{"id":447,"date":"2020-07-21T19:11:25","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T18:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brixtonneighbourhoodforum.org\/?p=447"},"modified":"2020-07-21T19:11:25","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T18:11:25","slug":"july-august-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brixtonneighbourhoodforum.org\/?p=447","title":{"rendered":"July\/august 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Forum Focus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meeting and Networking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There will not be a Forum Meeting on 23 July as originally planned – apart from theongoing restrictions, Age UK Lambeth are currently using the Vida Walsh Centre as a hub for their own activities, and external hires are suspended in the meantime.

So, what do you feel about some on-line meetings or webinars? Or have you had too many of them recently in the rest of your life?\u00a0 The Norwood Forum have had two useful\u00a0Community Conversations\u00a0on-line, so this approach can work in picking up local issues and finding solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next couple of weeks, the Forum’s elected officers are trying to draft a budget to ensure continued funding and activities into 2021, so if you have a bright idea, now is the time to share it with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community Showcase, Saturday 26 Septemb<\/strong>er<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With restrictions gradually being relaxed, we plan to go ahead with our event on\u00a0Windrush Square,\u00a0despite a delay of 3 months.\u00a0 To remind you, the aim is to offer local organisations a pitch to show off what they do, or raise funds, or make new contacts.\u00a0 Social distancing has not gone away, so the number of pitches is limited.\u00a0 If you want to reserve a spot, please e-mail promptly to the Forum Secretary,\u00a0apiperbrix@aol.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More details of arrangements will be circulated to all of you soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving around Brixton<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Town Centre Traffic Trouble<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In case you have been avoiding Brixton Town Centre lately, life has been complicated by the closure of Atlantic Road between Brixton Road and Coldharbour Lane.  This is likely to continue until January, to enable Network Rail to rebuild the railway platform above, which has already been propped up with scaffolding for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, bus 322 has been diverted.\u00a0 Southbound buses now leave Brixton Road via Gresham Road, Moorland Road, Loughborough Park and Somerleyton Road, to rejoin Atlantic Road at the Coldharbour Lane crossroads.\u00a0 Similarly, northbound buses will turn right from Atlantic Road into Coldharbour Lane, incidentally providing some overlap with the P5 bus route. For the time being, single-decker buses are limited to a maximum of 11 to 14 passengers, depending on the bus type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brixton Playground – or just playing with traffic?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Brixton Business Improvement District last week launched a “vision document”, Brixton Playground<\/a>, proposing to pedestrianise most streets in the Town Centre.\u00a0 It came with some glossy pictures showing the design concept applied to Atlantic and Brixton Station Roads, and the western arm of Coldharbour Lane.\u00a0 Clearly closing off Coldharbour Lane would interfere with the P5 bus route, but even for Atlantic Road the fancy planters would prevent delivery vehicles serving the shops and arcades.\u00a0 We know from previous work done on the Atlantic Road scheme that servicing the shops and markets is fundamental to keeping Brixton’s heart beating.\u00a0 There may be ways of timetabling access so that cafes can expand into the roads at certain times, but permanent obstructions in the roadway are unworkable.\u00a0 Time to go back to the drawing board?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ferndale and Railton Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Traffic restrictions around\u00a0Railton Road\u00a0have been in place for about a month now, and penalties are about to come into effect for infringements. In addition to the official Commonplace website (see below), Railton area residents have launched their own survey to pick up local concerns. For example,\u00a0<\/em>residents in the northern half of Shakespeare Road were left out of the original consultation, so they are feeling aggrieved at their reduced access to the south. The survey link is https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.co.uk\/r\/H2PKG7<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the\u00a0Ferndale\u00a0low traffic neighbourhood is also coming into effect, covering the side streets between Acre Lane and Landor Road to the north.\u00a0 There are obstructions to motor traffic at 6 points, though cyclists, buses and emergency vehicles are exempt. With schemes like this, the devil is in the detail, so please feed in comments – and tell us too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present measures are temporary, and formal consultation will be needed to make them permanent.\u00a0 More information at\u00a0 https:\/\/fdstreets.commonplace.is\/<\/a>\u00a0or enquiries to\u00a0lowtrafficneighbourhoods@lambeth.gov.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding, Training and Support<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Support from Integrate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Have you signed up to receive regular e-mail bulletins from the Integrate Agency<\/a><\/strong>?\u00a0 The situation with grant funding is very fluid, with some grant offers only being open for very limited times.\u00a0 Our impression is that major funders are trying to give priority to keeping existing organisations afloat, and helping them adapt their services to the “new normal”.\u00a0\u00a0

Integrate are also offering a number of Zoom-based training sessions and workshops, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n