1. To oust the St Modwen redevelopment plan for Queens Market.
2. To keep the market in the public/ not-for-profit sector with community controlled development and management.
This is our charter as agreed by a committee vote, held on 13th August 2007.
This is list of some of the people who are more regularly available in the Friends of Queen's Market group:
Sasha Laurel - Chairperson
Pauline Rowe - Secretary
Mark Jones - Media contact
Eddie Stockwell: Trader
Neil Stockwell: Trader
Saif Osmani - Campaign Coordinator & Designer
Jan Goodall - Trader contact
Mr Chadda - Community Researcher
"Given its location in an area of deprivation and fractured identity, Queen's Market is testimony to the passion that daily rituals and shared values engender in Britain." - Carolyn Steel, Values to save for Queen's and country, Building Design, 5/12/2008
"Stroll through the vibrant Queen's Market on Newham's Green Street - shopping to pick up colourful mithai, or Indian sweets, from Dharwad Peda - and you'll come to the main row of shops. Here a woman and her granddaughter barter over silk for asari while a crowd of young girls scoops up armfuls of bangles at a glittering shop counter. The sights, sounds and smells of Mumbai are everywhere. This, however, is one of the hubs of Indian culture in London: a must-see for anyone with an interest in India textiles and fashion. Acornucopia of global foodstuffs, Queen's Market is a key destination forIndians in Londonsearching for hard-to-find ingredients."SocialFabrics by Katie Dailey, India Now, Time Out- London,Summer 2007.
Our supporters are not limited to the room on this page, let's not forget the 12,000 shoppers who generously signed ourpetition in 2005 and spoke to us about how much this market means to them andtheir families. Churches, Temples, Mosques, synagogues, traders, shop keepers, shoppers both new and old have been behind us, to put the needs of the community first.TELCO (The East London Communities Organisation) who represent community groups in East London know where the community as a whole stands on this issue. Just under 5,000 people from local temples, mosques, churches and community groups have been consulted along with the Mayor of Newham, St Modwen Properties Plc and the New Economics Foundation as part of their commission of enquiry into the future of Queen's Market. The findings make for fascinating reading and are a valuable contribution to the debate on this issue. Rest assured that Sir Robin Wales and St Modwen Properties Plc will not be quoting from them, in point of fact they would probably prefer it if they never saw the light of day."..the views we have heard utterly mis-trust the proposed plan, and we have to share the views of our communities." Silvana Dallanegra, Co-Chair of the Telco Commission of Enquiry.
For some strange reason until named and shamed the Newham Recorder had neither reported the holding of the Telco Commission into Queen'sMarket nor its findings. The Editor seems unwilling to discuss this matter. On 22nd March 2006 the Newham Recorder finally mentioned theTelco Commission, but ensured that it was buried on page 38!
Such behaviour doesn't exactly square with what is written in the latest St Modwen annual report:- "we are closely aligned with the communities in which we operate, continually mindful of the impact of our developments on the local area..."
FoQM will continue to expose the sophistry, semantics, half truths and downright lies that are being peddled to the cost of local communities throughout the country.
Taking a stand against WalMart The Campaign to Save Queen's Market features in Robert Greenwald's new film:- WalMart- The High Cost of Low Price.http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=11624
