Christmas Market will be chance to prove local demand

Before we write up the interview with John Miller, Lewisham Council's Head of Planning - something that is in danger of turning in to the War and Peace of blog articles - we wanted to address one of the issues that was raised in response to yesterday's article, "Questions for the Council".

Although Brockley and Telegraph Hill are relatively well served by Farmers Markets, many people are enthusiastic about the idea of bringing a market right in to the heart of the community, by creating one on Brockley Road. An occasional market could further strengthen the regeneration process that's already underway.

Lewisham Council and the Post Office are keen to develop a street market on the land in front of the Sorting Office on Brockley Road. However, one of the key barriers to this idead is that operating companies are not yet convinced that there will be sufficient demand from local people for a market, especially on a relatively small plot of land.

A Christmas market is planned for the rejuvenated Coulgate Street in December and Sarah Pfeiffer, Local Town Centre Manager for the Council believes that this will be Brockley's opportunity to prove itself as a venue for market traders.

We'll cover this story in more detail at a later date.