Champagne & Fromage opening in Brixton soon

[ska invita]

No, they rent, live on estates and grew up here, two colleagues of mine who are delighted there are more places to eat out.

well if it were just a case of more places to eat within a vacuum who could object - they're in luck there'll be a lot more places to eat coming very soon - whether they'll still be able to afford to live in Brixton to enjoy them is another thing

The question isnt: do you mind if a nice little shop opens up selling fizzy wine and cheese, its do you mind if all rents in Brixton, residential and business, go up at insane rates, even more than they have already.

But you can't ignore the fact that not all long-term Brixton residents are unhappy about the new influx of businesses. Yes, of course stall holders must be worried, and I too am deeply worried for them. I'd hate it if they were priced out, and I would actively join a campaign to prevent that. I facebooked and twittered the Noor petition a while back, so it's pretty obvious where I'm coming from.

Which is the big issue - im no fan of FWF and this protest was more stunt than anything - but this is what has to happen next, and quickly, because its already the 11th hour. Champagne bar will make a lot more money than the bloke next door selling 4 packs of sponges for £1, and rents will go up accordingly in no time. Someone posted earlier that Champagne bar had to pay £50k just to get this spot.

Also I cant find the bit on Brixton Blog, any chance of a link please?

People were objecting to the use of the word "holocaust", I seem to recall.

yes true, and i objected to that too, and i havnt held back on what i think of FWF on the FWF thread. The way I see it FWF and what they say and do shouldnt get in the way of the important issue here - in fact they should be ignored (and/or challenged, depending what comes out of their mouths)

 

[Rushy]

I'm making presumptions based squarely on your posts - you found the tone of this, in my opinion mild and jokey protest "dismisable as extremist" and so did everyone you asked - in Berlin native residents are being priced out across the city as wave of party goers and artists have come in to take advantage of the once-cheap rents and are followed in by property developers and champagne bars. Local residents got sick of it and started up a campaign not aimed at the global economic forces that brought the new comers there, but as well as actively resisting evictions for increasing rents (leading to riots and burning of cars etc.) also in part acted in ways to make the new arrivals feel unwelcome, with people genuinely being threatened in a way far beyond this little episode. Judging by your posts native Berliners had a "valid message" but went about it in a way that is dismisable as extremist - far more extreme than sticking a piece of dairylea to your forehead.

more on berlin
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/berlins-war-against-gentrification
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/dec/04/berlin-fights-anti-hipster-tourism-abuse

is the issue clear cut? No, but I have every sympathy with those who are angered by it and act angrily against it. The issue here is one of extreme inequality. New arrivals have a responsibility to arrive humbly and not breeze in to an area of long term historical poverty, braying about bubbling up and so on, utterly blasé about the resulting effect on their neighbours - in this Brixton case long-term stall holders in the market who will soon find themselves priced out. I find it insulting, and if others do to and react angrily then there should be no surprise.

Sure - the chap with a slice of cheese slapped on his forehead was mild and jokey. Made me smile. That was in distinct contrast to the Yuppies Out event page which I did not find mild and jokey - I was clearly not alone in that. I've made little comment on the actual event other than that it was a fairly poorly attended damp squib which bore little resemblance to the preceding rhetoric. It is the preceding rhetoric which I have consistently objected to. You seem to be conflating the two.

After reading the Vice article I voiced a personal disquiet about terminology used during the otherwise forgettable protest because of associations it brought to mind for me personally - without knowing anything much of the Schwabian situation. My comment wasn't completely out of the blue and I'm not sure why Ed felt so compelled to suggest this. I remarked in #1145 that someone heading for the protest had written "Yuppies Raus" on the back of their jacket. That by itself seemed a little sinister to me and I was surprised that no one else seemed to mention it.

