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Southbank skateboard park - proposed re-location

I trust it will be design so it can be easily closed to create a pop up restaurant by the likes of Jamie Oliver..... Probably sponsored by Sainsbury's.

The UK just turning into a massive fucking sell out. I hate it.
 
ShiftyBagLady said:
The Southbank Centre have now released some design proposals for the new skating venue they seemed determined to create, as well as a nice slick video about their plans to relocate the skating community and how this is a good thing which they ought to be grateful for.
http://www.southbankforall.org
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They are offering to fund a new skatepark with input from skaters.

Is this so inherently flawed that skaters shouldn't play a part in the process?

Is there *anything* they could have done to make you happy (aside from keeping the original space)?
 
The skateboarders aren't the villains here, for 35 years they've been doing their own thing causing no disturbance. If the southbank centre want to be a representative art complex then let the boarders stay.
 
DotCommunist said:
why should they have the space they made theirs when nobody wanted it taken away now its suddenly saleable land?
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I understand that POV. I think the Southbank Centre should have kept the space and worked around it (and I say that as a non-skating arts-goer). However, it seems pretty unlikely that that's going to happen, and so I am interested in the next best solution.

Are there any purpose built skateparks that are popular with skaters, or are they all 'found' spaces? Stockwell seems pretty popular.
 
Winot said:
I didn't say they were!
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True enough you didn't say that and I apologies if I gave the impression you did.

But watching the latest SBC video submission they are really painting the skaters as the awkward squad for refusing to move a few tiny feet away from their traditional spot to the lovely new urban-architech-designed purpose built home under the hungerford bridge - reminiscent of the way travellers are treated.
 
Winot said:
Are there any purpose built skateparks that are popular with skaters, or are they all 'found' spaces? Stockwell seems pretty popular.
Click to expand...
Skateparks are v popular, and I have seen arguments from a few skaters in favour of redevelopment / a new space as the undercroft is so battered and has been subjected to so much vandalism by authorities over the years to make it unskateable.

The vast majority want to retain the space though. It's theirs, the history is unique and immensely special, and no new park, however fun to skate, would replace it. Obviously.
 
Winot said:
Is there *anything* they could have done to make you happy (aside from keeping the original space)?
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No. As a local resident I do not want the place becoming more commercialised and less inviting for young people. I have not found any satisfactory answer as to why they cannot relocate the retail units, they have not responded to the will of thousands of people who signed the petition and objected to their plans.
I object on the principle, because i dont believe that any particular art or culture has priority over another and that this community is established and should be respected, properly consulted and preserved.
I also object on a personal and purely selfish level because it will diminish my enjoyment of my neighbourhood.
 
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And all of those proposals look utterly shit for BMX-ing. The light, the noise, the buskers... it will be sheer hell and I wont be stopping by thats for sure.
 
I added a piece on my blog which will hopefully help publicise the campaign.

long-live-southbank-campaign-1.jpg


http://www.urban75.org/blog/long-li...ghts-to-keep-southbank-undercroft-skate-park/
 
I got a leaflet through my letterbox proclaiming 'SKATEBOARDING IS SAFE AT THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE' with pictures of their designs. I can't help but think it's a bit unfair that they have the money to produce these leaflets (in which they misrepresent the LLSB's objections to being moved) and circulate similar emails to the thousands of people on their mailing list while LLSB have to rely on catching the attention and good will of passers by. For that reason I think it's quite heartening that they've managed to achieve what they have achieved already.

It's not looking good for the campaign though. The Southbank Centre are becoming increasingly hostile towards them, LLSB are accusing them of misrepresenting what they said and forcing them into a crowd sourcing them money to save the space. Details of the spat are on their facebook page if anyone wants to read all about it (https://www.facebook.com/LongLiveSouthbank) but it doesn't look like any of the supposed consultations or open forums the SBC are conducting at present are aimed at properly resolving the issue. It's a shame but to my mind their supercilious approach to the LLSB campaign, regardless of the rights or wrongs of each position, is a discredit to them.

Anyway. £17million in crowd sourced funding, do you think that's possible?
 
ShiftyBagLady said:
Anyway. £17million in crowd sourced funding, do you think that's possible?
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No chance. I can't quite work out from those letters where the £17million figure is supposed to have come from, do you know? It's an absurd amount of money - the only thing I can think it would relate to would be the cost to buy the space outright and there's no way the skaters are doing that.
 
Yeah, I've no idea where that figure came from. The whole development is suppod to be costing £120 million so it does seem, even proportionaly, high to me. But what would I know about this sort of thing?
 
It would seem that the Southbank Centre have resovled to simply push through their plans for the South Bank from what he Long Live Southbank campaign posted on their Facebook group:

We warned you that the Southbank Centre wanted us out of the Undercroft at any cost. Their request for more time to ‘consult’ with communities was a ruse to buy more time for the design of their new programmable space under Hungerford Bridge and misinform people into supporting the Festival Wing plans.

Now is the time for action. We need you to not just like this post but to share and to write to your MP and Lambeth Council to raise your concerns and objections.

We need you to watch the Southbank Centre and the Undercroft closely over the next 3 days.

The Southbank Centre resubmitted their plans for the Festival Wing redevelopment and the Hungerford Bridge Southbank Centre programmable space on Friday 29th November.

It is no coincidence that the Southbank Centre has also stated they wish to close the Undercroft in order to “deal with a significant backlog of work” from Monday the 2nd December to Wednesday 4th December.

Structural engineers and building maintenance experts have been consulted and those that visited the site have all stated that they can find no reason for a closure of the Undercroft for the proposed work.

Our inside sources have informed us that the Southbank Centre intend to board the Undercroft up and create a health and safety reason for why they need to keep it closed for longer.

This would potentially be a forced eviction crudely disguised as routine maintenance job.

Our lawyers contacted Lambeth Council on the 11th November to raise our concerns. Lambeth Council have yet to reply.

Despite enormous opposition to the destruction of the Undercroft space, the Southbank Centre refuses to listen to anyone on the matter of Preservation.
Read their ‘revised’ plan here. As you can every conceivable area has been identified for business and commercial purposes – something they omitted from their promotional materials:

Planning permission is sought for alterations and extensions to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery including a 'pavilion' above the Hayward Gallery and Purcell Room (a triple height building at level 7 to 9) and the creation of a 5 storey high 'foyer' beneath (level 2 to 6), a 'liner building' parallel to Waterloo Bridge (three storeys at level 4 to 6) and infilling of ground floor undercrofts.

Providing an increase of circa 9,100sqm arts/cultural/leisure use (Class D2), circa 1,000sqm arts/cultural/leisure use (Class D2) and/or business use (Class B1), circa 500sqm arts/cultural/leisure use (Class D2) and/or shops (Class A1) and/or restaurants and cafes (Class A3) and/or hot food takeaways (Class A5), and circa 4,200sqm shops (Class A1) and/or restaurants and cafes (Class A3) and/or hot food takeaways (Class A5). Together with refurbishment of the existing venues, relocation of servicing, creation of public realm between Belvedere Road and Queens Walk, provision of roof gardens, external hard and soft landscaping, plant and associated works.

Listed building consent is sought for provision of new links to Waterloo Bridge and associated works (reference: 13/02016/LB).

Revised plans have been received showing amendments to elevations and appearance, including; a set back to the front (north-west elevation) of the 'liner building', alterations to the appearance of the Belvedere Road elevation, alterations to 'festival steps' (linking the new public realm to the proposed foyer) and the location of the lifts, alterations to the glazing to the corner of the Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer at level 2; and removal of A4 (drinking establishment) uses from the proposals.

Keep Preserving!
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