Portas Pilot announce event 7.30pm 23 August at the Horniman

[louisecbrooks]

Following the Portas Pilot funding win for Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill the bid team are holding an event at 7.30pm Thursday 23 August at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in the new Garden Pavilion. The aim of the event is to present details of the winning bid and to outline how the wider community can get involved.

The winning bid comprised three main elements:

Jack and Jill

Two high street shops (one in Sydenham, the other in Forest Hill) will be renovated for creative community engagement via exhibitions, showcasing local products, business workshops, pop up events and use as a Town Team base. They will be used to engender a sense of place and gather details of people's current shopping habits and their ambitions for the High Street.

The Shop Revolution

A high impact project with lasting sustainable benefits, The Shop Revolution will introduce landlords and leaseholders to the concept of 'meanwhile' use – short term leases which keep the unit in use between tenants. Up to 12 vacant units will be refurbished and let to an eclectic mix of businesses and organisations on a pop up or trial basis giving new businesses the chance to test their business skills.

Market Makers

More than a market, this will build on the lessons from Forest Hill Food Fair and the pilot community car boot sale in Girton Road car park to rotate the offer of similar markets between the three areas and encourage greater use of the public and private space.  Existing traders will be encouraged expand onto their shop forecourt whilst the new market spaces will provide the opportunity to test demand for their offering and develop their business plan which may lead to a long term lease as part of The Shop Revolution. 

There are a number of ways in which businesses and residents will be able to get involved including:
·         joining the Town Team
·         opening a market stall
·         testing their business on the high street or promoting it with a pop-up shop
·         hosting a workshop
·         volunteering and learn new skills
·         offering empty shop for ‘meanwhile use’
·         helping to shape the high streets in Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill

The bid team, which includes councillors from both wards, Council officers and those leading the various initiatives, are currently sorting out the basics (such as governance, website and social media). Our first priority will be building a broader Town Team to deliver the pilot. If you would like to get involved or learn more please come along on 23 August. Updates and opportunities afforded by the Portas Pilot will also be discussed at future meetings of the Sydenham, Forest Hill and Perry Vale local assemblies.

A website has been created which is a work in progress at http://www.see3.co.uk. Please check for regular updates on progress. And if you’d like to talk to someone or learn more you can drop us an email at info@see3.co.uk.

[sisterofwookie]

very excited!

[NatashaM]

If anyone is looking for inspiration before the meeting, can I suggest a look at http://emptyshops.wordpress.com/ - it's a very inspiring site.

[louisecbrooks]

Hi All

A few notes on this evening:
- Please come to the main entrance on London Road as the back entrance will be closed.
- There will be standing room only in the Garden Pavilion, although there will be a number of seats for those who need them.
- For those of you that haven't been yet, the new Garden Pavilion is just past the bandstand. There will be someone to direct.
- The presentation will last around 35 minutes.
- If we have a large number of attendees we'll be outside by the bandstand.

As per my previous post, the purpose of the meeting is to tell you all about the winning bid and about how you can get involved.

We look forward to seeing you all this evening.

Louise

[admin]

Louise,

I'm on a train from Birmingham at that time. Can you do a report in the morning to update us please? As an encouragement - I don't have a pic of the pavillion but I do of the Conservatory:

[michael]

Here's a picture of the pavilion:

[Eagle]

Cannot they think of a name that does make you immediately think P P of Jesus infamy

[louisecbrooks]

If you are unable to make this evening's event we will also be covering the same information at the upcoming assemblies for Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill. The next assembly for Sydenham is 8th September.

[leenewham]

Cannot they think of a name that does make you immediately think P P of Jesus infamy

Eh? Where have you been the last few years Eagle?

[G-Man]

Sydenham Community Radio will be at the event this evening and we're very much looking forward to it.

http://www.sydenhamradio.co.uk

Cheers

G-Man

[leenewham]

It was an amazing turnout tonight, well done to Ed, Louise and co.

If only a small percentage of the people who were there tonight help out then it will be a success.

[admin]

Thanks Lee,

Any chance of a quick overview and any decisions or actions?

Admin

[marymck]

HI Admin

I attended the meeting.

There weren't any decisions made, as such. Just the presentations from the various teams involved in the bid.

These presentations will be given again at the Sydenham and Forest Hill Ward Assemblies (8th & 15 Sept, if memory serves ... please someone correct me if I'm wrong!)

As Lee's already said, there was a really good turnout.

Though I believe possibly only one landlord present. (At least only one who admitted to it!)

We had a question and answer session following the presentations. I asked the lady from the Council if Lewisham would be giving any incentives by way of reduced business rates, for new start ups in these shops. The answer was no.

Afterwards, in the sort of mooching and mingling session, I asked her would the Council help by drawing up a list of landlords of empty shops. She said yes, this is already in progress. So that will be really useful, as often it's hard for members of the public to find out who actually owns these empty shops.

They were nice, well thought out presentations. And, btw, the Pavillion is lovely - but sadly only two rows of chairs, so that more people could be squeezed into the space. But that meant that people standing at the back couldn't see.

Chris Best's presentation cleared up one thing I had failed to understand - why it's called see3. It's apparently because of the three areas: Forest Hill, Kirkdale and Sydenham. Which sort of brings me back to my original thought - since when is Kirkdale not part of Sydenham?

