Traders and visitors to Gabriel’s Wharf have been left visibly upset over the site’s closure
A group of independent businesses on London’s South Bank have only a few weeks left before they must close down their shops and leave for good.
Gabriel’s Wharf, which has existed in the area since 1988, is currently home to a vibrant mix of shops including art galleries and food artisans. But businesses have been asked to leave by September 27, as the site has been earmarked for demolition and regeneration.
Coin Street, a not-for-profit social enterprise which owns Gabriel’s Wharf, says the site in its current form was always meant to be a temporary use. It says the garage units the shops exist in have reached the end of their life, and action must be taken to regenerate the site.
However, Coin Street says the site will continue as a ‘meanwhile’ use as a “vibrant mixed-use public space”, with commercial partners involved in the new plans. Who exactly will form part of the new plans has not yet been revealed.
It is understood that Coin Street expects the new meanwhile use to operate for another 10 to 15 years, before long-term redevelopment plans come to fruition, reportedly for a nursing home in 15 years’ time.
But for the existing businesses at Gabriel’s Wharf, many have been left heartbroken over having to close and are stressed they won’t be able to afford elsewhere in London, due to currently paying cheaper rents.
They argue they are the meanwhile use the site needed while it awaits long-term redevelopment plans, and have hit out at a lack of support from Coin Street.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) previously reported on the closure, traders had offered to pay more rent, and had asked to trade until the end of 2026 so they could have one last Christmas on site, but their requests were turned down.
Traders estimate around 130 jobs will be lost once the site closes in its current form.
Joanne Plumb, who has been based at Gabriel’s Wharf for the last 24 years, told the LDRS the upcoming closure feels like everyone is going through “a bereavement”.
She said: “This place is special. There’s nowhere really like it, is there? It’s very peaceful, people have said that and that’s why they’re upset. A lot of people come here because it’s to calm their mental [health].
“I’ve made some of my best friends through here. I’m a single mum, I brought up my two boys on this shop.”
Like many of the businesses, Joanne says looking for a new place is “consuming me”, and has found it a struggle to find anything like Gabriel’s Wharf.
“There isn’t really anything like this,” she said. “It’s very commercial. This, you know, this place is different.”
Charles Diallo, who runs a popular vegan restaurant called Fed by Plants, said: “I’ve been here for four-and-a-half years now. I’m one of the top vegan and even top restaurants recommended by Google Reviews.
“Closing down my business at this level is a suicide for a small business. I cannot believe it, I haven’t had anything as good as this.”
He added: “Coin Street say they are a social enterprise, they should at least make a proposition for a solution, such as ‘this is what we can do or what we cannot do’ – I think they should consider that clearly.”
It’s not just traders who have been left visibly upset by the closure, but visitors to Gabriel’s Wharf, too.
Liz Mathews, who owns Potters’ Yard Arts, a pottery and lettering arts studio with her partner, Frances Bingham, told the LDRS a 12-year-old boy began to cry in their shop when he and his mum learnt of the closure.
She said: “It really means things to real people. It isn’t just any old place that they could make a bit more money with so they could bulldoze.
“I think it’s difficult because all of our arguments seem like they’re very emotive, but actually, it’s because we are in touch with the soul of the place that has been created here.”
Liz added: “It’s a living place. Everyone needs maintenance. Of course, it needs maintenance. But it’s alive and kicking. Why would you throw that away?”
Frances told the LDRS people feel very upset because there “doesn’t seem to be any real reason why” they have to leave.
“It doesn’t seem to make sense, why can’t we stay for longer?” she said. “Or if there is some reason that we can’t, why can’t we get some sort of help, even if it was very small like getting our deposits back early or not having to pay the final rent?”
Camille Dawson, who founded sustainable clothing shop, Genki Designs, said: “It’s such a rare place and so many customers are coming in and the word has got out and they are so sad about it.
“So many people are coming with their own stories of getting married here or engaged here, or meeting people here or coming as a child. So for [Coin Street] to erase that, all of those stories… people have been visibly upset when they come in and find out what’s happening to here.”
Campaign to stop closure
When traders were informed of Coin Street’s immediate plans last year, they launched a petition to save the site from closure. The change.org petition currently has 2,686 signatures.
Traders have also taken to social media to raise awareness of the plans, and have asked for Lambeth Council to step in and ensure the plans are carried out through a fair and transparent process.
They say they are not asking the council to stop regeneration, but argue it should not “automatically” mean the removal of long-established independent businesses.
Lambeth Council has been approached for comment.
A Coin Street spokesperson said “every pound generated by our commercial spaces”, including Gabriel’s Wharf, supports homes, parks, our nursery, family services and community programmes.
They said they had been open about the closure and “we are continuing to promote Gabriel’s Wharf through marketing activity and events to help tenants have a successful final year”.
The spokesperson added: “The tenants at Gabriel’s Wharf are valued members of the Coin Street community and so last year we took the decision to keep Gabriel’s Wharf open until September 2026 to allow them time to plan for their businesses and to give the Wharf a successful final year in its current form.
“Our goal is to shape a destination that reflects the spirit of our community and the South Bank – welcoming residents, workers, and visitors alike – while generating vital income to reinvest in the neighbourhood we all care about.”
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