Redevelopment News 12.18

UPDATE ON THE SOUTH VEHICLE CAR PARK 10 WEEKS ON 

It is almost three months since we started building the first phase of the new Fruit and Veg Market. Work is progressing well, and you can now see the formation of the new road that will cut through the West and Central blocks. This road will be open and in use on 7 January 2019, and you can find more details about this here.

The concrete surface on this section of site has now been broken, crushed, and the soil beneath tested for contamination. As the soil was contamination free, we’ve been able to progress works more quickly, digging up the ground and starting to lay down concrete foundations for the new building. You’ll start to see the structure of this taking shape in the coming weeks.

We are currently on programme, which means that Stage Three will start to roll out in the New Year. This will improve the access to and from the consolidation area.

Your feedback

Since then, we have received a lot of vital feedback on how you are adapting to these changes. We understand that any change to the way you use the market can be disruptive and we thank you for your continued cooperation and patience during this time of change.

Managing the space

Prior to hoardings going up in the South Vehicle Car Park, we offered our suggestions for parking spots – loosely assigning these to being either tenant, customer or supplier spots. We want to remind that in accordance with the tenant community’s desire, we do not operate an allocated parking policy and as a result, parking is self-managed by tenants and customers. Cooperation is required from everyone on site to make the space work for those using the market. We urge you to keep space nearer to the market free for customers.

Additional support

Traffic marshalls are currently working hard to ensure that D Road remains clear and that drivers understand the various diversions and the impact this has on where they can now park. We’re trying to keep the loading and unloading bays clear of parked vehicles and product. Again, we ask and thank you for your cooperation to ensure this area remains for its designated purpose.

We continue to have extra teams and traffic marshalls on site overnight to help direct and assist vehicles, and to keep the market moving. Thank you for working with us to make this happen.

Health and Safety

We have received helpful feedback on the corner of D Road, at the east section of site, which some of you have expressed concerns about regarding health and safety. Our Operations team, along with our redevelopment partner VINCI St. Modwen, are reviewing some options for additional measures in this area to improve visibility for both drivers and pedestrians. Our Health and Safety advisors, RPS, will also be doing a further review on the health and safety implications in this area.

Where possible, we will always do our best to implement your feedback on site improvements so please keep sharing this. We also ask that everyone on site remember they have a responsibility to ensure they prioritise the health and safety of both themselves, and others. We need everyone’s cooperation to enable the market to operate safely and smoothly.

A reminder why we’re building a new market

We started building the new market three years ago. This redevelopment is essential to upgrading the nearly 45-year-old infrastructure and securing the future of this market at Nine Elms so that it has a place in London for generations to come. New Covent Garden Market is, and has always been, a very special and important place. The new market is about protecting that and giving you, our traders and customers, somewhere equally special to continue feeding and flowering London far into the future.

While we are committed to delivering the new market with minimal disruption, we know the difficulty in this and understand that we can’t build it without some. These are unusual times for the market. We’re grateful to our tenants for working together with us and thankful to our customers for continuing to support New Covent Garden Market and our traders as we go through this period of change.

 
THE NEW SECURITY LODGE IS TAKING SHAPE

Work on the new Security Lodge by Link House is progressing well. Stairs and cladding are up, with the structure of the new building now visible. This puts us on track for completion by June 2019. The next phase of work will involve adding fire protection to the steel works, as well as internal and outer walls to the building, which is due to finish by February 2019. Works will then start inside the building.

 

CAPTURING THE REDEVELOPMENT ON FILM

Over the course of the redevelopment, we will have cameras operating on site, capturing the unique journey ahead. Recently, we placed several more time-lapse cameras around the Fruit and Veg Market. We’ll be using this material to form part of a wider film about the whole redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market, following the stories of both the place and the people. We’ll also share footage from this on the Brand New Covent Garden Market website so you can see how the buildings are progressing over time.

POWERLEAGUE RECIEVES FIRST AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING VENUE

Powerleague Nine Elms, the pitches at New Covent Garden Market, welcomes its first award just two months after opening, with the location receiving a MyLocalPitch award for ‘outstanding venue’.

The state-of-the-art sports venue opened its doors in September and features 5-a-side and 7-a-side pitches, as well as pitch cameras that allow players to record goals, and wearable technology that calculates accuracy, shot speed and distance run.

We’re delighted that we can now provide sports facilities that were previously inaccessible for the local community, as well as our market community.

If you’re interested in booking the space or just having a kick around, get in touch with Powerleague direct: 020 7199 3522 or nineelmsad@powerleague.co.uk