Beaufoy Building sold to Diamond Way Buddhism and Bellway Homes

Lambeth Council announced yesterday that a charity named Diamond Way Buddhism have exchanged contracts (not completed) with The Beaufoy Trust to purchase the Beaufoy Building and the land surrounding it on Black Prince Road.  Interestingly, at the KOV meeting yesterday, Diamond Way implied that they'd only recently been involved in the purchase and weren't involved in the earlier bidding process...  That might be worth digging deeper on.

Lambeth Council also owned the car park surrounding the Beaufoy, and contracts on this have been exchanged with Bellway Homes with plans for a residential development. 

Completion on both pieces of land will take place once planning permission has been obtained for both planned schemes.  The sale of the entire site is said to have generated £9 million, of which £7.5 will be awarded to Lambeth Council and £1.5 million to the Beaufoy Trust.  £200,000 has been earmarked for the local community, and the three ward councillors, with community input, will apparently be making the decisions about what the money should be spent on.

Diamond Way Buddhism plan to use the Beaufoy as a community facility, place of meditation/education (though not as a school) and residential accommodation. Ordinarily, they would run meditation sessions most evenings and sometimes debates.  Diamond plan a non commercial cafe for the building.  They will move in and begin work on the building and plan to open the building for tours as soon as it is safely possible.

At last night's KOV meeting, Diamond Way acknowledged that their centre would bring the total Buddhist centres in the area to three (the others are Jamyang on Renfrew Road and Kagyu Samye Dzong on Manor Place), which will make Kennington and surrounds a potential Buddhist hub.  Diamond are apparently similar to Jamyang, but differ in that Diamond are a lay organisation.  They've about 150 members in the UK, but are more popular abroad.  As soon as the news was announced, I received an email with a link through to here asking whether Diamond Way Buddhism was a cult...  Slightly worrying, but if you're concerned you can read one person's blog on the matter here and I found a somewhat wider debate over here which may not mean anything to people unless they've some idea of how Buddhism operates.

Bellway Homes plan to build 79 flats in the car park area, down from an originally proposed 89.  40% of the Bellway flats will be affordable housing, which entirely meets Lambeth's target.  As per last night's KOV meeting, they're also hoping to invest in a nearby playground.

Take a look at the diagrams from last night's meeting, if you didn't manage to make it there yourself. 

Please note that on the plan below, the grey building referred to as "Lilian Baylis Secondary School" is actually the Beaufoy!

The following are the plans and sketches from the Buddhist centre:

I've had lots of kind emails asking whether I've disappeared, so just to clarify... This is one of an occasional post that I hope to make on Lurking about SE11.  I'm not planning to blog in the same detail that I was before, but neither am I inclined to close the blog.  I've stepped back from Lurking because I feel that part of the reason that I set up the blog (to try and encourage online conversations to move offline) has not been entirely successful.  I plan to remain involved in local organisations and stay in touch with some of the fantastic people I've met, but I think it's vital to spend more time offline than online and to work on the other projects.

Lambeth Council have put the Beaufoy Institute up for sale - anybody want a school?

So, as was widely predicted, Lambeth Council haave instructed an estate agent, Lambert Smith Hampton, to sell off the Beaufoy Institute in Black Prince Road, SE11. Selling off assets is obviously something Lambeth are doing in an attempt to raise funds, but it's a real shame they couldn't find a use for it in conjunction with a private partner. In cash-strapped times, the Council would probably maintain that public interest would not best be served by giving the building away for free, but does stripping North Lambeth of its assets serve local residents well in the long-term?  It rather depends on whom the Beaufoy is sold to, and to what end.

So, if you want to buy a Grade II listed building for, err, an undisclosed amount, you can use it for any D1 purpose - medical/health service, creche/day nursery, art gallery, educational establishment, museum, library (ha ha!), public hall or place of worship.  In 2006, the beaufoy was estimated to need £2 million spent on it to bring it into usable condition.  Any purchaser will also need to contribute to the Council's costs and submit a tender by 8th June 2011.  It looks as though it would be possible for one buyer to purchase the Annexe Extension and another to buy the Beaufoy building itself.

