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Brixton Somerleyton Road development, Ovalhouse and Brixton Green - funding, proposed rents etc

Gramsci said:
They were all over the place. Picked then dropped one idea after another.

From what I remember. An urban farm on site, a recycling plant to produce energy, self build housing, student housing, Carlton Mansions as a hotel, a hairdresser school. There are probably more.
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And the chef school which was of course completely unrelated to the business interests of one of their head guys who ran a restaurant.
 
On the Somerleyton road scheme I think the Council made two mistakes.

Council officers interest in the Council developing the site pre dated arrival of Brixton Green. The Brixton Master plan envisaged building a new community there. This was all before Brixton Green.

The Ovalhouse theatre were looking at the site before BG turned up.

I know some Lambeth officers were looking at what other boroughs were already doing. The Council becoming a builder again.

Over the years Councils capacity to design and build has withered away.

Getting Neil Vokes in to manage the development was good decision of Council. He was able. He had ability, that BG lacked, to work with community. He was also , in my experience, straight forward. Unlike BG. The Council should have kept him on this scheme. Instead, as he is very able, they shunted him off to Cressingham. Big mistake.

Secondly the Council, through no fault of its own, lacks capacity to design and build sites. The Council should have concentrated the limited number of officers and resources they have to finish the Somerleyton road project first. Before starting plans , that are resented by residents, to redevelop existing estates.

Somerleyton road project could have been a win win situation. It's basically empty undeveloped site. Council could have used it to develop capacity to do other sites. Such as the Brixton Central site. Where pop is now.
 
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Third mistake of Council was to make Brixton Green the "community partners". I actually felt sorry for some officers having to deal with them.
 
Brixton Green is claiming that the Council stopped attending the Steering Group meetings, if we are to believe what The Bugle printed.

This whole timeline could have some more clarity if Lambeth Council kept to its original pledge of publishing the minutes from the Steering Group. This is something that residents were told would happen when the project first started.

The last time they were published was way back in September 2014. An awful lot has taken place since then.

We put in an FOI at Buzz to see the minutes. Brixton Green were after all a community organisation that were supposedly representing locals.

The FOI was refused.

Complete jokers - Brixton Green and the Progress Cabinet.
 
CH1 said:
A photo has emerged on the Twittersphere
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Thing is Rachel wasn't always happy with BG. But didn't say anything when she was in Cabinet. BG as a "community group" had favoured status with the Progress/ New Labour Lambeth Labour party. As BG fitted in with New Labour thinking.

It's more than annoying to see BG now try and position themselves as victims of this New Labour administration.

The Council Somerleyton road project isn't about taking away anything from people/ community. As in the library issue, parks or "regenerating" existing Council estates.

Now it looks like the Council won't hand over the finished project ( built with Council and Ovalhouse money) to BG. They are now trying to align themselves with groups actually defending publicly owned services and land. It's annoying.
 
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Gramsci said:
Thing is Rachel wasn't always happy with BG. But didn't say anything when she was in Cabinet. BG as a "community group" had favoured status with the Progress/ New Labour Lambeth Labour party. As BG fitted in with New Labour thinking.

It's more than annoying to see BG now try and position themselves as victims of this New Labour administration.

The Council Somerleyton road project isn't about taking away anything from people/ community. As in the library issue, parks or "regenerating" existing Council estates.

Now it looks like the Council won't hand over the finished project ( built with Council and Ovalhouse money) to BG they are trying to align themselves with groups actually defending publicly owned services and land. It's annoying.
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I'm a bit concerned that nothing is going to happen for ages anyway.

Obviously council affairs are on hold from the councillor point of view for the next six months (allowing for elections, new appointments/reshuffling, summer holidays).

Also I went past the Oval House last week and there is a "For Sale" sign on the roof, which suggests there is no actual buyer lined up in a long-term deal as yet.
One wonders whether the old annoying crew at Brixton Green are still in command? Maybe Rachel has some idea on that. Philippe is managing Pop Brixton at the moment. Is he poised for a Brixton Green comeback as soon as council cash flows? Brad - AWOL? No mention of him lately.

Dinah Roake, who was chair in 2017 seems the most knowledgeable - is she still around?
 
Tricky Skills said:
Heart bleeds for the Brixton Green liars.

Oh look - there's Brad! :hmm:
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I'm totally lost here.

One of the main complaints from some posters here is that poster like me said the BG wanted the site all along. On BG website it said that BG didn't want the site. That they were working with Council to set up a management organisation and then there work would be done.

So now it appears that BG did want the site. And are now pissed off because Lambeth won't give it to them.

:facepalm:

In interview the reps from BG say they don't have a "champion" in the Council. They did have Lambeth Labour group support in the beginning. Remember Rachel telling me so. BG went for the decision makers Including Tessa MP as a "champion". As I was told at the time when they first arrived on the scene. "They ticked" all the New Labour "boxes" .I was told I didn't go to the New Labour dinner parties like they did.

That is how they got to be on the Somerleyton road steering group at the beginning. Unlike Carlton Mansions HC. Until Neil Vokes arrived on the scene. A Council officer who tried to consult the community. For BG to criticize officers is rubbish. Neil Vokes did more to listen to local community than the likes of wind up merchant Brad. When things were going well for them due to there contacts in New Labour political circles they were quite happy.

So why did BG lose all this political influence? There astounding ability to wind up locals, the debacle over there running the number six on Somerleyton road for example. As one senior officer who tried to sort out that mess said to me they annoy people. I agreed with him.

