Forum Meetings
Tuesday 29 November – Update on Town Centre developments
7 pm at International House (Ground Floor meeting room): a joint meeting with the Fight the Tower campaign, to catch up with where we are with Hondo Towers/ Popes Road, International House/ Pop Brixton and other sites in Brixton Town Centre. Please note change of venue since original notice.
and more?
The Forum’s committee is meeting soon to scope out events for the first half of 2023, so we would love to hear your ideas for what we should include. A variety of training courses and webinars are being offered through Integrate and other sources, but are there any gaps? For our October meeting, we invited several local organisations to come and tell us about themselves, and a lively and productive discussion ensued. Our thanks go to Brixton House Theatre, Friends of Windmill Gardens, Advocacy Academy and Brixton Pound, together with inputs from members of Brixton Rec Users Group and Adblock. We are always interested to host presentations about local projects, so please get in touch (see end of bulletin).
Other Local Events
Money, Community and Me – Saturday 19 November
Responding to the Cost of Living Crisis: 12 noon to 6 pm at the Baytree Centre, 300 Brixton Road SW9 6AE (opposite Loughborough Road). Organised by Brixton MINT but featuring information, advice and support from a range of organisations; food, entertainment, discussions and creche through the day. Admission free but please register in advance if possible, via https://bit.ly/brixmint
Enquiries to info@brixtonmint.com or see website, www.brixtonmint.com
Connect with Ecosystem Coldharbour
This is a consortium of community organisations working in the former Coldharbour and Vassall wards, focused on supporting young people and reducing youth violence and crime. Two more Community Coffee Mornings are coming up, on Tuesdays 22 November & 13 December, 9 am to 10-30 am, open to residents, practitioners and community groups – please book via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-coffee-morning-tickets-415829857297
Black Culture Market – Christmas Special, 3 & 4 December
Downstairs at the Department Store, 248 Ferndale Road SW9 8FR, 11 am to 5 pm both days. A range of seasonal gifts, cards, unique prints, jewellery, clothing, accessories and cosmetics, all from emerging entrepreneurs and makers of African and Caribbean descent. Free admission but please register via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/black-culture-market-christmas-market-tickets-425037527687
Interested in trading at this or future events? Contact the organisers at https://www.blackculturemarket.co.uk
Brixton House Theatre – Alice in Wonderland, 1-31 December
Good to see Brixton’s new theatre reviving the tradition of the Christmas family show, with a modern twist. Join Alice on a hundred mile an hour adventure set entirely on the London Underground! Devised by Poltergeist, for ages 7 up, child tickets from £12.50, adults from £20, box office 020 7582 7680 or see the website www.brixtonhouse.co.uk
Best in Brixton, Saturday 10 December
Pre-Winter Solstice Art and Live Music Children’s Event at St. Vincent’s Community Centre, Talma Road SW2. Includes children’s art exhibition (deadline for entries 20 November), Brixton Chamber Orchestra, Drumming workshop by Shamha Vibrations. Look out for local flyers and alerts on the Nextdoor website, enquiries to auroradawnmusic@gmail.com
Winter Market at Brixton Windmill, Sunday 11 December
Open from 12 noon to 3-30 pm in Windmill Gardens, off Brixton Hill, for outdoor stalls from a variety of local organisations and makers, plus craft workshops, hot food, a choir, and of course Santa’s Grotto in the Windmill itself. For more info and workshop bookings, see their website: www.brixtonwindmill.org
Christmas Concert in Myatt’s Fields Park, Sunday 18 December
The concert itself kicks off at 5 pm, led by the Brixton Chamber Orchestra but there will also be a Children’s Carnival workshop from 3 pm to 4 pm, a Christingle-making workshop from 4 pm to 5 pm, and stalls offering mulled wine, hot chocolate and cakes between 3 pm and 6 pm. Access to the park after dark will be via the Cormont Road gate (close to the cafe) and opposite St. Gabriel’s Manor. Carnival workshop bookings via https://www.myattsfieldspark.info/cristhmas2022.html
Organised by Myatt’s Fields Park Project with Minet Conservation Association.
Health and Social Care
Consulting on Health and Care in SE London
Local people and groups are invited to join with NHS providers and Council staff in choosing health priorities for partner organisations to tackle together. NHS South-East London covers several boroughs and is developing an Integrated Care Strategy for them all. There is a choice of 2 dates to join an on-line discussion, either Monday 21 November, 5 – 7 pm or Friday 25 November, 3 – 5 pm. Please book by Friday 18th for the first date, so the link can be sent to you – enquiries to engagement@seldonics.nhs.uk
Tai Chi at Brixton Windmill
From 9th November, Brixton Windmill’s Education Centre is hosting a free weekly beginners class in Tai Chi, for people aged 50-plus. This runs on Wednesday mornings from 10 am to 11 am, funded by Lambeth Council’s Active Lambeth Fund. No need to book, but if you have any questions, contact them on 07 518 622 158 or at info@brixtonwindmill.org
Meanwhile, the long-running “pay what you can” Tai Chi class is still operating on Saturdays at 11-30 am – new members welcome.
Thriving Communities Lambeth website
The Thriving Communities website for Lambeth is now live, with the emphasis on health and wellbeing resources, and a map of local health-related organisations. If you think your organisation should be included, follow the links from https://thrivinglambeth.co.uk
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Art4Space are hosting another Mental Health First Aid course at their Stockwell Studios on 1st & 2nd December, conducted by It’s A Playground. This one is for those working with young people, where anxiety, addiction and eating disorders may occur. Please book via www.art4space.co.uk
Community Pantries
Healthy Living Platform run a few of these community shops on or near our patch, offering members a choice of healthy food at an affordable price. On each visit you pay just £5 and choose the items you want. The food offered is a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables, plus other food and cupboard donations from food suppliers.
Sessions open to the whole community are:
Tuesdays, 11 am to 2 pm at Myatt’s Fields North Community Centre (next to Eythorne Park), 24 Crawshay Road SW9 6FZ;
Thursdays, 11 am to 3 pm, Southwyck Pantry at Moorland Estate Community Centre, 50a Corry Drive SW9 8QT (off Somerleyton Road, opposite Somerleyton Passage).
Additional sessions for pregnant women, and families with children under 4 years old:
Wednesdays, 12-30 to 2-30 pm, St. Stephen’s Children’s Centre, 1 Meadow Place, SW8 1XZ;
Fridays, 12 noon to 2 pm, Liz Atkinson Centre, 9 Mostyn Road, SW9 6PH.
Greenspaces and Green Issues
Brockwell Park News
Brockwell Hall progress: Work is getting underway to create a new depot area for park maintenance staff alongside Norwood Road, behind Norwood Lodge (near the corner of Brockwell Park Gardens). This should complete in February and allow the yard behind the hall to be used for new facilities as part of the refurbishment of the old house. The aim is to provide a range of lettable rooms for meetings and functions, as well as improved cafe space. Parks offices will be relocated to the old stable block at the far end of the service yard, near the clock tower.
Help out with Hedge-laying: Some 12 years ago, a hedge was planted around the park boundary, from the top of Brockwell Park Gardens and round to Dulwich Road. The next phase is to “lay” the hedge so it can become bushier, as a refuge for wildlife and a more effective screen, otherwise individual hedge plants will develop into separate trees. Brockwell Park Community Partners are inviting volunteers to help out, supported by experts from The Conservation Volunteers. Sessions will be on 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 December – offers to r.jedrzeczak@tcv.org.uk or brockwellparkcommunitypartners@googlemail.com
Events at the Community Greenhouses: Several seasonal events and sessions are coming up, some of them making use of the recently-opened Barn – for full details, please see https://www.brockwellgreenhouses.org.uk/events/
Ways to save energy
Despite surging energy costs, advice on ways to save energy or reduce carbon dioxide emissions has not been prominent – you have to seek it out. The Brixton Society highlighted a couple of weblinks in their newsletter last month:
For householders, the Energy Saving Trust covers the basics at https://energysavingtrust.org.uk although we have since found a little-known Government site at https://www.gov.uk/browse/housing-local-services/household-energy
For businesses, the equivalent organisation is the Carbon Saving Trust, with some detailed information on specific industries or processes: https://www.carbontrust.com
Funding, Training and Support
Funding Deadlines reminder
Once again, we remind you of deadlines for grant offers previously circulated by Integrate – contact eoin.heffernan@integrateagency.co.uk if you missed the original alerts:
Peabody Community Foundation – Young People’s Fund, closes 12 pm on Friday 18 November.
