Nour Cash and Carry Will Stay in Brixton Market | Eater London

"A long-standing market grocer that has served Brixton’s Caribbean and West African communities for around two decades, known for stocking affordable staples not found in major supermarkets—cassava, yam, saltfish and ackee—that are essential to local diets. The shop became the focus of a heated community campaign after receiving an eviction notice in January, with critics arguing the timing during the COVID-19 pandemic was a moral issue even if legally permitted; the owners had continued to pay rent and were not covered by the government’s lease-forfeiture moratorium. Campaigners challenged the landlord’s stated need to site a new power substation in the unit (a claim UK Power Networks and local councillors disputed), objected to a proposed smaller, more expensive replacement unit with a short lease, and protested proposed wider redevelopment plans—including a looming 20-storey scheme nearby that campaigners say tokenises the area’s Jamaican heritage. After sustained pressure, a new agreement secures a long, affordable lease, delays any forced move until a suitable unit is ready, and allows the landlord to begin installing a new power substation in the current space intended to support all 50 market traders; the outcome is widely read as a victory for local organising amid wider concerns about gentrification and rent-driven displacement in the area." - James Hansen