August 2016 - Your Here and Now

REGENERATION UPDATE AND NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS
HERE
NOW
Portobello Square street
fete celebrates community
connections
www.yourhereandnow.co.uk
AUGUST 2016
Latest regeneration news
Residents’ Steering
Group News
Portobello Square in print
Regeneration Update
WELCOME
Welcome to the Summer
edition of Here & Now.
With the summer sun finally making its longawaited appearance we review the trio of recent
events that had been hotly anticipated to mark
the creation of a new street, Bonchurch Road.
The first, the Bonchurch Road street fete, was
a huge success, with residents joining in the
festivities, which included a variety of live
performers including Tip Top Dance School.
The Re/making the Street exhibition, which
investigated what makes a city street a great
place had a successful run at the Building Centre.
Lastly the coffee table book Patterns & People:
An evolving London neighbourhood, which explored
the history of the local area and the first phase
of the regeneration was published. Read more
about all these events on pages 3 to 6.
Our Spotlight on pages 11 and 12 focuses
on Esther, the main tutor of the long-running
North Kensington Women’s Textile Group,
which teaches local women new skills.
In our Lifestyle section we review the new
authentic pizzeria, La Pia, which recently
opened on Ladbroke Grove and promises
to deliver “the real taste of Italy”.
As well as the regular regeneration and
neighbourhood news, we feature upcoming
events, including a Glissando supper
barbeque in September.
PHASE 1 AND 2
LATEST NEWS
02
Regeneration
Update
10
Your
Neighbourhood
11
Spotlight
on Esther
14
Lifestyle
Best wishes
From the team at Catalyst and our partner
Phase 1
BikeLock Planters
•The construction of the new homes
in Hardy Mansions are at an advanced
stage and we anticipate that these
homes will be ready for occupation
before the end of the year, (we will
confirm move dates nearer the time).
The second batch of new,
branded BikeLock planters
has been installed near
Paul House and Norman
Butler House. Branded
‘Padlock & Chain’ and
‘Pedal & Power’, these
sturdy planters have a
dual benefit, as well as
providing security for
bicycles they are also
an attractive feature
when filled with plants
and flowers.
•Building work to the roads and
pavements (including new street
furniture) will continue over the
next few months as the Council
and Ardmore Construction Ltd seek
to ensure that these works are
constructed to adoptable standards.
•All drainage and associated works for
Phase 1 have now been completed.
•In the next few months the hoarding
around the current park area will
be dismantled, in order to create
additional open space and provide for
an easier flow of construction traffic.
Phase 2
•We have appointed a new
contractor, Erith, to demolish the
buildings that will create the site for
the new homes which will be known
as Bond Mansions.
•More information about the new
building and how construction traffic
will be managed will follow in the next
issue of Here & Now.
Local community comes
together at Golborne
Festival 2016
The Catalyst regeneration team,
in conjunction with the Residents’
Steering Group, Wornington Green
Community Group (WGCG) and
Catalyst Gateway, hosted a stall at
Golborne Festival on Sunday 10 July.
Visitors to the Portobello square stall
could talk to the stall holders about
any questions they had about the
development and the services
provided by Catalyst Gateway, RSG
and WGCG. Children aged 12 and under
were invited to participate in an art
competition run by Goldfinger Factory,
a local up-cycling and learning hub.
The results of which will become
part of an art installation for the new
Community & Community space in
Paul House.
•A second contractor will be appointed
in the coming months to build the new
homes and resident representatives
will play an important role in the
selection process.
15
Future Events
Front cover: Capoeira dancers at the Street fete
1
2
HERE&NOW
Regeneration Update
Portobello
Square
in print
3
4
To mark Phase 1 nearing completion
and the creation of the new street,
Bonchurch Road, Catalyst has
produced and published a coffee
table book featuring historic archive
photographs and a selection of
interviews with local residents and
business owners. Patterns & People:
An evolving London neighbourhood
charts the fascinating history of the
local area and how the neighbourhood
has changed over the decades.