It is all very well for some to argue that the protesters were mirroring the German anti gentrification campaign. But even if they did not notice the parallels themselves, it cannot have escaped them that the German campaign has been accused of blatantly borrowing from the Nazis. This from der Spiegel:

..in recent months, the so-called "Swabian hate" has grown increasingly aggressive, as graffiti has adopted the tone -- and, in some cases, the exact wording -- that was used by the Nazis in their persecution of the Jews and other targeted groups in the run-up to the Holocaust. One recent piece of graffiti reads, "Swabians, piss off," with the double "S" resembling the Nazi's SS insignia. In early May, "Don't buy from the Swabians" ("Kauf nicht bei Schwaben") was spray-painted on the side of a Prenzlauer Berg building, an incitement to boycott that directly mirrors the slogan affixed to Jewish businesses in 1933 after Hitler came to power. Both phrases were followed with "TSH," supposedly an acronym for "Total Swabian Hate."

I have not said that people who express themselves extremely do not necessarily have a valid message or concern behind the rhetoric. I have said that their message gets lost in the hyperbole and they are easily dismissed as or lumped in with true extremists. Sure - people are angry but who the fuck expects to be taken as anything other than polarisingly extreme when adopting, or even associating with people who are adopting, Nazi hate slogans?

I did not and do not want to derail this into a Nazi hate issue. I don't see declaring "Die Yuppie Scum" as much less sinister except that the accusers are too confused to clarify who they want to die. Presumably because if the label were clarified, many of those shouting loudest would no doubt have to turn the gun on themselves.

 

[Winot]

Hmm. Which begs the question: if housing were secure and rents pegged to the CPI... Is this kind of gentrification a bad thing? Of course housing for the majority is highly insecure so it's probably not worth asking but...

Many posters have said that they or their friends/family are being priced out and I can see that the opening of a champagne bar feels like salt being rubbed in the wound. I can't speak for them but I suspect that if people weren't being priced out then there wouldn't be the same level of anger.

It seems to me that it's all about affordable secure housing. Without that, and within a 'free market' (NB I've put that in quotes because I know it's not really free), the poor are bound to be displaced from desirable areas, even if no champagne bars open.

 

[ska invita]

Well Rushy i get the feeling that we agree that FWF should not be the spokespeople for anything, especially as important as peoples livelihoods and housing situations

 

[Winot]

The question isnt: do you mind if a nice little shop opens up selling fizzy wine and cheese, its do you mind if all rents in Brixton, residential and business, go up at insane rates, even more than they have already.

Well that's what I think is the question too but many on this thread disagree.

 

[BigMoaner]

my mum and her family are all from brixton, they have all moved out to west norwood and elsewhere. whilst she doesn't really like being surrou

Many posters have said that they or their friends/family are being priced out and I can see that the opening of a champagne bar feels like salt being rubbed in the wound. I can't speak for them but I suspect that if people weren't being priced out then there wouldn't be the same level of anger.

It seems to me that it's all about affordable secure housing. Without that, and within a 'free market' (NB I've put that in quotes because I know it's not really free), the poor are bound to be displaced from desirable areas, even if no champagne bars open.

i'm priced out of chelsea, such is life, such is the market. i would like to live in crystal palace, but i can't afford to. am i in a position to complain about that?

 

[BigMoaner]

i'd also like a family sized VW, but i can't afford one. richer people can. there maybe something inherently unfair about that, but also it's pretty unavoidable in a market economy, don't you think? alternative?

 

[han]

the poor are bound to be displaced from desirable areas, even if no champagne bars open.

Lots of people in long term local authority housing have a low rent that changes little over the years. And I'm guessing that a lot of these people aren't bothered by the changes. At least, those I've spoken to aren't.

The really worrying sector is those renting from private landlords who can do what they like.

 

[han]

Well that's what I think is the question too but many on this thread disagree.

Of course I mind about all rents going up! God. The question is, what do we do? One thing we can do, is petition the market owners, in the case of Nour, which was successful.

 

[Winot]

Lots of people in long term local authority housing have a low rent that changes little over the years. And I'm guessing that a lot of these people aren't bothered by the changes. At least, those I've spoken to aren't.

The really worrying sector is those renting from private landlords who can do what they like.

