Brixton Tate Gardens reopening celebrations
- Thread starter gaijingirl
- Start date
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
The "Bixton fountain fella" did have a point.The fountain was originally put in place after one of the riots.The local community were consulted about it.It helps to freshen up the air in the Tate Gardens.
Walked through the Tate "Gardens"(its now mostly paving slabs) and it looked a dead space."Crime" has been designed out to such an extent that its just a space to walk through now.
Walked through the Tate "Gardens"(its now mostly paving slabs) and it looked a dead space."Crime" has been designed out to such an extent that its just a space to walk through now.
DJWrongspeed
radio eros
Gramsci said:
as far as 'crime' goes I just couldn't believe it last night walking down CH Lane, i was offered more drugs than at anytime since living in Brixton. Didn't feel unsafe like just amazing that whatever the police do Brixton is still a massive drugz mart.
Hats off to him for turning up at the (pathetic, I thought) event and deciding on the spot to go into the library, write a leaflet off the top of his head, there and then, and print copies out at considerable personal cost. I think having that kind of passion and the balls and motivation to take action is far more important than whether somebody can spell perfectly or not.editor said:
He's a good bloke. He is going to get a petition together, apparently, and if anyone wants to contact him about this campaign, PM me.
Various nimbies at the event were trotting out the line about hepatits/syringes in the fountain. By that reasoning there should be no public fountains anywhere. It's more likely that Lambeth no longer wanted to pay for the upkeep.
Also, am I right in thinking that planning permission was never obtained to make the alterations?
editor
hiraethified
For sure. So why did you suggest to Gramsci that he should "tidy up his spelling"?IntoStella said:
Anyway, I've got a slightly unusual idea for the square - install fountains based on those in Somerset House. Kids love 'em, they'd be a clean, low maintenance landmark and would liven up the place no end!
In the hope that the real issue here wouldn't be detracted from by people making sneery, irrelevant comments about it.editor said:So why did you suggest to Gramsci that he should "tidy up his spelling"?
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
editor said:
Sound a great idea, but the devil is in the detail...
The similar fountains at More London (next to City Hall) weren't finished properly - ended up with kids cutting their feet.
From bitter experience of trying to help groups who got lottery grants for parks and open space projects, I'd say never promote any water feature as low maintenance. Make sure that there is a committed maintenance budget to keep things safe.
And never underestimate the ability of some antisocial parents/carers to allow their toddlers pee in the fountain, even when you put a new loo a few yards away.
editor
hiraethified
True, but the water at Somerset House constantly drains away so I can't imagine a toddler's pee making that much difference!lang rabbie said:
I'm not actually arguing that we should have something that looks exactly like the one at Somershet House, but it was interesting how they managed to turn what was effectively a car park into a lively area that kids love.
Brixton needs a landmark, and it would be all the better if the kids could have fun with it too...
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
One for people with time to kill
Strangers in the city: the structure and significance of children's fears of urban outsiders [WARNING - contains both psychological jargon
and discussion of Freud's notion of the unheimlich 
]
Has anyone ever posted a link to this before - seems that this psychologist did some of her fieldwork at Brixton Oval in the context of how local kids reacted to the drinkers and drug dealers.
Strangers in the city: the structure and significance of children's fears of urban outsiders [WARNING - contains both psychological jargon
and discussion of Freud's notion of the unheimlich
]Has anyone ever posted a link to this before - seems that this psychologist did some of her fieldwork at Brixton Oval in the context of how local kids reacted to the drinkers and drug dealers.
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
And another thing...
Was his anger just because Henry Tate is a dead white European male?
Or is he one of the people whose history teaching in an ILEA school was distorted by the Schools Council CSE syllabus of the late 1970s/early 1980s with its wildly inaccurate claims of a direct relationship between Henry Tate's wealth and slavery/indentured labour?
Although the whole sugar industry is tainted by the slave trade, Henry Tate came into sugar refining (from grocery) long after the abolition of slavery. The firm of Tate & Lyle was formed in 1921 - almost twenty years after his death, and they didn't move into direct ownership of Jamaican and Trinidadian plantations until even later.
editor said:Here's some pics from today - complete with the "BIXTON FOUNTAIN" fella flicking the vick at Sir Henry Tate's statue:
Was his anger just because Henry Tate is a dead white European male?
