Tag: west norwood

Our own Cllr Anna is featured in this short film from 1010, a charity which runs positive, practical projects focused on tackling climate change at the community level, and turns these local actions into a force for bigger changes. The video shows Anna and the work she and other local councillors and residents have done to improve Norwood Road as part of Streetworks, plus three other unstoppable people taking action to tackle climate change and improve their environment, however they can.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Business Improvement District progress

The West Norwood Business Association are working together with us and the consultancy group the Means to form a Business Improvement District (BID). 

A BID is an area where businesses work together in a community and pay a levy that can then be used to invest in the area, making a real difference to the community. The prospective BID area encompasses the wider area of West Norwood including Tulse Hill. 

Lambeth has successful BID’s in Streatham, Brixton and Clapham and we are hoping to make West Norwood as successful as these areas. Already many local shops and businesses have participated in forming the steering group and the BID is set to launch later on this year.

Poetry in West Norwood

There’s a great new project in West Norwood kicking off called Poetry Slabs, who aim to create and install poetry throughout West Norwood. They want to work with local projects, community groups, businesses and artists to celebrate poetry and the local neighbourhood. 

Their first collaboration is in the pipeline, with an exciting new project with the Urban Bzz Garage, and we hope to see many more. Also watch out for a poetry-themed FEAST in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, keep checking poetryslabs.org for news!

^ proposed installation at the Bzz Garage

Lottery grant for “magnificent” West Norwood Cemetery

West Norwood has been granted a fantastic £4.8m from the Lottery. Friends of West Norwood Cemetery said the £4.8m investment would be spent on improving the cemetery’s drainage, footpaths and entrance gates.The money will also be used for works on an area reserved for the Greek Orthodox community – known as the “necropolis” or “cemetery within a cemetery”.

For more information take a look here and at the article in the BBC.

Notable people buried at West Norwood Cemetery

  • Isabella Beeton (1836-1865) – Author of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management
  • Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) – Inventor of the Bessemer converter, which helped mass-produce steel
  • Sir Henry Doulton (1820-1897) – Businessman, inventor and pottery manufacturer
  • Sir Henry Tate (1819-1899) – Sugar merchant who founded the Tate gallery
  • Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916) – Inventor of the Maxim machine gun

Let’s make West Norwood a living wage town centre

Soon, Costa will be opening its doors to its newest coffee shop, here in West Norwood.

Whether you want to continue shopping at our local independent cafes or you are looking forward to a new Costa coffee shop coming to town, we can all agree that West Norwood is a place to be proud of. Our town centre is vibrant and inclusive thanks to its active local community and supportive businesses, and we want to keep it that way.

We worry that pressure on wages and the high cost of living mean that some in our community will not be paid enough to continue living, working and supporting their families here. We value the variety that small local businesses bring, and we are concerned about the pressure that national chains like Costa might put them under. We also worry that centralised supply chains for national brands will take local pounds spent out of the local economy.

Because of these concerns, we have been corresponding with the Managing Director of Costa, Christopher Rogers, to ask if he can –

  1. Employ local residents
  2. Pay them the London Living Wage
  3. Ensure a local supply chain wherever possible to support local independent businesses

Costa’s parent company, Whitbread, says that – “a company needs to do more than just make profits and we are committed to being a force for good in all of the communities in which we operate”. We hope to see these values put into practice in West Norwood.

If you agree with our suggestions, you can sign here and share with your friends and neighbours.

We hope that eventually all businesses can pay the London Living Wage, and will be writing to the national brands in Thurlow Park asking that they commit to paying a decent wage.

Lambeth Council became a Living Wage employer in 2012 and asks its suppliers and contractors to pay the London Living wage.

Business Improvement District – progress

In May 2014 we committed to working with local businesses to improve our local town centre. We have been working with businesses to take the necessary steps to become a Business Improvement District. The Means were recenty appointed by local businesses to take this work forward in West Norwood and Tulse Hill and the first steering group meeting last month resulted in lots of positive conversation about the issues the BID could tackle. 

If you own or work at a local business, we would love to have your input. Our next West Norwood and Tulse Hill steering group meeting will
be held on:

Wednesday 30th September 2015, 6-7.30pm at

Portico Gallery
Knights Hall
23a Knights Hill
SE27 0HS

Great turnout at the first StreetWorks co-design workshop

Following a petition from local Labour councillors and hundreds of local residents, the Mayor of London granted £5m to transform the one-way system in Tulse Hill. Officers secured an additional £2m to improve Norwood Road.

We believe that local people and businesses are best placed to make decisions about how to improve their neighbourhood, so Cllr Anna Birley has been working to ensure the project is led by the local community. StreetWorks was therefore set up to create a partnership between the Norwood Forum, the Tulse Hill Forum, local councillors, residents and businesses, Lambeth Council and Transport for London. The budget for community engagement has been devolved to StreetWorks and the community chose the design consultants to support the project.

To ensure as many people as possible can have their say, we have organised a series of co-design workshops. These are a forum for local people and businesses to feed in ideas and suggestions, and to choose the final scheme design. 

The first StreetWorks co-design workshop was last Tuesday and it was a huge success! With 50 people attending, the discussions were lively and constructive. Updates will be posted to www.streetworks.london – you can also post further ideas on the online forum and find out how to get more involved.

The next workshops are – 

  • 13 October 2015 
  • 10 November 2015
  • 8 December 2015

– all at 6.30-8.30pm at the Salvation Army Hall on Norwood Road.

The UK’s first full-scale social supermarket has opened this week in Vale Street, West Norwood. It will be selling low-cost, high-quality surplus food to hundreds of people receiving means-tested benefits, while helping them back into work.

Community Shop works on a membership basis. Up to 750 local members can shop for surplus food at 70 per cent cheaper than usual prices from leading supermarkets, other major retailers and top brands.

Anna, Fred and Max joined local West Norwood residents at tonight’s NAG community meeting. There were presentations from the Manager of the new West Norwood Leisure Centre and Lambeth’s Street & Highways Manager.

It was clear that the condition of some of the roads and pavements in the area are of concern to local residents so we’ll make sure to be out with our rulers as we look for possible trip hazards! If you have any roads or pavements that you think need resurfacing please contact us.

4ALL’s Carols 4ALL on Saturday 13 December in All Saints Chruch

4ALL’s Carols 4ALL will take place between 11:00 and 13:00.

This is a drop-in carol-singing event at which people can come and sing traditional carols and enjoy mince pies, mulled wine, coffee and tea etc; there are a few stalls selling Christmassy things as well!

In past years the informality and non-churchiness of the event has meant that we have succeeded in attracting isolated people whom Christmas might otherwise pass by and we hope to see many more this year!