Coin Street News - Coin Street Community Builders

Coin Street News Residents’ newsletter

Issue 1 / November 2017

Opening of the Colombo Community room with local resident and activist Ernie Hearn

You are invited... open spaces including part of the South Bank riverside walkway as well as spaces for businesses at Oxo Tower Wharf and other locations on our site.

We hope you will join us for a fun afternoon of activities at

Coin Street Community Conversation Saturday 25 November, 2-6pm

David Hopkins Director of Community

Welcome to our new residents’

newsletter. The purpose of Coin Street News is to update residents in Waterloo and North Southwark about Coin Street, our activities and future plans. It is part of a wider engagement plan to open more conversations and opportunities for collaboration. We have been active in the area for over 30 years creating co-op homes,

At the neighbourhood centre on Stamford Street is our Ofsted Outstanding family and children’s centre. We look after – and programme activities on – the outdoor sports pitches and a community gym at the Colombo Centre. We work in partnership with dance company Rambert to provide a programme of dance and fitness classes; and run a wide range of free and affordable community programmes across the neighbourhood. If you would like more information, have a comment or you would like to be more involved, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Coin Street neighbourhood centre, 108 Stamford Street, SE1 9NH, Free Activities include: • festive wreath-making, card-making and other crafts • chillout zone with massage and yoga • workshops, talks and discussions • local history and heritage Share your ideas for future activities and get involved. Everyone welcome, just turn up.

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Who are Coin Street Community Builders? We are part of a central London community creating an inspirational neighbourhood. We have been doing that since 1984. We have transformed a largely derelict area into a thriving place for people to live, work and visit by creating co-operative homes, public realm, shops, restaurants and meeting spaces.

improve and maintain our neighbourhood including managing and maintaining Bernie Spain Gardens and the riverside walkway and providing a range of programmes and activities for families, children, young people, adults and older people in Waterloo and North Southwark.

We are a social enterprise. That means income we generate stays in the neighbourhood. It’s used to

We believe in mix and balance, in sustainability and resilience, creating a place where people can flourish.

Coin Street: A potted history

Riverside walkway 1984

Riverside walkway 2017

Action Group campaigners

Walking along the riverside walkway by Oxo Tower Wharf, it’s hard to imagine that 30 years ago the area was bleak, unattractive, had few shops and restaurants, a dying residential community and weak local economy.

plans for a ‘Berlin wall’ of office and hotel buildings proposed for the riverside. The Coin Street Action Group campaigned for an alternative vision for the future: new homes, a park, access to the river, community and leisure facilities.

In the 1970s residents from Waterloo and North Southwark mounted an extraordinary campaign against

In 1984 those who led that campaign set up Coin Street Community Builders, a not for profit organisation,

to buy the derelict 13-acre site and build that alternative vision. Today this stretch of the riverside is one of London’s most visited places. There is a growing residential, working and student population, a strong mixed-use economy, fine architecture, and well-developed community networks.

2018 Hustings #1 – Leaders Debate Who will lead Southwark after the local elections on 3 May 2018? What will their vision be for Southwark? We were pleased to support the first of a series of hustings at the Coin Street neighbourhood centre organised by Bankside Residents’ Forum on 2 Coin Street News

13 November. The audience heard Peter John OBE (Labour), Anood Al Samerai (Liberal Democrat), and Eleanor Margolies (Green Party) debate the issues. The evening was chaired by Amir Eden, chair of Bankside Residents Forum.

Further information from Isaac Rouland on [email protected]

Meet Natalie Bell, our newly appointed Head of Youth and Community Programmes How I got involved I was running a women’s wear shop at Gabriel’s Wharf, which is owned and managed by Coin Street. That was in 1989 when the South Bank was a desolate place. I fell in love with Coin Street’s concept of “there is another way”. I had been made homeless with a one year old daughter and ended up being one of the first tenants of Redwood Housing Co-op at Oxo Tower Wharf.

