Loughborough Junction We would particularly like to acknowledge the help we have received this year from

Action Group (LJAG) Gerry Evans our Capacity Building Officer at the Forum Network, the team from Lambeth council’s Public Realm Annual Report for the Transportation team - Abu Barkatoolah, George Wright, Richard Ambler and Mark 2014/2015 year Trevethan - and councillors Rachel Heywood and Matt Parr in Coldharbour ward and Once again LJAG is able to report another councillors Jim Dickson and Jack Holborn in busy year of community engagement, ward. campaigning and projects. Higgs Industrial Estate Trustees Place-making The planning application for a mixed use Anthea Masey Chair development of the Higgs Industrial Estate Amanda Kamin Deputy Chair on Herne Hill Road and the renovation and Jack Butterworth Treasurer (appointed 01.06.2015) extension of the Sureway church building Kristin Bayliss Maude Estwick came out of the blue. It became apparent John Frankland that after years of little or no development Tim Gaymer was suddenly Jim Meacock (appointed 01.12.2014 attracting the attention of developers. resigned 04.07.2015) Liz Wallace (appointed 01.12.2014 The campaign against the development was resigned 04.07.2015) ably led by former trustees Jim Meacock David Warner (resigned 02.03.2015) and Liz Wallace Hazel Watson and LJAG received help and advice from David Taylor Our Purpose from the Herne LJAG is a group of local volunteers who aim Hill Society and to improve the environment of local councillors, Loughborough Junction and the lives of the notably Jim people who live and work there. We aim to Dickson. deliver this mission by focussing our efforts Residents were in four key areas: Skills Sharing, Greening, concerned about Place-making, and Community the bulk and Events. Projects in this report have been height of the labelled according to the areas of our proposed mission on which they deliver. development of 151 flats in blocks of five to eight storeys tall and a 10 storey Funding office block. LJAG organised several protest During the financial year to 5 April 2015 we meetings and a demonstration was held received funding from the following when councillors on the Planning organisations: The People’s Health Trust; Applications Committee visited the site on the NHS; the Heritage Lottery Fund; The 22 November. Myatt’s Fields Park Project; Thames Water; Trustees Liz Wallace and Tim Gaymer the Arts Council; Building Communities in addressed the committee on 25 November Coldharbour; Age Concern and the Lambeth and there was a good turnout of local Festival Fund totally £58,896. residents opposed to the scheme. The

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application was refused with the chair of the that questions of density and viability could planning committee Councillor Diana Morris be tested and consulted over openly with declaring that the scheme "asked too much the community. We were pleased when the of the site". council agreed to our request and we The developer Parritt Leng submitted two accepted an invitation to sit on the panel revised applications; the number of flats that appointed Hawkins/Brown as master was reduced to 124; the height and planners. Trustees Anthea Masey and Tim footprint of the office block was reduced to Gaymer sit as members of the master plan eight storeys; and the internal courtyard steering group. was improved. In spite of these improvements the housing LJ Neighbourhood Planning Forum density remained higher than that Place-making. suggested by the Mayor of London in the The Neighbourhood Planning Forum is a London Plan. The argument hinged on the local forum facilitated by LJAG. question of whether or not Loughborough Planned improvements to the junction of Junction is a "Central" or "Urban" location. and Loughborough Road LJAG argued that Loughborough Junction's at the heart of the junction were delayed by "Urban" location dictated a much lower Lambeth council proposals, supported by density (number of rooms per hectare) than LJAG, to close a section of Loughborough that proposed by the developer. Lambeth Road near the junction with Coldharbour Council planners on other hand Lane, and other associated road closures, recommended approval of the revised for a six month experimental period. The scheme arguing that the higher housing aim is to reduce the amount of traffic using density allowed in "Central" locations was Loughborough Road as a cut-through to acceptable and on 21 April 2015 the Road, reduce pollution levels in an planning committee granted both schemes area of low car ownership and encourage planning permission. more people to walk, cycle or use public LJAG is now applying for free legal transport. The experimental closures have assistance to fight a test case to prove that proved controversial but have brought new Loughborough Junction is an urban - not members to the planning forum. central - location, for the sake of future LJAG, with help from LJAG volunteer Tom developments. Dobson, using the Localism Act, has LJAG can claim credit for organising a submitted to Lambeth Council a number of campaign that improved the initial nominations to register assets of community proposals for the Higgs Industrial Estate and value. These are: Hero of Switzerland pub, will now work with Parritt Leng on the the Cambria pub, the Greenman Skill Zone, details of the planning permission that still MDM, Sunshine C.A.F.E., Ebony Horse Club, need to be resolved - the reserved matters - and The Platform. LJAG has not heard if in order to get the best outcome in design these nominations of community value have terms for Loughborough Junction. We are been accepted. The law gives the also providing contacts on our website for community a period of six months to mount residents concerned about any aspect of the a bid for any asset which has been construction process once it is underway. registered of community value.