Or is he one of the people whose history teaching in an ILEA school was distorted by the Schools Council CSE syllabus of the late 1970s/early 1980s with its wildly inaccurate claims of a direct relationship between Henry Tate's wealth and slavery/indentured labour?
Although the whole sugar industry is tainted by the slave trade, Henry Tate came into sugar refining (from grocery) long after the abolition of slavery. The firm of Tate & Lyle was formed in 1921 - almost twenty years after his death, and they didn't move into direct ownership of Jamaican and Trinidadian plantations until even later.
I do. They have recently put fountains like that in Lyric Square in Hammersmith but they are having a bit of trouble with not soaking shoppers at the moment.editor said:Who's 'sneering'? Not me, that's for sure.
Do you like my Somerset House idea?
My immediate thought was that kids would love it in the summer. And big kids too. Nevertheless the existing fountain, a symbol of rebuilding the community after the riots, should never have been bulldozed and the space should not have been rendered a concrete desert just to appease panicking nimbies who think you'll get HIV if a junkie so much as looks at you.
I live right next to Jurassic Desert, as it now is, and I have never seen either needles in the fountain or people urinating in it. They still do that against the old toilets next door.
dogmatique
merde alors
Jurassic Desert? Wot dat?
Is it next to Neolithic Avenue?
Is it next to Neolithic Avenue?
editor
hiraethified
So, how's this for a proposal?
Reopen the toilets nearby, stick in some Somerset House-stylee fun fountains for the kids (and large kids), open up a freetrade, locally run and independent cafe/bar on the square with al fresco seating, add a small space/stage for local musicians, shove more lights up on the trees to make it look pretty at night and add some tables for playing dominoes/chess for the daytime crew.
How's that?
Reopen the toilets nearby, stick in some Somerset House-stylee fun fountains for the kids (and large kids), open up a freetrade, locally run and independent cafe/bar on the square with al fresco seating, add a small space/stage for local musicians, shove more lights up on the trees to make it look pretty at night and add some tables for playing dominoes/chess for the daytime crew.
How's that?
aurora green
Tectonic
editor said:
It'd get my vote.
It used to be known as Jurassic Park before it got bulldozed and concreted over.dogmatique said:
dogmatique
merde alors
Got you. And obvious from your post if I'd have read it properly. 
Sounds good.editor said:
Re chess, etc tables, how about something like this
The problem is getting the council to put any ongoing spending into it. A flat expanse of concrete is cheap and easy to maintain and doesn't pose any potential risks that might lead to litigation. Councils are increasingly designing out all life from the public realm to save money and their own arses, but there is a growing number of charities, campaigning groups and even government backed agencies who are demanding that the public deserves a lot better. Two of these are CABE Space and GreenSpace, and I intend to write to them about Jurassic Car Park. Also local environment minister Alun Michael.
If indeed planning permission is required and was not sought for the vandalism, sorry, alterations, the council is now going to have a job on its hands if it attempts to apply for it retrospectively.
Besides, if this is the case, it means that Lambeth has done exactly what traveller communities are being castigated for up and down the country.
It's not the first time Lambeth has been in trouble for this sort of behaviour. It got into a lot of trouble a few years ago for bulldozing historic monuments in West Norwood Cemetery.
The problem, as far as I see it, is that no individual is effectively liable.
editor
hiraethified
I reckon a square animated by rising and falling fountains would definitely help make it seem more appealing to kids.lang rabbie said:
And if there's a nice cafe in the square, maybe the parents would want to hang about too.
And once that's sorted, the council could cast their attentions to the moribund, needle-packed Loughborough Park.
juliet blue and the missing fountain
her wallets are one of the most popular things at the fair for sure.
will let her know you gave her a shout-out
she's an argentinean designer based up in hackney...
as for the fountain...well, the "storage" thing does sound baffling. i heard that there were bits of it lying around to be disposed of (not sure if that means the whole thing or just parts of it).
thanks for coming down on saturday. the drizzle stopped most of the art-fair people from coming out from the ritzy which was a shame since things cleared up a bit later. but this was just a start. the band seemed to go down well and the free posters that were there for the taking were popular too. we hope to do more of these type things in the future...
ed
her wallets are one of the most popular things at the fair for sure.
will let her know you gave her a shout-out
she's an argentinean designer based up in hackney...
as for the fountain...well, the "storage" thing does sound baffling. i heard that there were bits of it lying around to be disposed of (not sure if that means the whole thing or just parts of it).
thanks for coming down on saturday. the drizzle stopped most of the art-fair people from coming out from the ritzy which was a shame since things cleared up a bit later. but this was just a start. the band seemed to go down well and the free posters that were there for the taking were popular too. we hope to do more of these type things in the future...
ed
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
ed99 said:
I'm assuming that the stainless steel "sculpture" has been salvaged for reuse but some of the mosaics couldn't be got out in one piece. Which seems slightly bizarre as the mosaics were the most attractive element.