Now, I am employed as the Head of Youth and Community Programmes, my dream job! Coin Street has built a real sense of community. That doesn’t mean we agree on everything. You cannot please everyone all the time. There is a healthy sense of ownership and community action here. People genuinely care about what’s going on and that’s a strength.

Taking the lead As a single parent, I was frustrated at the lack of family activities and services available locally. I set up FamilyLinks as a volunteer and managed it with local parents running services for local families and young people.

‘People genuinely care about what’s going on’

From 2003-2014 I was the director of SE1 United, a youth forum set up by local young people. This taught me all I know around community organising and youth leadership. In 2002, I became a trustee for Coin Street Community Builders and Coin Street Centre Trust.

What’s important is that there is a will to communicate, understand differing views and to try and pull together as best we can.

Considering other huge issues going on all over London, I think this area is still one of the best. My friends love visiting Waterloo and sometimes it takes me ages to get down the road as I stop to speak to people. It is friendly and there’s lots to do. To find out about community activities and programmes call 020 7021 1600 or visit www.coinstreet.org

New community room at Colombo Centre

Community room opening

Coffee morning chat

The space is home to a wide range of new community activities including our free coffee morning every Thursday (11am-1pm) offering a relaxing environment for a chat, access to computers, advice on local services and activities. Drop by for a chat and meet the team, you’ll be very welcome. Contact Dan on 020 7021 1625 [email protected] for details of other activities.

Training, employment and enterprise If you are seeking training or employment advice or would like to chat about your career options get in touch. We can help with CV writing, interview skills and provide support for starting a business. To book an appointment contact Harjinder on [email protected] or 020 7021 1633. Coin Street News 3

Co-operative housing: securing homes that remain for rent Palm Housing Co-op from Bernie Spain Gardens

Housing is a hot topic across London and the UK and our neighbourhood is no exception. Across the Coin Street site, we have developed four housing co-operatives providing 1027 bed spaces in 220 homes. Like most Londoners and campaigning organisations, we would like to see more affordable homes in the area and we are actively seeking opportunities to secure them. However, since we built our first housing co-operative, completed in 1988, the government’s funding for social housing has changed dramatically.

By the time we developed Iroko Housing Co-op (completed in 2001), Coin Street Community Builders had to cross-subsidise the housing by £3m (borrowed against future commercial income) on top of the £2.7m loan to be repaid from rents. The Confederation of Co-operative Housing confirms that Iroko is the last fully-mutual co-op to be built in London. We believe that the co-operative housing model remains the best way of ensuring that affordable housing remains available for rent in the long-term and is not sold under ‘right to buy’ legislation.

We are currently exploring the viability of including further co-operative housing in our next development at Doon Street, SE1, and seeking other opportunities in Waterloo and North Southwark to create intermediate rent co-op housing.

Iroko Housing Co-op

Economic model: making ends meet while making a difference We are a social enterprise. This means that income we generate from commercial uses across our site stays in the neighbourhood. Income is used to manage and maintain properties across our estate including our housing, a significant stretch of the riverside walkway and 4 Coin Street News

Bernie Spain Gardens. It also funds a wide range of community programmes including those targeted at people in greatest need in Waterloo and North Southwark; and services our bank loans which were needed to purchase the land and fund developments to date.

Income is also used to explore feasibility for future projects. For example, our priority is to create an indoor swimming and leisure centre as part of our Doon Street scheme (adjacent to the National Theatre). We are also working on long term plans for Gabriel’s Wharf as a nursing home and services for older people.

Bernie Spain Gardens: design competition for upgrade launched show signs of wear and tear’. The northern part of the gardens – the area closest to the river - was highlighted as needing attention, part of which was only ever temporarily landscaped. Bernie Spain Gardens northern part

Bernie Spain Gardens, located between Stamford Street and the river, are enjoyed by residents, workers, students and visitors. Named after Bernadette Spain, a local campaigner on health and housing provisions in the 1970s and 80s, and managed and maintained by Coin Street, the gardens have not had a major upgrade since they were created in 1988. An upgrade is required to the infrastructure, such as drainage, irrigation and top soil of this important and well-used and loved local amenity.

