There will be capacity for more traders to move to the new Western International Market, after Hounslow Borough Council reconsidered selection criteria and plans for the new site.
After a group of disgruntled WIM tenants challenged their initial exclusion from the new site, a judicial review ruling in December 2003 directed the Council to carry out another stage of consultation with tenants before making its final decision. This has now been undertaken and a renewed offer will soon be made to tenants that will be allocated space.
Additional capacity has been freed up by the decision of Redbridge to decline the offer of 10,000 square feet for a catering facility. Plans have also been altered to remove 50 car-parking spaces and extend the trading area.
Tenants’ association chairman George Bray told the Journal that the market has thrived despite the shroud of uncertainty. “We estimate that the market will turnover
£400 million this year, making it the foremost fresh produce wholesale market in the country, alongside New Spitalfields,” he said. “There is a definite feeling that the decline of wholesale markets has bottomed out and we are returning to our roots. The majority of businesses here are owner-driven and that stands us in good stead for the move and future development of the market.”
Bray welcomed Worshipful Company of Fruiterers master Henry Bryant to the market on Tuesday. Bryant said: “Anyone who feels that markets are finished just needs to come here - this is a vibrant place.”
