Third superstore will close down our market, say traders

Following the demise of Woolworths in Liverpool Road, Islington, Waitrose announced it was taking over the vacant premises, sandwiching the struggling Chapel Market between themselves, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer.

Dave Jackson, who has run his grocery stall for 50 years after it was passed down to him from his mother, said the move could turn surviving vendors into the "last generation of stallholders".

"We used to make a good living here but over the years I have watched butchers pack up, bakers shut down, grocers go bust and stalls crumble," he said.

"I had hoped to pass the business on to my boy as my parents did to me but I don't think it will be in a fit state for him to continue.

"Supermarkets have muscled in, grown bigger, bought up the land and premises and we have got crushed in the process. Waitrose will add insult to injury."

Takings at Chapel Market, which opened in 1879, have been on the wane for decades as chain stores, coffee bars and clothes shops established a stranglehold in the street.

But Katharine Napolitano, who runs a fruit stall, said the supermarkets were the "real monsters". She went on: "When M&S and Sainsbury's first opened they just sold tinned foods. As they branched out, they started to sell more fresh stuff and now they sell fruit cheaper than I can buy it at the wholesaler."

Marks & Spencer opened in Liverpool Road in 1914, followed by Sainsbury's in 1985.

Yalcin Ozdemir, who runs a delicatessen importing cheese and meat, said: "I doubt we can survive but those companies couldn't care less."

A spokesman for Waitrose said: "Our experience suggests that we complement established traders by helping to drive footfall into areas and there are many examples where our branches operate successfully alongside local markets."

'We're the last generation of stallholders'

The fruit stall

Katharine Napolitano has run the stall for 35 years. It has been passed down through three generations of her family.

"We have had the worst Christmas in history and takings are down 20 per cent. Small businesses get a rough ride and it makes it even harder for us when we have to cope with multi-million-pound supermarkets.

"People see supermarkets as cheaper and more convenient but London has a long history of market trading and this is something we will lose completely if nobody supports us."

The grocer

Dave Jackson has been running the stall for 50 years. Before that it was owned and run by his mother.

"Everything here has changed in the last few decades. This used to be a beautiful, busy, bustling market place and these days it is so quiet.

"Running a stall is hard, back-breaking work. With supermarkets constantly muscling in, I doubt it is sustainable. I would think you are looking at the last generation of stallholders."

The bakery

Daniel Saraiva runs Stiles Bakery, which has been established for 15 years.

"At the moment times are tough for everyone and we are all feeling the pinch. My worry is that the recession will continue, Waitrose will open and we will see supermarket wars which will completely price us out. We have always had very loyal customers but the proof is in the pudding and if our pudding is more expensive we may have a problem."

The carpet maker

Huseyin Dogan has been running his stall for seven years.

"When I first started here we had lots of people coming to shop for bargains. Sainsbury's and M&S were already running but they were firmly established and just sat alongside us. Waitrose is an upmarket store which will compete directly with M&S so we are bound to see the effects. If the grocer and the fruit stall get hit, they will shut. If they shut, the market gets smaller. If the market shrinks people will stop coming. Where will that leave me?"

The Delicatessen

Yalcin Ozdemir has been running his stall for five years.

"The market is dying out. Christmas hit everyone hard and the credit crunch is biting. Opening another supermarket here will probably kill us completely. It may not happen immediately but gradually we will feel the effects.

"We are also concerned about how deliveries will get to the new store. The only access is through the market street and there have been rumours about scaling the market down from three blocks to two. The whole thing is very worrying."