It also celebrates what makes
Portobello Square so unique, from
its contemporary architecture to its
vision to restore original Victorian
street patterns and reconnect with
the wider area.
Only a limited number of books were
printed but a copy is available to view
at both the Catalyst office, Ladbroke
Grove, and the Portobello Square
Sales Office on Bonchurch Road.
Re/making
the Street
exhibition
Re/making the Street was an
exhibition at the Building Centre
which investigated what is involved
in making a city street a good place.
At the centre of the exhibition was
a model of Bonchurch Road.
It was chosen because it shows,
in microcosm, the challenges
that face many areas in Britain
and further afield — estate
regeneration, mixing rented social
housing and new private housing,
increasing density, responding to
the warp and weft of historic plan
and design in order to create
a sense of place.
HERE&NOW
Regeneration Update
PORTOBELLO
SQUARE STREET
FETE CELEBRATES
COMMUNITY
CONNECTIONS
Portobello Square residents celebrated
the re-connection of their new homes
to the wider Kensington community
with a street fete on Sunday 26 June
2016. Over 300 attendees were
entertained by music and a variety
of live performers, and played fun
traditional games. The event was
a joint collaboration with the Venture
Centre to showcase some of the great
services and activities available on
your doorstep.
The focus of the celebration was
Bonchurch Road, a new road which
has restored the original Victorian
street patterns, re-connecting
residents and their new homes
with the nearby Portobello Road
and surrounding area.
Tip Top Dance School is an
independent dance school based
at the Venture Centre. International
dancer, Maria Cassar, who has
extensive experience within the
dance industry, founded the School.
Tip Top offer weekly classes in Ballet,
Contemporary, Jazz and Street
Dance for ages 3 to 16.
Tip Top are running their yearly
Summer School, in conjunction with
the Venture Centre, from Monday
8 August to Saturday 13 August.
Students have a chance to try out
different styles throughout the whole
week. The Summer School ends with
a performance to family and friends
at the Venture Family Fun Day on
Saturday 13 August.
For more information contact the
Venture Centre: 020 8960 3234
Events like these are only possible
with the active support of residents
and colleagues. We would like to thank
the Wornington Green Community
Group, the Residents’ Steering Group,
who helped to bring the community
and neighbours together for a great
day and the Tip Top Dance School and
Healthy Life for You for taking part in
the event. A special mention also to
the North Kensington Women’s Textile
Group who made the lovely bunting
for the fete and a thank you to Neilo
Rodrigues for taking part in the event.
5
6
HERE&NOW
Regeneration Update
SUCCESSFUL
COLLABORATION
WITH GOLDFINGER
FACTORY TRANSFORMS
COMMUNITY SPACE
A collaboration with a local awardwinning social enterprise, Goldfinger
Factory, has resulted in a stylish venue
for community projects and specialist
support activities for local people.
Goldfinger Factory have used their
fantastic design skills and creative
use of recycled materials to transform
a Catalyst retail unit near Ladbroke
Grove into a community space that can
be put to a variety of uses. Goldfinger
Factory also train and employ local
people to do the work and give a share
of any profits to local community
projects.
The bench seating is made from
chipboard previously used for the
London Marathon and has hidden
storage drawers and can be moved
around to allow a varied use of the
space. Goldfinger Factory also fitted
the desks, which were donated by
local resident and Habitat designer
Tom Dixon, with new tops to match the
rest of the furnishings. Other design
features include the stacking of chairs
and folding-up of tables onto the wall.
The North Kensington Women’s Textile
Group have beautifully decorated the
space with soft furnishings, and the
ceiling light diffusers are illustrated
with photographs of the women making
the cushions.
“It’s amazing what has been achieved
by local organisations sharing their
skills and innovatively using recycled
materials. The end product looks just
as modern as surrounding shops and
galleries,” says Donna Kelly, who
works as a Community Investment
Co-ordinator for Catalyst.
www.goldfingerfactory.com
The Community Space
Catalyst will use the new shop to
deliver services to help its residents
to improve their circumstances and
realise their potential. These services
include help to find jobs or access
training, dealing with household bills
and budgeting, and support for young
people.
