Brixton Cycles closure update...

[gaijingirl]

Just got this email (with lots of attachments which I haven't included here but can if anyone is interested in further detail) - it seems that Brixton cycles isn't the only shop targeted as part of the "sell off of community shops":

My apologies for not getting back to you all sooner, but I was way for 2 weeks in June. Also apologise for attachments but this will give you a feel for the wider campaign Lambeth Labour Group is running around the sell off of community shops, of which Brixton Cycles could be one.

The issue will be high profile at the week's Council Meeting, Wednesday, 6th July a the Town Hall commencing 7pm. There will be a protest outside the Town Hall from 6.30pm against the 'sell-off'. Then there will be a Deputation to full Council by the Streatham shop owners. Third, their is my 'Question to Council' to Councillor Keith Fitchett, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Housing, specifically on Brixton Cycles. Forth, Labour Group have but forward Motion 7 on this issue as well. Please see if you can get involved in the protest and attend the Council to hear the deputation and answer from Cllr Fitchett.

First attachment - response from Stewart Holton, Executive Director for Housing. Basically saying Brixton Cycles is not negotiating. I need an update in this.

Second attachment - copy of the direct mail regarding the 'Save our Shops'
campaign, focused on the Streatham. We are running a campaign in Brixton and Streatham Hill Branch against the proposed sale of shop leases which could result in new landlords forcing up rents and putting the shops out of business. This would be extremely damaging to the local community. The campaign has the strong support of the affected businesses. I understand that similar sell-offs are proposed in W. Norwood, Clapham Town and Ferndale. You can ask the Council for a copy of the full portfolio if you haven't seen it yet. We also have a poster that reads: "SAVE OUR SHOPS - Stop the Lib Dem sell-off". You might consider adapting the letter for Brixton Cycles, and you are welcome to reproduce the poster - just ask Gavin Edwards (Labour Group Office) for a copy. We would appreciate if you could tell us who we could target this letter at to generate support for Brixton Cycles.
Third attachment - Copy of a Question to Full Council from myself to Councillor Keith Fitchett, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Housing.
Forth attachment - copy of an email from David Thompson, Interim Assistant Director, Housing Strategy and Partnerships who is the main contact in Housing on the issue - and the assurance that "no further action will be taken to alter the present arrangement with Brixton cycles".

If you need any further information on the this week's Council Meeting (Wednesday, 6th July a the Town Hall) could you please contact Gavin Edwards, Head of Labour Group Office on 020 7926 1167. We will need to take a view after the Council meeting about how best to ensure Brixton Cycle's future.
From: Paul McGlone
Labour Councillor, Ferndale Ward

 

[gaijingirl]

Bump.. cos the protest is tonight if anyone can spare a coupla hours....

 

[Brixton Hatter]

Cheers GG. I got this email too, as did everyone else (hopefully!) who emailed the councillors a month or so back. There does seem to be a wider concern about the selling off of leases on shops in the borough......but it does appear from the email that the Labour group are trying to turn this into a political game - "Stop the Lib Dem sell off" posters and the like. Haven't fully engaged in all the material yet either, but will post here if I come across anything useful.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

Quick summary: Brixton Cycles have been hit with a request for a 250% increase in their annual rent. According to Lambeth Housing Services (the landlord in this case) Brixton Cycles signed a fifteen-year lease 2001-2016, which allowed sub-market rents to be set until 31 March 2005. This was to allow a valuable local business to grow and develop. From the 31 March 2005 rent review the lease allows a full market rent to be set for the business. The Council’s commercial property agents have therefore put a full market rent increase figure to Brixton Cycles and invited them to discuss the same. According to the Council, BC have not yet opened negotiations.


It seems to me that this is not an irretrievable situation. The Council’s commercial property agents have for obvious reasons set the rent at the highest it could possibly be (well they would, wouldn't they?!!) - clearly the solution is to negotiate something sensible in the middle. (Unless the council have already decided they want to sell the site...)

 

[Gramsci]

Cheers GG. I got this email too, as did everyone else (hopefully!) who emailed the councillors a month or so back. There does seem to be a wider concern about the selling off of leases on shops in the borough......but it does appear from the email that the Labour group are trying to turn this into a political game - "Stop the Lib Dem sell off" posters and the like. Haven't fully engaged in all the material yet either, but will post here if I come across anything useful.

