Standing up for the Social Value of London's Small Businesses

Our Why
The East of London is historically a vibrant place, defined by the culture of migrants and working-classes. However, the trend of inflating rents beyond the grasp of the foundational small businesses and socially trading organisations is violently displacing those who created the ‘market value’ in the first place. Since the founding of the East End Trades Guild in 2012 the most common theme affecting Guild members is rent. Premises once occupied by small local businesses are being replaced by gentrifying brands and corporations from outside the community or sitting empty. Len Maloney, a Guild member in Haggerston, occupied an arch space until November of 2024 when he was evicted due to market rents and a lack of affordable workspace policy - the arch now lies vacant.

Our Idea
Our project tackles the root cause of this historic inequality by taking premises into community ownership for permanently affordable rent and aims to take three arches in Haggerston into community ownership. This is a crucial piece of the puzzle in addressing gentrification that kills off accessible jobs, apprenticeships, well-being and connection.

By working together across race, class, gender and religious divides, we have an opportunity to rewrite the current system of land ownership that harms local people by bringing the neighbourhood together around JC Motors campaign to take back the arches that will support the local economy to thrive and retain community wealth in perpetuity.