I called in on Leila’s today to buy some fruit – Kent-grown cherries – and find out how the campaign is going.
There is a sad irony in that Tower Hamlets Council was in the process of opening a ‘Community Hub’ in one of the shops up the street which it has failed to let at the new, much increased rent.
So, they drive out existing small businesses and then replace them with chain stores or council services, losing the character of the neighbourhood. But isn’t this very short-sighted, not least because the economy of Redchurch Street and Calvert Avenue has been based on small traders, who are essential to its success ?
How to shoot the community in both feet.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 