Farmers’ market moooves closer
The saga of West Hampstead’s farmers’ market has been more like a storyline from The Archers of late. Will it/won’t it/Has Nigel Pargeter fallen off the roof?
Then today a cow appeared. Not a real cow obviously, but a painted one. It’s standing next to the Mr Whippy van and the hot dog stand, so probably just as well it’s not a real one. It’s announcing that the Farmers’ Market will open on September 22nd.
The LFM website confirms that the market will be every Saturday from 10am to 2pm. In early September the organisers will announce who’s going to open the market. In the meantime, LFM is still looking for a manager for the West Hampstead market if you’re interested!
this is strange
that cow is amazing.
I really love cows, they are such beautiful animals I love how they moo
That looks suspiciously like the cow that lived in Swiss Cottage until recently. Was wondering where she'd got too…
Ah well spotted. She is indeed the same cow, repolished and painted. We nearly turned her into an Ayrshire but she's in her Friesian livery. Cue more bad puns…
It's going to clash with open house weekend. can they not move it?
Great stuff :))
Why do we need a farmers market there? Shops were kncocked down and pavement widened in that area on the basis that is would make pedestrian access to the stations easier… now Network Rail/Camden Council have deemed it appropriate to have a market in that area every week and no doubt profit from licencing the use of this area! Where is the logic in that? I have nothing against the farmers market per se but interested to know the background to this decision.
There’s long been demand for a farmers’ market in the area, and this is the only existing space suitable (for reasons I’ve discussed before). Pedestrian traffic at the interchange is lighter at the weekends than during rush hour, so infringing on the wider pavement isn’t such a big deal on a Saturday as it would be at 8.30am on a weekday. When the new 187-199 WEL development is finished there will be another possible space for a market there, but that’s two years away. As things stand this is the only spot. So although I agree that most of the time it’s better to keep it as open space, forcing people who can’t bear to walk through a market to cross the road outside the station isn’t going to make anyone suffer too much. I imagine other events may also take place there from time to time – it can be some form of civic space. My personal grumble is that it is not in fact public space, but is owned by Network Rail – another example of the insiduous privatisation of public space that has been happening in this country for decades.
I agree with your sentiment of defending public spaces in principle, but in fact it was Network Rail (a publicly owned company) that created the public space where there was none before, just a litter strewn grass bank behind a fence. This seems like a win, win situation to me.
However, one thing I noted is that in heavy rain the area gets really waterlogged and doesn’t drain properly. Let’s hope for a dry day on 22 September.
I shall continue to go to Queen's Park market up the road. It's a great market. Why anyone would want to visit a market while teetering on the corner of a very busy road, I have no idea. Buying your organic veg whilst breathing through the smog of traffic fumes simply doesn't do it for me nor any of the neighbours I've spoken to. Remember, because something is trendy, doesn't make it compulsory.