A traditional East End Market aims to attract a whole new generation of shoppers and encourage healthier eating, thanks to funding from the Mayor of London.
Chrisp Street Market in Poplar received £100,000 from the Mayor and match funding from Tower Hamlets Council to help run a series of events to capture and celebrate the history and culture of the market and boost trade by encouraging local residents to experience the resource on their doorsteps.
There will be three weekends of events and celebrations at Chrisp Street Market, which will include a weekend hosted by one of the area’s internationally famous ex-residents, Dame Angela Lansbury – star of iconic TV show Murder she Wrote and films such as Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks - who has a housing estate in the area named in her honour. The celebrations will kick off on 29 March with a day celebrating the boxing heritage of east London and will end with a day celebrating the musical tradition of the area. There will also be cookery presentations and food events on each of the three weekends where chefs will use fresh produce from the market to create amazing food to demonstrate the range of food available on the market and help promote healthier eating.
Over recent years Chrisp Street, like many markets in the UK, had been hard-hit by the emergence of shopping centres and supermarkets and had struggled to adapt and compete with big retailers. The Mayor’s Portas Project specifically aims to address these issues - part of the funding in Chrisp Street was spent on proving the market traders with training to boost their business skills and to work on tempting in new customers. The Chrisp Street project is one of three pilot areas to receive a share of £300k from this project.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Markets like Chrisp Street are part of London’s rich cultural heritage and it is important we support them to continue this proud East End tradition. A helping hand from schemes like my Portas Pilot Project can give them the boost they need to keep going strong for generations to come.”
The Portas Pilot is one of a range of schemes that the Mayor is leading to help London’s high streets fulfil their potential and become vibrant centres, full of economic and cultural energy at the heart of local communities. The Mayor and his partners are investing over £175 million to ensure they continue to thrive. This include the Mayor’s Outer London Fund and the High Street Fund.
To find out more about the Mayor’s work to regenerate London’s high streets visit /priorities/regeneration/high-streets/rethinking-high-streets