I'm not sure whether there's a covenant on it that would prevent it from being bought and then requesting a change of use, but if my memory serves me correctly, it has to be used for some form of arts/educational purpose.  I wonder if there's a possibility that the extension might be sold first for housing, with the building itself languishing for want of a buyer to inject the necessary capital to turn it into a viable public building.  Time will tell.

Excitingly, it is possible to view the building through the Estate Agent.  I wonder whether they'll accept enquiries from random members of the public.  I've always wanted to look around.  Anybody want to join me? ;-)

Child stabbed outside Manley House in Kennington

I've received reports that at approximately 8:20pm this evening, a male child was stabbed outside Manley House, Black Prince Road in Kennington.  Police were called and and the child was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Lambeth Council pull out of Beaufoy Institute deal, losing £11.4 million central government money

I've been sitting on this story for months now, but have finally got the go ahead from my source to release it. I'm afraid the story rather long and complicated, so I'm going to simplify what I've been sent as much as possible. See the sections in bold for particularly bad behaviour on the part of Lambeth Council.

Background:

Since 2000, the Beaufoy Institute building on Black Prince Road has been empty, despite a succession of proposals for use that have come to nothing.

Timeline:
2005 - Lambeth Council invited local groups to submit proposals for the Beaufoy Institute. Lady Margaret Hall Settlement (LMHS) and Riverside Community Development Trust (RCDT) put forward a proposal for an artisan-based vocational school to train local young people, which was rejected by the Council.

2006 - LMHS made contact with the Young Foundation who were developing the concept of studio schools across the UK and together put forward the idea of such a school at the Beaufoy Institute. The Settlement also made contact with the Prince of Wales’s private office and initial discussions were held about the concept.

2007 - LMHS then made contact with the De Morgan foundation and added the possible connection of an Arts and Crafts Museum to the Artisan School. De Morgan were introduced to Lambeth Council Regeneration Department and proceeded to negotiate a possible occupation of the Beaufoy with them. The Council Regeneration department refused to engage with the concept of the school and ideas based on an arts community.

Late 2008 - Lord Adonis, the Minister responsible for academies, approached Prince Charles seeking Royal sponsorship for an Academy. The Prince expressed interest in the Studio Schools concept and in the Beaufoy Artisan School. In December a meeting was held on site between the Prince’s Charities, The Young Foundation, LMHS, RCDT and De Morgan and it was agreed to work together to take the concept forward. It was also agreed to seek the participation of Lambeth Council. A steering committee was formed.

2009 - The Young Foundation had for some time been in negotiation with Department for Children School and Families about a national programme for studio schools, with 7 other local authorities already on board and were preparing their submission to the government. It was necessary therefore to move quickly to fit the Artisan School within the time frame. Lambeth produced a first draft which met no one’s objectives and after long discussions a new draft was agreed and submitted. Negotiations on the final draft submission were left largely between the Young Foundation and Lambeth Council. The steering committee continued to meet and two sticking points were identified: the methodology of work placement and the timetable. The Steering Committee rejected the Council’s proposed timetable.

Lambeth Council then proposed that the Studio School became a specialist in hospitality skills which the community groups found not to be an acceptable alternative to artisanship. Work continued between the Young Foundation and Lambeth Council and the difficulties were apparently cleared. The Young Foundation shared their views and experience of these negotiations with LMHS, but Lambeth Council continued to refuse to engage. (The community groups only received Lambeth’s first draft submission 10 weeks after it went to government and only after repeated demands from Sir Hayden Philips, the Steering Committee chair.) It was at this time it became clear that De Morgan had no realistic strategy for raising the money to convert the old building. De Morgan left the Steering group and the views of the government were sought on whether they would agree to the incorporation of the Institute buildings into the school instead of a new building on the site. This was accepted and a new scheme drawn up.

