The London wholesale markets’ business development manager scheme is effectively ending next week.
The contracts of New Spitalfields Market’s Tim Williams, Western International’s Peter Clarke and Zeenat Anjari of New Covent Garden Market expire next week after three years.
The posts have been funded by the Greater London Authority, with
backing from the NFU and funding in kind from the markets’ tenants’ associations and landlords, but FPJ understands no new central funding plans have been put in place.
The managers were able to work with hundreds of new companies, creating scores of new jobs and generating some £20 million annually of new business.
Clarke told FPJ: “The BDMs were doing a good job. It is a great shame that this scheme is not now going to be rolled out across the country.”
Williams said the scheme had proved extremely popular and had “made a real difference”. He stressed he had “no beef with the GLA”, but was disappointed that other backers had not come through to keep the scheme running.
“It is a crying shame that DEFRA and the NFU are not there financially supporting it and rolling it out nationally,” he said. “This is exactly the sort of thing they should be doing. We are very cheap to run and I really believe we have made a difference.”
Head of the NFU’s food chain unit, Lee Woodger, said: “Although it is disappointing that the scheme will be discontinued, there have been some good exam- ples of growers who have exploited the opportunities within the wholesale markets.
“Each market will still be able to facilitate contact with traders and both the HDC and NFU are keen to capture the positive elements that have emerged from the industry’s engagement with the scheme.
“Plans include investment in a wholesale market scoping exercise and promoting the opportunities that exist to improve their image.”
A DEFRA spokeswoman added: “My understand- ing is, if you’re talking about financial backing, there’s some progress to look at the future but that was through the GLA so it’s up to them how they continue to fund it. They’re looking at ways that it could poten- tially be funded.”