Consultation During 2016 we undertook a consultation locally about our aspirations to improve the gardens from the quality of the grass and planting to the relationship of the gardens within the neighbourhood. The views of the immediate neighbours were sought through face-to-face meetings. We then commissioned a research company to carry out a survey of users of the gardens. Over 250 people were involved with 201 surveys completed and over 700 comments gathered.

Outcomes The survey revealed the gardens are highly valued although a significant proportion (42%) of respondents felt that the gardens are ‘beginning to

Design competition Based on our aspirations and the feedback from the consultation process, a design brief for the northern part of the gardens has been created and a landscape architect competition launched.

If you would like further information or to read the consultation report visit www.coinstreet.org/ourdevelopments/bernie-spain-gardens/

The brief is to create outline schemes. As presently laid out, this section of Bernie Spain Gardens is not adequately equipped for its large and ever-increasing number of users. The brief is to create a public open green space of high quality and sustainability, and addressing requirements. It includes requirements to upgrade paths and lawns, integrate irrigation, and create year-round horticultural interest with sensory planting that attracts wildlife. Other requirements are about new CCTV, lighting and seating and new facilities for maintenance staff and gardening training programmes.

Diary date: 15-17 March 2018 There will be opportunities for residents and others to comment on the design proposals at public presentations by the shortlisted landscape architects at the Coin Street neighbourhood centre on the evening of 15 March 2018. The proposals will then be on display at an exhibition on 16 and 17 March where users of the gardens will be able to feedback their views.

Our governance The Coin Street Group comprises three separate organisations with a shared set of objectives. Board members and trustees are volunteers and more than

Gardening sessions

Get gardening The southern part of the gardens is also getting a makeover. We are working with Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) to replant the flower bed on the eastern edge of the gardens. The plants will be chosen to create a bed that has year-round colour with as many scented flowering varieties as possible, and varieties that also attract wildlife. BOST are organising a bulb planting event in December. If you are interested in taking part or get involved in other gardening sessions locally, please get in touch with Laura on 020 7021 1600 [email protected]

half live locally. Their role is to strategically lead the Coin Street Group of organisations to deliver to the objectives. You’ll find more details on our website www.coinstreet.org/who-we-are/about-us/

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Coin Street nursery – giving children the best start in life Located at the heart of the Coin Street family and children’s centre, our 84-place nursery provides childcare and education for children from 3 months to 5 years. Awarded an Ofsted rating of Good, the nursery ensures your child gets the best start in life, with exciting curriculumbased activities planned specifically to enhance learning experiences, while supporting each child’s natural disposition. The nursery is purposedesigned to encourage play-based learning with interactive areas, including an outdoor play area.

Developing parenting skills We offer a range of parenting courses at Coin Street family and children’s centre and in the local area. Our experienced team can advise on parenting courses that benefit you and your children based on need or their age. If you are interested in attending or would like more information contact Hommie or Hayley on 020 7021 1634.

Creche If you are thinking of participating in some sessions but worried about who can look after your baby or toddler, let us help. Our creche provides a safe, friendly and learning environment for your child and peace of mind for you. The creche also helps smooth the transition for both child and parent into nursery. Like our nursery, the creche gives priority to children with additional needs and families in crisis. For more information or to book a place contact Carine 020 7021 1600 or [email protected]

All staff are qualified to at least a Level 3 and we have 2 qualified teachers. Children benefit from our location with regular trips – included in the fees – to Southbank Centre, National Theatre and Borough Market. This winter the nursery is undergoing a makeover to enhance the facilities inside and out.

Women of Bankside Women of Bankside is a project by Bankside Residents' Forum to honour and promote the positive contributions made by women of the past connected to Bankside, women currently making positive contributions and encourage new women to get involved in the community.

