Published on
December 1, 2021
Merchants Way, a vibrant new walking route that runs through New Covent Garden Market towards the riverside in Nine Elms, is now open to the public.
The new pathway links the recently opened Northern line Tube station and Pascal Street to Arch 42, a key public walking route between the new Northern line extension stations, Wandsworth Road, Nine Elms Lane and the River Thames. The arch opened on 19 September 2021 as part of a package of infrastructure and public realm improvements being made by Wandsworth Council, TfL and local partners as the Nine Elms area grows.
Arch 42 during the Line of Light festival.
The path of Merchants Way consists of a new art installation decorating the walls with LGBTQ+ rainbow crossings on either side of the pathway.
The installation, designed by artist and illustrator Anna Nicolò and curated by creativethinking, celebrates the famous ‘Buyer’s Walk’ in the Fruit and Vegetable Market, the rich heritage and architecture of the original market in Covent Garden, and looks to the future of VINCI St. Modwen’s regeneration of the site. It celebrates its history and shared heritage of the market and its traders – but also of the evolution of the site as a place to work, invent, eat, and live.
Artist Anna Nicolò said: “Buyer’s Walk is inspired by a celebration of this rich and colourful landscape, distilled into a bright and joyful pattern, bringing together the past and the future of the market. I hope it brings joy and happiness to all that use the pathway over the next few years.”
‘Buyer’s Walk’ artist Anna Nicolò
Merchants Way is part of VINCI St. Modwen’s aims to open up the area, making the site public when historically it has been a private, wholesale market. The playful route exists to delight and surprise those passing through as well as making travel from A to B easier for people who live and work in the area.
Nick Harrington, Senior Construction Manager for St. Modwen on the site commented: “The new pathway will bring a vibrancy and vitality to the area, with a firm message of openness and inclusion as we look to redevelop further parts of the site. Merchants Way and the artwork celebrate the market’s past while signalling the bright, engaging, and wider vision that VINCI St. Modwen has for the regeneration of the site and for the community of Nine Elms.”
A fully curated programme of installations, community events and activities will also be offered along Merchants Way from 2022.
