Closure of Street Feast's Hawker Union confirmed as council branded ‘deliberately difficult'

11 September 2018 by
Closure of Street Feast's Hawker Union confirmed as council branded ‘deliberately difficult'

The closure of Street Feast's latest site just 12 weeks after it opened in Wood Green, north London, has been confirmed.

This weekend will be the last time street food market Hawker Union welcomes guests, with Jonathan Downey, the founder of Street Feast's parent company London Union, saying the authorities have been "deliberately difficult".

Last night Downey tweeted: "Sorry to say but, after just 12wks, we've decided to close Hawker Union. This weekend is our last one. Haringey Council tried very hard to stop us from opening and continue to be deliberately difficult. Time to move on. BIG thanks to all our traders and the 12,000+ who came down.

"We have no idea why but there seems to have been a concerted effort by Haringey planning, EHO and building control to obstruct our opening. We ploughed on past this and opened anyway (using TENs [temporary events notices]) but it's not worth the hassle and we can take our show elsewhere.

"We've had good support from the Haringey ReGen team but it wasn't enough. In 21yrs of opening over 35 venues in five countries, I've never had to close a site like this. We spent £450,000 to create a lively and unique local community amenity. Borough residents deserve better."

Hawker Union, in the former Olympia Industrial Estate, was London Union's sixth site in the capital.

The site incorporated six street food traders and five bars as well as trampolines, pool tables and big screens.

London Union's other Street Feast venues include Hawker House in Canada Water, Model Market in Lewisham, Dinerama in Shoreditch, Giant Robot in Canary Wharf and Public in Woolwich.

Street Feast's Hawker Union could close just three months after opening>>

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