Proposal Title * Relocating Lambeth Archive to Olive Morris House Redevelopment
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Proposal Title * Relocating Lambeth Archive to Olive Morris House redevelopment Author Preeti Chatwal‐Kauffman Please provide name of lead author and/or those within project team who may be required to contribute to this assessment Who will sign off the assessment? Sandra Roebuck Please indicate who will be involved in approving this assessment. This will need to be signed off by the designated Head of Service or Director Q1a. What is changing? The Project includes relocation of the Lambeth Archives to the new building replacing Olive Morris House. The current Lambeth Archive service is situated in the Minet Library building at 52 Knatchbull Road, London SE5 and has been based there since 1890. It is generally recognised that the present location for the borough archives is not fit for purpose. The storage conditions also do not meet the necessary standards and it is poorly placed, being on a residential street, away from bus routes and the tube. Olive Morris is centrally located within the borough and in easy distance of Brixton underground station and is prominent. It is located close to several other heritage organisations, most notably the Black Cultural Archives. The building is well designed, accessible and located right in the town center area. The relocation will fulfill Lambeth's vision for the new Lambeth Archive i.e to be a more visible and accessible public asset; one that can engage with the community through exhibitions, community events and an active education programme, opening up the collection to a wider audience and bringing the stories it contains to life. Some benefits of the move to Olive Morris House which are likely to have impacts are as below: Within the current building the storage space and access to material is limited. The current location is a significant distance from public transport routes. A higher profile location for the archives in the centre of Brixton means that its facilities can facilitate a wider range of education programmes and community events. The current premises are quite small which may mean they are less adaptable to people with disabilities, particularly those who use wheelchairs. The locker and cloakroom area is particularly inaccessible. The current premises offer little in the way of public conveniences on site, meaning that use of the facilities in nearby Myatts Fields Park is required. This probably has an impact with regard to health, disability and age. .What is the most significant or key change taking place? Can you indicate the type of change in your response ﴾e.g policy/decision/strategy/ service/procedural/ geographic/procurement etc.﴿ so it is clear what is being equalities assessed? Why is this change happening? What do you aim to achieve? Can you clearly indicate what decision‐makers are being asked to take a decision on? Read more Q1b. Who will be involved in approving this decision? Senior Management and Cabinet Member Who else will be involved in signing‐off this decision? Read more Q2a. What do we know about the people who will be impacted by this change? The visitors to the current Archive includes residents the borough and adjoining South London boroughs, visitors from other places in United Kingdom and abroad. Lambeth Demographics﴾ref. Lambeth State of the Borough https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/State%20of%20Borough%202016%20‐%20v3.pdf﴿2016 Lambeth is one of the most densely populated places in the country, with over 100 people living in each hectare, more than twice the London population density. It has a complex social and ethnic mix, with large African and Portuguese populations, and is an important focus for the UK black Caribbean population. Lambeth has a relatively young age profile. Although it is a largely residential borough, it is a destination for young working age people, rather than families. Around 40% of Lambeth’ population is white with a UK background. White people make up 59% of the .﴿population. Around 40% of Lambeth residents are White British or Irish, in line with inner London ﴾43% 15% of the population are from other White backgrounds – around 47,000 people. About two thirds of these people are from Europe outside the UK & Ireland, 8% are from central and south America, 4% from North America and the Caribbean, and 8% from Australasia. Black people make up a quarter of the population ﴾25%﴿. Lambeth’s largest non‐white ethnic group is black African ﴾11.5%﴿, followed by black Caribbean ﴾9.8%﴿. Lambeth has the second largest proportion of black Caribbean people in London ﴾9.5%﴿ after Lewisham ﴾11%﴿. Lambeth has a small Asian population compared to many places in London. Only 7.8% of Lambeth residents are from Asian backgrounds ﴾including Chinese﴿, much less than the inner London average ﴾14.5%﴿. Around 150 different languages are spoken in families in the ,borough. Around 17,000 people ﴾6% of the population﴿ speak a main