An 11th-hour legal bid has been launched to prevent the demolition of a Latino market in north London.
Traders at Seven Sisters indoor market, in Tottenham, want the High Court to quash a compulsory purchase order paving the way for its redevelopment alongside 196 flats and a shopping centre.
They claim the character of the UK’s only “Latin village” — a hub for Central and South Americans in London — would be destroyed.
The battle to redevelop the rundown Wards Corner site, beside Seven Sisters station, dates from 2004.
Planning permission was granted by Haringey council in 2012. The order was approved by the council in 2016 and ratified by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire this January.
The Labour council’s development partner, Grainger, was not required to include any affordable homes because of the £60 million cost of the project, though 39 per cent of homes in a linked development will be affordable.
Transport for London owns a quarter of the site, which it will sell to Grainger. Mayor Sadiq Khan supports the regeneration, which is expected to create up to 290 jobs.
The High Court claim lodged this week argues that Mr Brokenshire’s decision diminishes the traders’ “prospect of survival” as they face higher fees in a nearby temporary market and on relocation to the new market.
He is also accused of failing to take account of their human rights, including private life, ethnic identity and possessions, according to the claim brought by lawyers Hodge Jones & Allen.
One trader, Victoria Alvarez, 48, said: “We will never give up and they will have to come and force us out.”
The market, dubbed Pueblito Paisa (Latin village), has about 60 units and employs around 160 people.
Mirca Morera, whose father is a trader, said: “This isn’t just a market, it’s a place where the Latin American community in London and beyond rely on to be able to continue to celebrate their culture.”
Haringey council said traders had been offered rent-free and fixed rent deals in the temporary and new markets.
