friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
I wonder if she could come round and sort out the damp in the hall then.
Brixton news, rumour and general chat - August 2014
- Thread starter Rushy
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I wonder if she could come round and sort out the damp in the hall then.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
There are cheap places on Brixton Station road. The Portuguese cafe does really cheap beers. They also are tolerant of people staying in there for hours watching the sport and not buying that much. The Cafe Rio and the Eritrean internet cafe is cheap. I also like the atmosphere there. More my kind of place than Brixton Village. This stretch of affordable places is under threat. Most are on short leases. If that area is redeveloped as being planned now I guess Network Rail will try to make it more upmarket and profitable for them.
I agree a meal out is beyond the consideration of a lot of people. That includes those who are working. Its not just about those on benefits.
Its also a difference of culture. I told the Portuguese cafe that there beer was good and cheap. They looked surprised. Its normal in Mediterranean countries to go to a cafe for an expresso or a drink. Its nothing special. Its being social. Here part of the problem is that drink and food are made upmarket and have an added premium put on them. Its marketed as an experience not just about sociability.
What should be done? A move away from profit centred culture where everything has to marketed. Its a vicious spiral. At every stage a profit is sought. This in the end does not help the average person.
Secondly I was chatting to local long standing business. He said he has seen at different times how Brixton, or bits of it , have become fashionable. He does not reckon the Brixton Village phenomenon will last. Its a fad that the media will leave to move on elsewhere. So he , in that sense , did not think everyone will all be priced out. It will not last in long term.
Thirdly it should be possible to protect markets like Brixton Village through planning. In other European countries like France you cannot just turn a retail unit into restaurant. Stopping owners putting up leases and giving protection to retail/cafe leaseholders would help to keep costs down that inevitably get passed onto those who use them.
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editor
hiraethified
Spit something intelligent out or zip it.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
If you're that tired and/or bored, why not go to bed?
clandestino
no llevar papel
I don't think he's right sadly. I think the "secret" that Brixton is affordable, central and an interesting/enjoyable place to live is now out, the genie has been let out of the bottle, and that's something that can't be reversed. Compared to much more expensive places in north London, Brixton is very central and on the tube, but previously people didn't come to live here because they thought they'd be putting their lives at risk. Brixton Village has shown a demographic that was previously scared of Brixton that there's nothing to be scared of after all, and that you can (still) get more for your money here than somewhere comparable north of the river. There's no going back from that.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
I tend to agree. But I thought his view was interesting angle. He also said that what attracts people here will be lost as Brindisi , Champagne et Fromage type business increase. He also was scathing about the wine bar in Atlantic road. ( I mention this as some who post here think that its only some Urbanites who go on about this. Its not. )So this will lead to Brixton becoming less popular again. He was more optimistic that Brixton will remain, or rather parts of it, affordable.
He also does not trust a Labour Council to keep Brixton affordable. Pretty common comment i hear around Brixton.
editor
hiraethified
That would be the first on my list to go.
boohoo
No.
The large chains will make the place less interesting for those who are seeking a point of difference. However to those who were scared of Brixton and now aren't, a few chain restaurants won't make a difference.
Went down Reliance arcade today -that looked the same. Quite surprised how many shops had changed on market row since last time I was down there - some of these food places clearly aren't doing as well as others.
I'm not sure any areas in London will remain affordable.
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
I'm not sure why. It's run by a lady from Streatham who also runs the bar in the Hideaway. She's very nice and they know their wine.That would be the first on my list to go.
God forbid the use of media to promote a business in the digital age.
Can't help to see you list a good proportion of the village restaurants on your own brixtonbuzz listings site (http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/the-ulti...he-best-restaurants-and-cafes-in-sw2-and-sw9/).
How does that tally and wouldn't it just contribute to the fucking over of Brixton's character?
Rushy
basically a scrotum
I'm generally suspicious of anyone who chooses to live in Streatham.
EastEnder
Brixton Barnacle
People choose to live in Streatham??
I always assumed they had no choice in the matter...
editor
hiraethified
Ah right. So it's actually a left-leaning non-profit site that's contributing to the problems. Thanks for clearing that one up.
snowy_again
Slush
now I'm beginning to sound like a nosy neighbour... but we were kicking a ball around last wednesday in the park, kept hearing it, it was driving us mad, so I rang the reception and asked if they only had the one abba song, and do they want to borrow 'abba gold' off us? I'm geussing it's a particularly tricky routine they're perfecting, I didn't enquire further.
So Abba was there again last night - although this time slightly earlier and slightly quieter.
I think I also saw Dexter doing laps of the park on a bike?
Yes, directly contributing. I don't need to explain the mechanics of web traffic and SEO to a webmaster.
The constant negative comments about the villlaaaaage (and particularly its visitors) just grate so. At the very least you should acknowledge it as a complex, varied argument in which we're all involved to some extent (and running a left-right-central site that publicises said businesses certainly qualifies) and tone it down?
editor
hiraethified
As a local resident who is seeing the impact of the village on my own community I have every right to hold whatever opinion I like, thanks.
I find it hard to find much positive to say abut the place these days. I believe it's been one of the biggest drivers of gentrification (and, in turn, a contributor to the displacement of long standing communities) in Brixton, and much as I supported it when it first opened, I don't like what it's become now.
That's not to say I dislike every business in the place because I don't, but if you talk to some of the people on my estate, you'll find they pretty much say the same as me. Some go a lot further, in fact.
As a whole, I avoid the place, although it's often hard to avoid it, what with all those twats using the green space outside my block as a toilet.
leanderman
Street Party: July 2
Lots of people, even past 1am.
leanderman
Street Party: July 2
Exactly. It's basically population growth.
London has 1.3 per cent more people than a year ago, according to the ONS. That is extraordinary.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
TBF, it's pretty common because it's based in the reality that some of our Labour councillors (including at least one of Coldharbour's) have expressed derogatory opinions about social housing, and how they'd like less of it, and more owner-occupation. When your councillors, those elected to supposedly represent the views of all their constituents, express views that effectively disenfranchise some of those constituents, then trust goes out the window, and rightly so, on the part of the constituents!
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
I was chatting to my neighbour today who's lived there for 30+ years and who grew up in Arlingford Rd. Her 80 year old mother downsized and moved to Croydon about 10 years ago but would dearly love to come back. She may not be able to - just the stamp duty on a house in our road is now 35K.
leanderman
Street Party: July 2
I was chatting to my neighbour today who's lived there for 30+ years and who grew up in Arlingford Rd. Her 80 year old mother downsized and moved to Croydon about 10 years ago but would dearly love to come back. She may not be able to - just the stamp duty on a house in our road is now 35K.
Yesterday I asked a drain-clearing workman, who has lived on Gresham rd for all his 35 years, what he thought of Brixton Village and all that.
He said he doesn't go there but loves the changes - because they are bumping up the price of his home, which he lives in alone and cost just £14,000.
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editor
hiraethified
Well, yes, It's an entirely different story if you're lucky enough to own a property as opposed to renting one.
boohoo
No.
But not too bad if you have a social housing landlord - LA or RSL - my parents have lived in a LA now RSL place for 38 years, have double the space that we do and pay half the rent that we do and they aren't in the suburbs.
Although social housing is not as safe as it use to be with the threat of sites being developed, it's a darn sight better than being with a private landlord.
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