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BRIXTON BUGLE YOUR FREE Published monthly in and for Brixton
No 83 | MAY 2022
ISSN 2397-852X
RECLAIM WINDRUSH SQUARE! Brixton residents, businesses and voluntary org anisations have launched a bid to transform Windrush Square. “Windrush Square is the heart and soul of Brixton,” said campaign organiser Ros Griffiths. “It’s an important public space, full of history, cultural and community references. “We’re on a collective mission to reclaim the square and develop it into an inclusive and welcoming destination for everyone.” Members of the group include the Brixton Society, Black Cultural Archives, West Indian Association of Service Personnel, the energy company Repowering London and the Ritzy Cinema. The “Re-Imagining Windrush Square” campaign comes as the 25th anniversary of the naming of the square approaches. Growing concern about the square was heightened earlier this year when Lambeth council revealed that the cost of the security bollards now surrounding it had risen to more than £2m from a planned £1.5m. Work on the bollards, which was lengthened by complications caused by their proximity to gas pipes, and the use of the square for Covid testing, saw pedestrians using the square’s grass areas, creating large patches of bare earth. Other concerns include the failure to re-open or repurpose the public toilets in the square that have been shut for decades. The group also wants to manage use of the square better. Two separate events in the square on the same Sunday to mark Remembrance Day in November last year highlighted this issue. It says org anising community events can be a challenge, so the square is not reaching its full potential. Its “ambitious project” includes plans to develop the amenities available on the square and to deliver an “exciting and inclusive” programme of events. “Successful implementation of
COMMUNITY PAPER
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LEADING WOMEN … … at the Black Cultural Archives 19
Plans to make square a tourist attraction the project’s main activities will put Windrush Square on the map as a local, regional, national and international destination,” the organisers said. They hope to obtain funding from the Community Connections Fund launched by Lambeth council in March this year and will seek
Concern over £2m bollards £200,000 from it. The project has a target budget total of £1.2m. If funding is obtained, the project would be launched in July this year and run for two years. Its plans include bringing the
Full story – page 12
Large areas of bare earth in formerly grassed areas
BRIXTON LIT A first for Book Mongers
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DO BE SILLY Book your massage now …
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toilets back into use and establishing a café and information kiosk, as well as introducing signage to the square, including an outdoor screen. The project would aim to transform the square into a tourist destination, highlighting its history and heritage.
BRIXTON BLOG & BUGLE ART SHOW 2022
Now seeking entries for the show in July | Closing date 20 May – details p8
