editor
hiraethified
You'd better Photoshop those photos I posted up then.I think that's a 'yes'
Reclaim Brixton movement - meetings and April 25th protest planned
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soupdragon
Well-Known Member
And this is the best of all possible worlds isn't it.
Before the Spacemakers, the emptiness of 3rd Avenue of Granville Arcade was due to landlord actions.
Atlantic Properties (who owned it for many years before LAP bought it from them) had been a family run, fairly stable landlord, but when the parents passed it on to their kids, the kids suddenly massively hoiked the rents (maybe doubled them?) around the year 2000 (and renamed it Brixton Village at that time). This was covered in the Independent, the article used to be online. The pet shop went around 2003? Until around a year? before the spacemakers, there were still a number of businesses struggling along in there - the big Rasta shop, a Columbian restaurant where Cornercopia moved to, some clothes shops, the Reggae shop, one or two other cafes. Of course, there were 'circulation problems' with 3rd Avenue - when empty it was inevitably a bit of a dead end, and that was the reason why the council started to do a deal with LAP to knock it down and punch through to Pope’s Road. LAP then sewed as much insecurity as they could amongst the traders and people started to sell up, and move to Peckham etc.
After the market was listed the landlords were at a real loss about what to do, and were quite open to a range of possibilities I think. I think the council could have put them in touch with an organisation with an actual understanding of local markets and community development. Instead my understanding is that the council's at the time new town centre director got a hold of the Spacemakers, who had no experience of any of this, and gave them to LAP. They did this very much on the quiet without any consultation with community groups etc. The pop up project then did little to create a balanced range of businesses, did nothing to support the still remaining traders by - for example - looking to establish clusters of shops that could support and extend around existing clothes shops, and did nothing to bring in any kind of supported units for local people without any capital or experience writing business plans (which they could have done and should have done). Etc. There were a number of soft-barriers to becoming one of the ‘curated’ businesses that got a unit and the Spacemakers and council rejected the London Youth Support Trust who have 20 years or so of supporting young people from work class backgrounds from having a unit.
It may have been shit - but it was shit because the landlords were making it so. Then there was a brief moment when maybe it could have been developed in a more imaginative, broader, community developmental way than it turned out. It would have been a more involved thing to do than just say 'let a thousand flowers bloom' like the Spacemakers did, but I think LAP were genuinely stuck and would have gone with any number of things.
The Pop Brixton project is potentially the council's attempt at doing something more community developmental on land they own themselves. Hope they're not in the process of screwing that up too.
Just to be clear, I think we all know why 2nd Ave was largely empty and almost all of us acknowledge it was largely empty.
editor
hiraethified
Oh, we're back to just 2nd Ave now?
The story isn't that the market was on some doomed, unstoppable route to decay and was only saved by the Spacemakers and the foodies. It was cynically and intentionally laid out to rot by the developers.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
i'm still waiting to see your working which i asked for yesterday.
Right, the voice of authority: why are you asking me and not the former arcade tennants who also say 1/3?
Clown car it is: honk for even more attention.
Clown car it is: honk for even more attention.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
you made specific claims which i thought you could substantiate. it now seems you can't. what a pity.
David Clapson
Well-Known Member
The answer is obvious and I'm sure you're just pretending to be ignorant to get a rise out of people, but I'll take the bait anyway: the main thing to be taken back is rented housing. Rich tenants and homeowners, predominantly white professionals, have displaced poor tenants, who are mostly black working class with a goodly smattering of low income whites. But the issue is much more nuanced than that. Black homeowners have benefited from gentrification by selling up, a few black Porsche-driving property developers have benefited even more. That shouldn't obscure the fact that a larger number of black tenants have either been forced out or fear that they will be. I suspect these people will be the most aggrieved group attending the demo. But I doubt many of them will turn up as they tend to be cynical about the value of such things. I hope I'm proved wrong.
Debating which avenue in the Granville Arcade was empty is missing the point. There are still plenty of places selling cheap and/or ethnic goods, so nobody has been forced out by poor availability of groceries and fabrics and so on. Granville Arcade's relevance is that the new wave of eateries enabled by Spacemakers was the tipping point which attracted lots of young white readers of lifestyle articles to overcome their preconceptions of Brixton as a scary ghetto. The posh restaurants are symbolic of the problem, that's why they are vilified. But getting rid of them would serve no purpose now that the genie is out of the bottle and white professionals have realised that Brixton is safe and only ten minutes from the West End. To turn the clock back now you'd need rioters to torch the tube station, the Police station and Foxtons for good measure. That's not going to happen. The Reclaim Brixton campaign will achieve nothing and the few people who turn up will be easily contained in the square. Anyone hoping for something on the scale of the G20 protest will be sadly disappointed.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Please point out in my posts where I have been a nimby.
