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Carlton Mansions co-op, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton - history and news

I don't know why, but I find this the most heartbreaking scene of all.

carlton-mansions-eviction-brixton-47.jpg
 
editor said:
I don't know why, but I find this the most heartbreaking scene of all.

carlton-mansions-eviction-brixton-47.jpg
Click to expand...

I have been sending your Brixton Buzz article on the last day of the Mansions to ex Coop members. ( they are now spread over London and other parts of the country) They all like your photos a lot.

One emailed me back:

"The photos look very beautiful and very sad - what a waste."
 
Gramsci said:
I have been sending your Brixton Buzz article on the last day of the Mansions to ex Coop members. ( they are now spread over London and other parts of the country) They all like your photos a lot.

One emailed me back:

"The photos look very beautiful and very sad - what a waste."
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I had a bloke from mailing from a Lambeth Council address telling me how wonderful he thought the photos were. Which was a bit odd.
 
Gramsci said:
Does not surprise me. I think some people who work for Lambeth were not happy about it either.
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So sorry about this. Hope you have found somewhere local to live.

Now that it's all over, is there any way to share this story publicly in a more mainstream publication?
 
I've had such a positive response to those photos that I'm thinking of approaching a gallery and seeing if they could form the basis of an exhibition - perhaps with photos from other evictions/closing events etc. I think it might be a great way to get more coverage and remind people about what has gone on here.

If I do get the thing sorted, I'd probably want to give away a share of any print sales to Shelter.
 
nagapie said:
So sorry about this. Hope you have found somewhere local to live.

Now that it's all over, is there any way to share this story publicly in a more mainstream publication?
Click to expand...

I have not checked yet but there I think there may be something in the Brixton SLP and Brixton Bugle.

I have been so stressed last couple of months that I have not been that in touch with media. I do not like being in the public eye that much.

A follow up piece in another magazine would be a good idea.

Part of the trouble is that some journos want a dramatic story.

Local press are interested in following up on stories and are more reliable imo.
 
I have emailed Cllr Matthew Bennett ( Cabinet member for housing) re the use of bailiffs on Tuesday 30th:



I was handing over the flats one by one to Council officer. A quarter of the way through this three bailiffs turned up. I told them I was handing over the flats. Their response was "You should not be here". I told Council officers I was not prepared to go around with bailiffs and that they should wait outside whilst I did the handover. The bailiffs then ( and they were aggressive and confrontational) told me again I should not be here. That I had 5 minutes to get out. There was a stand off.

This is just typical the way the Council has pursued my community over the last year. From the start its been aggressive and confrontational. Its not me that started this.

I want to know who said bailiffs should attend and why. I would have thought you would have been emailed about what was happening to the Mansions.
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Here's the airbrushed view from Lambeth:
Carlton Mansions

We were grateful for the cooperation from ex-residents of Carlton Mansions for helping the council’s repossession of the building go ahead without incident last week. The council has made it a priority to find alternative homes for those who are eligible for rehousing and have already offered six of these somewhere else to live.

Carlton Mansions is part of the wider Somerleyton Road regeneration project and we are considering interim uses for the building with Ovalhouse theatre and arts centre.

However, the building will need to be made safe before it can be used for this purpose. We have therefore commissioned a further building condition survey and a fire risk assessment, which will help us decide how we can use Carlton Mansions in the interests of the entire community in the future.
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"the entire community" :facepalm:
 
editor said:
Here's the airbrushed view from Lambeth:
"the entire community" :facepalm:
Click to expand...

I did find it annoying for several reasons:

  • I was harassed by bailiffs on the day. My email to Cllr Bennett cc to Cllr Lib Peck about this has not been answered. An incident that was caused by the Council.
  • The Council have consistently refused to say that it was a Coop.
  • The idea for an interim use was my idea. I talked to relevant officer about it a few months ago. It was not idea from Council. I realized they were clueless about how to safeguard Mansions.
  • The "entire community" was particularly aggravating comment to make by Lambeth. Who writes this stuff? The Coop had always told the Council that when they needed the Mansions for redevelopment we would go without fuss. No need for the Council to use phrases like that. Typical Council tactic.
  • It now appears the the Mansions is liable to be left empty for a longer period than the Council said. The date for works to start was Summer next year. This meant that our defence in court was weakened. Possession could have been granted due to the Council saying in court that development starts next year- which they did. This was separate from any fire risk. Now it looks like the Council knew all along that there was no way that works would start on the time they said in court. This airbrushed view from Lambeth confirms this. Before court case ended they were careful not to say anything that might imply that the Mansions would be left empty for some considerable time.
 
