Now we're SoWN Together...
Now we're SoWN Together...
Under your new local 'umbrella' email is everything you need to make the most of living and working in the South Bank and Waterloo
With so much going on in this busy area, SoWN’s emails can be a lot to read at once. So we’re trying something fresh, a little newsier and (though maybe not this time!) shorter. In future emails we’re hoping to meet some of our neighbours, spark more ideas of things to do, bring you money saving offers and more. We hope you’ll like SoWN Together. And please tell us anything you’d like tell others, any time, by emailing news@sowneighbours.org.
King’s reach: the coronation
Where to watch, ways to celebrate and how our area will be affected
Saturday 6 May
On Coronation Day there will be road traffic and cycleway closures in the grey areas on the map below from 7pm on Friday 5 May until they can be safely reopened. Large crowds are expected. But there should be a clear view in St John’s Church, where all are welcome to enjoy the experience of watching together on a big screen. The time isn’t yet announced, but it’s likely to be around 11am.
Monday 8 May
Community celebrations will be indoors and outdoors in the heart of Waterloo.
11am-5pm All-day community party in Waterloo Action Centre. Monday is the day for the Big Help Out when people are encouraged to volunteer, so where better to party than WAC, crowned with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service? From 11am-1pm there will be singing nostalgia led by a WAC volunteer who’s in the national Help for Heroes Choir, and from 1.30-5pm dancing led by Jean le Clerc. There will also be short films and talks about local history, and a sale of goods made in WAC. If you can, please take some international food to be shared throughout the day, and wear fancy dress, red, white and blue or whatever you like.
12-4pm Coronation lunch and more on Millennium Green and in Emma Cons Gardens. Oasis Waterloo and Lambeth Estate Residents’ Association are joining forces for food, entertainment, craft, games and more. All are welcome, and there will be more details soon.
Temporary plan for old library site
From the Save Waterloo Action Centre community campaign
Waterloo Health Centre is facing eviction proceedings following plans to redevelop its building at 1-5 Lower Marsh.
Lambeth Council seems to be offering the old library site next to Iceland in Lower Marsh for a temporary replacement, and the NHS has engaged a modular building company which is expected to apply for planning permission soon. Sites are also being considered for a permanent replacement.
To join the campaign mailing list please click here, and to sign the petition calling on the owners to stop the eviction click here.
Tree-mendous!
From WeAreWaterloo
SoWN, in partnership with WeAreWaterloo and Lambeth Council, has won a £30,000 grant from the Greater London Authority to plant new trees - very good news in an area which only has just over half the London average tree canopy cover. Combined with big buildings inhibiting the cooling effects of the river, we’re exposed to some of the highest levels of climate and heat vulnerability in the capital.
25 locations where canopy cover is lowest are being considered, in Lower Marsh, Waterloo Road, Westminster Bridge Road and Hercules Road. Details are on the SoWN website, where we’re also seeking your views. Please click here.
Meanwhile this summer the South Bank Centre is planting this SUGI Project ‘pocket forest’ of 390 trees in 130 square metres as part of its Planet Summer festival.
St John’s launch for Big One eco protest
From St John’s Church
A special No Faith in Fossil Fuels service is being held by Christian Climate Action at midday on Friday 21 March in St John’s Churchyard, or inside the church if raining - details here. At 1pm, there will be a march to Parliament Square for Unite to Survive, the first of four days of climate change protest, The Big One, organised by Extinction Rebellion and supported by 200 other organisations.
WeAreWaterloo is also inviting residents and businesses to take part in its Waterloo Sustainability Survey online or pick up a copy printed on seed paper in local shops, cafés and community centres.
Getting Waterloo’s new station masterplan on track
From Waterloo Community Development Group (WCDG)
Network Rail and Lambeth Council are exploring new ideas to re-arrange the edges of Britain’s biggest railway station. Find out more and have your say at WCDG on Tuesday 25 April, 6.30-8.30pm in Living Space on Waterloo Road. The group will also be looking at the council’s new ‘kerbside strategy’ to reclaim sections of road with more trees, cycle parking and places to sit and rest.
From Network Rail
Work has begun to restore the station’s century old glazed roof. About 10,000 new panels, made from lighter polycarbonate to reduce stress on the structure, are being installed across the 12,000 sq m roof. During the work, Cab Road will be one way for taxis. New shops and food outlets are also set to open in the station, more sustainable wooden seating is being installed, and toilets are being refurbished including a gender-neutral facility.
Punks, Princes and Protests
The Chronicles of Feliks Topolski RA - a new exhibition of unseen works in his original Waterloo studio from 4 May-15 June
From Lucien Topolski, grandson of the late Feliks Topolski
Some of you may remember Feliks personally, and some may have never heard of him, but he was a staple figure on the Southbank. From his arrival in 1951, taking a damp, bare arch for a studio, until his death in 1989, Waterloo was Feliks’ base from which he travelled the globe relentlessly, documenting the 20th century’s political, social and cultural movements as they progressed.
I have been working to reinvigorate the studio as a gallery, archive and workshop with the promotion of Feliks’ concepts and principles - namely observational, reportage artwork - at its core, providing opportunities for contemporary artists and artists-in-the-making to engage with the legacy and traditions of visual and strivingly impartial reportage.
Well known in his lifetime, Topolski’s work has fallen into relative obscurity despite his remarkable work, life experience and idiosyncratic writing. This exhibition is the first of its kind at the studio, and it is my pleasure to invite you all. Tickets are available here, with a suggested donation of £5 help us achieve the vision of an inclusive and independent new space.
Roll up, roll up for circus festival
Waterloo Festival is back in person for the first time since Covid, and reflecting on the area’s circus heritage. Astley’s Circus began on Halfpenny Hatch (now Roupell Street) before spending almost a century on the site of St Thomas’ Hospital. The festival will begin on Friday 14 July with a Waterloo Carnival parade in Lower Marsh and a circus event on Millennium Green, continuing through the weekend at St John’s Church.
Unleash your inner graffiti artist
From Leake Street Arches
Artist-in-residence Marc Craig is running graffiti workshops in Leake Street. Wall and protective gear are provided - you just need your creative vision. Sessions generally take place Thursday-Sunday, costing £45 per adult and £35 for under 18s (you must be over 12). Click here for more.
Enter the Grapple Zone for free sessions
From WeAreWaterloo
As one of WeAreWaterloo's Waterloo, Who Knew? events (aimed at bringing those who live, work and study locally together to learn a new skill and make new friends), Grapple Zone is offering a free women's self-defence class and Brazilian jiu-jitsu taster session on Tuesday 16 May from 5.30-7pm. This session welcomes all levels of practitioners, regardless of your experience. Register here.
Happy Bus Pass outings for Freedom Pass holders
From Waterloo Action Centre
Anyone with a London Freedom Pass is invited to join Happy Bus Pass outings from Waterloo Action Centre. They go to places with free access, and you can even take your own lunch so you won’t have to pay a penny! The next outing is Stephens House and Gardens in Finchley on Wednesday 26 April, leaving WAC at 11am. You must be able look after yourself and travel is at your own risk.