I was chatting to someone I know who is from a Council estate TRA tonight and mentioned the argument going on here. She said that this whole issue is dividing people. Her estate will be sending people down on the 25th. I have some posters now for the event.
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I don't think it's obvious, not least because you express a number of views each of which can be branch points to another conclusion.
Nor was I pretending to be ignorant, I wanted - still want - clarification of the goals: hardly controversial given they are actively courting support. What is it they want people to turn out for? You've crystalised a view, lets hope they do.
I broadly agree with the conclusions in your 2nd para - broad-based media promo made a significant contribution to what happened in the wake of Spacemakers involvement at the arcade.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
This thread has got sidetracked on the Brixton Village. The posts by memespring and
soupdragon explain what happened.
The issue that has angered a lot of people is the railway arches in Atlantic road and Brixton Station road. This has not been lost yet. I have not heard anyone yet saying they support Network Rail. Am I being a NIMBY for supporting the arches shopkeepers?
I know several shopkeepers in Brixton area who are worried that when their leases finish they will not be able to afford to stay here. So the shops outside Brixton Village and Market road are under threat in long term.
Housing in the number one issue across London. I was talking to a Black Brixton resident and he said it was his most important issue. Get rid of buy to let Landlords and build Council Housing. He was long time Labour party supporter. His view is that its been an issue ignored by mainstream politicians.
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Gramsci
Well-Known Member
This remains to be seen. "pessimism of the intellect optimism of the will" as my name sake would say.
Reclaim Brixton has got backing of resident groups. Also Lambeth Housing Activists with Unite Community. The 25th is supposed to be peaceful event on Windrush square that is a start rather than the end of Reclaim Brixton.
As for riots. Something I know about. Riots can work. The 81 riot/ uprising ( I prefer to use the word riot Rioting has long tradition in this country.) led to the Scarman enquiry. The problem of "inner cities" was taken seriously. What is surprising is that there have not been more public disturbances in this economic crisis across Europe.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
I'd argue that part of the reason that the market problems didn't generate as much public anger is because they were and are somewhat more "out of sight and out of mind" that Atlantic Rd and Brixton Station Rd. The public are (very properly) having their noses rubbed in the situation with the arches, and the arches have also become somewhat of an up-to-date signifier for the broader gentrification issue, just as situations from Cooltan to Carlton Mansions have also been.
Actively ignored. Council housing is the only feasible method of mass-construction that will fill the "housing gap", but (as Thatcher and her coterie were well-aware) mass social housing encourages solidarities and community-spiritedness in a way (i.e. in an unmanaged, hard-to-manipulate way) that our neoliberal Parliamentarians absolutely loathe.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Agree with you about Council Housing.
The covered markets were also a big issue. The campaign to get them listed was in part to make sure they remained as markets not to end up as full of eateries for the well off. I know one of the main people behind getting it listed is upset at what has happened to the covered markets. Part of the listing was that Brixton Village is part of Afro Carribean heritage.I was not even against Spacemakers to start with. Then when later on one says that its not what one wanted you are told you are a Nimby. I am someone who has tried to engage with Council over the years and accept change. But all I have to show for it is to be evicted and see my community broken up. Change should be managed - not left up to the "market" or the over mighty state ( the Council). In fact the local State ( the Council) work with the "market" ( big business/ property developers) in practise.
I think people like me have not been "Nimby" enough. As with the "meanwhile" use of the ice rink site a lot of Brixton people will give new things the benefit of the doubt. Then it turns out to be not what they signed up to.
The same thing goes for the Brixton Central masterplan consultations. I encouraged the Brixton Rec Users group committee to go to the consultations and engage with the Council. Now it turns out it was all a sham and the Council new before Xmas that that Network Rail were going to evict the arches.
I notice gabi has not answered my question about where I am being a Nimby. Its not posters like me that are the problem on this section of U75.
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We need to Reclaim this Board before we can hope to reclaim any part of Brixton because this Board gives an alternative voice that is largely unheard anywhere else. That's not hyperbole, that's how right wing the mainstream have become.
We, as a community, have made good progress in recent weeks, the right wing, self identifying, gentrifying, astroturfers have fallen silent; the Arches issue essentially killed them but they fucked up across the board (pun intended) and are looking kind of desperate.
We, as a community, have made good progress in recent weeks, the right wing, self identifying, gentrifying, astroturfers have fallen silent; the Arches issue essentially killed them but they fucked up across the board (pun intended) and are looking kind of desperate.