That would be the difference between having affordable secure housing and not then!

 

[Winot]

i'd also like a family sized VW, but i can't afford one. richer people can. there maybe something inherently unfair about that, but also it's pretty unavoidable in a market economy, don't you think? alternative?

Well yes, but whether or not you can buy a particular car doesn't have any effect on others. The effect of an area becoming more homogeneous does.

 

[ska invita]

i'm priced out of chelsea, such is life, such is the market. i would like to live in crystal palace, but i can't afford to. am i in a position to complain about that?

of course you are in a position to complain. fuck the market. do you not want a more equal society, or do you enjoy the UK's runaway inequality? Do you want affordable housing for all or just for the few?

 

[ska invita]

The question isnt: do you mind if a nice little shop opens up selling fizzy wine and cheese, its do you mind if all rents in Brixton, residential and business, go up at insane rates, even more than they have already.

Well that's what I think is the question too but many on this thread disagree.

the difference is i think theyre completely inter-related

 

[Crispy]

I would like to live in crystal palace, but i can't afford to. am i in a position to complain about that?

The fact you think you're not shows just how deeply you've swallowed the story that housing prices should be left to the market.

 

[han]

That would be the difference between having affordable secure housing and not then!

Well, quite. Is anyone on this thread saying that rents going up astronomically is a good thing? I don't think so. I don't think anyone in Brixton would say it's good, do you? Most people will agree it's a bad thing, and deeply worrying.

But if you ask them about all the new restaurants, and the state of Granville Arcade, they may answer differently.

I'm not sure everyone makes that connection between the two , especially if it doesn't affect them directly (eg they live in affordable council housing).

 

[han]

the difference is i think theyre completely related

Of course they are. Aren't we all in agreement on that?

The discussion earlier seemed to be more, whether a Champagne and Cheese bar (or whatever it is) is more emblematic of that relationship than, say, Honest Burgers.

 

[Rushy]

Well Rushy i get the feeling that we agree that FWF should not be the spokespeople for anything, especially as important as peoples livelihoods and housing situations

Unfortunately it was left to them to front it and some chose to align themselves very strongly and uncritically with their message and the way they communicated it.

 

[Winot]

the difference is i think theyre completely related

The difference is that I think C+F bar is more effect than cause whereas you (correct me if I'm wrong) think it's more cause than effect.

 

[BigMoaner]

The fact you think you're not shows just how deeply you've swallowed the story that housing prices should be left to the market.

so i am in a position to complain that i can't live where i want to live. everyone should be able to live exactly where they want to live? how are you going organise and administrate that?

 

[ska invita]

i'm priced out of chelsea, such is life, such is the market.?

since you mentioned chelsea it worth mentioning that chelsea isnt immune to this - the Kings Road not long ago was home to lots of small indie shops.

this standard article also blames the slump, but in fact it was huge rent increases that really did them in
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...-as-shops-fall-prey-to-the-slump-7443283.html


"Just before Christmas, I counted 19 empty shops and empty shops are contagious. Plus they mean people just won't come here any more. Landlords don't differentiate between big chains, and when one moves in they raise the market rents and expect us to pay.
"It has killed the character of the King's Road. It used to be artists, independent boutiques and small shops but it's fast turning into any UK high street. It's very sad.
"The next rent review worries me deeply. Landlords just don't listen to us - and the big ones can afford to have empty shops. We have been in the King's Road for 20 years and this is the worst it has ever been."

 

[ska invita]

The difference is that I think C+F bar is more effect than cause whereas you (correct me if I'm wrong) think it's more cause than effect.

its a vicious circle and i dont differentiate - in the micoreconomy of brixton market it will CAUSE rents to go up

of course the big market forces at play have nothing to do with this one shop

 

[Crispy]

so i am in a position to complain that i can't live where i want to live. everyone should be able to live exactly where they want to live? how are you going organise and administrate that?