LJAG felt that the sudden arrival of developers in Loughborough Junction left the neighbourhood open to unfettered and unplanned development. LJAG wrote to council leader councillor Lib Peck requesting that Lambeth commission a master plan for the area and its development sites in order

The Forum welcomed the public realm The farm working group meets monthly on improvements at the junction of the first Wednesday of the month and there Coldharbour Lane, Shakespeare Road and are active sub-groups working on DIY Loughborough Park and new zebra crossing projects and crop-planning. across Shakespeare Road. The Farm is working on a development plan Loughborough Farm that will take the project to the next stage Skills Sharing, Greening, Place-making, Community Events. The Loughborough Farm, a community growing project on a Lambeth-owned piece of once derelict land on Loughborough Road, goes from strength to strength. The

designed to make the Farm more financially sustainable. A “grow-to-sell” group is being developed. At the moment a monthly market stall is being held at the Farm on the first Saturday of the month. This is being organised by volunteer Charlotte O’Connor who is also attending a small business farm is open twice a week on Tuesday and development course run by local training Saturday afternoons and our popular provider Tree Shepherd. Saturday session is often attended by as many as 30 volunteers. Wish You Were Here is a Farm project led by The Farm has been supported by a grant LJAG volunteer Karen Hooper with help from from the People’s Health Trust that has paid Farm volunteer Zeenat Fayyaz with funding from the NHS. The project promotes the Farm to vulnerable groups as a resource for well-being. The project works with GP practices and patient participation groups, hostels and a recovery centre to promote resilience and wellbeing for all. It has held successful market stalls selling Farm produce at the Herne Hill Road Medical Practice and for a part-time co-ordinator, Emily Myers, the Corner and a half shipping container. The People’s Surgery. Health Trust grant ran out at the end of The Farm January but we were successful in obtaining raised over a small grant from the Peter Minet Trust £600 for a that has allowed us to continue employing programme of Emily Myers. We are actively looking for summer other sources of core funding in order to activities in continue employing a farm co-ordinator. 2014 through a crowd-funding exercise through our website.

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Cambria Road Bridge which also celebrated The Farm DIY group has built The Plant the completion of the Cambria Bridge art Room, a water gatherer and greenhouse, project. The app was fully launched on designed by volunteer, trainee architect, 7 March with an Intergenerational event in Tom Dobson, with funding from Thames SIA Cafe. Water and Incredible Edible Lambeth. A final celebration and thank you event for The Farm has worked with the Lost Effra volunteers was held on Saturday 30 May at Project – part of the London Wildlife Trust – the Cambria pub. to provide a garden and food growing beds behind Lambeth Living flats in Southwell 7 Bridges and Cambria Bridge Art Project Road. The project has involved depaving an Place-making. area of unused concrete that will reduce the risk of flooding in the area. The project – both in terms of funding and implementation – has been complex and LJAG would like to thank Helen Spring at the London Wildlife Trust for her patient and competent project management.

World War One Augmented Reality Project Place-making, Community Events. LJAG volunteer Walter Reed obtained funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an augmented reality project, which in a series of three walks around the neighbourhood accessed via an app for a mobile phone or tablet, imagines life in

Loughborough Junction during World War The 7 Bridges is an arts-led regeneration One through the telling of three stories. The project led by LJAG volunteer Walter Reed. app is downloaded from a QR code at three Loughborough Junction’s railway bridges are locations: outside at the the area’s defining feature. The 7 Bridges Northway Road entrance, outside aims to bring them alive with light, colour Loughborough Junction station and near the and art. Cambria pub in Kemerton Road and the The Cambria Bridge art project was the stories are picked up through 23 coloured pilot; it was officially opened at the World code paving slabs dotted around the area. War One street party on 6 September 2014. A book accompanying the project was The bridge produced and distributed to schools and was libraries and two reminiscence events were dedicated to held with local people encouraged to tell the memory stories of their families’ involvement in the of Angela war. Akinyemi The app was introduced on 6 September and was 2014 with a street party in and around the opened by

