Village Raw - ISSUE 6

COMMUNITY
This page: Claire Jury at La Dinette in Muswell Hill. Previous page: Greg
Vukasovic at The Haberdashery in Crouch End.
What can be done to help dedicated enthusiasts like Greg and
Claire keep going? Claire says business rates need to go down,
and there must be “some regulation put in place to encourage a
more eclectic high street to represent the rich cultural diversity
of London”. Greg points out that in the UK he pays 20% VAT; a similar
business in France – where Claire was brought up – would pay
just 5%. Decision-makers need to focus on actions to keep their
high streets alive and to employ local people.
Crucially, does the rapid and inexorable advance of internet
shopping mean that we’ll soon no longer be shopping locally for
“things” but only for services? There are exceptions to the trend,
but they are few and far between. Although they’re both on the
service side, Claire and Greg are pessimistic. The turnover of
businesses is immense.
Of the shops in Muswell Hill that have continued to be used
from before the war to today, the grocer William Martyn stands
out, with its signature coffee roaster in the window trailing its
scent down the street. An extraordinary five generations have
run this business, though a key to their survival is that they have
bought the freehold. The fishmonger in the Broadway is another
shop that has been selling seafood under different ownership
since before the war. East Finchley, too, has a fishmonger which
has been in the same spot for over 80 years.
Will the decline continue? It’s not just small local shopkeepers
that are feeling the pinch, but most large retail chains are in
some degree of trouble, even John Lewis. The RSPH report, which
you can find online and is worth reading, gives some examples
of places that have managed to stem the decline. This requires
determined local action and sympathetic councils – whose sympathy
has been overridden by the battle to keep crucial services
going under a severe austerity squeeze. The report lists recommendations
to increase taxes on online businesses; to provide
rent relief for shops which “promote better public health”; to ensure
all food outlets reduce calorie content; to restrict the opening
of betting shops; and to prevent takeaways from operating
within a quarter of a mile of any school.
Will any of that happen, and would it be enough? What can we
do locally to make sure our high streets are as health-promoting
and community-fostering as possible? It depends where we live,
but we have to be vigilant and active if we are to avoid the slide
that is affecting so many different parts of the country. There’s
no shortage of young energetic retailers keen to make a go of it.
As Claire says: “Running La Dinette brings me so much joy, but it
needs to provide a sustainable livelihood too.” •
You can view the RSPH’s report at: www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/health-onthe-high-street/2018.html
You can find out more about La Dinette at: www.ladinette.co.uk,
and Haberdashery at: www.the-haberdashery.com
24