Lambeth Council and the Young Foundation (now called the Studio Schools Trust) continued to work on the final submission. In July 2009 the Prince’s Charities chaired the last steering group in anticipation of the final submission going to government almost immediately, to keep the Artisan School within the programme going forward for ministerial approval. At that last meeting John Wotherspoon (representing Lambeth Council), at the insistence of Sir Hayden Philips (Steering Committee Chair) agreed to send LMHS a copy of the Council proposals. In September 2009 LMHS were approached by the Young Foundation/Studio School Trust to help then get responses to key questions from Lambeth Council. However LMHS received no response and to date have still not received the promised copy of the Council’s proposals. LMHS had previously met with Cllr McGlone and received assurances that everything was going ahead. Shortly afterwards LMHS and Cllr McGlone met with Kate Hoey MP to express concern at the Council’s sudden failure to engage with the proposal.

LMHS heard from a private source that Lambeth Council had sought a meeting with the Department for Children, Family and Schools to propose that the monies be reallocated for a new Lambeth proposal which they were preparing. This was refused and Lambeth then informed the Ministry they were withdrawing from the Studio Schools’ Project which the Minister had been due to sign in two days time. At this point Lambeth Council resumed contact with the Young Foundation to advise them of their decision. LMHS / RCDT were not informed and apparently nor was Cllr McGlone. At this point LMHS / RCDT attempted to meet the leader of the Council, the Chair of Education and the Chief Executive to seek an explanation for the withdrawal, and to see if a way ahead could be found. Local councillors were asked to intervene. Only Cllr Stephen Morgan replied.

January 2010 - LMHS / RCDT met with the Young Foundation (Studio Schools Trust) to verify the timeline and reasons for Lambeth Council withdrawal from the Artisan School. It was agreed that the local friends of the Beaufoy group would now take the lead in pursuing a campaign to get an Artisan School on the site. The Studio Schools Trust agreed to continue working with this group.

February 2010 - the local groups met again with the Studio Schools Trust who confirmed that Lambeth Council had lost the £11.4 million from government. There continues to be no direct contact with Lambeth Council.

---

Issues regarding LBC’s claims as to why the Studio Schools proposal was unsuccessful:

* Lambeth Council claim the loss of the Museum in the project meant that the Prince’s Charities withdrew. This is not true. The Prince’s Charities agreed to host the steering committee until Lambeth Council assured us the process was almost complete.

* Lambeth Council claim that the Department for Children, Families and Schools did not agree to proceed with a solvent tenant for the old building. In fact DCFS agreed to house part of the school in the old building and Lambeth architects drew such as scheme.

* Lambeth Council claim that the DCFS did not accept the basic tenets of the Studio Schools Trust and Lambeth could not then proceed. In fact two days after Lambeth’s withdrawal, the Minister approved the other seven schools and supported the concept in a key note speech. (The DCFS website initially included Lambeth in the announcement.)

* Lambeth say the Studio Schools Trust withdrew – this is also not correct. Right up to a few days before ministerial approval the Trust was still trying to get answers from Lambeth Council. The Department response was to not answer emails, telephone calls or letters.

* Lambeth Council say they had strong educational/philosophical differences with the Studio School model, in particular citing differences on curriculum and work placement. The Studio Schools proposals were "not suitable for Lambeth Young people". At no point did the department explain to the steering committee what made the work placement impossible for Lambeth Youth but clearly acceptable to those of seven other Councils. Beyond a verbal request from John Wotherspoon on timetabling no substantive differences were ever expressed or presented.

Black Prince pub and a visit to the Cinema Museum

I had a spiffingly SE11-esque day on Sunday...

First, we went to lunch at the Black Prince pub (6 Black Prince Road). I heard that it had been refurbished back in December, and the effort appears to have paid off. The interior is lovely, all dark wood, with two fires at either end of the pub. Service was impeccable and all of the bar staff were really friendly. There appears to be a variety of beers on tap. Food was mid-range (think prices similar to The Bear, Camberwell), but good. We ordered two roast dinners (I strongly recommend the cheese/quince tart veggie option), and our only foodie complaint is that the veg. were rather al dente. However, I'm aware that that's something of a fashion statement at the moment so I'm inclined to charitably assume that they weren't just undercooked. I noticed a number of nice touches eg. pie evening on Tuesdays at more than reasonable prices. Mmmm. Pie. I love pie. We will definitely be back for pie night.

