-Garden space to grow veg - allotments or community garden
-A community shed
-Massive wormery for all our local food waste and community composting area
-A tool exchange
-A seed exchange
-Plant sales
-A space where food could be grown and cooked - keeping it really local
- A bee sanctuary with honey production
- An educational centre for growing and beekeeping - this might be especially treasured by kids in an urban area
-An educational centre conencted to local schools and maybe linked to the Windmill - wheat growing, bread making
- An inner city farm with goats and chickens
- A community meeting space with space for training, arts, playgroups and meetings
- A garden classroom - for children and for adults wanting to learn more and for the many local community groups to meet each other and learn how to grow to the next stage
- A community kiln for firing ceramics
- A community oven for cooking bread and pizza
- Office space for micro enterprises/small creative enterprises
- A quiet space for thinking and reflection (with wi-fi access!)
- A space for children's birthday parties and other celebrations (with noise kept in check!)
The idea of leasing the land also came up and growing and then cooking street food from vans for a few weekends in the summer.
The winning and immediate idea was to get together for a party - in fact the Brixton Garden Party - to get to know each other and get more people involved in thinking about the space. A group is coming together soon to plan...
Please join us on 1st June 2011, 8pm at the White Horse, Brixton Hill.
How about leaving it alone let nature take over and think about the people that this directly effects that do NOT want this project to go ahead
ReplyDeleteThe 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:
"- a community space for residents of Fairmount Road and Beechdale Road"
ReplyDeleteNot forgetting those of us who's houses back directly onto this development and will disturbed by all the above.
I have already asked the question without an answer, but I'll ask again. How many signatures will it take to put a stop to this development? As i know a lot of people in Raleigh Gardens are opposed to any development to the green corridor that allows birds to breed and nature to flourish
Dear David
ReplyDeleteThe reason I haven't been able to answer your question about the number of signatures is I don't the answer - I have never put in a planning application before and I don't know the exact criteria on which it would stand or fall. I am sure the planning department would give you advice, but given there is no application in process, this might all be rather theoretical
But this rather misses the point. It would be crazy to create a for and against in this set of proposals. The idea is to bring people together to develop ideas that work for all of us (and by the way I also back directly onto the site). That is the spirit behind the party on the 18th and running community design workshops.
Of course, there will be people who want things to stay as they are, but we have no guarantee of the status quo at the moment. The land is in private hands and the current owner is within his rights to set it up running as garages again for example. That is why the proposal is to bring it back into community ownership, held in trust by a charity for the benefit of the community rather than in individual ownership.
I also think that we have it within our power could create a space that would allow nature to flourish and would add to the local envinroment - at the moment the green corridor is also full of dumped rubbish and absestos which may not be ideal conditions!
I would love to have a conversation with you to hear more about your concerns as I am not sure we are going to get much further through these comments - I would really appreciate it if you would drop me an email at thegardenbrixton@gmail.com
Thanks again
Katherine
Let's be clear here at the moment and for the last 14 years the green space behind where I live has been very peaceful. The only noises I hear from the back of my gardens are mating foxes and bird song. Even when the garages were being used no-one was disturbed.
ReplyDeleteWe were informed by a councillor from the housing department at one of your meetings that there will be no agreement to a housing application on that plot of land. So the idea of a constant threat other developments going ahead by the land owner is highly unlikely
Some of the more palatable ideas that have been suggested are not sustainable due to on-going funding issues.
The only feasible self-funding plan would be to allow work units in the new development which will create noise and would seriously disrupt our privacy, which ever plan you opt for. This is why I and many of my neighbours are totally against this development. Let alone the security issues that this project would cause.
“It would be crazy to create a for and against in this set of proposals. The idea is to bring people together to develop ideas that work for all of us"
That philosophy gives us residents no choice at all. You seem to being only giving us choices that fit in with what you’re aiming to create.
To have a fair and open debate the option must be available for residents to voice their objection, NOT as it is now, we’ve heard you but we are ignoring you and ploughing on without consensus This project does not have the mandate of all the local people and this must be addressed in all proposals. While I do appreciate you do make yourself available for discussion it is still only around what we would like to see in any development and not that there is a large sway of residents totally opposed to any development and would prefer the status quo .
Ok we have received the latest bulletin from The Development Company. Could I suggest that you outline the plans on this website or forward them by email prior to the public meeting. Mainly due to the shocking plans that you revealed in the first meeting.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure like many of the concerned residents that be will directly disturbed by any future development i.e. those of us who's gardens directly back on to the the proposed development. We would like the time to study the new plans and not just have some grand idea's shoved on us like the previous presentation.
Also you mention that you have the backing of local councillors, please could you provide the names of these councillors. As the majority of Raleigh Gardens oppose this development we would like to directly contact them and voice our opposition with a petition and personally i don't want to vote for anyone that supports any development at the back of my garden.
I have canvassed around 80% of the residents in Raleigh Gardens and around 90% are against this developement, a few are waiting to see before they commit themselves and i only know a couple of people that are fully behind this project.
As for funding, in times of finacial constraints where exisiting community projects are closing due to lack of funds I would find it imoral that funding would be given to this developemnt. If you want to make a diffence how about diverting your energies into supporting existing projects that are desperate for funding.
Although opposed to a large building or large development, I remain hopeful we can make that look nicer, be even more nature friendly, while not creating a lot of noise once the clearing work has been completed. Maybe I'm over optimistic or trusting but I think it can be achievable.
ReplyDeleteIf we can grow things and keep bees etc it would be wonderful.
I hope at least we can keep a discussion going.
David, Is there any way that trust could be restored?
Katherine, will plans be posted on the website as soon as they exist and prior to any planning application?
Brock 10 Raleigh Gds
Angie,
ReplyDeleteYou know me but i prefer to keep my identity private as this is a public site, I'll say hello tonight. But to be honest this whole thing stinks of a vanity project for those involved. In the first meeting the organisers, local MP, OBE's, Councillors (all trying to increase their public profile) yet again telling us what we need without consolation and when there is consolation it's only within the parameters that they set down. This is a slippery slope to a major development. And after a lot of thought personally i prefer the status quo for the reasons in other post.
These ideas seem naive with regards to funding and who would actually use the site for this? What a waste of money this can be done else where. i.e. The Windmill
A community kiln for firing ceramics
A community oven for cooking bread and pizza
Garden space to grow veg - allotments or community garden
A community shed
Massive wormery for all our local food waste and community composting area
A tool exchange
A seed exchange
Plant sales
A space where food could be grown and cooked - keeping it really local
And full analysis of these ideas means a major development which would change the way we live, which personally I don''t want
An educational centre for growing and beekeeping - this might be especially treasured by kids in an urban area
An educational centre conencted to local schools and maybe linked to the Windmill - wheat growing, bread making
An inner city farm with goats and chickens
A community meeting space with space for training, arts, playgroups and meetings
A garden classroom - for children and for adults wanting to learn more and for the many local community groups to meet each other and learn how to grow to the next stage
Office space for micro enterprises/small creative enterprises
A quiet space for thinking and reflection (with wi-fi access!)
A space for children's birthday parties and other celebrations (with noise kept in check!)How would this be achieved? It can't be.
I'm also annoyed i have to go to a meeting after work to see what the great and the good want to do with my living space. Why can't they post the plans on this blog? I have better things to do with my time.
To answer your question I have absolutely no trust in the people that want to change my environment. The first meeting was meant to be around a green space, we turn up it’s a major development