What is The Garden?
The Garden is currently a row of disused garages in a built up area in the heart of Brixton. This derelict site offers a unique potential for community development in a densely populated, urban area .
What is now a wasteland will be turned into a community building and Garden so as to allow the community to:
- Develop a demonstration edible garden that shows how food can grow in small urban spaces
- Develop a community kitchen and cafe to promote healthy eating and demonstrate the benefits of using fresh, own grown produce
- Provide an oasis for individuals to reflect, grow and learn new skills
- Engage in community activities including animation, film, sculpture, creative writing, live music, arts and crafts
- Provide an affordable space that nurtures small creative businesses and social enterprises
- Learn practical skills such as gardening, cooking and carpentry Experience a green building first hand that demonstrates practical ideas that can be applied simply in the home and office environment
- Come together as active citizens in a new space that allows for community development
The mix of space, with community cafe and letting space will ensure that revenue is brought back into the area, and that the project is sustainable in the financial sense also and built with the current tough economic climate in mind.
As a true community project, the seeds of the Garden will be chosen by local residents and the outreach projects (school engagement, work with people with disabilities etc) will be guided by the views of local practitioners and other voluntary sector organisations to ensure that the needs of the community are well understood.
I am one of the people of whom this project is literally in my back garden. I am excited to learn more about the proposals. This might be a fantastic idea - a project to breathe life into an eyesore beyond our fence, foster community spirit and provide fun and education.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand it may be highly disruptive and noisy, turning what is an ugly but quiet place into something distracting, loud and noise polluting. The devil is in the detail.
One aspect that causes (probably unnecessary) alarm are the words 'live music' on the flyers and website. Most likely the music will be quiet and not very frequent, but to someone used to a quiet space behind, it is worrisome. I have already had a another concerned resident knock on my door, who was very concerned about it. So your support would likely grow if you removed or elaborated those words.
Dear Angie
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are keen to see the space turned into something that grows some community spirit. I am sorry if the words caused alarm - the reference really was to people learning to play (in a soundproof environment!) rather than live performances. I do hope you can come to the meeting as we really want to gauge exactly what residents want - do send me an email or contact number if you want to talk before.
Thanks so much
Katherine
Thanks for your reply. We thought it was likely the case that the music would be unobtrusive but those words jump out at residents who can be prone to jumping to negative conclusions.
ReplyDeleteI (Brock) plan to come to the meeting next wednesday.
Brock and Angie
The Garden Project
ReplyDeleteQuestions
1) The land is in private ownership currently. Who exactly owns the land and what do they want to do with it?
2) How much can the land be purchased for?
3) Who will ultimately use the space?
Community spaces tend to work best when they in public spaces rather than being wedged between well established residential areas.
One of the nicest things about Fairmount Road is that it is relatively quiet. Now that a gate has been erected in the alley way next to number 5 Fairmount Rd to stop its use by prostitutes, we do not want to encourage such individuals back to a clean, user friendly community space.
4) What do the people who live adjacent to the space want done with the area?
Their views are of utmost importance as they will be directly affected by people marching past their door (number 2 Fairmount Road) and making noise in the new space. What we do not want is the space being used by individuals who cause a nuisance to neighbours leading to unhealthy disputes, which may also devalue homes adjacent to the space in the long run.
The use of the space for the “local community” covers is a very broad universe of individuals and we need a better understanding of exactly who will ultimately use the space and what steps will be taken for non-local community individuals from using it.
Does the local community include residents of the neighbouring half-way house and their friends, local prostitutes and their pimps or individuals now loitering at the bus stop on Acre Lane?
What can the space be used for?
To make the space work I actually feel that it will only do so if it is used by residents of Fairmount Road and Beechdale Road only. This is because they will have a vested interest in its maintenance and viability. Unfortunately, experience has shown that users of the space who simply come and go will not value the space in he same way as residents directly next to the space. A few proposed uses are:
- a community space for residents of Fairmount Road and Beechdale Road
- a health & fitness centre providing yoga, gym and a childrens play area
- tennis court, 5-a-side football, basketball play area
- parking for visitors to Fairmount Road and Beechdale Road.
- simply clear the area and leave it alone
There are many suggested uses for the space on “www.gardenbrixton.blogspot.com”. The suggestions are a mixture both interesting, ridiculous and unwise and you can probably guess whether the individuals who suggested these uses live on Fairmount or Beechdale Road or in the broader community. My own views on the suggestions will be aired in forthcoming events: