Wahaca make planning applications for the old Brady's /Railway Tavern pub on Atlantic Road, Brixton

[oryx]

And on Wahaca/Thomasina Myers- sneering at someone because her parents gave her a silly name is a bit reductive- if she had renamed herself Jane someone would dig out the fact she wasn't really called that and sneer at her for hiding her origins. It's divisive and unpleasant to spend so much time searching for evidence of people's origins and using it to tar and feather them- its part of the divide and rule that this government are pushing so hard, and I'm afraid it's working.

Sorry to be so blunt in criticising some people on here I like, but I think it's a real shame if a serious point (pertinently here how much investment to get businesses off the ground in this country is tied up in old school/family networks, for example) becomes 'she went to a posh school and has a silly name ner ner ne ner ner'. It makes valid concerns about the direction the country is taking into adolescent pointing and jeering- and therefore easy to ignore and dismiss

I agree with you to a large extent, but the 'divide and rule' culture is mainly manifesting itself in attacks on benefit claimants and other financially and socially vulnerable people, while it is largely accepted that the media, the arts, business etc etc is controlled by an upper middle class elite of which I have little doubt that Thomasina Miers is part.

We as a society are sleepwalking into accepting this, and its consequent relationship to a lack of social mobility. It's all about power, and influence. If pointing out someone's rather privileged background is part of challenging this, then I don't have a problem with it.

 

[Gramsci]

I agree with you to a large extent, but the 'divide and rule' culture is mainly manifesting itself in attacks on benefit claimants and other financially and socially vulnerable people, while it is largely accepted that the media, the arts, business etc etc is controlled by an upper middle class elite of which I have little doubt that Thomasina Miers is part.

A narrative that is used in media to justify these people is one of personal struggles against illness. Makes these people fit the narrative of pulling themselves up by there bootstraps. Unlike those layabouts who get sent to ATOS.

See here the Daily ( hurrah for the Blackshirts) Mails article on Thomasina and her struggle with anorexia and depression. Not that these are not real illnesses. It the way they are used as PR.

Of course these people are not posh they are "Bohemian".

All this camouflages the ruling elites. They are clever. Make it seem like they are part of a Meritocracy not a self perpetuating ruling class. Cameron is past master at this.

She is happily married, to investment banker Mark Williams, and lives a deliciously bohemian lifestyle in a north London Victorian house.

What viewers didn’t know was that Tommi, as she likes to be known, with her clipped accent that spoke of an uppercrust background, was working through issues with weight, dieting and bingeing.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...a-Miers-admits-binge-eater.html#ixzz2gblNkrr8

 

[leanderman]

A narrative that is used in media to justify these people is one of personal struggles against illness. Makes these people fit the narrative of pulling themselves up by there bootstraps. Unlike those layabouts who get sent to ATOS.

See here the Daily ( hurrah for the Blackshirts) Mails article on Thomasina and her struggle with anorexia and depression. Not that these are not real illnesses. It the way they are used as PR.

Of course these people are not posh they are "Bohemian".

All this camouflages the ruling elites. They are clever. Make it seem like they are part of a Meritocracy not a self perpetuating ruling class. Cameron is past master at this.

Good analysis.

Separately, I wonder whether other countries choose first names as carefully as we do to signal status.

 

[Ms T]

You can afford a "deliciously bohemian" lifestyle if you're married to an investment banker.

While I have no doubt that Thomasina Miers is talented (I have her Mexican cookbooks), it was obvious she was rather monied. On winning Masterchef, she opened her own restaurant. Fair enough. But it was in Covent Garden.

 

[ffsear]

From what I have seen and read about her, she seems like a talented and decent and hardworking person. I like to judge people for what they are, rather by where they come from.

 

[leanderman]

From what I have seen and read about her, she seems like a talented and decent person. I like to judge people for what they are, rather by where they come from.

The feedback on her food suggests it is excellent value.

 

[Rushy]

You can afford a "deliciously bohemian" lifestyle if you're married to an investment banker.

While I have no doubt that Thomasina Miers is talented (I have her Mexican cookbooks), it was obvious she was rather monied. On winning Masterchef, she opened her own restaurant. Fair enough. But it was in Covent Garden.

To be fair, lots of the Masterchef winners can expect to do that kind of thing if they want to. I met Shelina P who won last year in The Florence and she had people throwing money at her for restaurant ventures. She was lovely. Her fella runs a pub between Balham and Clapham South.

