December 2010 No.200, Quarterly Issue, Distributed Free to Members
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THE BRIXTON SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Hambrook House, Brixton Hill, SW2 Winter, December 2010 No.200, Quarterly issue, Distributed free to members. Registered with the London Forum of Amenity Societies, Registered Charity No.1058103, Website: www.brixtonsociety.org.uk Our next event: th Thursday 13 January: 218-232 Stockwell Road, SW9 Winter Social 7 pm at the Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 Admission free to members, but to help our planning, please confirm if you are coming (and the sooner the better). Notify Bill Linskey on (020) 7274 3835 or by e- mail to [email protected] Black Cultural Archives Update At the following meeting on Thursday 10th February at 7 pm, we have arranged for Paul Reid of BCA and Vivek Malhotra from their architects to give a short presentation on proposals and timing for the remodelling of 1-3 Effra Road as the new base of the Black Former Denmark pub, Denmark Road, SE5 Cultural Archives. This should revive a neglected corner of Windrush Square. Do any more buildings within the wider Brixton Followed by an Executive Committee meeting area deserve protection? Are any of those above worthy? Lambeth planners have invited further suggestions for their “Local List” but we More dates inside... must respond before the end of January. We are trying to get this issue out before Depending on the merits of the buildings, they Christmas to keep you informed, though we might even be worth promoting to the National expect to have yet more dates and news to List, or at least including within Conservation share next month, so check our website then Areas. All suggestions to Alan Piper (contact too. Meanwhile, seasonal greetings to you all. details overleaf). 1 Dates for your new 2011 diary Editorial Notice: Monday 3rd January – Coin Street Neighbourhood Space permitting, we try to Recent Discoveries in Centre, Waterloo, SE1. Free feature local events and Local History: but book with Paul Morris at publish reminiscences or A round-up of recent [email protected] enquiries in our newsletter. research by various or tel. (020) 7926 9930. We welcome news and speakers. 8 pm at Lambeth Council. comments from all Woodlawns, Streatham th interested in the Brixton Darby & Joan Club, 16 Wednesday 9 Feb. – area, so opinions expressed Leigham Court Road, The River Effra: in these pages are not SW16. New light on an old river, by necessarily those of the The Streatham Society Dr Martin Heath of the Brixton Society. Ecospheres Project. Thursday 6th January – 7-30 pm for 7-45 start, All material should be sent Business Archives: Herne Hill United Church to the Secretary, Alan Piper, Richard Wiltshire introduces Hall, corner of Redpost Hill at 82 Mayall Road, SE24 the business collections and Herne Hill, SE24. 0PJ, or by e-mail to held at London Metropolitan Herne Hill Society. [email protected] Archives. Phone/ fax enquiries to Opens at 5-30 for 6 pm start 19 & 20 February – The (020) 7207 0347. at the London Metropolitan Listed Property Show: Archives, 40 Northampton At Olympia, London W14 Society Meetings Road, EC1. Free to our 8UX, details available at: The Executive Committee members but prior booking www.listedpropertyownerscl usually meets on the second required (the Society is a ub.co.uk Thursday of the month to member of AfL) to: Listed Property Owners plan activities and agree our Nicola.Avery@cityoflondon. Club. responses to current issues. gov.uk These meetings are at 7 pm or tel (020) 7332 3816 Forward Planning at the Vida Walsh Centre, Archives for London. If you would like the Society 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 (at to take part in some local the Effra Road end, facing th Tuesday 11 January – event you are running, it Windrush Square). Edwardian Architecture helps our planning if you of Lambeth: can contact us with the date 10 February, Talk by Edmund Bird of as soon as possible. 10 March, Urban Design London, So far, we are likely to be 14 April, Opens at 7 pm for 7-30 involved in some way in the 12 May, start, The Housing Co-op following events later in the 9 June (AGM) Hall, 106 The Cut, SE1 year: 14 July, (almost opposite the Old Vic 8 September, Theatre). Southwark & London Open Garden 13 October Lambeth Archaeological Squares weekend, 10 November Society. 