Last edited:
BTW the other thing that the Council said would happen was that the shopkeeper would also go. They were asked about this. As the Council were saying that the whole building was a fire risk and it had to be completely empty.

The shopkeeper has not gone. Nor do I think the Council have done anything about the shop.

I do not particularly want the shopkeeper to go. I am using it as example of the selective way that Lambeth have pursued this over last year.
 
Gramsci said:
I did find it annoying for several reasons:

  • I was harassed by bailiffs on the day. My email to Cllr Bennett cc to Cllr Lib Peck about this has not been answered. An incident that was caused by the Council.
  • The Council have consistently refused to say that it was a Coop.
  • The idea for an interim use was my idea. I talked to relevant officer about it a few months ago. It was not idea from Council. I realized they were clueless about how to safeguard Mansions.
  • The "entire community" was particularly aggravating comment to make by Lambeth. Who writes this stuff? The Coop had always told the Council that when they needed the Mansions for redevelopment we would go without fuss. No need for the Council to use phrases like that. Typical Council tactic.
  • It now appears the the Mansions is liable to be left empty for a longer period than the Council said. The date for works to start was Summer next year. This meant that our defence in court was weakened. Possession could have been granted due to the Council saying in court that development starts next year- which they did. This was separate from any fire risk. Now it looks like the Council knew all along that there was no way that works would start on the time they said in court. This airbrushed view from Lambeth confirms this. Before court case ended they were careful not to say anything that might imply that the Mansions would be left empty for some considerable time.
Click to expand...

I saw two people coming out of the Mansions today.
 
Gramsci said:
BTW the other thing that the Council said would happen was that the shopkeeper would also go. They were asked about this. As the Council were saying that the whole building was a fire risk and it had to be completely empty.

The shopkeeper has not gone. Nor do I think the Council have done anything about the shop.

I do not particularly want the shopkeeper to go. I am using it as example of the selective way that Lambeth have pursued this over last year.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't spend too much time thinking about that. Fire safety is largely about preventing spread and having protected escape routes - fire doors, fireproof linings to stairs, smoke seals, alternative exits, etc, etc.. - which give you time to escape or be rescued if the fire is on or below the level you are on. It's different for a ground floor unit because - subject to max travel criteria and location of any high risk things like a kitchen - you can just run out the front door.

Hope you are settled into your new place.
 
Rushy said:
I wouldn't spend too much time thinking about that. Fire safety is largely about preventing spread and having protected escape routes [...]
Click to expand...

Surely the point here is that the council made a big hullabaloo about the issue, and explicitly said that the whole building would have to be emptied, at the same time, for reasons of fire safety.

And then having decanted the co-op members, the council then unilaterally decided not to vacate the ground level commercial unit, despite having previously said that it too must be empty for reasons of safety.
 
DaveCinzano said:
Surely the point here is that the council made a big hullabaloo about the issue, and explicitly said that the whole building would have to be emptied, at the same time, for reasons of fire safety.

And then having decanted the co-op members, the council then unilaterally decided not to vacate the ground level commercial unit, despite having previously said that it too must be empty for reasons of safety.
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I have not seen the report and was not party to the discussions. I'm simply saying that it is perfectly possible that due to its ground floor position the commercial unit is not a risk in the same way as the residential areas which rely on a protected communal staircase.

If the report says the commercial space is also a similar level of fire hazard and its occupants are at similar risk yet they let them stay in then that's probably a different matter. Is that the case?
 
Rushy said:
I have not seen the report and was not party to the discussions. I'm simply saying that it is perfectly possible that due to its ground floor position the commercial unit is not a risk in the same way as the residential areas which rely on a protected communal staircase.

If the report says the commercial space is also a similar level of fire hazard and its occupants are at similar risk yet they let them stay in then that's probably a different matter. Is that the case?
Click to expand...

The shopkeeper might pay rent.
 
Rushy said:
I have not seen the report and was not party to the discussions. I'm simply saying that it is perfectly possible that due to its ground floor position the commercial unit is not a risk in the same way as the residential areas which rely on a protected communal staircase.

If the report says the commercial space is also a similar level of fire hazard and its occupants are at similar risk yet they let them stay in then that's probably a different matter. Is that the case?
Click to expand...

At the start of this last year the Council was asked about the shop. Council officer response was that the whole building had to be emptied.
 
teuchter said:
I had sort of assumed it was run by the housing co-op.
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The shop?

No it was never part of the Coop. It was always leased out separately by the Council as a shop.

Used to be a barbers years ago. One (ex) Coop member took photos of his old shop when the barber retired.
 
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