Brixton Playground scheme proposes permanent pedestrianisation of central Brixton
- Thread starter Sarah57
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editor
hiraethified
The silence from several quarters was really telling.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
A lot of this is downn to the way Brixton Challenge money was used. Brixton Challenge was used by Council to re orientate Brixton to late night entertainment.
Dogstar Larry was New Labours favourite entertainment business man for a while.
His acquiring the old bike shop premises and trying to get change of use was resisted by local community and failed.
But they graduallly grind one down. Slowly as old established retail went it was replaced with A3.
thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
Where would you stop then? Atlantic Road to the south is (in theory) now bus and cycle only for the first stretch. Atlantic Road north is on Lambeth's COVID plans. The next place any motor vehicles could join would be Somerleyton Road so there would be point NOT doing the section up to there (with the theatre and market) .
I'd forgotten that - it was for building the hotel wasn't it? It was repeatedly closed for some weeks at a time when they couldn't find the gas leak they detected somewhere around the junction as well. The road network seemed to cope pretty well as much as I saw it when that was happening.
thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
"It's not about the cats and dogs, the vision statement is about brixton"
will someone tell me WTF Michael from the BID is talking about? (it's on a tweet)
will someone tell me WTF Michael from the BID is talking about? (it's on a tweet)
Rushy
basically a scrotum
"The dogs" are surely the residents of Central Brixton whose quality of life is inconveniently in the way of The Vision.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Did Elly Foster ever answer those questions on Twitter?
editor
hiraethified
I think closing that stretch would hit unfashionable businesses like the Payless 24 hour store badly and they're more use to the local community than a cocktail bar or Berlin themed hairdresser.
thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
A Berghain themed hairdresser might be enough to tempt me away from cutting my hair at home though...
I agree it would probably make sense to allow general traffic from Somerleyton onward. The railway bridge and narrow pavements to either side always come up as one of the priorities on 'make brixton better' projects but can't do much about them without removing traffic.
I’m still musing on the way the BID is able to use its leverage in this debate.
They draw funding from every premises with a rateable value over £8,000. This is in spite of the fact that businesses with an RV below £12k don’t have to pay business rates at all, meaning a whole band of small enterprises who are excused from rates still have to pay into the BID.
Brixton BID says it has 667 members - a great many of whom will be offices, workshops, warehouses, etc. Many will be B2B rather than B2C, perhaps transacting wholesale or online. Lots will sell services, as opposed to goods.
Yet the persona and activities of the BID (and the make-up of its Board and directory entries) are overwhelmingly characterised by a small number of members in the retail and hospitality sectors - those who will benefit most from spaces redesigned for shopping and leisure.
It would be fascinating to know how many Brixton BID members are behind the new Playground Brixton vision.
They draw funding from every premises with a rateable value over £8,000. This is in spite of the fact that businesses with an RV below £12k don’t have to pay business rates at all, meaning a whole band of small enterprises who are excused from rates still have to pay into the BID.
Brixton BID says it has 667 members - a great many of whom will be offices, workshops, warehouses, etc. Many will be B2B rather than B2C, perhaps transacting wholesale or online. Lots will sell services, as opposed to goods.
Yet the persona and activities of the BID (and the make-up of its Board and directory entries) are overwhelmingly characterised by a small number of members in the retail and hospitality sectors - those who will benefit most from spaces redesigned for shopping and leisure.
It would be fascinating to know how many Brixton BID members are behind the new Playground Brixton vision.
I think pedestrianisation of some of Coldharbour Lane and Atlantic road is a great idea... But it's what happens to the area once that happens that's important... Its important to nurture what's already in Brixton and to make sure we don't end up with a plastic and unauthentic corporate chracature otherwise we may aswell just move to Clapham or Milton Keynes...
BakeRecords
Active Member
I see that Elly Foster of BID has been on Twitter complaining about the Buzz coverage and being labelled a chancer. Normally, you'd reach out to local media before publishing something like this, but apparently BID do things differently.