I haven't replied because I didnt see your post, apologies. I have a life outside of urban75.
Can you answer my question? Who exactly are you trying to 'Reclaim Brixton' from? What gives you the right to decide who is worthy and who isn't of living and running businesses here?
Who are you trying to reclaim Brixton from?
editor
hiraethified
Exactly where has he made those claims?
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
I didn't feel very welcome in most of Brixton 25/30 years ago - I feel much more comfortable and accepted now. I passionately want Brixton to remain a mixed community with lively market and nightlife. But what do we want reclaim? Brixton has never had just one community - but many, and it has changed over time.
I feel the whole 'reclaim' idea is muddled. I think we can put pressure on Lambeth council about planning, policy, selling off land and buildings. We can support businesses and people. All the rest is just arguing amongst ourselves.
I feel the whole 'reclaim' idea is muddled. I think we can put pressure on Lambeth council about planning, policy, selling off land and buildings. We can support businesses and people. All the rest is just arguing amongst ourselves.
I don't think reclaim brixton is about kicking out anyone, it's about taking brixton out of the grips of rampant social cleansing, ie, out of the hands of corrupt councillors who collaborate with private mega profiteers dressed in sheep's clothing.
It's all too easy to focus on sensational rhetoric and forget the gritty issues at hand. The council are scum and have fucked over everyone. Housing is fucked, social services fucked, brixton culture is getting fucked... All at the hands of the council who we pay tax to.
So please stop all of this tedious shit that reclaim is about chasing out residents with pitch forks etc etc. It's boring and mildly distracting.
It's all too easy to focus on sensational rhetoric and forget the gritty issues at hand. The council are scum and have fucked over everyone. Housing is fucked, social services fucked, brixton culture is getting fucked... All at the hands of the council who we pay tax to.
So please stop all of this tedious shit that reclaim is about chasing out residents with pitch forks etc etc. It's boring and mildly distracting.
People here are focused on Brixton but it’s nothing compared to, for example, parts of Peckham. Sydenham has just about gone. What’s rolling down the hill from Crystal Palace to Anerley and Penge is also pretty significant. West Norwood is inevitably next – not least because, outside parts of Catford, there is virtually nowhere else left.
Call it ‘gentrification’ or call it ‘a renaissance’; it’s here right now, folks, and it is now about ‘managing change’. Boroughs across south London have been grappling with that for a decade, sometimes well, sometimes not.
My point: The arguments about the contribution of media and Brixton Village are … a bit silly. This is at least as much about a city being reborn with hundreds of thousands of new immigrants, huge new infrastructure projects, new industries: I’m really not sure it helps the cause of Brixton to look only at Brixton.
Call it ‘gentrification’ or call it ‘a renaissance’; it’s here right now, folks, and it is now about ‘managing change’. Boroughs across south London have been grappling with that for a decade, sometimes well, sometimes not.
My point: The arguments about the contribution of media and Brixton Village are … a bit silly. This is at least as much about a city being reborn with hundreds of thousands of new immigrants, huge new infrastructure projects, new industries: I’m really not sure it helps the cause of Brixton to look only at Brixton.
299 old timer
Well-Known Member
I can confirm West Norwood is in fact still there, I was down there earlier today doing my shopping. Certain parts by the station are getting a bit coffee shop ponceyfied though. Coffee is the main gentrifier....
David Clapson
Well-Known Member
Couldn't agree more. People seem to have forgotten that a riot can form a valid part of the political process, so long as the rioters choose targets honestly and express a justifiable grievance. Many black people seem to have forgotten or not been taught about Scarman. They feel excluded from the political process. I suspect they believe that even when they riot their views are ignored by the establishment. Perhaps this partly explains why the Mark Duggan protest deteriorated into random looting and arson? Maybe the logic was "torching police cars won't achieve anything, so fuck it, we may as well have some free shoes." The dispiriting thing about Reclaim Brixton is that some of it is framed as black vs white. If it could be just rich vs poor we might get somewhere. It should be all about the poor discouraging the rich from buying in Brixton. (Driving out the rich who are already here would serve no purpose.) In my opinion the most effective way to stop the flow of rich buyers would be a massive protest with a unified rent reduction theme, and some direct action to take Brixton off the tube map. Property prices would plummet.
LOL. Anyway, the converse of this is to add the erstwhile much wanted Overground station to East/Brixton - that'll add 10% to everything straight away. The Canary Wharf commuters have utterly transformed every stop on that line south of Surrey Quays.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
erstwhile doesn't mean what you think it does. a word to the wise: if you don't know what a word means, don't use it.
What do I think it means?
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
i don't suppose you've given the matter the consideration it deserves
"can I see your working"
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