A developer has made an application to Lambeth council to construct almost 300 new homes on Streatham High Road.

The proposals are to transform the land between Streatham Megabowl and Caesar’s nightclub into 286 housing units and a new retail area likely to include shops and restaurants. The current façade of the Megabowl will be preserved, but the rest of the existing buildings will be demolished.

The plans also include a community centre to be built on the site, and if the application is successful, it is likely Lambeth Council will request additional contributions are made towards developing public spaces and utilities.

This is a significant stage in the plans to regenerate Streatham High Road, thought to be the longest high street in Europe. It is important that local people have their views heard on this matter. You can do this by making a comment to Lambeth Council before the 12th January 2009.

The Megabowl redevelopment application and an online comments form can be found here.

To view the application offline, you can see copies of the proposals at Streatham Library or the Town Planning Advice Centre (Phoenix House, 10 Wandsworth Road).

For further information on the Megabowl development from Lambeth Council, you can contact Samantha Wells at swells@lambeth.gov.uk, on 020 7926 1138, or at Lambeth Planning, Phoenix House, 10 Wandsworth Rd, London SW8 2LL.

Carys Afoko

The latest study of the Government’s Sure Start scheme has found that children and their families covered by the scheme are already benefitting from it.

Sure Start was launched in 1999, as an early years intervention to deliver the best start in life for every child, bringing together early education, childcare, health and family services. Streatham constituency has nine Sure Start Children’s centres, mostly attached to primary schools, where children under five and their families can receive support services and information:

• Effra Children’s Centre
• Jubilee Children’s Centre
• Maytree Children’s Centre
• Streatham United Reformed Church Children’s Centre
• Streatham Wells Children’s Centre
• Sunnyhill Children’s Centre
• The Weir Link Children’s Centre
• Tree House Children’s Centre at Holmewood Nursery School
• Woodmansterne Children’s Centre

Birkbeck, University of London’s latest study into the impact of Sure Start was published in Lancet Medical Journal in November, finding the initiative has already had a positive impact on the communities its programmes are being piloted in. The research compared 8,000 children from areas with and without Sure Start centres. Evidence showed that for 5 out of 14 indicators, families with SureStart were benefitting from the centres.

Researchers found that by the time they were 3 years old, children with Sure Start showed better social development, more positive social behaviour and greater independence. Parents of children were also affected by having Sure Start, generally exhibiting less negative parenting and providing a better learning environment at home. Sure Start families are also more likely to be aware of and access support services for child and family development.

This is great news for children in Streatham and nationwide, and evidence that when Sure Start is expanded to cover all communities nationwide, it will have a real impact on narrowing the socio-economic gap between children’s early development.

Chuka is a long time supporter of Sure start and sits on the board of Sunnyhill Children’s Centre:

“We know that the early formative years of a child’s life can determine so much of what comes after. This is why surestart is so very important to ensuring that we give all of our young the very best start in life.

“I have seen for myself in Sunnyhill the very real positive affects the scheme is having in our community.”

The complete study into Sure Start is available in the Lancet Medical Journal.

For more information on Sure Start, visit www.surestart.gov.uk.

Carys Afoko

Local residents Matthew Ryder and Richard Reid have been named as national role models for young black men under the Labour Government’s REACH programme.

Matthew and Richard Reid are 2 of only 20 role models announced this month and specially selected by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

They have been recruited to raise the aspirations and attainment of Black boys and young Black men, who are statistically less likely to do well at school, and more likely to be unemployed and involved in the criminal justice system. Black pupils make up 55% of secondary school students in Lambeth.

REACH was commissioned by the Government to examine how to raise the aspirations and attainment of young Black men in 2006. Made up of the Black community with direct experience of working with young people, it draws members from the police, local authorities, schools and community groups.

In 2007, REACH published a report with 5 recommendations for Government action, the first of which was to improve the visibility of positive Black role models. REACH argued that often images of successful black men were limited to the worlds of sports and music, and proposed a structured role model programme to provide a wider set of images and examples to show that Black men can be, and are, successful in a wide range of fields.

In response, DCLG launched a nationwide search for 20 Black men to be national role models. Over 200 applications were received, from which 50 candidates were shortlisted by a group of young men to be interviewed by the REACH panel.

Ryder and Reid are two South Londoners to have been selected. Matthew Ryder, is a leading criminal law and human rights barrister who went to a state school and won a place to study law at Cambridge and then Colombia Universities. He is a member of the England and New York Bars and lives in Brixton Hill.

Richard Reid is a fire fighter who grew up in Brixton. In addition to his usual duties fighting fires, he facilitates the Fire Service’s Open Days to encourage women and ethnic minority candidates to join the service, and has done a range of voluntary and mentor work in his community. He lives in Herne Hill.

Chuka attended the launch of REACH role models, and welcomed Richard and Matthew’s selection:

“Too often the media portrayal of young men of my background is negative or one which suggests we can only flourish in certain fields. Our REACH programme is about changing that and inspiring our young Black men to achieve in all arenas.