I hope she gives a full interview to Buzz. There are clearly some questions for BID to answer, and I'd be very interested in their response to the criticism of their proposal.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
The article does not single her out as a chancer. It points out that BID and its management team are skewed towards and favour the night time economy. It also points out that she is chair of BID and that her own three businesses on Coldharbour Lane have a disproportionate amount to gain from turning the street into A Playground (BID's description, not mine). This appears to have touched a nerve.
Livable Neighbourhoods propose handing public space back to ... the public. Pedestrians, cyclists and residents. BID's Vision hijacks the Livable Neighbourhoods schemes and proposes instead that these public spaces are handed over to their businesses. And for free. Whilst Elly is not being singled out, if that's not "chancing", what is?
BakeRecords
Active Member
Totally agree. The article in Buzz is entirely fair, as is your analysis of the proposal and the self-interested approach of BID.
Reading through her tweets, Elly claims that the published document is for 'consultation'. That's a bold suggestion - who is being consulted, by what means can they respond, where is the analysis of the impact on noise, traffic, etc.?
organicpanda
cat herder extraodinaire
wish she would make her mind up, is it at the idea stage, teaser or a consultation document, every day she changes what it is
Rushy
basically a scrotum
If it's a consultation, she's not engaging very positively with the responses!
organicpanda
cat herder extraodinaire
seems to be a consultation where we shout at our screens and they can say they heard nothing negative ergo everyone must be in favour of it
We risk giving this too much credence too soon - and then it will get a status it doesn’t merit, and serious people will start paying serious attention to it.
It’s not a proposal yet. Even the BID haven’t had the temerity to call it anything more than ‘a vision’. It’s not in a planning process, it has no funding, it’s not even at Stage Zero in a design process. It doesn’t therefore have any more status than anything any of us might cook up around the kitchen table.
But it is out there. And the BID imply it is endorsed by all their 667 members. I find this hard to believe. Business ratepayers in their area include the fire station, cop shop, Pavilion Surgery, Sudbourne School and so on and so on.
Right now this feels like a brainfart from half a dozen publicans who have spotted an opportunity in the current Covid measures through which they can line their own pockets.
If there is a serious point to this vision, it first needs to be credibly represented as the majority wish of the BID members. Other groups might put up alternative ideas. At some point the Council might fund a proper review and consultation exercise.
The real worry is that all of this will be short-circuited due to the well-funded nature of Brixton BID and its relationship to power brokers within Lambeth. They already have a platform and are gathering quite some noise.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
This shit is happening up and down the country. Public space being hijacked for private profit. Wankers.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Good post. The other problem, as can be seen from the comments on the Buzz article, is that people are confusing objections to BID's Playground Vision with objection to Livable Neighbourhoods and traffic calming/pedestrianisation in general.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
The idea of BIDs was part of the New Labour project. Brought in under Tony Blair as PM.
In fact the BID does have a remit for "improvements" to the area it covers.
WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF BRIXTON BID? - Brixton BID
WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF BRIXTON BID? Brixton is one of the most vibrant places in the UK. We exist to protect Brixton’s diverse range of …
www.brixtonbid.co.uk
BIDs fitted in with New Labour idea that entrepreneurs were those with the go to attitude and vision to improve society.
Take this old tweet from Lambeth Labour. The Director of Brixton BID telling people to vote Labour at local elections. He has done this before in my Coldharbour Ward. Endorsed Labour party candidates.
The BIDs are not poiitcally neutral organisations in Lambeth . They came out of the New Labour project and are extension of the New Labour establishment that runs Brixton.
Michael Smith makes it clear that this BID idea is part of the New Labour project.
So its not about "short circuiting". The close relationship with the New Labour establishment and the Brixton BID was there from the beginning.
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The idea of BIDs was part of the New Labour project. Brought in under Tony Blair as PM.
In fact the BID does have a remit for "improvements" to the area it covers.
WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF BRIXTON BID? - Brixton BID
WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF BRIXTON BID? Brixton is one of the most vibrant places in the UK. We exist to protect Brixton’s diverse range of …
BIDs fitted in with New Labour idea that entrepreneurs were those with the go to attitude and vision to improve society.
Take this old tweet from Lambeth Labour. The Director of Brixton BID telling people to vote Labour at local elections. He has done this before in my Coldharbour Ward. Endorsed Labour party candidates.
The BIDs are not poiitcally neutral organisations in Lambeth . They came out of the New Labour project and are extension of the New Labour establishment that runs Brixton.
Michael Smith makes it clear that this BID idea is part of the New Labour project.
So its not about "short circuiting". The close relationship with the New Labour establishment and the Brixton BID was there from the beginning.
I get all that.
I’m making the point that it is precisely because of these origins and context that ideas generated by the BID will gain a leg-up in their perceived legitimacy, no matter how sketchy or flawed.
A vague brief to bring ‘improvements’ is not a mandate to deliver wholesale physical change programmes for the town centre. Neither do they have carte blanche to toss out any old notion and get it funded for feasibility testing.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
BID idea was brought here from the USA by New Labour.
This paper argues its about Neo Liberal urbanisation. Not getting rid of the state but redrawing the state/ market boundary. BID work with traditional local elected Councils/ Government.
They are an alternative model of urban deveopment that fitted in with the rise of Neo Liberalism. Not doing away with the state but normalising the idea that publicly run models of urbanisation have failed. The state / market boundary is redrawn with more influence for business interests.
Tony Blair on BIDs:
So changing the urban environment in the interests of Capital was part of BID idea from the start.
The proposals for Brixton Playground fit into this model.
So this is also fits in with the idea of the Coop Council. Which was to move away from the Council being a top down provider of services ( creating welfare dependency) to being an enabler. The Coop Council, started when Steve Reed was leader, does fit in with neo liberalism in the New Labour version.
The Brixton BID proposal for Brixton Playground are good example of this. The BID is making case for improving "urban livability" whilst increasing the ability for some business to increase profit. The author of the paper says the improving "urban liveability " is a main aim of BIDs. The Brixton Playground if done would give the Brixton BID even more control of what was public urban space.
The more I read up about BID idea the less I like it.
Sarah57
This paper argues its about Neo Liberal urbanisation. Not getting rid of the state but redrawing the state/ market boundary. BID work with traditional local elected Councils/ Government.
They are an alternative model of urban deveopment that fitted in with the rise of Neo Liberalism. Not doing away with the state but normalising the idea that publicly run models of urbanisation have failed. The state / market boundary is redrawn with more influence for business interests.
Tony Blair on BIDs:
So changing the urban environment in the interests of Capital was part of BID idea from the start.
The proposals for Brixton Playground fit into this model.
So this is also fits in with the idea of the Coop Council. Which was to move away from the Council being a top down provider of services ( creating welfare dependency) to being an enabler. The Coop Council, started when Steve Reed was leader, does fit in with neo liberalism in the New Labour version.
The Brixton BID proposal for Brixton Playground are good example of this. The BID is making case for improving "urban livability" whilst increasing the ability for some business to increase profit. The author of the paper says the improving "urban liveability " is a main aim of BIDs. The Brixton Playground if done would give the Brixton BID even more control of what was public urban space.
The more I read up about BID idea the less I like it.
Sarah57
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
From the Sage companion to the City:
"According to Marxist thinkers, BIDs represent an attempt by Capital to intervene in the governance of the city centre to secure the conditions of capital accumulation... this working together of government and the Capitalist class has characterised the histories of the advanced Capitalist countries... The general shift in the types of policies pursued by governments is ,according to Marxist analysis, in the name of improving the "business cllimate"... it is the role with which BIDs have been often been charged" Page 120 /21
The article does not say this is monolithic. Different fractions of Capital dont always work together.In case of Brixton BID its , as has been pointed out here, largely run for the bar owners. Who are the big players in Brixton. Along with Squires- a new big player in Brixton.
