THE shutters have come down and the gates have closed at Camden Lock Village Market for the last time with the development at Hawley Wharf finally set to start. 

Plans for a new primary school are about to get underway, as the building work begins this month. Hawley Primary School, planned to open in September 2016 in Torbay Street, is part of a £500m development, envisioned by the Stables and Hawley Market owners Stanley Sidings. It will provide a new, larger premises for Hawley Infant School, currently based in Buck Street, allowing them to teach children up to year six. 

Stallholders and other businesses in the area have been offered to be relocated, with some taking up spots in the nearby Stables Market.

Gates along the canal towpath block entry to the market 

There have been mixed views about the closure of the market in Hawley Wharf, with some branding it a great loss and others seeing it as a good chance for progress. The outdoor marketplace burned down in 2008 but was rebuilt to become a popular tourist spot, with vendors selling street food and T-shirts.

Markets boss Mark Alper said: “We are delighted that work is now underway and that we will be able to provide Camden residents with a new state-of-the-art and much-needed nursery, infant and junior school, which is expected to open in time for the academic year starting September 2016.

“We will also be delivering 170 new homes alongside a market and retail destination, a new local cinema and high quality public realm.

“We believe this is great news for people living and working in or visiting Camden and that our plans will help to transform a part of Camden Town that is in need of revival while retaining the area’s unique style and character.”

People look up at the boarded up shops by the Lock in Camden High Street

The hoardings around Hawley Wharf, including on a row of Victorian villas in Hawley Road, have been taken over by street artists, keen to leave their mark before everything is torn down. One double-fronted grade-II listed villa has been saved from demolition. 

Graffiti artist Arthur Rambo, who painted a mural outside the newly closed space, feels that the market has “not had the same feel” since it was rebuilt after the fire.

He said: “It's not like it was when I used to come here in the early 2000s before it burnt down. I don't think the redevelopment will have a negative impact on the area. You still have the Stables Market which looks as busy as ever. It is probably going to be designed bring more people in.”

Murals by Hunto, left, and Arthur Rambo, right

He added how pleased he was that the hoardings were providing a platform for artists to show off their work.

“I'm very happy that it is getting some colour in it now as it is definitely deserving of it. I encourage art and I see no problem whatsoever in making things that are being developed, in the intermediate time, to be colourful as hell. We are losing a lot of legal sites around London, there used to be a dozen, now there are just two or three,” he added.