"Reclaim the streets? Yeah, right!"

9:38am Tuesday 14th October 2008

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By Flash Bristow »

Did you go to Car Free Day in Leytonstone last month?

I didn’t, and I’ll tell you why …

As an adult without children it doesn’t hold any attraction for me. The French Market brings items that I can buy at Waitrose already. The entertainment is obviously aimed at the kids, and while I’m only 32, the music and DJs on offer make me feel like an old woman. It’s a generation away from me. Also, I remember the complaints from my neighbours last year, who found the music was too loud; they’d gone for a gentle meander to see what was there, and having to shout any conversation rather spoilt things for them. It didn’t entice me to visit this time around, I can tell you!

It seems that the stalls were no good this year either. One local trader said “there was supposed to be a market, but there were only a few stalls…” which meant there was no benefit for her to open, as there was no throng of passing trade. The key seems to be that now the pitches are charged for, the wares have changed – last year’s market stalls were now occupied by various “God squads”. So the market has changed from things people would linger to look at, to locations you might seek to avoid!

A neighbour with a young child tentatively said “it was ok …” - presumably going for the child’s benefit, and to get out of the house! However it turned out that there was a half hour queue for the bouncy castle. Not much fun if you’re only little.

The other issue for me is that the events were held too far from my house for me to walk there. Normally I’d drive, but that rather negates the point of Car Free Day! I really don’t want to wait for the bus, so why bother? Perhaps events could be held up and down Leytonstone High Road (from Wetherspoons down to the Bell, say) – what about carnival floats and a parade? Something to reclaim the (car free) streets? That would really get into the spirit of the event, and could include businesses throughout the area.

I suppose we are lucky that this event happens in Leytonstone rather than the larger Walthamstow or posher Chingford, but I wonder if the event happened elsewhere, would what’s on offer be considered good enough? Perhaps if we were to have music from a name I’d heard of – and I note that Walthamstow had Leon from X Factor for their Olympics party – and if we had stalls with high quality wares that can’t be found in the supermarkets, it would earn a place in my diary.

In short, it’s great that Leytonstone is recognised and gets an event – but let’s have something worth attending. There’s no point showing what we’ve got when we don’t have anything to celebrate. Let’s do something bigger and better next year – not just taking over the bus station, but focussing on what Leytonstone really is to those who live and work here. Next year, I hope the council do something to bring extra trade for local businesses, and fun for all ages of our varied community. Let’s get people talking about Car Free Day – but next time for the right reasons.