The new ‘Catalyst & Community’ space
is currently open three days per week,
Tuesday to Thursday, from 10am to
4pm. No appointment necessary, just
pop in say hello and Catalyst’s friendly
team will be delighted to help you.
Alternatively, please email
donna.kelly@chg.org.uk
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8
HERE&NOW
Regeneration Update
Your Neighbourhood
RESIDENTS’ STEERING
GROUP NEWS
A NEW COMMUNITY
CENTRE FOR NORTH
KENSINGTON
HAVE YOUR SAY!
As part of the new development
the current community centre
(The Venture Centre, in Wornington
Road) is to be demolished and
replaced with a new community
centre on Portobello Road.
The building will be built by
Catalyst Housing Ltd, but the
Council will own the freehold.
The new centre will be at least
the same size as the current one,
with the Venture Centre staying
open until the new centre is ready.
The Residents’ Steering Group (RSG)
has been very busy over the last few
months. Here are the highlights:
•We ran a joint stall with
NewmanFrancis at the
Bonchurch Road street
fete on Sunday 26 June.
This was a really fun day,
and helped us to spread the
word to residents and other
people in the immediate
community about who we
are and how we can help.
Karina Skinner
Chair of the RSG
•We have been involved with
the tender process for the
new construction company for
Phase 2. This means ensuring
the new construction company
takes into account the wishes
and needs of residents too.
•We are involved in block
inspections with Catalyst.
Each block is inspected
quarterly, and we have
been aiming at having an
RSG member attend each
inspection with Catalyst
staff to make sure the blocks
are kept in good condition.
•We have been reviewing the
‘Notice to Seek Possession’
letters that every resident
receives near to their moving
out time. This is a legal
formality, which Catalyst must
take, so we want to make sure
it is worded in a way that is fair
and understandable for
all residents.
•We have been involved in
assessing the new Construction
•We reviewed Catalyst’s plans
Traffic Management Plan that
for the Notting Hill Carnival to
Catalyst has submitted to the
make sure they are thorough
council.
and effective.
•We have had a meeting with
representatives from Catalyst •The Chair would like to thank
Catalyst for allowing the RSG
about service charges.
to be part of their stall at the
Golborne Festival.
If you have any thoughts, comments or questions on the above,
or any other questions about the regeneration, we’d be happy to help.
Please email worningtongreen@newmanfrancis.org or Freephone
0800 644 6040.
9
10
Welcome to the
new Community
Champions
initiative starting
in Golborne.
Community Champions is a long
established project that the Venture
Centre is excited to bring to Golborne.
This programme is headed up by
Community Champions Manager,
Michelle Poponne (experienced
Volunteer Co-Ordinator), and Life
Skills & Community Champions
Co-Ordinator, Jessica McMillan.
The aim of this project is to achieve
a healthy, happy Golborne through
organising social events that are also
informative – like watching Euro 2016
matches at the Venture Centre!
What does it take to be a Community
Champion? There are no special
requirements or experience. We
are looking for people who want
to help make their community the
best it possibly can be. The kind
of people who like talking to their
friends and neighbours about what is
important to them. We would like to
recruit Community Champions from
Portobello Square and Swinbrook
Estate in order to help achieve
our mission.
What do you get by becoming
a Community Champion? All of
our Community Champions will be
trained volunteers who want to
give something back to their own
community. Community Champions
will receive lots of training, such as
a Level 2 Award in Understanding
Health Improvement and in Market
Research equipping us to do
a health survey of local residents.
Although the new centre is some
way off, the Council is keen to hear
the views of Venture Centre users,
residents, businesses and voluntary
and community organisations on
what they would like to see in the
new centre.
A wide-ranging consultation
exercise is taking place
between July and November
2016. This includes a survey
and various drop-in events at the
Venture Centre. You can find more
information, and have your say
via an electronic survey, at
www.rbkc.gov.uk NKcommunitycentre
or contact Gary Wilson at
gary.wilson@rbkc.gov.uk
If you’re interested in becoming a Community Champion, or you want
to find out more information about this project, feel free to contact
michelle@venturecentre.org.uk or jessica@venturecentre.org.uk .
