Andrew is 51 and lives near Broadway Market. He is a member of the Broadway Market Traders’ and Residents’ Association and has been at the forefront of the campaign to keep the market run as a social enterprise despite attempts by Hackney Council to take it over.
Andrew is Chair of the RCC Youth Club based at the Regents Community Hall, Brougham Road.
Andrew is the Mayor of London’s Ambassador for Cycling in London. He is the Conservative Group lead on the Olympics and sits on the Planning and Housing Committee, Economic Development, Culture Sport and Tourism Committee, Health & Public Services Committee and Budget and Performance Committee.
Since being elected as a London Assembly member he has got the Assembly’s support for more family Housing in London and has opposed the plans for the Bishop’s Place development in Shoreditch.
Andrew ran for Mayor of Hackney in 2002 and 2006 increasing his vote by 60%.
Andrew ran an IT support company focussed on the needs of small businesses and for many years worked in the Computer Games Industry.
Since December 2006 Andrew has edited EASTeight magazine which is distributed every month to the 15,000 homes that make up the E8 postcode.
Links
Interview with Dave Hill of the Guardian 14th January 2009
Why can’t Broadway market have the same prices as Ridley market – it is one of the most expensive markets in Hackney – It is definitely not for the working class or poor people in Hackney. A slice of quiche is the cost of a tube fare – I do not think it is as diverse as Ridley market or the farmer’s market in Stoke Newington – Broadway market, the pubs and coffee shops are all terribly overpriced and do not cater for the normally people of Hackney who may have lived there for generations. I think we should have some kind of price control over markets in London on the whole. Ordinary, poor people cannot afford the luxury of buying organic food given the prices of the organic markets around. These markets are generally good for tourists and visitors to the capital but not for the ordinary people to shop at. I am afraid we have to make do with good old Tesco and Asda for organic reasonable food.
Ridley Market is the best and reasonably priced and most diverse of markets and is not intimidating as the others. Farmer’s market at Stoke Newington is also a people’s market and very welcoming.
The important thing about Hackney’s markets is that there needs to be diversity amongst them. Broadway’s Saturday Market has, since its start and with the support of the local community, been a specialised market for those who want a wide range of niche goods. Ridley Road (which I still think is the best value market in London) has the best bargains you can get, Stoke Newington – the most localised produce. We need to allow those other markets, Hoxton, Well Street and Kingsland Waste, to find their own strengths as well. If they were all the same I think Hackney would be a poorer place.
The profits from Broadway Market all go into local schemes like the local youth club and support for elderly people in the area.
On Broadway you also have a wide choice of family run stores with a wide range of prices. Since Broadway’s Saturday market started an additional budget price store has opened up as a result of the increased footfall. Those family run stores are being damaged, not by Broadway Market, but the uncompetitive practices of the large Supermarkets.