Brixton Neighbourhood Forum – March 2019 Bulletin
Next Forum Meeting – Monday 1st April
6-45 pm at the Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road SW2
The venue faces onto Windrush Square, at the southern end of Brixton Town Centre.
We are still firming up the agenda, but we aim to include:
– Update on current plans for the Town Centre, including Atlantic Road and Brixton Station Road;
– Events in Parks: Lambeth’s current review of how it handles events bookings, both for large parks like Brockwell and smaller spaces like Windrush Square (see also news item below).
This is also an opportunity for some of our member groups to share what they have been doing, or their ambitions for summer events.
If your group would like to make a presentation to the meeting, contact the Forum Secretary on apiperbrix@aol.com
Future Forum Meetings
Members asked for Forum dates to be set further ahead. So far, we have booked further meetings at the Vida Walsh Centre for:
– Thursday 27 June,
– Thursday 25 October, both at 6-45 pm.
Other meetings and events may be slotted into the schedule according to demand. We would welcome offers of other meeting places within our wide catchment area, and of course suggestions for topics or speakers for future meetings.
Meanwhile, we are arranging for minutes from the past two Forum meetings to be circulated to members and to be placed on the Forum website.
Funding, Support and Training opportunities
Small Charity Training
At the time of writing, we do not know who will carry on the programme of support recently provided by Community Southwark, but we will keep you posted. If there are training topics that your group would like help with, please let us know. We have a small budget for this, so perhaps we could help organise something locally that member groups could send people to?
We have previously mentioned the courses for small charities organised by the Foundation for Social Improvement. Closing date for the 28 March sessions is about now. However, they have another cluster of London training courses coming up over the 3 days, 14-16 May – enquiries to admin@thefsi.org or see their website, www.thefsi.org
Support from Locality
For the past few years, the Neighbourhood Forum has been a member of Locality, a national federation supporting community organisations. It recently launched a £3.2 million Bright Ideas Fund to help community business start-ups in England – closing date 9th April.
They are also involved (in partnership with 4 other organisations) in Community-led Homes, which has 3 grant funds to provide training, funding and practical support to community groups keen to take action to provide or refurbish the homes communities want.
They are continuing their Save our Spaces campaign to protect public buildings and spaces being sold off for private use.
If your group runs – or aims to run – a community building, it’s worth considering joining directly – see www.locality.org.uk
Meanwhile, our Secretary is happy to forward their recent e-bulletin.
Totally Thames calls for artists, performers and community groups
Totally Thames is a September season of arts and culture events along the 42-mile stretch of the Thames through London. The organisers recently called for proposals for indoor or outdoor events, installations or activities that would be in, on, by or about the river. The submission guidelines provide more details, but they are keen to receive submissions from members of ethnic minorities, and from under-30s. Closing date for applications is Friday 5 April.
Enquiries to contact@thamesfestival.org
Crowd-sourcing and Text-giving
The British Film Institute has created a short animation to promote their Britain on Film crowdsourcing platform, which can be downloaded from:
https://we.tl/t-TCA3swcrGB
It can also be viewed and shared from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=326088114700087
Just Text Giving are ceasing their “text to donate” services at the end of this month. News is starting to trickle in from alternative providers in this field. One we have already received details of is instaGiv – contact chris@instagiv.com if it might be useful for your fund-raising.
PAC-UK
https://www.pac-uk.org/inoculand-forms-first-charitable-relationship-pac-uk/
We are now trying to find recipients for a grant that we have put in place starting April 2019. I already found my first recipient that is Oasis Children’s Venture in Stockwell https://oasisplay.org.uk/
What I did not count on was how challenging it was to actually find recipients. So I am now posting in various forum the incentive hoping to reach interested parties.\Brixton Neighbourhood Forum is exactly the king of recipients we are looking for. But I also see that you may know of many other organisations that could be a recipient of it.
In a nut shell:
1- we want to promote Diversity and Community by supporting any incentives with a social or educational character
2- The project need to be vetted through an organisation/establishment such as churches, schools, charities, associations.
3- Money will be paid to the organisation and will be acknowledged in a post linking our Diversity and Community page https://www.inoculandpestcontrol.co.uk/diversity-and-community/
4- it could be any thing from supporting a charity, to make possible a school project, to help a family in need…
Could you pass on the info to interested parties or promote it through your page.
Regards,Daniel
Historic Buildings Guidance
If your project revolves around a historic building, either Listed or in a Conservation Area. the Heritage of London Trust is currently holding a series of morning workshops in Clapham on some of the key issues for groups considering or preparing bids for funding. Still to come are:
– Thursday 21 March: Asset transfer and partnerships;
– Monday 1 April: Fund-raising for historic buildings;
– Thursday 18 April: Feasibility study or Options appraisal?
To reserve a place on any session, please contact rosemarie.shaw@yahoo.co.uk
News, Events and Activities
Events in Parks – Council Consultation underway
Lambeth Council is now consulting on changes to how it manages events in its parks and open spaces. The present scheme was adopted in 2016 but has been criticised for the impact of big commercial events on major parks like Brockwell Park and Clapham Common. The proposed changes sound like an improvement on this, but it’s worth checking for loopholes. We would like to hear your comments at our April meeting, but the closing date for comments to reach the Council is Sunday 5 May. See the Consultations page on the Council’s website, www.lambeth.gov.uk
Council Review of Licensing Policy
Another Council consultation will be coming up in May over its Licensing Policy, which has to be reviewed from time to time to ensure it is abreast of current concerns. Don’t expect too much from this, because the Council has limited scope for changes, but it’s a chance to flag up “hot spots” within the borough and loopholes in current controls. More news about this nearer the time.