For more information or to arrange a visit, please contact Kate on 020 7021 1670, email [email protected]

The project consists of a series of workshops dedicated to different women with an exhibition at the end of the project combining all of content from the workshops – celebrating the 'Women of Bankside' Lil Patrick, life-long North Southwark resident, activist, former deputy chair of Coin Street Community Builders and a ‘woman of bankside’ 6 Coin Street News

Please nominate a woman you believe is doing great work in our community by writing to [email protected]

Family support and community activities Centre. Sessions are only £2 and pay what you can for the massage. Just drop in, no need to book. For more information contact Natalie on [email protected] or 020 7021 1600.

Enterprise and Careers Advice Sessions Mondays 6-8pm, FREE Coin Street neighbourhood centre, SE1 9NH Our weekly sessions give 15-25 year olds the opportunity to drop in and find out how to advance their careers. Get advice on creating CVs, interview prep, how to meet your career goals or start your own business. For more information contact Harjinder on [email protected]

Rambert @ Colombo Sundays, 10.30am-1.15pm, FREE Colombo Centre, SE1 8DP A special opportunity to get free dance sessions for 5-10 year olds plus arts and crafts. Fun and creative dance sessions are a great way to develop spacial awareness, fitness, confidence, independence and musicality. For more information contact Natalie on [email protected] Young Parents Home from Home Tuesdays (term time only) 9.30am-12noon, FREE Coin Street neighbourhood centre, SE1 9NH

Over 50s Arts Club Fridays (fortnightly), 11am-1pm & 2-4pm, FREE Coin Street neighbourhood centre, SE1 9NH Meet new friends and learn new skills as talented art professionals encourage participants to explore portraits, landscapes, surrealism and abstract art.

Build friendships, receive advice and information with parenting skills, take part in craft activities while increasing your confidence and improving your wellbeing. For parents aged 24 and under. Advance booking required, contact Hommie or Hayley on 020 7021 1634. By referral or selfreferral only. Creche available.

Coin Street’s Over 50s Feel Good Saturday Saturdays, 11am-2pm, £2 Colombo Centre, SE1 8DP

LGBT Parents Group Saturdays 16 December, 20 January, 17 February, 17 March, 10am-12noon, FREE Coin Street neighbourhood centre, SE1 9NH

Spin class to your favourite tunes or stretch session for all abilities. Massages, healthy eating, teas and coffees, plus games in our new Community room at the Colombo

Opportunity for lesbian and gay, bisexual and trans parents and their children to meet informally, take part in play activities and listen to guest speakers. Just turn up.

This is just a taste of the community activities we deliver. Visit www.coinstreet.org for the full programme or call 020 7021 1600.

DAZZLE 12 November–7 January, 11am-7pm, FREE gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, SE1 9PH The world famous curated jewellery exhibition returns to London for the 36th year, showing the work of 80 contemporary jewellers, handmade leather bags and scarves and unique wall art.

GABRIEL’S WHARF MAGICAL CHRISTMAS Saturday 2 December, 11am-6pm, FREE Gabriel’s Wharf, SE1 9PP The arty enclave transforms Christmas gift shopping into a stress-free experience with a magical day of festive fun for all the family. Free craft activities 12-3pm; carols from the National Deaf Children’s Society 4pm.

Our gallery spaces at Oxo Tower Wharf have a changing programme of exhibitions and events, visit www.oxotower.co.uk for the current programme Coin Street News 7

Our neighbourhood We work across the Waterloo and North Southwark neighbourhood. Activities take place at Coin Street neighbourhood centre, Colombo Centre (and outdoor sports pitches), at Rambert studios and Blackfriars Settlement. You’ll also see us at other venues and events in the neighbourhood.

Our aim is to make Coin Street News relevant and interesting to readers. If you have any suggestions, please contact Louise King on 020 7021 1680 [email protected]

Get in touch to find out more and to get involved

Blackfriars Settlement

How to get in touch Coin Street neighbourhood centre, 108 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH 020 7021 1600 [email protected] www.coinstreet.org facebook.com/CoinStreet twitter@CoinStreet

Creating an inspirational neighbourhood

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