There is no threat to the Rec. Its future is guaranteed in the Brixton SPD.
As the Rec is part of the Brixton Central site they are one of the groups contacted. Any plans for the the Brixton Central site need to be coherent so BRUGs involvement is necessary.
A survey is being done of the Rec to see what works could be done to improve it. Its a large underused space. Any redevelopment of the "Brixton Central" area could also involve using the Rec building in a better way. It could be a more publicly used space. As it was envisioned when it was first designed. Through the work of the stalwarts of BRUG the Council is consulting them into the Rec future.
To give the consultants "Fluid" there due they were interested in the Rec building. I do think the "playing cards" was a mistake. I am not the only one not happy with that approach.
I do think that the site is so complicated (railway lines cross it, different owners of land, existing business in place in the area) that I am not at all clear how it would be possible to develop this site without major disruption. The Market traders rep at the first meeting said he was concerned that two years of disruption in that area could destroy the street market.
The only section of the site that is a clear area is the old car park/ ice rink site.
BRUG does contain people who have a lot of knowledge of the area. Many of them are concerned about what is happening to Brixton as well as protecting the Rec. ( gentrification , affordable housing , protecting the markets etc. A lot of the issues that get raised on these boards. Goes to show that U75 is not out of touch). So there input is important imo.
It is quite true that Brixton Rec’s future is guaranteed by the SPD, but do remember that such a plan has a life, I believe, of 10 years and while its short and medium term future is also secured by Cllr Lib Peck’s unequivocal commitment, no-one can guarantee she will be council leader in ten years time, therefore it is worth looking at the longer term future of the Rec - say 15 years and up.
A key major expense of Brixton Rec is energy. Darren Pope, the manager, reported in March that he was reading the meters daily and gas consumption amounted to £450/day and electricity to £380/day, which happens to be down from last year due to GLL energy saving measures. In fact GLL publish energy consumption statistics and graphs alongside the Energy Performance Certificate in the Rec’s foyer which confirm his figures. If this issue isn't tackled very seriously then its continued existence as a community facility could well be revisited in 15 or 20 years.
The council will be looking at all ways of making the Rec more financially viable. It is currently a hugely popular, successful and well-used facility, with 75,000 visits per month, but some areas such as the under-used very large and high bowls hall down at the bottom are likely to be reviewed. One question that may be considered is whether it could be ‘mezzanined’. Another question that has been asked is could it remain as a single space but become, or double as, a conference hall or convention centre?
Just one of the very many different options in the capacity study prepared in consultation with BRUG is: "As part of the exploration of sustainability and energy efficiency opportunities, this should include exploration and analysis of the ability to achieve Passivhaus EnerPHit Standard" and hopefully that this is included is an indicator of a more open attitude within Lambeth to new ideas.
Passivhaus is an energy efficiency standard well above that required by current building standards achievable by only a small or zero cost premium over standard new-build. While being taken up around the world, especially in Germany and Austria, it is little known about in this country. In fact Passivhaus involves a fairly simple set of principles, applied as a package - more info at:
http://passipedia.passiv.de/passipedia_en/
The Mildmay Community Centre in north London was originally a Victorian generator building for north London trams. In 2011 it was refurbished to Passivhaus standards and now uses 90% less energy than before. If Brixton Rec could reduce its energy bills by a substantial amount - say 80 or 90 per cent - that would reduce the pressure on its day to day running costs and reduce the temptation to turn over some of its space to commercial enterprise. Of course, saving energy and money doesn’t in itself exclude the possibility that an area of the Rec that is underused should not be looked at as to how its usage could be increased.
It is not just the general building that contributes to the high energy use but also the swimming pool, which high summertime gas consumption suggests is also expensive to run. There are two Passivhaus swimming pools in Germany and the monitoring of one of them suggests that improvements could be made to the pool itself, and to the pool’s building, that could raise it to greater energy efficiency than a standard low-energy new-build swimming pool (such as at Clapham), but whether that would actually be achievable in practice would depend of course on in depth studies, and any Passivhaus refurbishment would also involve the question of whether it is better to spend more money now in return for future savings. It is not just in energy bills that Passivhaus offers savings, but should also lead to lower maintenance costs as Passivhaus buildings need greatly reduced heat input and therefore much smaller heating plant. Apart from contributing to global warming, the Rec’s massive energy consumption will either be paid for by us directly in the entrance charges or by us indirectly through council tax. In April an energy sub-group to BRUG organised a visit to Mildmay Community Centre and is now recommending a visit by a German expert on swimming pools from the Passivhaus Institute in Germany to give a presentation and an initial consultation on possibilities for the Rec.
So, what are the possible downsides of a Passivhaus retrofit? Brixton Rec is recognised as being part of the brutalist school of architecture, and was designed by George Finch who was very keen to design for the community and for the ordinary person, and who spent a year looking at other buildings in preparation. A Passivhaus retrofit might prefer external rather than internal insulation on some of the walls e.g. the sides and back, which would change the appearance, but would mean less disruption and no loss of space to the inside and give greater internal temperature stability. Next time you pass it by take a look at the sides of the Rec (you can only see the back with difficulty, if at all). Would a change in appearance be a problem - or a challenge to Brixton artists to come forward with design proposals? I believe that buildings should be changeable in design to meet changing needs if the new design makes a positive improvement to the area, but any such choice should be put to the people of Brixton.
Inside, a modern ventilation system might require silvery looking circular ducts running throughout the building as existing ducts are likely to be unsuitable - would that be a problem or another interesting design challenge? In the 1970s George Finch was regarded as a bit of a maverick and didn’t follow existing convention in his designs. I would argue that we should not blindly follow convention either and be prepared to make positive changes. It would be sad if in 30 years time Brixton Rec was preserved as a brutalist shell to a shopping mall...
What is happening next? The council will appoint, via LSH, a cost consultancy firm to review all the options as defined in the capacity study, and a tendering process will examine how the companies would handle the issues. BRUG has been kept in touch with progress and procedures via quarterly meetings between GLL/Lambeth and BRUG, and in between, and will get the opportunity to put questions to the companies bidding. Brixton Energy/Repowering is producing a report re Brixton Central.
Planning and debate on the Rec will go on for a while but currently there is survey of what people think about it until the 30th May. It is not only for people who use the Rec but also for people who don’t to find out why they don’t, so if you live or work in Lambeth, do fill it it.
http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/brixtonrecsurvey
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