A displaced trader from the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre has said he is being “victimised” for his role in the campaign to stop the demolition of the beloved site.
Emad Megahed, who ran a successful IT support shop at the old shopping centre for decades, was the chair of the Elephant and Castle Traders Association, which played a key role in helping traders secure compensation and support during their relocation to the Elephant Arcade.
As a “punishment” for his activism, Emad claims he was given a unit in the new development that was “one-third of the size” of his previous premises and “hidden out of sight”.
“All the other traders came from smaller to better,” he said. “I was the only business that deteriorated in size.”
Other signs of his “victimisation”, claimed Emad, were small acts of “indirect discrimination” and “favouritism” shown by the management towards businesses who had been more supportive of the development.
One example he cited was that they were allowed to place signs for their businesses on the pavement, while he could not.
“This is a pre-calculated strategy to take revenge for what I did,” says Emad. “It is really childish.”
In response to these allegations, a spokesperson at Elephant Arcade management company, Meanwhile Space said: “All prospective tenants were required to submit an application which was reviewed against published criteria.”
“Spaces were allocated based on length of tenure at the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, the strength of the business plan … and financial viability,” they added.
At the Elephant Arcade, which was built to rehouse businesses from the shopping centre, Emad complained that trading conditions were “really bad”, making it almost impossible to run a successful business.
Last week he was served an ultimatum saying he needed to pay his arrears or leave the unit with them written off. His eviction was supposed to happen on Monday (7 March).
Still, Emad claimed that everyone would struggle at the new site. He believed that footfall to the area had been irrecoverably harmed by the demolition of the old shopping centre and that the managers at the Arcade were not doing enough to support traders.
“There is no trade here,” he said. “Even if they put someone else in my place, they couldn’t make it work. The problem is the place, not the business.”
A Meanwhile Space spokesperson contested this: “[We have] been committed to the success of our tenants and their businesses during these trying times by providing them with business support, connections to others in the community, and hands-on consultation and guidance.”
“Elephant Arcade opened in October 2020 which was a challenging time for retail and hospitality generally,” they added.
Emad, who taught himself Spanish to integrate with the Latin American community at the shopping centre, said the redevelopment had destroyed the big audience his business once had.
“It is like I am starting from scratch,” he said. “People I once knew say they didn’t even know I was here. But I am not allowed to put signs out.”
Emad added that he misses the old shopping centre and the community of sellers and shoppers that existed there before its demolition.
“Things crumbled,” says Emad. “We were dispersed this way, that way, in every direction. It destroyed the vibrancy.”
His business, Macroom, which also recycles devices to help disadvantaged people in the area, is appealing for money to help relocate to another unit in the Elephant Arcade.
The 55-year-old Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre was closed in 2020 to make way for a £1 bn development, containing thousands of new homes and retail space.
It was fiercely opposed by local groups, who claimed the development would break up their tight-knit community and destroy an icon of working-class London.
A link to Emad’s campaign can be found here: https://payitforward.london.gov.uk/p/macroom-repairs