her sister Michelle and was attended by can work together to improve the service Angela’s children. they receive from Network Rail, who own Subsequent to the official opening, new most of the arches in Loughborough lighting has been installed in and under the Junction. Our local business community girders of the bridge. shared some disturbing stories and expressed the view that they were likely to A new 7 Bridges sub-committee has been come under pressure from rising rents. We set up and an artists’ brief for the remaining will continue to try and ensure our local six bridges is being developed. The outline economy is respected by Network Rail and for the bridges is to link each of the that businesses are treated fairly. six bridges with railway journeys on other continents and to utilise artwork ideas from those continents to help reflect the heritage of the railways and the multicultural nature of Loughborough Junction.

Loughborough Junction Business Forum Skills Sharing, Community Events. The Loughborough Junction Business Association is led by LJAG trustee Amanda Kamin. The association had a busy year. The highlight was hosting our first Christmas market day with Ray Manabir at Sunshine Arts International. Hundreds of local residents visited the stalls Ray had set Although Lambeth Council has greatly up for makers and vendors. Ray put on a reduced its support to the business steel band, the Cambria Choir and of course community, through a reduction in staff, we offered up his delicious curry and are grateful for the help we received from punch! The event was a huge success with Daniel Moore. We held a number of the community and also for those making meetings with local organisations that sales on the day. We hope a market will support businesses like Tree Shepherd and become a regular feature. One Planet Ventures. We are exploring opportunities for businesses to work In February we met at local together to afford better provision in restaurant Ulupica and welcomed a speaker commercial rubbish provision and from Lambeth Council to understand the procurement and are interested in hearing issues around business rates. We continue from those likely to benefit from this type of to request flexibility to take into account arrangement. pop-up businesses, premises undergoing renovation and those that are only open at Finally, lifelong Herne Hill resident Alex the weekends. We do not want to Marsh conducted a business survey which see empty shops on our high street and has demonstrated just how important hope that the Council and government will thriving industry and services are to our support start-up businesses and those area in terms of the local economy, jobs and currently under pressure. general atmosphere! We are using Alex's findings to inform suggestions for More recently, in June, we held a session the master plan and encourage further with the LJ Neighbourhood Planning Forum improvements to the area to aid our local attended by Andy Simmons from the office entrepreneurs. To help people shop locally, of our new MP, Helen Hayes, to understand we have established a business directory on how local businesses in the railway arches our website which is free to use.

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Health events that targets local shops to encourage them Skill Sharing, Community Events. to keep their forecourts swept and rubbish- LJAG held two health days delivering the free. NHS health check programme. The popular and well-attended events were held in Loughborough Junction station conjunction with the nursing outreach team Place-making. from the Guys’ and St Thomas Foundation LJAG is concerned about the poor state of Trust and local GP practices and patient Loughborough Junction station and is participation groups. The first was held on lobbying the train operator Govia for 26 June at Sunshine International Arts; the improvements. We are also concerned second on 25 November at the Harry about overcrowded trains in the morning Caddick Centre. rush hour with A further event aimed at young people and many young parents will be held later this year commuters and will also deliver event training to a unable to get group of volunteers. on the busiest trains. Mapping project We are Skill Sharing. campaigning LJAG has funding from the London for more trains Community Foundation via Building to stop at Loughborough Junction and have Communities in Coldharbour to develop a launched a twitter campaign to highlight the community map issue of dangerous overcrowding to Govia and to train ten to and Network Rail with the hashtag 15 local people – #ljsardines. Urban Explorers - to map community Thanks assets, ie schools, LJAG would like to thank the very many community volunteers who have given up their time facilities, activities, over the last year. Without them, none of stories, short films this work would have been possible. etc. The website www.loughboroughjunctionmap.co.uk has Anthea Masey now been designed and local volunteers are Chair now being recruited. Loughborough Junction Action Group 7 July 2015 Campaigns:

Fly tipping and rubbish disposal Place-making LJAG trustee Amanda Kamin and volunteer Gemma Mogg are leading our campaign to reduce the amount of flying tipping and rubbish on our streets by encouraging people to report instances to Lambeth council and with a twitter campaign with the hashtag #notadumpingground. LJAG will relaunch its “We Keep Loughborough Junction Clean” campaign

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