81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance!
The germ of the idea was something to mark the 40th anniversary of the original Brixton Riots of April 1981, and to remind everyone that there is still a diverse community here. After a couple of exploratory meetings, many ideas are emerging and several working groups are following them up.
There is an open Facebook group for anyone that wants to find out more or join in later – see https://www.facebook.com/81Acts/
Enquiries also to Chloe Osbourne, chloelayla@gmail.com or Tony Cealy, tctonycealy@gmail.com
A last summer at the bowling green?
The bowling green in Brockwell Park has been in decline since the serious bowlers moved down the hill in 1996 to use the indoor bowls pitch in the basement of the Brixton Recreation Centre. The outdoor green has been looking the worse for wear since the Council’s specialist green-keeper retired last year. However a small group of enthusiasts, the Sylvan Bowls Club, revived use of the green in 2007 and has since tried to keep it in use for its original purpose. This might be their last year of playing before the surface becomes unplayable, but they expect to open the green to the public every Sunday afternoon from April to September, between 2 pm and 6 pm. There were 582 players over 30 Sundays in 2017, plus some special sessions laid on for local organisations including the Mosaic mental health centre on Effra Road.
Vintage Voices – creative writing sessions
Another series of creative writing sessions is starting up, to encourage people to share their experiences, explore different writing styles and craft stories.
Sessions take place 1 pm to 3 pm (light lunch available at 12-30 pm) on Tuesdays 26 March, 2, 9, 23 and 30 April and 7 May, with an extra session on Saturday 20 April, all at Brixton Community Base in Talma Road, SW2.
To register your interest, enquiries to 07 958 448 690 or 07 941 624 247, brixtoncommunitybase@gmail.com.
Youth Connect Careers Event
We Rise is organising a series of monthly careers events, each focussing on a different field of work, in conjunction with Business Launchpad.
Each will be at International House, Popes Road, SW9 7QD, between 5 pm and 7 pm:
– 8 April – Design & Media,
– 14 May – Health & Sport,
– 4 June – Finance & Tech.
These are aimed at Lambeth-based 16-18 year-olds, to help them explore different careers and build connections with professionals in those fields.
So it’s not just about getting word out to the young people, We Rise would also like to hear from people with relevant experience who can come along on any of these dates to talk to them about what they do – contact hello@werise.org.uk
Green Issues
Green light for Atlantic Road improvements
Lambeth Council’s bid for funding from TFL’s Liveable Neighbourhoods programme has finally reached the top of the pile. The key element is re-organising Atlantic Road between Coldharbour Lane and Brixton Road to make it safer for cyclists and provide dedicated kerb space for deliveries to the shops and markets. There will also be changes in Coldharbour Lane to improve pedestrian movement between the Brixton Village arcade and the new Oval Theatre. The Neighbourhood Forum and the Brixton BID were represented at design meetings when proposals were first prepared nearly two years ago. Since then the plans have been tweaked with “low traffic neighbourhoods” to be added in nearby residential areas, and a cyclists “hub” off Electric Lane.
Recycling Food Waste
Lambeth has begun reminding residents about its food waste collection service. If your home has ordinary wheely bins for waste and recycling, you should also have a small “pigswill” bin or caddy for food waste. Feeding it to pigs is no longer allowed, so it is actually composted as a soil conditioner, but this is still cheaper for the Council than adding it to the general waste collection. Leaflets are being distributed with more advice on how best to recycle.
For estates with larger shared bins, the Council is willing to supply community composters for a block or estate to share.
Ultra Low Emission Zone
To help improve air quality, the Mayor is starting an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) from 8 April. To begin with, it will match the existing Congestion Charging Zone in Central London, but it will be rolled out across Brixton as far as the South Circular Road from October 2021. To avoid paying extra charges, powered vehicles will need to meet tighter exhaust emission standards. To check whether your vehicle meets the new criteria, see the TfL website.
Energy Advice for Enterprises
Need expert advice for a small business or organisation, but can’t spare even half a day to attend a briefing or exhibition? The Carbon Trust is now offering free technical webinars lasting 45 minutes on a range of topics, in connection with its Green Business Fund. Topics include supply chain sustainability, commercial kitchens, sports centres, and the challenges for new start-up businesses. See more at https://www.carbontrust.com/about-us/events
Keep in touch!
We have been busy updating our mailing list, but there is still lots to do! Please respond to this e-mail to tell us if:
– You have moved away, or are no longer interested in Brixton affairs;
– You want to add a colleague to the list;
– You want to change your contact details so you get messages sooner, rather than them going to an old inbox that you only check occasionally.
In fact, if we haven’t heard from you for a while, why not send us an e-mail anyway, to remind us that you are still active and interested?
We are trying to issue these bulletins each month, so if you want an announcement included in our next issue, it helps if we receive it by 13 April.
Remember it takes a while to compile and distribute each bulletin, so no point in telling us about events happening before the 20th!
We are not usually short of space, but we are often short of time, so most bulletins have been basic so far.
Please send direct to the Secretary, Alan Piper, at apiperbrix@aol.com or phone enquiries to (020) 7207 0347.