartbroken'

David Wong, of Rainbow Chinese Fast Food, said the closure left him "angry".

"The last week has broken me," the 60-year-old said.

"I've lost my working routine and now I don't know what to do with myself.

"I'm depressed. I can't see my fellow traders, my customers - who I class as friends - and it reminds me of the Covid times. I'm completely heartbroken."

'Troubling situation'

Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, told the BBC that although Newham Council owned the land where the market is based, the authority was not the landlord.

She said: "I am still struggling to grapple with this troubling situation that these local businesses are finding themselves in.

"The closure of the businesses has deeply impacted the livelihoods of the traders of Market Village and the employees they support.

"I have assured the traders that I will do everything in my capacity, as mayor of Newham, to support them in resolving this terrible situation."

The site's landlord, Unex Group Holdings Limited, said it was "as shocked as the stallholders to hear of Stratford Market Village's closure".

Managing director Adrian Morris told the BBC that the lease with Stratford Market Properties Limited remained in place. He said he was working with the company to try to resolve issues with a view to "hopefully enabling the stallholders back into occupation".

BBC contacted the owners of the market for comment.

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