[marymck]

Bollards ...

Something I'd really like to propose is that some of the money be spent on bollards - nice cast iron ones - to stop people parking on the pavements. We've got nice wide pavements here in Kirkdale, but they really are in a shocking state of disrepair, caused as a direct result of vans and cars being parked on them. Pavements are for people (and the occasional market stall) not for cars and vans. Then Lewisham can spend some money on nice paving to make them safe, attractive and fit for pedestrian use.

[leenewham]

Hi Mary,
The portS pilot isn't really about urban realm. The paving for kirkdale would use all the funds. I spoke to lewisham a while ago about street furniture. There is a reluctance to buy anything in metal as it 'gets stolen'. The original guys in charge if the improvements wanted bespoke street furniture. The new guys seen to be more along the lines of following current lewisham suppliers and procurement red tape. The portal pilot aka 'see3' is about giving people the tools, advice and help to make the most if their high streets. The name was chosen as 'the sydenham, kirkdale and forest hill portas pilot' was quite a mouthful. The name and branding will evolve and you will probably see a lot of It (it wasn't by us although we were partially involved). It needs volunteers, public input and investment as new businesses. It was great to see so many people there on Thursday.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[marymck]

Thanks for the information Lee. The council's comments do rather remind me of something BBC admin said many years ago ... that we had to have hard toilet paper in the ladies, because if we had soft paper someone would steal it!

We've got lots of beautiful cast iron lampposts that Lewisham are scrapping. I wonder if they could be cut down and adapted to make bollards? I've asked Skanska/Lewisham Council what they're doing with the historic lampposts they're removing, but no answer yet.

I also think there was some council tax money given for street improvements in Kirkdale? Would that be put into this pot? Because then we could have stragically placed planters - one has already been installed outside The Woodman - that would stop people parking.

Kirkdale in particular will never look good if the pavements remain wrecked and unsafe for the elderly. I'll raise this at the Sydenham assembly and see if we can get some support from councillors.

Until you have someone you love striken with walking or balance difficulties you don't really realize how dangerous the effects of parking on pavements can be ... quite apart from the fact that it looks awful!

I'd certainly like to get involved with this aspect of the Town Team.

[leenewham]

I dont' understand what they are doing with the old street lamps either, they can retro fit them with new luminaires. No-one seems to have been told about these lamps before fitting them. I hope they leave the last remaining old lamp in our street.

Definitely get involved Mary. You have the right name!

[louisecbrooks]

Hi All

You can read a review of the event from East London Lines here:
http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2012/0 ... evolution/

And our very own coverage here:
http://www.see3.co.uk/2012/08/launch-ev ... t-success/

If you missed the event we will be making the same presentation at the upcoming Sydenham Assembly, Sept 8th, at the Grove Centre on Jews Walk at 11.30.

Thanks for the positive feedback Lee and Mary. As Mary outlined there were no decisions but an outline of the initiatives in the winning bid and details about how people can get involved.

And just to reiterate that the focus of the Portas Pilot is more about commercial regeneration rather than street furniture. And the funding has been allocated to the initiatives outlined in the bid so there won't be Portas Pilot funding for initiatives outside of it. We do hope however that the community hubs will provide a platform for you to pursue other high street regeneration initiatives so this could well be something you could look to drive Mary.

There are two meetings that took place yesterday which I'd like to let you know about also, and they are:
- A meeting with Melissa Knight from the Sydenham and Forest Hill Youth Forum where we explored how we might involve young people in the various initiatives and pursue mentoring/intern opportunities.
- A meeting with the Sydenham traders about the planned high street improvement works due to start in September. We presented the Portas Pilot bid at the meeting and discussed how it impacts on traders and how they can get involved.

Just so that you know, you can stay up to date on where we are with the Portas Pilot by taking a look at the website: www.see3.co.uk. You can also follow us on:
Twitter https://twitter.com/SEE3PortasPilot
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/WeareSEE3

And you can get in touch by dropping us an email at info@see3.co.uk

[Tim Lund]

In various meetings and threads about this bid I've heard several references to the success of Spacemakersin Brixton Village. And also in this interesting piece from the latest Economist.

The Afro-Caribbean population of Lambeth, the borough where Brixton is located, is estimated to have fallen by 8% since 2001 even as the borough’s overall population has risen by 9%. Interracial mixing explains only part of this: the main reason is black flight. Afro-Caribbeans have dispersed from other parts of central London too, such as Hackney and Hammersmith and Fulham. They move to escape crime, buy bigger houses and get their children into better schools—the familiar reasons people of all races head for suburbia. In the South East outside London, Afro-Caribbean numbers have jumped, albeit from a low base.

In Brixton, escaping has been made easier by a second force: gentrifying newcomers. They are drawn by prices that are low for inner London. Lambeth council has worked to encourage them by sprucing up the area, preventing the conversion of houses into flats to attract middle-class house buyers and transforming an old covered market into a mall with upmarket restaurants and cafés. Since Brixton Village opened last year house prices in the area have risen by 20%, say estate agents.

[Eagle]

Hi Tim
Yes I saw this as well. Not sure how the figures are for SE26 , and whether it is an area of flight or increase.

All hard working citizens are very welcome in Sydenham. I am sure all would agree.