Though I notice the draft letter re Streatham does contain the name of a well known campaigner in the area.So this isnt just a Labour party game.

 

[cllr]

Quick summary: Brixton Cycles have been hit with a request for a 250% increase in their annual rent. According to Lambeth Housing Services (the landlord in this case) Brixton Cycles signed a fifteen-year lease 2001-2016, which allowed sub-market rents to be set until 31 March 2005. This was to allow a valuable local business to grow and develop. From the 31 March 2005 rent review the lease allows a full market rent to be set for the business. The Council’s commercial property agents have therefore put a full market rent increase figure to Brixton Cycles and invited them to discuss the same. According to the Council, BC have not yet opened negotiations.


It seems to me that this is not an irretrievable situation. The Council’s commercial property agents have for obvious reasons set the rent at the highest it could possibly be (well they would, wouldn't they?!!) - clearly the solution is to negotiate something sensible in the middle. (Unless the council have already decided they want to sell the site...)

An excellent summary of the situation. The council has no intention to sell other than as part of the stock transfer discussions taking place.

 

[jayeola]

Um, so what can one do about protesting? I'm not politically active at all. It's just that I'd like to see a few more shops like Brixton cyles in the local area...

 

[Gramsci]

It can be to time consuming to protest all the time.Still the odd email to Councillors can help-as it has with Brixton Cycles due to U75.

The local shop issue has been taken up by the "New Economics" think tank with their report on "Clone towns"-that is shopping areas which lose all their independant shops to large chains like Tescos:

http://www.neweconomics.org

 

[lang rabbie]

I think that the waves of water flowing down Stockwell Road and Brixton road come from the mighty ocean liner that is Lambeth's housing department suddenly lurching into a change of course.

The Labour party is now claiming that there is a "U-Turn" on the Streatham shops sale.

We'll have to await tonight's council meeting, but I suspect that in both cases, the issue will be kicked into touch until the stock transfers on the relevant estates have gone through.

Brixton Cycles will probably end up with whichever housing association is taking over Stockwell Park as their landlord. The Streatham Hill shops may go to a HA if Leigham Court estate votes to transfer. (which IMHO would make a lot of sense at a practical level as Lambeth Housing just doesn't have the skills to manage repairs on Victorian buildings of that sort in the way that Peabody or some other HAs do.)

I doubt if they will find negotiating with a Housing Association any easier than Lambeth's Estates Department when it comes to agreeing rent reviews for their shops.

One immediate consequence is that the Borough's "Housing Opportunities Fund" is presumably now short of a six figure sum budgeted for from the various shop disposals. Because the "Housing Revenue Account" is ringfenced, that means that new estate playgrounds, estate security measures, and more general environmental improvements - none of which are eligible for Government grants towards the "decent homes standard" - will be delayed.

 

[pooka]

An excellent summary of the situation. The council has no intention to sell other than as part of the stock transfer discussions taking place.

Has there not been a more recent suggestion that the Cycle shop will not now be included in the stock transfer? This is in the penultimate para of Cllr McGlone's question this evening.

Brixton Cycles has been told by Lambeth Council that it is....seeking to take the shop as an asset away from the proposed Stockwell Park Estate Stock Transfer, when the asset has been part of the planned transfer and business planning all along;

 

[gaijingirl]

One immediate consequence is that the Borough's "Housing Opportunities Fund" is presumably now short of a six figure sum budgeted for from the various shop disposals. Because the "Housing Revenue Account" is ringfenced, that means that new estate playgrounds, estate security measures, and more general environmental improvements - none of which are eligible for Government grants towards the "decent homes standard" - will be delayed.

Certainly they seem to be seeking high and low... I had two representatives around last night from the council (on the Tulse Hill Estate), asking me my views on the land for garages (beside the TH entrance to Brockwell Park) being sold off for housing.

According to the guy, the land would definitely be re-developed as social housing and half the money from any sale would be ploughed back into the TH estate... (he wanted to know how I would like to see that money spent and if I felt that having new housing there was a good/bad thing).

 

[cllr]

Has there not been a more recent suggestion that the Cycle shop will not now be included in the stock transfer? This is in the penultimate para of Cllr McGlone's question this evening.

The council can't force anyone to purchase. But they are the only people the council is considering as possible purchasers. None of this has any impact on the question of the current rent review.