If you feel strongly about it, why not do something about it?
I was involved in the decisions to do the current changes - they're a lot better than what the council wanted to do, and they are aimed at allowing a diverse, active space in the short term and to help with working out how the big development can be in the long run. This can still happen.
And if you think it's wrong, there are lots of possibilities for you to do it right.
Acheivable things to make the space better:
1. Start talking to the council about ideas of what to do - if you go to the friends group meetings you'll have ears at the council, the library and possibly other organisations open to you
2. Get the benches back - the council have got the budget to do it, and assured the friends group they would ASAP - When? Why not this month?
3. Make sure the benches are good ones - stop the council from putting in uncomforatble ones/ones you can't lie down on
4. Find new ways to set up activities and features in the square on an ongoing basis - there are a lot of organisations and people in this area who might benefit from doing something there, and there's possible small sources of cash available outside the council - a display, getting a stall going, doing a reading group, a play, a talk, music, games tables, local food/coffee stand etc
The central square is going to change soon - the design/approach to it will be better if informed by actual activities and experiments going on through this summer. Even the crime prevention team mentioned games tables as being an interesting idea during one of the consultations.
The problem with the public spaces in this country is not people drinking or durg dealing it's that people have got too used to staying in doors - infront of their tvs and computers.
I was involved in the decisions to do the current changes - they're a lot better than what the council wanted to do, and they are aimed at allowing a diverse, active space in the short term and to help with working out how the big development can be in the long run. This can still happen.
And if you think it's wrong, there are lots of possibilities for you to do it right.
Acheivable things to make the space better:
1. Start talking to the council about ideas of what to do - if you go to the friends group meetings you'll have ears at the council, the library and possibly other organisations open to you
2. Get the benches back - the council have got the budget to do it, and assured the friends group they would ASAP - When? Why not this month?
3. Make sure the benches are good ones - stop the council from putting in uncomforatble ones/ones you can't lie down on
4. Find new ways to set up activities and features in the square on an ongoing basis - there are a lot of organisations and people in this area who might benefit from doing something there, and there's possible small sources of cash available outside the council - a display, getting a stall going, doing a reading group, a play, a talk, music, games tables, local food/coffee stand etc
The central square is going to change soon - the design/approach to it will be better if informed by actual activities and experiments going on through this summer. Even the crime prevention team mentioned games tables as being an interesting idea during one of the consultations.
The problem with the public spaces in this country is not people drinking or durg dealing it's that people have got too used to staying in doors - infront of their tvs and computers.
gaijingirl
Well-Known Member
civil said:
What friends meeting? Is this the same as or different to Brixton Forum... and how do you get involved in that too? Anyone know?
It's not the same as the Brixton forum. But what is it?gaijingirl said:
gaijingirl
Well-Known Member
Ah... just looking up Brixton Forum and on the Friends of Brixton website came across this:
http://www.brixtonsociety.org.uk/Friendsgroup/index.html
Which must be it...
what about The Brixton Forum.... I'm still looking but do they have a website that explains what they're all about?
http://www.brixtonsociety.org.uk/Friendsgroup/index.html
Which must be it...
what about The Brixton Forum.... I'm still looking but do they have a website that explains what they're all about?
gaijingirl
Well-Known Member
Must be this:
Thursday
12 May 2005
6:00 to 7:30 pm
The Friends of Brixton Library & Tate Gardens Committee Meeting open to all interested parties. The Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2
Friends of Brixton Library & Tate Gardens
Thursday
12 May 2005
6:00 to 7:30 pm
The Friends of Brixton Library & Tate Gardens Committee Meeting open to all interested parties. The Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2
Friends of Brixton Library & Tate Gardens