language other than English mostly EU and African languages. Estimates suggest that Lambeth has one of the largest Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender ﴾LGBT﴿ populations in London. Over 60% of Lambeth residents have a religion and 28% have no religion. Christians ﴾53%﴿ and Muslims ﴾7%﴿ are the largest group of residents with a religion. About 37,000 people in Lambeth have their day‐to‐day activities limited by a long term illness or disability. About 60% of people with a limiting health condition are aged over 50. An Equalities Impact Assessment on the impact of moving the Archives from the Minet Library was undertaken in September 2017 that reviews and sets outs out the impacts for the relocated archive service and the mitigation. This Equality Impact Assessment is an update and specifically focusses on the relocation to the new building replacing Olive Morris House. What does your information tell you about the people who will affected by this change? Are protected groups ,impacted? What information do you hold on the protected characteristics of the people affected by the change? ﴾Age disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race/ethnicity, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, ?health, socio‐economic, language﴿ Are there any gaps or missing information Read more Q2b. How will they be impacted by the change? This proposal will have No adverse impacts on any of the protected charateristic groups. The protected characteristic groups who would experience particularly positive impacts from the move to Olive Morris House would be the following: Socio‐Economic – Moving to Olive Morris House will bring a free‐of‐charge local facility to a more central, accessible and high profile location. Disability – the interior of the Archives is likely to be much more accessible for people with a physical disability in terms of being able to use the facilities. Also, a location very close to bus stops and within reasonable distance of Brixton Underground and Railway stations will mean that a lengthy walk to reach the archives will no longer be required. The extra space could also mean that more facilities/equipment may also be included in the building for people with a visual impairment or conditions such as arthritis which prevent them from being able to use keyboards. Health – Access to educational facilities, in a location which is easy to reach, can also be conducive to good mental health. Would you assess the impact as positive, adverse, neutral? Do you have any uncertainty about the impact of your proposal? Is there a likelihood that some people will more impacted than others? Can you describe the ways in which they will be affected? How might this change affect our ‘general duty’ Read more Q3a. How do you plan to promote and deliver any positive impacts of the proposal? To work closely with the stakeholders in delivering the end product to meet agreed outcome within time, cost and quality. Engaging with end users via the Archive Services and Lambeth Communications to promote the scheme. This will also be captured within he communication plan for the overall development. Feedback on the positive outcomes of the scheme will be provided to major stakeholders through: regular project updates Council Newsletters and feedback to end users Lambeth Website Developer's Newsletters and communications How might the principles of fairness, equality of opportunity and positive relationships be further promoted as a consequence of this proposal? How do you propose to measure your positive outcomes and the benefits outlined to find out if these have been achieved? Read more Q3b How do you plan to address and mitigate any negative impacts of the proposal? Ongoing project review through the periodic meetings with the stakeholders and keeping in loop Lambeth's Senior management and internal departments. The Design teams has also carried out consultations at various stages with the users, stakeholders and statutory bodies on all aspects of the development. People / organisations who were consulted during the project inception include: Brixton Society Norwood Society Friends of West Norwood Cemetery Lambethans Society Southwark and Lambeth Archaeological Society Friends of Windmill Gardens Herne Hill Society Friends of Lambeth Libraries Friends of Minet Library Vauxhall Society Friends of Brockwell Park Friends of Carnegie Library Clapham Society Black Cultural Archives Bill Linsky Ego Ahaiwe‐Sowinski Nicholas Long Colin Fenn Neil Hartley Tina Morton: The National Archives Geoff Pick: London Metropolitan Archives What impact has this evidence had on what you are proposing? What can you do differently that might lessen the impact on people within the timeframes i.e. development‐implementation? Who can help you to develop these solutions? Read More Q4. How will you review/evaluate your proposal, mitigating actions and/or benefits? Who will be responsible for this? The project benefits are reviewed periodically as part of Lambeth's project monitoring.