No, not everybody can live where they want, but the ability to satisfy that desire should not be left up to the market alone. If you clean the toilets in chelsea (say), but have to commute for two hours (say)to get to work in order to afford the rent, then you are not living in a location that is a)Convenient or pleasant for you, b)Conducive to being a useful part of society when not working, due to having 4 hours of your day (plus commuting costs) removed. In the socialist utopia to follow after my election as supreme ruler of the world, housing will be fairly allocated by need. Before that happens, I'd like to see at least small steps taken in that direction, to prevent the allocation of housing purely on wealth.

 

[ska invita]

so i am in a position to complain that i can't live where i want to live. everyone should be able to live exactly where they want to live? how are you going organise and administrate that?

you are in a position to complain that the UK has spiralling levels of inequality. You can complain that the government is inflating a housing bubble as a way of getting out of its debt crisis. YOu can complain that the government doesnt dare deal with the problems of banking.

Solution - How about rent caps? How about mansion taxes? How about heavy taxation on second properties? How about taking shops out of private landlords hands and making them state assets to be rented at not-for-profit levels? How about scrapping that housing benefit cap thing theyre introducing? How about building more council housing? How about not selling off existing housing stock? How about decentralising work away from London into other regions? How about investing in the North? How about moving parliament to Coventry? How about fixing the banking system? Etc. Im sure there are other ideas.

 

[Winot]

you are in a position to complain that the UK has spiralling levels of inequality. You can complain that the government is inflating a housing bubble as a way of getting out of its debt crisis. YOu can complain that the government doesnt dare deal with the problems of banking.

Solution - How about rent caps? How about mansion taxes? How about heavy taxation on second properties? How about taking shops out of private landlords hands and making them state assets to be rented at not-for-profit levels? How about scrapping that housing benefit cap thing theyre introducing? How about building more council housing? How about not selling off existing housing stock? How about decentralising work away from London into other regions? How about investing in the North? How about moving parliament to Coventry? How about fixing the banking system? Etc. Im sure there are other ideas.

Believe it or not, I'd vote for many of these. Whilst simultaneously drinking champagne.

 

[editor]

Just been talking to a couple of local traders today, in the market and in the arches.

I'm not going to speak for them, but they certainly seemed to be growing increasingly concerned about their next round of rent renewals as a result of upmarket West End businesses like C&F who have the financial resources to slap down large sums of cash for their expansion plans.

It will eventually affect residents too, and put even more pressure on social/council housing. I wouldn't be surprised if Lambeth mull over having another bash at flattening the Barrier Block and perhaps 'developing' the Moorlands Estate behind some time in the future.

 

[BigMoaner]

you are in a position to complain that the UK has spiralling levels of inequality. You can complain that the government is inflating a housing bubble as a way of getting out of its debt crisis. YOu can complain that the government doesnt dare deal with the problems of banking.

Solution - How about rent caps? How about mansion taxes? How about heavy taxation on second properties? How about taking shops out of private landlords hands and making them state assets to be rented at not-for-profit levels? How about scrapping that housing benefit cap thing theyre introducing? How about building more council housing? How about not selling off existing housing stock? How about decentralising work away from London into other regions? How about investing in the North? How about moving parliament to Coventry? How about fixing the banking system? Etc. Im sure there are other ideas.

i don't actually disagree with you

 

[ska invita]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lambeth mull over having another bash at flattening the Barrier Block and perhaps 'developing' the Moorlands Estate behind some time in the future.

dont worry, there'll be plenty of flats set aside at affordable rents for key workers etc [/lies lies lies]

 

[editor]

Lambeth council still regularly sends out leaflets offering big cash bribes for council tenants to buy their homes, so we've got a very, very long way to go.

 

[ska invita]

i don't actually disagree with you

good! i know it feels like the market has to dictate everything in our lives, and with no political alternative in the mainstream we all feel powerless against these forces, but it doesnt mean you cant be pissed off and angry about it - they'll never take away our anger!!! (though sometimes it feels like theyre even managing to do that)

 

[ska invita]

Believe it or not, I'd vote for many of these. Whilst simultaneously drinking champagne.

champagne for all or for none!!