The Ironmongers Company – Enabling disadvantaged young people to reach their potential, closes 15 December.
Community Tech Support – Help with Everyday IT
For your members or service-users who need help with using or setting up their mobile phones, tablets or laptops, Clear Community Web run several regular sessions, of which the nearest are:
Every Thursday, 10 am to 12 noon at The Platform Cafe, 2 Ridgeway Road SW9 7AH (at the Loughborough Road end of Wyck Gardens).
Alternate Fridays, 2 pm to 4 pm at Southwyck House Coding and Arts Centre, off Moorland Road SW9 8UR. Run in partnership with Millennium Community Solutions, these sessions are aimed at people with disabilities or mobility problems and their carers. Next session on 25 November.
Via a short bus-ride, there are also sessions at:
Mondays, 2 pm to 4 pm at West Norwood Library, 1-5 Norwood High Street SE27 9JX;
Wednesdays, 2 pm to 4 pm at WLM St. Luke’s, 25a Wincott Street, Kennington SE11 4NT.
These all operate on a drop-in basis, so no need to book, but contact for any enquiries is 07 523 646 277 or info@clearcommunityweb.co.uk
Fund-raising Training
The next clutch of free Zoom briefing sessions from Ecosystem Coldharbour will cover the Walcot Foundation. Sessions will take you through the whole application process, and will be on Tuesdays 24 and 31 January, and 7 February, from 6-30 to 8-30 pm. To register, phone 07 958 622 171 or on-line at https://forms.gle/n7ioVRDHJ4Cb9EtC7
Other News
Borough Plan Consultations
Forum members expressed frustration at our last meeting that Borough Plan consultation events came up at short notice and were poorly publicised. We have heard that there will be more in-person events on Wednesday 30 November (6-30 to 8-30 pm) and on the afternoon of Saturday 3 December and the evening of Wednesday 7 December – but we do not know the locations yet!
The Borough Plan was last “refreshed” in 2019 (pre-Covid), to set priorities across the whole range of Council services. The current review should steer public services over the next 4 years.
Safer Neighbourhoods Changing
Following the changes to Council ward boundaries for the elections in May this year, the Metropolitan Police have finally got round to adapting their Safer Neighbourhood Teams to match the new boundaries and ward names. For example, to report local issues in Brixton Windrush ward, e-mail to ASMailbox-.BrixtonWindrush@met.police.uk or to report a crime, call 101 or visit www.met.police.uk or dial 999 in an emergency.
There should also be Safer Neighbourhood Panels for each ward, comprising local residents and police team members. Some of the old ward panels had lapsed, and this should be an opportunity to revive them.
In addition, there is a dedicated police team overseeing Brixton Town Centre – contact stephen.w.giles@met.police.co.uk
For crime prevention advice, visit www.met.police.co.uk/crimeprevention
Keep in touch
Where did all this come from?
We draw our news from many member groups, public authorities and other contacts. Despite limitations of time or space, we do our best to feature a range of organisations and to provide information that should be useful to local groups. To send items for these bulletins, or to confirm details of Forum events, please e-mail to apiperbrix@aol.com
We aim to publish monthly, so please send before the 5th of the month so we can publish around the 10th – but sometimes the schedule can slip because this is a spare-time operation.
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