Sydenham Night Market holds its last Friday of the summer as council weighs a return

Sydenham Night Market holds its final Friday of the summer tonight, 18 September, running from 5pm to 10pm at Sydenham Station Approach. Lewisham Council says the weekly pilot could return next year.

The free market began on 17 July on a car-free stretch beside the station. Parking bays there were given over to public seating and to pitches for 14 hot food traders.

What is on at Sydenham Night Market

Fusé and Route 66 are among the stallholders, with Harlem 2 Manila and Slate n Crumb also trading. Over the summer, visitors have been able to pick up jerk chicken with rum cake for afters. Afghan cooking has been on offer too, along with Turkish flatbreads made fresh at the stall.

The council’s target was 6,000 visitors. It now expects the final count to come in close to 8,000. That estimate is based on hot food sales, so the true number across the series could be higher. Food traders are said to have taken up to £10,000 a week between them.

Why Lewisham Council chose Sydenham

Footfall and evening spending had been falling in the south of the borough, and the council saw Sydenham as a place to boost trade after dark. Cllr Shireen Asaw, the cabinet member whose brief includes business, said some businesses near the market may have tripled their sales while it has been on. In her view the area had lacked “that night-time economy to draw people in for the evening”.

Kenrick’s Wine Merchant and Wine Bar on Station Approach says its Friday evening sales have tripled. Its customers have come from Brockley and Crystal Palace, and some from further away.

The council says the pilot has shown “huge potential” for pedestrianised space in town centres. A council team has gathered data from each week’s market. Councillors, stakeholders and the wider public will be consulted before any decision is made on its future.