West Ham has requested members of the West Ham Independent Supporters Committee join them to participate in a joint submission to E20 regarding the addition of street vendors on the London Stadium approach.
The request was revealed in the June minutes of the ISC which brings together West Ham support groups The Pride of Irons, Any Old Irons, Bondholders, West Ham United Supporters Club, Disabled Supporters Board, Inclusive Irons, Hammers United and the West Ham United Independent Supporters Association.
It has long been a bugbear among supporters that street traders did not move with them from Green Street to the Queen Elizabeth Park that contains the London Stadium but in truth, it is E20 Stadium and London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) that control both access and planning and their decision alone.
In 2017 a request was made to the London Stadium Safety Advisory Group chaired by Newham Council to introduce street traders on certain routes to the stadium.
At the time the plan was to license street traders in Carpenters Road and Angel way. The Met Police said they had no objections to the request but no permission would be granted for Westfield Avenue or Montfinchet Road. Food retailers would be expected to have the relevant food hygiene certificates in place and clothing stalls are unlikely to be able to sell unlicensed goods which use West Ham’s brand or logo
The proposed scheme never materialised with LLDC blamed for dragging their feet on the issue.
Perhaps in the meantime, West Ham supporters can do their own lobbying by contacting LLDC CEO Lyn Garner who is the main decision-maker in this regard.