 

[ViolentPanda]

If you go on like this you will have the Daily Mail looking into your background.

Definitely, what with his username being an anagram of Lean Red Man"!

 

[leanderman]

Did anyone explain the extensive building work out the back of Bradys?

 

[editor]

Did anyone explain the extensive building work out the back of Bradys?

I did ask but no one's answered yet. There seems to be a fair bit of wood going into its construction.

 

[leanderman]

I did ask but no one's answered yet. There seems to be a fair bit of wood going into its construction.

Exactly. It's intriguing. Can't see a planning application.

 

[CH1]

Exactly. It's intriguing. Can't see a planning application.

A narrative that is used in media to justify these people is one of personal struggles against illness. Makes these people fit the narrative of pulling themselves up by there bootstraps. Unlike those layabouts who get sent to ATOS.
See here the Daily ( hurrah for the Blackshirts) Mails article on Thomasina and her struggle with anorexia and depression. Not that these are not real illnesses. It the way they are used as PR.
Of course these people are not posh they are "Bohemian".
All this camouflages the ruling elites. They are clever. Make it seem like they are part of a Meritocracy not a self perpetuating ruling class. Cameron is past master at this.

Planning application is here: http://planning.lambeth.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage
Design statement is here: http://planning-docs.lambeth.gov.uk/AnitePublicDocs/00437994.pdf
Regarding the Daily Mail article the sentence which stuck out to me was: "My twin brother is schizophrenic and my grandmother killed herself".
My heart melted at that. I guess a true cynic would say I am a victim of the Daily Mail's manipulation of human interest stories. Nevertheless I am fascinated and feel much more positive about this person's enterprise for having seen that. Thank you Gramsci.

 

[Pickman's model]

I like to judge people for what they are, rather by where they come from.

you must find it a trial reading other people's posts here then, when they take the opposite attitude

 

[happyshopper]

Design statement is here: http://planning-docs.lambeth.gov.uk/AnitePublicDocs/00437994.pdf

The design statement promises that the development will be "vibrant".

 

[Dexter Deadwood]

 

[editor]

The design statement promises that the development will be "vibrant".

Breaks my heart seeing what's happened to this pub and remembering all the bullshit Lambeth came up with. All the effort that people put in crushed by Lambeth's short term interests.

 

[editor]

Added a piece on BrixtonBuzz about the new proposals: http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2013/11/...or-bradys-public-house-atlantic-road-brixton/

 

[leanderman]

Breaks my heart seeing what's happened to this pub and remembering all the bullshit Lambeth came up with. All the effort that people put in crushed by Lambeth's short term interests.

So seven flats at, say, £400,000 each and a restaurant to let at, who knows, £1,000 a week.

If the one-acre site was sold for less than £1million, a reasonable profit for the developer.

Not sure I'd want to live, Zelig-like, inches from a railway line.

And will the clock be cleaned and restored?

 

[CH1]

So seven flats at, say, £400,000 each and a restaurant to let at, who knows, £1,000 a week.
If the one-acre site was sold for less than £1million, a reasonable profit for the developer.
Not sure I'd want to live, Zelig-like, inches from a railway line.
And will the clock be cleaned and restored?

Good points - but surely the cinematic reference should be to Henry Spencer of "Eraserhead". Carve them chickens!

 

[rio1]

Anyone know if planning permission has actually been granted for this or have they started building work without?

 

[colacubes]

Permission was originally granted a few months ago for the 7 flats and for the ground floor to be split into 2 units - 1 retail unit (A1) and 1 cafe/restaurant (A3). The new application is for the same 7 flats and the 1 cafe/restaurant unit as Wahaca want to take it. So the answer is not exactly black and white. I suspect the new planning application is a formality. There's no difference between the original application that was granted and the current one as far as the flats are concerned. It's more about what happens on the ground floor. I can't imagine there's any reason it would be rejected for A3 use as half of the previous application was for just that.

 

[Rushy]

So seven flats at, say, £400,000 each and a restaurant to let at, who knows, £1,000 a week.

If the one-acre site was sold for less than £1million, a reasonable profit for the developer.

Not sure I'd want to live, Zelig-like, inches from a railway line.

And will the clock be cleaned and restored?

I think it was sold for 750-850K so there will be a lot of profit. This is because the permission for flats was not there when it was purchased so there were no guarantees resi could be added; and a lot of that profit will be from an increase in property values generally over the past 24 months.

