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INTERVIEWS OLD KENT ROAD CASS CITIES 2015-16 This is where London works This year, Cass Cities has uncovered the thriving economic We discovered the amazing and surprising things made in this life of the Old Kent Road and its surrounding area. We have part of London, from theatre sets for the Old Vic and decorations investigated the reaches of Bermondsey, Deptford and for Selfridges in London to artisan gin, bread and cheese. Peckham and everything in between, and found out about the people who work there. More worrying however, is the resonance of a quiet but persistent fear for the future of businesses in this part of London. Many of the people who we spoke to had fascinating tales to Many people spoke of the threat posed by rising rents due tell: how they got to be where they are, what has changes, to competition for suitable spaces for their businesses, and what has stayed the same. Many spoke positively about the the growing pressure placed on places of work by demand for strong communities around them and their relationship with the housing. local area. This is what they had to say. MH COACHWORKS 01 UNIT 23-24, ENTERPRISE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE Meet Mark.... Mark runs MH Coachworks, a restoration and businesses to continue supporting the locality. bodywork repairs business, established in Millwall almost two decades ago. Mark feels Local Council and Government in general don’t do enough to protect small businesses. They need to intervene to Mark’s facility contains the only large, automotive oven bake stop developers pushing SME’s out to the M25 and beyond. respraying booth in South & Central London area, providing repair Small businesses can’t compete with the purchasing power of and restoration for large coaches, vans and small commercial corporate and multinational companies when it comes to rental fleets. This has allowed Mark to expand his business over the properties in these areas. years to attract partnerships with many corporate firms such as DPD parcel services, Southwark Council and many luxury coach At Millwall, Mark feels the developers will most likely complete firms. phase 1 (hotel and community centre), some apartments, then sell the remaining land to an investment fund as land value increases. The business has an established supply chain from within the The community centre is the Lewisham Council sweetener deal. general London area including Southwark, Lewisham and the Greater London area. Mark tells us that Enterprise Business Park, where he is based and which is adjacent to Millwall Stadium, is to be demolished to make way for a hotel, some new homes, apartments and a new community training centre for the Millwall FC. He believes a better solution would have been to integrate the industrial facilities into the proposed design strategy, allowing the 18 110 5 years sqm “The community centre is only is only a nice little sweetener for Lewisham Council, someone’s pocket somewhere is being lined.” MAKE Stage Set Builders 02 GUILD HOUSE, LEWISHAM Meet John... John runs an established stage set design and This would allow the local craft industries to expand and build firm, collaborating with a multitude of professionals within increase output, with the knock-on effect of support their local the creative arts industry. base supply chain. After setting up his business in 2010 John moved to his current premises at Guild House in 2012 to give him greater access to local skilled crafts men. John loves this location and commends his fellow art and craft entrepreneurs in close proximity to him for the collaborative community they have grown in an otherwise neglected area. MAKE have a customer base in the theatre, TV & film sectors that spans from South London to the entirety of the UK and beyond into Europe crossing the continent to the United States. The property at Guild House is on a Leasehold from developer SE Renewal Management, who have committed to providing artist spaces within the existing Victorian warehouse, on fixed term rents for the next 5 years. John thinks all the area needs is some shops, cafés and good facilities to nurture the already established businesses in the area. 5 116 4-5 years sqm “We love it here, so many creative industries to tap into, from the thermoplastics guy to the sprayer.” MICHAEL WHITELEY 03 217-220 EDWARD STREET Michael Whitley is the proud owner of a set and model up four arches, he tells us how his business benefits being manufacturer producing bespoke works on a range of scales so close to the city. However, “Deptford is changing quickly” for a variety of clients. He and his team have produced and even though business is going well, he does not imagine models for Madam Tussauds to entire set construction for an that he will be able to stay in the area much longer. “Rents are attraction in Disney Land Paris. He has a number of specialist to getting too high” he says and “I wanted to rent out more skilled employees on site including carpenters, metal workers arches at the end but Network Rail refused. Now they’re left and experts in fibreglass and foam forming. empty.” The business was first established in 1987 and located In relation to the regeneration of the area he believes it want be on this site for 13 years. However Michael has been in the to long till current industries and businesses are pushed out industry most of his life (40+years) successfully completing of the area and London all together to make way for “coffee a competitive set making apprenticeship scheme with the shops and art galleries” Royal Opera House where he worked for a number of years before setting up his on business. Michael employs 6 people full time half of which are local while the other half from just outside London in the southeast. When they take on larger works he sometimes takes up to 50 people and require larger space. Next door to Michael is another smaller set and model manufacturer who he sometimes collaborates with. As he shows around the impressive workshops, which take 6 13 140 years sqm “I wanted to rent out more arches, at the end, but Network Rail refused. Now they’re left empty” ELTERTON MOTOR PROJECT 04 80A EDWARD STREET Iris, the project manager trained sociologist and project They train young people as far as Sutton and Hackney but management informs us the Elderton project was first mostly local people. established in 1974. It is sadly one of the last motor schools left in the country. It was originally set up as a probation Sadly they are struggling to access insurance due to the program, helping those who had committed crimes to learn type of work they do and people they teach. Iris been to the new practical skills, or as Iris puts it “redirecting there passion”, house of commons in regard to the matter. Now, he tells us towards becoming a mechanic (a lot of the young people the students can only doing “boring stuff”. used to jack cars). This is originally where they got they’re sourced their funding. More recently they have moved towards training young people in the area rather than young offender, Funding sources though schools via apprenticeship schemes per pupil. “We engage with the hard ones. The choices are slimming to brick laying and hairdressing” Iris also tell me they operate a Mobile motor cycle repair centre which visits troubled estates teaching skills to young people. “Police use us as an intervention in troubled area, schools, estates, borough councils 41 200 11 years sqm “Don’t be a victim to the system” CHRIS CARLEY COLLECTIONS 05 14-15 TITAN PARK Chris was very keen to tell us all about the business which new staff in the area. has been established for over 100 years, starting off from a horse carts to now one of London’s most successful recycler Chris’ main concerns are about Deptford past being lost of clothes, shoes and fabrics. and forgotten and local business’s pushed out due to rents increasing. Not only do they sort clothes selling them to vintage shops and giving them to charity, they also provide clothing for films “If you didn’t have Deptford where would we be in the World” and TV. Items which are to poor quality to be re-used are he says in relation to the Royal navy docks and trading which either recycled for insulation, used as rags for mechanics or Deptford is historically famous for . burnt in the incinerator for the energy. Also students from Goldsmith often come down to grab fabric for the projects . Nothing goes to waste. Chris tell us how the business has close connections to the community and how many of the employers are local with over 80 people employed in two locations as well as people collecting material from across the UK as far a field as Wales and Glasgow. He tells how they’re “like one big family here”. Chris says the business’s benefits from being in this location as it is well connected to London and the rest of the UK. They have strong connections with the community which also keeps them rooted here. Furthermore, they find it easy to find 40 120 15 years sqm “If you don’t tell the stories of Deptford it don’t get passed on” KTM 06 330 ST JAMES ROAD Paul has been repairing and servicing motorbikes on St. On the subject of the development, he says he’d like to be James Road of 32 years.