On Sunday 12 May 2013, our market returned to ancient Brentford, the Capital of Middlesex, West London. The Sunday Market offering tasty food and a community space has been the first step. Our local community groups want to bring at least 2000 new visitors to the high street for ‘Brentford Saturdays’. Our centrepiece will be two exciting events that will entertain, attract and increase our customer base. Our ‘Moveable Feast’ will feature street food / producer stalls, cycle rickshaws taking people from restaurant to cafe, to pop-up entertainment such as a music and a ‘Cycle Cinema’. We will enhance our ‘Christmas Market’ with Santa, street musicians, and handmade crafts made from recycled products. Weekdays: we'll bring interest with outdoor table tennis, giant chess and a table football. Our enthusiastic volunteers are excited to bring environmental improvements with colourful art and fragranced “meanwhile” gardens, in small spaces which are neglected or unused.
What we'll deliver:
- A pop up ‘Moveable Feast’ featuring street food/producer stalls
- A 'Summer Cycle Cinema'
- cycle rickshaw offering transport between restaurant tasters
- Enlivening features such as; outdoor table tennis, giant chess, and 'meanwhile' gardens occupying neglected space
- Pop up parties
- An enhanced Christmas Market with street entertainment, local products and craft making
- Saturday and 'through the week' events
Why it's a great idea:
Our ancient town centre is undergoing a massive face lift at the moment. We want to make sure that we enjoy our town centre while all this is happening. Some businesses find it hard to keep thriving with so many empty buildings and closed down shops. We want people to be part of the Capital of the Kingdom of Middlesex and we know that people will value our ‘meanwhile’ activities.
Our City Centre needs to be busy now as well as when all the work is done. We now want to create a Saturday and “through the week” offer that really delivers distinctively on what we know our shoppers and entrepreneurs want. Brentford High Street. Our inspiration came from an exciting walking workshop with members of our High Street steering group and Well Brentford and Syon groups led by London Sustainability Exchange (WellB&S groups include members from Syon Community Allotment, Cultivate London, Gunnersbury Park, Community Kitchen Garden & Hen Corner, Brentford Recycling Action group).
Steps to get it done:
- Hold knitting bombing, seed bombing and guerrilla gardening activities and street art along the high street
- Hold two fun activities to bring more people to the high street one in summer and one before Christmas.
- Holding innovative walkshops to bring communities, schools and others to identify how to improve the highstreet
- Locate capital works and meanwhile garden with agreement form local groups and the council
- create living street maps of how our community wants to see in the area
We are working together long with the Market/ High Street Steering Group, the local council, London Sustainability Exchange, Syon Community Allotment, Cultivate London, Gunnersbury Park, Community Kitchen Garden & Hen Corner, Brentford Parish Centre, St John the Evangelist, Brentford Towers Resident Association & Brentford Free Church.