The "general shift" is the move to neo liberalism over past decades.
Opposition can be seen in the example of the campaign to save Nour. This is example of class stuggle that lies beneath the surface of local campaigns. Its a struggle that is about who has right to space in an urban area.
Its also an ideological choice for a Council to encourage and push the idea of BID as extension of local governance. The New Labour Council could for example have set up ways to give local residents more say( as Rushy pointed out) . It did once have Town Centre managers who held meetings with llocal residents and business together. Now its outsourced this to BIDs. Giving sections of the Capitalist class greater say. This is a political choice. Its not inevitable.
Elly Foster hostile reaction to the Brixton Buzz article speaks volumes of sense of entitlement to make these proposals by the BID. Its not just Foster its that New Labour have helped set up these important local business people as main players. No wonder they dont like it when some local residents question the Brixton Playground proposal.
And this is clear from my reading tonight BIDs are about "improving" the urban space. This is not just a vague add on. So within their own understanding of their role the Brixton BID is doing its job producing the Brixton Playground idea.
A lot of these ideas of Marxist Urban Geography come from David Harvey.
"According to Marxist thinkers, BIDs represent an attempt by Capital to intervene in the governance of the city centre to secure the conditions of capital accumulation... this working together of government and the Capitalist class has characterised the histories of the advanced Capitalist countries... The general shift in the types of policies pursued by governments is ,according to Marxist analysis, in the name of improving the "business cllimate"... it is the role with which BIDs have been often been charged" Page 120 /21
The article does not say this is monolithic. Different fractions of Capital dont always work together.In case of Brixton BID its , as has been pointed out here, largely run for the bar owners. Who are the big players in Brixton. Along with Squires- a new big player in Brixton.
The "general shift" is the move to neo liberalism over past decades.
Opposition can be seen in the example of the campaign to save Nour. This is example of class stuggle that lies beneath the surface of local campaigns. Its a struggle that is about who has right to space in an urban area.
Its also an ideological choice for a Council to encourage and push the idea of BID as extension of local governance. The New Labour Council could for example have set up ways to give local residents more say( as Rushy pointed out) . It did once have Town Centre managers who held meetings with llocal residents and business together. Now its outsourced this to BIDs. Giving sections of the Capitalist class greater say. This is a political choice. Its not inevitable.
Elly Foster hostile reaction to the Brixton Buzz article speaks volumes of sense of entitlement to make these proposals by the BID. Its not just Foster its that New Labour have helped set up these important local business people as main players. No wonder they dont like it when some local residents question the Brixton Playground proposal.
And this is clear from my reading tonight BIDs are about "improving" the urban space. This is not just a vague add on. So within their own understanding of their role the Brixton BID is doing its job producing the Brixton Playground idea.
A lot of these ideas of Marxist Urban Geography come from David Harvey.
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would you mind explaining why it would be an issue with safety if the road was permanently closed at the level of Southwyck House?
yeah, not sure why his isn't already restricted to pedestrians? I mean you would only need to open for access for market traders but why leave open once they are gone every night?
newbie
undisambiguated
1 because they are locals routes that avoid much busier roads
2 because they provide resilience when other routes are blocked
3 because not everyone shares this vision of widespread pedestrianisation, just as not everyone supports those who move into quaint, authentic English villages and then campaign to ban bell ringing.
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Rushy
basically a scrotum
Access to Bernays, Tunstall, Shannon, Brighton Terrace, Nursery is already pretty limited and cumbersome with junction of Tunstall and Dorrel Place with Brixton Road already pedestrianised, so the one way route on Ferndale is fairly important, especially if you are approaching from the north. There was a proposal to make the junction between Brighton Terrace and Brixton Road one way, which I think may have been a good idea - at least during peak hours which is when it gets horribly snarled up. But I think it was quite strongly objected to. The little bit there between Bernays and Brigthon Terrace can be a nightmare.
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