Borough Market "at a crossroads" says chairman

Mention the words ' Borough Market ' and what comes to mind? Fresh food sold by knowledgeable and enthusiastic producers? Overpriced hot food? Crowds of tourists taking photos? People munching burgers?

As custodians of the market's name and reputation, the trustees face a number of unenviable challenges, including dealing with the aftermath of the Thameslink building works and shaping the long-term identity of the market as both a retail and wholesale centre.

The past month – since the high-profile eviction of a number of traders – has seen the trustees face calls for their resignation and plenty of criticism in newspaper articles and online debates alike.

Peter Wilkinson, who has had a home in Borough for 17 years, has served as chair of trustees since summer 2009 .

Soon after the evictions controversy came to public attention he agreed to talk to the London SE1 website and answer questions – drawn from the concerns raised on the SE1 forum – about the way he is leading the market through a difficult period.

The market has been on its present site for 255 years . I started by asking him how he would describe the market in its current incarnation.

"I remember the market when it was pretty run down with just a few traders," he says.

"But I also remember it being a great place to walk around and be close to. I love urban environments and it had a sense of real urbanism. It was a very raw and real place.

"There was obviously an injection of energy into the market and it became what it is today: a hugely successful, very high profile, widely known market.

"The emphasis of the market changed enormously away from wholesale towards retail. Part-way through that process you started to see a diversity of hot food on offer and the market spread and expanded. I see the market today as something of the result of all that hard effort."

The market serves a wide-ranging constituency from local residents to office workers and tourists. In 2011, who is Borough Market for?

"That's a very good question," he replies, and pauses. "I think we are privileged still to have a significant number of loyal proper food shoppers: people who come in here to buy their produce.

"In the main these are people who hit the market at about 9 o'clock on a Friday or Saturday morning and they are gone by about 10.30 or 11 o'clock.

"Then the market really is turned over to a very different sort of audience. A very significant proportion of that audience clearly is casual tourist traffic. A decent proportion is here simply to wander about, have a day out and do some shopping. Predominantly that is hot food related. They'll pass down towards the river and partake in what is the development of this whole area.

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