They managed to keep there hold on the site due to there political links. But this faded gradually.

Another thing. This model they talk about in interview. It's never been on public view. What happened to the steering group minutes?
 
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The Future Brixton website said that the Steering Group minutes would be published each month. These last appeared way back in May 2015 - more or less the same time that Brad messed up at No 6 and was shown to be way out of his depth on this project.

We've tried to see the minutes from June 2015 onwards at Brixton Buzz. Brixton Green is the 'public representative' at Somerleyton. It would be useful to see how they have been using this gifted mandate.

A Freedom of Information request was submitted. This was refused. We appealed against this. Once again we were not allowed to see the minutes involving an organisation that speaks on behalf of residents.

Brixton Green = dodgy as fuck.
 
Tricky Skills said:
The Future Brixton website said that the Steering Group minutes would be published each month. These last appeared way back in May 2015 - more or less the same time that Brad messed up at No 6 and was shown to be way out of his depth on this project.

We've tried to see the minutes from June 2015 onwards at Brixton Buzz. Brixton Green is the 'public representative' at Somerleyton. It would be useful to see how they have been using this gifted mandate.

A Freedom of Information request was submitted. This was refused. We appealed against this. Once again we were not allowed to see the minutes involving an organisation that speaks on behalf of residents.

Brixton Green = dodgy as fuck.
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Fancy putting all that together into a Buzz article? Be good to remind locals about just how fucking dodgy Brixton Green are seeing as they're attempting a PR offensive (that no one is interested in).
 
editor said:
Fancy putting all that together into a Buzz article? Be good to remind locals about just how fucking dodgy Brixton Green are seeing as they're attempting a PR offensive (that no one is interested in).
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That would be useful. I know someone who bought one of the BG shares. She honestly believes that BG were the mainstay of Somerleyton road project and its the Council who are the problem.

Had to explain to her this was not a BG project. Council had paid for architects etc to produce plans and Oval House have nothing to do with BG.

It's really frustrating. BG have managed to give impression this is all down to them.

I've not got no reason to support Lambeth council. But it really annoys me that this bunch hoodwink locals.

What is even more aggravating is that BG are playing the victim card. Like there plight is the same as Cressingham gardens and the libraries. Which it isn't. They had plenty of "champions" in the Council. They squandered that political advantage.

Also I have distinct feeling that BG thought that there model of "intermediate" housing could be blueprint for Council estate "regeneration" at one point. BG leading lights were all for "modernisation" of social housing.

I still don't get why BG think they will supply more affordable housing onsite. Why they would supply more than Council.
 
Blimey. Lambeth has released limited minutes from the Steering Group following an FOI.

The July 2015 minutes state:

  1. NV: Urgently need meeting to discuss 6 Brixton. Issue becoming a risk to the project. Greenman to come onboard – Anna to speak to Michael.
...cos we all know that ended well.

Odd that this non-Buzz FOI was successful. We asked the exact same question and were turned down.

Lambeth Council is very odd.

Brixton Green are still a bunch of bloody liars.
 
Tricky Skills said:
I see that the mysterious Brixton Green is still playing the victim game.

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I don't quite no what to make of this.

I find it hard to believe its official Brixton Green PR?

The video is accusing Lambeth council of ethnic cleansing.

From video

" Lambeth Council has done ethnic cleansing. If people don't fit a certain criteria for new look of Brixton they are moved out"

So Brixton Green are now accusing Council of racist policy to remove people from Brixton.

Pretty strong accusations here.
 
Tricky Skills said:
I see that the mysterious Brixton Green is still playing the victim game.

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Ur right after looking at video they have hyped the victim hood up a notch. Lambeth Council are now institutionally racist.

I find this rather aggravating. When BG were in close relationship with Council they saw themselves as part of the New Labour project for Lambeth.

An interesting comment in video is that " officers call the shots not leaders". Which sounds like someone from BG put this in.

BG had close relationship with leading lights in Nu Labour circles. As someone said to me years back I didn't get invited to the right dinner parties.

I think there antics over the years have possibly led to leaders distancing themselves.
 
This new approach from the mysterious Brixton Green is definitely not from the same page as Brad the Bullshitter.

Whatever happened to him and his inability to stop telling lies to everyone around Brixton?
 
Tricky Skills said:
This new approach from the mysterious Brixton Green is definitely not from the same page as Brad the Bullshitter.

Whatever happened to him and his inability to stop telling lies to everyone around Brixton?
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Fairly clear from looking at the youtube channel that this has not been produced by BG themselves, is it not?
 
Clearly I got this video wrong. I haven't seen direct written evidence that it was signed off by Brixton Green trustees. Preferably on paper and in triplicate.

I must apologize for my thoughtless posts above.
 
Campaign Film for Brixton Green

Shortage of secure, affordable housing is a huge issue for young people growing up in Brixton. Brixton Green commissioned this film as part of their campaign for community led housing on Somerleyton Road. Young people on the Moorlands Estate speak powerfully about growing up in Brixton and how they feel about the future.
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www.werise.org.uk

So BG are saying Lambeth Council are pursuing ethnic cleansing of Brixton.
 
More accurately, some young people on the Moorlands estate are saying Lambeth Council are pursuing the ethnic cleansing of Brixton, in a film commissioned by Brixton Green.

As "werise" list Lambeth as a 'client' it does seem that this could cause some awkwardness.
 
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