Client: kerb
Project: Seven Dials Food Market Licensing and Planning Advisors
What were MAKE asked to do?
Around the same time as MAKE’s very own MAKE Night Market started (in 2010), street food collective Kerb also entered the market game. Many of our own traders traded with Kerb and many have gone on to create great businesses. After many years hard work in all weathers Kerb wanted to move indoors and create a permanent home. They found the perfect space, in an old empty banana and cucumber warehouse in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden. The plan was to create a cutting-edge retail and street food, drink, bookshop and live music market hall which would revitalise what is a very pleasant but rather somnambulant part of the West End.
However, the building was within one of Camden Council’s cumulative impact areas, therefore restricting new licences. It also required considerable shaping in order to fit with Camden’s Local Plan. So, Kerb asked MAKE to assess whether their plans and operating procedures would be sufficient to make them an exception to the Council’s otherwise highly restrictive policy.
How did MAKE do it?
We analysed crime and disorder data for the area to confirm what the main issues were, their time of day, location and typology and what aspects of the night-time economy they might be linked to (we found there really isn’t any cumulative impact here – the area is caught up in the wider policy).
We also then examined the public realm beyond the new venue to understand any problems locally and where these were coming from. It turned out that problems in this part of Covent Garden are almost non-existent and understandably residents want to keep it that way (the one hotspot we found is centred on social housing building – not the NTE!)
We undertook external evening and night-time audit evaluations of the site and of the Seven Dials area more broadly.
We reviewed the designs and plans for the Seven Dials Market and advised how to ensure the best configuration of the building for eliminating any impact it might have. This included access and egress arrangements to address any resident concerns over noise.
We also evaluated the robustness and rigour of the resident and police objections.
What happened next?
Kerb Seven Dials was granted planning and licensing consent within Camden’s Seven Dials CIP and in line the council’s core hours. This decision was in line with our findings and recommendations. The market is now open and despite being extremely popular (and with a capacity of over 1,000), as we concluded, there are no signs of any problems with the venue’s customers.
What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?
Because of our expertise in operating street food markets we understand the type of customer who is attracted to these venues, why they make a great destination and that even though they may have alcohol on sale because the main reason for attending is to eat imaginative food, listen to music and to socialise, market halls do not generally pose any substantive challenge to the licensing policy, the council, police or residents.