Anyhow, the Black Prince is a really lovely pub (I have no connection), and it's definitely cheaper and quieter that The White Hart, and has none of the "ick" of the Dog House. My one issue with the whole experience is actually my fault. The pub markets itself (even on the outside) as a "live sports" venue, which I failed to notice. But even with that knowledge, I feel that there's a slight clash of aims. In order to satisfy both the patrons who are eating, and those who are there for the sport, the TVs show the football without volume and pleasant classical music plays in the background (somewhat frustrating for fans, you might think). Even with that huge concession, it felt a little bit uncomfortable to be surrounded by cheering football fans when trying to eat a roast dinner! My advice to diners is to try and sit in the cove at the other end of the pub, away from the screens. I couldn't quite decide whether the pub was aiming for the monied gay folk of SE11 or trying to be a kind of "local" for football fans (not that these two groups need be different, mind). I'm not convinced that it manage to pull off either as well as it should, but I will definitely be back, and I recommend it to readers!

The second part of the afternoon was spent visiting The Cinema Museum in Duggard Way. I'd never been before, and wanted to go and check it out, especially as it's currently in danger. It appears the site has been bought by a property developer, who will probably eventually want to turn it into flats. On the one hand, I have some sympathy for their plight, but on the other hand, the museum does come over as a kind of private collection for a select few individuals. It's rarely open to the public, but since they were holding a fund raiser at the weekend, it seemed worth popping in. I'm glad I did. The building that houses the collection is the administration wing of the old Lambeth Workhouse, and it's an exquisite building. I've taken a few photos so you can see what I mean (apologies for quality, but they were taken on my mobile phone camera as I forgot the other one).

The upstairs room is wonderfully light because of large windows on all 3 sides:



The Chaplin figure fits the space perfectly:



Some of the museum memorabilia:





Posters for sale:




This item particularly caught my eye.  Although it was taken on the Old Kent Road, it captured a particular era in London when small (though dangerous) cinemas could be opened up in shop fronts.  Made me feel quite nostalgic for a time I never knew...

There are better photos on The Cinema museum's website here and here.

According to their website, the Cinema Museum are looking to move once again (and indeed open the collection to the public) and are considering venues...

8 Albert Embankment - Initial exhibition / consultation

First up from today (well, yesterday now, but it's much too hot for bed!) was the 8 Albert Embankment exhibition for the proposed development to replace some of the London Fire Brigade buildings on and around the Albert Embankment (technically in SE1, but rather near the boundary). It's worth noting that there are three sites that the developers seek to build upon. New readers should check out this post for a list of all of the major building proposals that affect SE11 and the wider area.

I telephoned the developers before this initial consultation in order to find out what the plans might look like, but the developers (Native Land) technically need to offer an initial consultation/exhitibion in order to demonstrate that they have spoken to the local community, and responded to feedback, so there were no plans on display today (no doubt they've been drawn up somewhere!). There were lots of pretty pictures, which I've photographed in case you couldn't attend the consultation.

The London Fire brigade buildings are currently a mixed bag. It's fairly clear that at least one of them is such a grotty 1970s monstrosity that it could do with being replaced with something that would (hopefully) reveal the Royal Doulton Building in its fully glory. In case you forgot how beautiful it is, here's a quick glimpse:

My general concern, as always, is that the potential buildings will be too tall (and I got the general inkling that the proposed buildings would be at least as tall as Salamanca, but that was only froma brief conversation). The developers have to build high in order to maximise profit. You might remember (if you attended the 81 Black Prince Road consultation) how the the proposed building was so tall when viewed from the south of Black Prince Road, that it dwarfed the low and medium rise residences in the rest of Black Prince and Kennington. It's worth noting that the recently released draft Core Policy for the Local Development Framework (for Vauxhall), p63 states that 'Along the river, Lambeth are anxious to avoid creating a wall effect, blocking out the Thames and want sufficient gaps between buildings.' Consequently, building too high risks a rejection on the basis that the building affects the World Heritage area and surrounding listed buildings (remember that Lambeth Council refused 81 Black Prince Road on such grounds, and we're still awaiting the outcome). However, we'll have to wait until the secondary consultation for architect's plans.

