Portobello Market; Goodbye?

How easy is it for us to forget local issues? In the grand scale of things, we all get caught up in the greatest and latest problems that we as people are facing together; but do we ever ask ourselves about the smaller questions sometimes? The questions which can be the most easily solved, but also the ones that are also the most easily neglected, simply because they are not as important as the other things flooding our senses from around the world. But today, I thought it would be nice to give a little time towards something local, because sometimes by putting effort into the smaller things in life, bigger issues can eventually be solved.

Portobello Road, Notting Hill. Besides being the site of the movie featuring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, Portobello Road has had a market where people have been shopping in and selling goods in for decades. Famously, it has been the site for individual designers and small scale businesses; a sight which especially in the last few years has become less and less frequent. Surely this lovely place is worthy of preservation, where else can anyone find such a brilliant mixture of new innovative items from young designers, vintage and all kinds of international cuisine, centralised in one place? Only a few places in London, such as Spitalfeilds Market and Camden Market; but what has happened to these places? Although one can still find some of the variety and individual style in these places, it is impossible not to notice the change that has taken place in the last few years, Portobello Road is one of the last places to be singled out for development. Camden especially, although having had some lovely improvements to its stalls, has undeniably lost a lot of its former character since its development, and the rather intrusive inclusion of some very high street shops such as American Apparel and H&M.

This gradual usurpation of these popular places by high street shops is not only a sad way to drain character from a place, but is also putting many small businesses out of operation. On Portobello Road itself, the commercialisation of the area may very well wipe out 150 market stallholders and small retailers. After decades of knowing Portobello Road, and indeed the families and society that has been there for generations, are we Londoners going to let it turn into another commercial, uniform, Oxford Street? Is Notting Hill Carnival really going to be the same when walking by high street shops rather than the familiar sights of those small book shops, vintage trade shops, and generally strange and wonderful shops which characterise Portobello Road?

If you are one of those who have grown up loving London, and the diversity that places like Portobello Road represent, then read more about what is being done to Portobello road, or better, SIGN THE PETITION. We only have until February 1st to before the petition is delivered to the local council, so if you care, sign quickly!

For more information: http://www.thesourcemag.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=a...

To sign the Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/portobello/

To Join the Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Save-the-Portobello-Road-Market/300...

All the support possible is needed to be sure that the culture and individualism of Portobello Road is not lost, so please, take action about a local issue, today!