The council should make more effort tomaximise the value of sites before selling. If this one had the permission for flats beforehand they would have been able to achieve far more at sale. Or, they could have sold it for less but with a clawback for planning gain - reducing risk for the developer whilst sharing any upside.

Lambeth often sells houses which they have converted into flats without planning permission. Because they have no permission, they risk being enforced back to a house and you cannot secure finance against them, so they sell for much less than the combined value of the flats. If they bothered to get permission - and they should be able to on most - they would be able to sell for considerably more.

 

[Gramsci]

Regarding the Daily Mail article the sentence which stuck out to me was: "My twin brother is schizophrenic and my grandmother killed herself".
My heart melted at that. I guess a true cynic would say I am a victim of the Daily Mail's manipulation of human interest stories. Nevertheless I am fascinated and feel much more positive about this person's enterprise for having seen that. Thank you Gramsci.

Call me a cynic but the interview with her in the Daily Mail comes across as a calculated PR exercise.

 

[CH1]

Call me a cynic but the interview with her in the Daily Mail comes across as a calculated PR exercise.

Could be - but I feel an affinity to people expressing compassion about mental suffering. It just makes me very biased.
I did not mean to imply you were a cynic by the way. I kind of assumed that that bit hadn't hit you between the eyes as it did me.

 

[rio1]

Lambeth often sells houses which they have converted into flats without planning permission. Because they have no permission, they risk being enforced back to a house and you cannot secure finance against them, so they sell for much less than the combined value of the flats. If they bothered to get permission - and they should be able to on most - they would be able to sell for considerably more.

I never really understood why they did this when they, themselves, can grant planning permission. However, most of the auctions they've done recently seem to have gone for relatively full amounts. If the conversions were done over ten years ago I think they have to give planning anyway.

 

[Rushy]

I never really understood why they did this when they, themselves, can grant planning permission. However, most of the auctions they've done recently seem to have gone for relatively full amounts. If the conversions were done over ten years ago I think they have to give planning anyway.

If you can prove the conversion (house into flats) was completed and occupied more than 4yrs ago you can get a certificate of lawful use. This should be much easier for the council because they (should) have all the records to hand to prove the case. Mostly, I think they've been going at a discount but you are right that this has been less lately.

Also, they are usually so badly converted that they need to be ripped back to the bare bones and started again.

 

[leanderman]

Could be - but I feel an affinity to people expressing compassion about mental suffering. It just makes me very biased.
I did not mean to imply you were a cynic by the way. I kind of assumed that that bit hadn't hit you between the eyes as it did me.

Posh people seem especially prone to family tragedies like that. But I am probably basing this conjecture on reading too many novels.

 

[Gramsci]

Could be - but I feel an affinity to people expressing compassion about mental suffering. It just makes me very biased.
I did not mean to imply you were a cynic by the way. I kind of assumed that that bit hadn't hit you between the eyes as it did me.

Mental health issues are in my family background etc.

As for the article I do not like being emotionally manipulated. This article was clearly clever piece of PR. Ever since Stephen Fry did his programme on mental illness ( which was good) Ive noticed coming out as suffering from some kind of mental illness ( anorexia/ Bi polar being the favourite) is seen as good PR move.

This trivialises mental illness imo.

 

[Gramsci]

Posh people seem especially prone to family tragedies like that. But I am probably basing this conjecture on reading too many novels.

Been reading Oliver James "The Selfish Capitalist". He uses research to show that media (TV etc) shows middle classes and wealthy more than the rest of population. This gives people distorted view of how society works in reality.

 

[CH1]

As for the article I do not like being emotionally manipulated. etc

The Daily Mail let me down in this respect in 1997. I nearly died of malaria - which was quite a popular thing to do at the time (Simon Hughes' brother died returning from Kenya with undiagnosed malaria for example).
I had 3 weeks in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases - including some days in intensive care. Relatives sent for etc etc.
On recovery the Daily Mail contacted me to do a story (having been passed on by the hospital). Even took photos of me outside St Matthews in my fetching leather jacket. Unfortunately they never published the rather moving article which they wrote.
I was gutted as I was on the council at the time and it would have been good publicity - free of charge at that.
But I had not conspired to procure it.
As for mental illness - I am supposed to be bipolar, but have always felt alienated. That's why I felt happy in Brixton in the late 1970s I guess. Now I feel alienated because these new so-called yuppies are NOT alienated. Although Thomasina Miers may at least have an appreciation of what alienation and mental illness feels like.