You can also contact us on 020 8960 3234.
HERE&NOW
Spotlight
SPOTLIGHT ON
ESTHER
Visit the Venture Centre on a Thursday morning
and you’ll be greeted by quite a sight. Various pieces
of material sit on tables, piled high and waiting to be
used. A seamstress dummy has a colourful shawl
draped over it, pinned and marked where the cuts
and seams need to be made. Women sit at sewing
machines, working away at their own personal
projects, while others bustle back and forth
seeking advice and chatting as they go. This is
the North Kensington Women’s Textile Group.
In the middle of it all sits Esther, the main tutor of
the group and a constant presence for nearly 20
years. If anyone has a question, it’s Esther that they
ask for help. “It was friend who first brought me
here, when I had moved to the UK from Cameroon,”
she says, “and was looking to meet people and make
friends. I had been a fashion teacher in Cameroon,
something that the group’s members quickly found
out and started asking me questions!”
The group had been started in 1986 by a woman
named Angela Brown and has now been going
non-stop for 30 years. By helping women of North
Kensington learn new skills – indeed, some go
on to use their skills to earn an income – as well
as providing a regular place to socialise and meet
new people, the group has become an important
part of the local community. To celebrate the
30th anniversary, the group hosted a fashion
show on July 9th to showcase their work and
attract new members; Esther has been central
to the show’s organisation, a role she is
uniquely well-qualified for.
We’ve had girls
come along with their
mums, take up sewing
and are now making
their own way into the
fashion world.
“I’ve done
design work
for a whole range of organisations, notably Maxilla
Children’s Centre in North Kensington, and I tend to
be brought in to oversee a project before moving on
to the next challenge when it’s completed.”
Given Esther’s own academic achievements and
teaching background, it is when she’s talking about
the students she has helped in their own studies
that she becomes most animated. “We’ve had girls
come along with their mums, take up sewing and are
now making their own way into the fashion world.
I help out where I can, offering these people advice
on how best to enter a career in fashion, as well as
giving them some practical tips and my thoughts
on the work they produce while studying.”
So, what does the future hold for Esther?
“I’m aiming to launch my own fashion brand,
one that will focus on evening wear for those on
a budget. I know where to find the fabrics, I know
how clothes need to be cut to fit a person’s shape,
and there’s a real demand from people who want to
wear something special but don’t want to pay over
the odds for it. It will take a couple of years, but I’m
very excited by this new project.” Few people who
meet the irrepressible Esther would doubt her ability
to make a success of her new venture.
North Kensington Women’s Textile Group meets
every Thursday during school term time at the
Venture Centre from 9.30 am onwards. If you would
like to join the group, or just find out a bit more about
it, drop in one Thursday morning.
“I really wanted to pursue a career in fashion, so
I went to Kent Institute of Art & Design to do a Higher
National Diploma in Fashion Design & Technology,
and then I studied for a BA in Fashion Design at the
University of Surrey, and then a PGCE. I started
volunteering at the group while I was working
towards my HND, but once I completed my studies
my professional work has also been in fashion.”
HERE&NOW
Lifestyle
Musicians have long been drawn to the
local area around Portobello Square
attracted by the bohemian atmosphere,
squats, and venues. As a result many
of Portobello’s landmarks have been
immortalised in song.
Here are our top 10. If you think we’ve
missed any, send your suggestions to
patricia.poorman@chg.org.uk and we’ll
do a follow up in a future issue.
“I Spy” by Pulp
“Portobello Belle” by Dire Straits
From the album Different Class, features the line
“Your Ladbroke Grove looks turn me on”.
“And then she get the reggae rumble, Belladonna’s
in the jungle, But she is no garden flower, There is
no distress in the tower.”