What was interesting about the exhbibition is that it was fairly well attended. Whilst I was there, there were about 10 or so other parties coming and going.

In the meantime, some photos from today (I've not included all of them, but the important images are here! Click any photo to enlarge):

This photo shows all three sites that would be developed:






I beleive that this diagram shows properly just how large the proposed development would be. It's going to be very large:


It's quite interesting that London Fire Brigade will retain part of the site:


It all looks rather unexceptional, but then, I doubt that they'll show us the 25 storey building until the secondary consultation/exhibition:




I think Native Land will have to make a greater contribution to local transport (how about a new bus route along Black Prince Road?) because it's not really enough just to state that the area is well connected. Some existing residents are likely to raise parking issues as a concern:


If you missed the exhbition today, you can still give feedback. Note the address on the following photo:


I will (as usual) keep you all updated as more information becomes available on this site.

Possible stabbing in Black Prince Road and questions about networking

Very occasionally, I wonder whether there's some form of news blackout that operates within the SE11 area. It's very difficult to find out certain pieces of information that it might be within the public interest to have made public.

A commentator yesterday remarked "I heard that there was a stabbing on black prince road on Friday 22nd May...any news?". My feeling is that this is probably not the case and nothing happened. Stabbings tend to generate a lot of hits here, with people searching for information. But the rumour of a stabbing must be grounded in something, most probably some sort of disturbance. It would be useful if there was a Lambeth police feed in which information was shared to alert residents to be on guard or remain watchful if anything was particularly amiss.

I understand that the issue of dangerous dogs was raised at Tuesday's hustings, dogs apparently being the "preferred" weapon of choice for those engaged in anti-social behaviour. However, I've not seen news reported anywhere on fights with dogs between youths. I heard that there have been a rise in burglaries on one local estate, but once again, no news.

My feeling is that the SE11 community is still not sufficiently networked. We have many civic organistions for linking people together, but many of them have significant overlap in committed members, and sporadic communication with those people who are not online. There's a low level of computer use/technological know how in both poorer and older communities locally (I saw a map of this that I might do a blog post about). The question is, how is this best overcome? I'm pleased with the contribution to this blog from regular commentators and anonymous lurkers, but my feeling is that there is still more local knowledge and resources to be shared.

In the meantime, don't forget the LGBT / gay hustings, which is on tonight at 7.30pm at the John Bull Community Centre. If you didn't make it to the last set of general hustings, I'm sure you'd be welcome to show up here, even if you've not got specifically LGBT questions to ask.

Fog - Coffee morning - nasty tall building

Everything seems rather quiet at the moment in SE11. A long, dark fog descended last night making views towards the river disappear. The Tesco in Vauxhall / Kennington still appears to contain a large amount of unbought Christmas food. Quite a number of formerly occupied shops in Kennington Road are sadly empty. The dark evenings have prevented me from taking interesting photographs of the area, which was part of the intention for this blog. When I get home in the evening, it's already dark! Bring on the summer...

Oh yes, and looming large and long on the horizon is a nasty planning application for a building on 81 Black Prince Road. Now I really am not opposed to new developments. I'm actively in favour of new houses, flats, commercial property when built in an appropriate style. What I really dislike though is huge buildings, of no particular merit that do not fit the surrounds, which in all respects describes the proposed development on Black Prince Road. Quite why anybody thinks a 23 storey building appropriate for that location is a mystery to me. If you want to see the planning application, click here. I do have a vested interest, in that I might lose some views from where I currently as a result of the building (I could just move!), but I'm not too keen on the new 43 storey Strata building in Elephant and Castle either. I just do not like very tall buildings in locations other than Canary Wharf. Anyhow, if you might be affected by 81 Black Prince Road, and want to object, you can do so online using the link above.

I'm going to try and attend the Prince's Ward Councillors coffee morning on 17th January in case there are some interesting SE11 people or issues to discuss, and I'll report back on Prince's Ward news. I think it's quite novel, trying to meet people In Real Life (IRL), rather than doing an internet thing. But then people are always reminding me that not everybody that needs to access a councillor either owns a computer or would be capable of using one.