11 & 12 June. Lambeth Country Show, Links with Other Friday 28 January – Weekend 16 & 17 July. Groups Next Steps for the Dates are still coming in for Cooperative Council: London Open House 2011 events, but please Launch of the Commission’s weekend 17 & 18 Sept. check directly with the report and the first wave of organisers if any queries pilot projects. Open 9 am Lambeth Archives Open over times or admission. for 9-30 start, until 1 pm, Day, Saturday 24 Sept. 2 Planning Focus Many editions of the South London Press on Friday, 10 December 2010 carried on their front pages the story that Sport England has lodged an objection to the planning application by Tesco to build a temporary ice rink on the site of the - currently being demolished - Pope’s Road car park. Sport England “is the government agency responsible for building the foundations of sporting success” (according to its own website) and, among many other things, it is responsible for distributing the portion of National Lottery funds allocated to sport. Why have Sport England, the Brixton Society, many other local groups, very many individuals, one of the ward councillors and one of our local MPs all opposed this planning application? Read on … HISTORY STREATHAM ICE RINK POPE’S ROAD CAR PARK "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....": The story of Pope’s Road car park is one of well, it almost seems like that. It is almost a disgraceful neglect by its owners - Lambeth decade since Tesco first mooted plans to build a Council. The lack of the most basic new supermarket in Streatham. A convoluted maintenance, such as replacing broken louvre process eventually resulted in agreed plans in windows, has resulted in the deterioration of the 2008. A crucial element of the agreement - building to such an extent that it has been following the intervention of the Mayor of condemned as a dangerous structure and is London - is that Tesco is required to build a new having to be demolished. ice rink in Streatham before demolishing the The Brixton Master Plan had envisaged the car existing one which occupies part of the site. park being replaced one day by a mixed None of this had anything to do with Brixton until development including ground-level retail Tesco decided that it did not want to develop premises with floors of parking and flats above. the site as agreed in 2008 but instead proposed However, this requires a private developer to to clear the whole site and build everything in take it on and none are forthcoming in the one phase, because that is cheaper. This current climate. means finding a site for a temporary (for three It was therefore decided that, once the car park years) replacement ice rink. was demolished, surface level car parking You may - or may not - be surprised to read that would be provided to retain an, albeit smaller, Lambeth has been prepared to go along with car park in the centre of Brixton. this, rather than hold Tesco to its agreement. This is where the two stories meet. When the Together they came up with Plan A, which was plan to build a temporary rink on Streatham to site the rink on Streatham Common. Result: Common had to be abandoned, someone came local uproar and Lambeth having to back down up with a cunning plan - build the rink on the when it was explained to the Council that such a Pope’s Road site once the car park is building on the Common was not lawful. Enter demolished. Apart from the myriad other Plan B … objections to the proposal, the site is too small! OBJECTIONS … to the Pope’s Road proposal include: it would breach current Lambeth planning policies; it would reduce car parking in central Brixton; it would have a severe negative impact on local retail businesses which are already suffering from the lack of car parking; it would damage social cohesion by impacting disproportionately on ethnic businesses reliant on bulk sales; it would impact badly on local residents by being open for up to 20 hours a day and attracting mini buses and coaches carrying hockey teams; it would stretch local services; it raises concern over possible crime and disorder because the site will be more difficult to police that the existing Streatham site; and it would have negative environmental impacts, such as the extra travelling it would cause most existing users. But surely we could put up with these little inconveniences (!) for a few years to help out our neighbours. Er no … most Streatham skaters are adamantly against the plan. Because the Pope’s Road site is too small, the rink cannot be built to modern, Olympic standards; opposing teams’ supporters would not be separated from each other, the players and referees at hockey matches; and there would be inadequate facilities for the referee and teams’ coaches. All this, agreed by our council, to save Tesco (UK turnover bigger than the national defence budget) money. The application will be heard by the Planning Committee in January 2011. We will be there. 3 Local History Focus Walk this way? New Brixton Plaque It may seem far too early to be thinking about In November, an article in the Council paper, Summer Walks, but once again the local Lambeth Life announced the unveiling of a amenity societies will collectively present a plaque in Brixton commemorating Rudy series of guided walks on most Sunday Narayan, who served as a councillor for afternoons through the summer.