“In Matthew and Richard, REACH could not have chosen two better role models - it is great to see two fantastic local people step up to the plate and help younger generations stand on their shoulders, they are a real example to us all.”

Find our more about REACH here.

Carys Afoko

Chuka appeared on Nick Ferrari’s LBC Radio Breakfast show this morning to discuss government spending and borrowing with the Tax Payers Alliance’s Susie Squire.  You can listen to their exchange here: 10 12 08 - LBC Radio 97.3 - Nick Ferrari.

Chuka also appeared on Dotun Adebayo’s BBC London radio show on Sunday talking about the Communities Department’s REACH role models programme, you can listen again here: 07 12 08 - BBC London 94.9 - Dotun Adebayo.

Chuka paid a visit to the Palace Project last week and was really inspired by the centre and its staff.

The Palace is a community centre and youth group on the Palace Road Estate in Streatham Hill. It offers a range of activities for local residents of all ages, as well as a space for the community to relax and interact. Chuka was given the guided tour by The Palace Project’s manager, Glen Neil and Terry McAteer, a member of the Estate’s Tenants’ and Residents’ Association.

On offer are activities for elderly residents, a mother and baby group, and dance and guitar lessons for the community. But it was The Palace’s youth activities that particularly impressed Chuka. With a recording studio and internet access, up to 50 young people use the centre’s facilities every day. Chuka was full of praise for The Palace’s youth activities, saying ‘It’s a great space for young people
to be creative, active and positive’.

Glen and his colleagues have also been helping to provide a voice to local young people on issues that affect them, through Palace films. After a series of deaths of young people in Lambeth at the hands of guns, the centre helped local kids to make a film to respond to the killings and discourage gun crime in the community. The result, ‘Fast Train to Fool City’ was produced in a week, and features contributions from musicians, artists and over one hundred Lambeth teenagers. Interviewing both victims and perpetrators of gun crime, it has been taken up by Lambeth Police and was distributed to every school in the Borough.

The film is available on youtube in 3 parts, we’ve embedded part one below:

For information on The Palace, visit their website.

Carys Afoko

Streatham Drop-in Centre for Asylum Seekers and Refugees has been awarded a Lottery grant to help it to continue all the hard work it does in the community.

The grant is for £8,781 and is from Awards for All, a Lottery grants scheme for community organisations. The money will go towards providing opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees to integrate and adapt into the community, introducing them to local resources.

The Drop-in Centre was founded in 2002, and provides vital services as well as a safe and welcoming environment for refugee and asylum seekers in the local area. Based at English Martyrs Church Hall, the centre offers English lessons, complementary therapy and access to health advice as well as a crèche, weekend family support group and homework club. It works in partnership with a range of local organisations including Lambeth College and PCT. All services are free of charge.

Chuka congratulates the Drop-in centre on its recent funding award, and the good work it does for local asylum seekers and refugees.

Carys Afoko

Last month saw the launch event of Transition Town Brixton, a grass roots project aimed at engaging our community with the challenges of climate change.

The Transition Town model encourages people to work together in their local communities to find sustainable solutions to rising energy prices and shortages. Transition Town Brixton was established 18 months ago making it the country’s first inner city model of a low carbon community.

Transition Town Brixton held an ‘unleashing’ event, in Lambeth Town Hall, which Chuka was pleased to attend. After hearing from the project’s organisers, attendees split into groups to discuss how improvements can be made to the way in which we use energy locally, alongside reducing waste.

A key focus is encouraging and supporting people who wish to grow their own food, for example residents of six Brixton estates are being assisted in farming vegetables. The organisation is also working with market traders and shops to cut down plastic bag use. It’s think global act local approach has gained widespread support and is generating many innovative local solutions to creating a more sustainable lifestyle. Chuka wholeheartedly supports the initiative, and is looking forward to see what new ideas it generates.

If you would like more information on Transition Town Brixton visit their website. All photos are courtesy of Amelia who attended the Unleashing and wrote a great blog on the event.

Gabriel Huntley

Last week, Chuka paid a visit to Renton Close on Brixton Hill, to see their new community garden.

The project, run by Simon Ghartey encourages children from Renton Close and nearby areas to build and maintain an allotment on the green spaces of the estate. We were given a tour of the garden by Simon and Debbie Etienne, Secretary of the Renton Close Tenants and Residents Association.

The children all aged under 11, work from 3.30pm to 6pm after school each Thursday. They learn to dig and prepare a plot in addition to planting and caring for vegetables like tomatoes and pumpkins. As well as teaching them new skills, the initiative has the benefit of putting the outside space in the estate to functional use, receiving a positive response from local residents.

Although the garden has only been up and running for a few months, it was named the second best community garden in the 2008 Lambeth Estates in Bloom Competition.

Chuka was really impressed by the garden:

“It is not just a question of giving our young people things to do, it is a question of finding them interesting and different things to do - this is a great way of doing that and enabling them to contribute to the environment they live in, in a fun way.”

Carys Afoko