“LDN” by Lily Allen
“The Streets of Ladbroke Grove”
by Delroy Washington
The song mentions Ladbroke Grove in a chorus of
London place names.
“Portobello Road” by Cat Stevens
“Getting hung up all day on smiles. Walking down
Portobello road for miles. Cuckoo clocks, and plastic
socks. Lampshades of old antique leather. Nothing
looks weird, not even a beard.”
The song was recorded in Basing Street studio with
Aswad and the Ladbroke Grove Street Choir
“Portobello Café” by
the Ballistic Brothers
“Ring the Alarm” by Tenor Saw
Trellick Tower is referred to in the line,
“Trellick Tower’s been calling”.
No quotable lyrics on this one but the bassline
alone sums up the carnival atmosphere.
“I’m up and down the Westway, in and out the lights.
What a great traffic system, it’s so bright. I can’t
think of a better way to spend the night, than
speeding around underneath the yellow lights.”
La Pia offers the
real taste of Italy,
we have years of
experience operating
as a family business
since 1887 in the La Pia
Centenaria restaurants
in La Spezia, Liguria.”
Alessandro Cherchi
La Pia Manager
La Pia, a family-run pizzeria, recently
opened on Ladbroke Grove and has
proved to be an instant success with
the locals. La Pia is the first restaurant
the family have launched outside of
Liguria, a region in north-west Italy,
and offers a rustic and authentic menu
including a broad selection of delicious
Italian pizza, focaccia and antipasti.
Its signature dishes include regional
speciality farinata, (a thin, unleavened
crepe made with chickpea flour),
focaccia al formaggio and focaccia
alla nutella.
Diners can eat in the 40-seat
restaurant or takeway, and as well as
offering pizzas in three different sizes
the Margherita pizza, farinata and
focaccia al formaggio can be ordered
by slice. Takeway orders can also be
delivered by Deliveroo.
La Pia, 312 Ladbroke Grove, is open for
lunch and dinner.
For reservations visit the website:
www.lapia.co.uk
www.deliveroo.co.uk
An early incarnation of X-Press 2, on the 1994 album
London Hooligan Soul. Atmospheric instrumental.
“Best Days” by Blur
“London’s Burning” by The Clash
Authentic Italian restaurant
opens next to
P ortobello
S quare
“One Man Band” by Leo Sayer
“Well everybody knows down Ladbroke Grove, You
have to leap across the street, You can lose your life
under a taxi cab, You gotta have eyes in your feet”.
HERE&NOW
FUTURE EVENTS
The regeneration team are working on a wide range
of events and activities through 2016, with the
following scheduled to take place in August and September.
Coffee Afternoon
Venture Centre &
Wornington Green
Community Group
Family fun day
Every Wednesday
2pm – 4.30pm
Residents’ Room,
8c Chiltern House
Saturday 13 August
1pm – 6pm
Venture Centre,
103a Wornington Road
Portobello Walks
Every Wednesday
Glissando
Supper BBQ
6pm – 7pm
Saturday 3 September
Meeting point: The bench
in the entrance hall of
Sainsbury’s off Ladbroke
Grove, W10 5AA
Contact the Venture Centre
for more information
020 8960 3234
Residents’ Steering
Group Public
Meeting
Thursday 29 September
6pm – 8pm
Venture Centre,
103a Wornington Road
Wornington Green
Portobello Square
Catalyst General Enquiries:
Office open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm
0300 456 2099
Bonchurch Road New Development
(Stiles Harold Williams)
Catalyst Emergency Repairs:
Out of Hours – Evenings & Weekends
020 3589 2985
To report defects & repairs contact:
Aftercare team on: 0300 456 2093
Out of hours emergency repairs: 0843 658 5060
General Construction Enquiries
Portobello Square Sales
Maria Cunnea, Resident Liaison Officer:
07747 862 022
mcunnea@ardmoregroup.co.uk
Marketing Suite & Show Home:
32 Bonchurch Road, London W10 5LH
For appointments please call:
020 7758 8478
www.portobellosquare.co.uk
www.yourhereandnow.co.uk