Waterloo's crowning glory
Waterloo's crowning glory
Your South Bank & Waterloo Neighbours guide to local celebrations for the coronation
We now have full details of events next weekend…
Saturday’s coronation
10am-2pm at St John’s Church: All are welcome to join neighbours for the experience of watching the coronation together on a big screen, with (courtesy of Lambeth Estate Residents’ Association) free coronation cakes from Konditor and drinks from the King’s Arms.
Coronation holiday Monday celebrations
11am-5pm party at Waterloo Action Centre, including singing nostalgia from 11am-1pm, dancing led by Jean le Clerc from 1.30-5pm, a sale of goods made in WAC, talks about local history and short films including two parts of Michael Bruce’s much-loved Story of Waterloo at 11am and 2pm, Your Waterloo Action Centre at 11.45am and 3pm, and The Lambeth Estate - A Village on a Street at 1pm. 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.
And, across the road on Millennium Green…
Plus, in Emma Cons Gardens…
12-4pm UNBOSI Marble Awareness Show with giant marble runs, world record attempts and interactive inspiration. Organised by the Emma Cons Gardens Steering Group and sponsored by Bourne Capital.
A reminder that there will be road traffic and cycleway closures from Waterloo Station to the river from 7pm on Friday 5 May until they can be safely reopened after Saturday’s coronation. Click here for details.
Hope for temporary health centre move
From SoWN and Save Waterloo Health Centre campaign
There is hope that Waterloo Health Centre will be able to move across the road, to the former library site next to Iceland in Lower Marsh.
At this week’s Waterloo Community Development Group meeting, SoWN secretary David Clarson reported that council is allowing use of the site, and plans for a two-storey modular building have been submitted for planning permission but not yet published by the council. It would have a side entrance, so WeAreWaterloo are looking at ways to decorate the blank Lower Marsh frontage. The NHS aims to have the building ready in September. David also emphasised the need to focus on a longer-term permanent replacement.
Meanwhile, however, the offshore owners of the current health centre building are continuing their legal efforts to evict the doctors - so there remains a chance that could happen first, jeopardising the healthcare of 14,000 patients. More than 300 people have so far signed the Save Waterloo Health Centre petition launched last week, calling on them to stop.
To add your name, please click here and look for the signing link. You can also join the campaign’s mailing list, which is independent of the practice. A paper copy of the petition is available in Waterloo Action Centre.
Call for old telephone kiosk
From Waterloo Action Centre
WAC’s trustees are unanimously opposing new plans to convert the old red telephone kiosk outside the centre in Baylis Road to sell coffee. A similar application was refused by Lambeth Council last year. WAC supports planning and conservation officers’ views then that the listed kiosk in a conservation area is of historic interest. It’s one of nine remaining in Lambeth and a popular photo spot for tourists. There are concerns about pavements cluttered by what were supposed to be temporary extensions to help businesses through Covid, particularly affecting wheelchair users, blind and partially sighted people, as well as parents with pushchairs, and WAC believes the immediate area is already well served with coffee outlets. There are two applications (23/00239/FUL and 23/00240/LB), and the deadline for responses is Sunday 14 May.
Council’s warning of fines for drivers
From Lambeth Council
Lambeth Council has warned that residents and businesses that it will begin enforcing traffic restrictions on The Cut (junction with Short Street) and at the junction of Greet Street and Cons Street. ‘Penalty charge notices’ will be issued from Monday for drivers who go through the road closures, introduced as Covid measures. The council is still considering whether to make them permanent.
You’ve got to laugh!
From Save Our South Bank campaign
The redevelopment plans for the old ITV site on Upper Ground and planning inquiry - now expected to report in the summer - may be no laughing matter, but this will be… As a fundraiser for the remaining inquiry expert fees, on Friday 19 May there will be an evening of music, comedy, community and campaigning at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre. Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm and tickets cost £5 + booking fee - click here now to avoid disappointment. Audience members must be over 16, and under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
A beginner’s guide to begin being a guide
From Morley College
Are you interested in the history of Lambeth? Do you want to learn more about your local area? Interested in a recognised tour guiding qualification? A new fun and friendly course will start at Morley College Waterloo Centre in September. To find out more, click here.
Eco Chamber talks
From St Mary’s Eco Church
Two more Eco Chamber talks, chaired by Tom Shakespeare, are planned at The Duchy Arms in Kennington:
Tuesday 16 May, 7-9pm It’s not Rocket Science: do we really need new technology to feed the world? with Dee Woods (Food Ethics Council and co-founder of Granville Community Kitchen) and Dr Tom Wakeford (biologist and action researcher).
Tuesday 13 June, 7-9pm Deepening and Activating the Climate Majority with Rupert Read (Professor at UAE, chair of The Green House Thinktank) and Sarah Forsey (Co-director of the Grantham Institute).
BFI Mini Filmmakers Saturday Club
From BFI South Bank
For six Saturdays from 10 June to 15 July, 10.30am-12.30pm, 8-11 year-olds will get hands-on experience working in a team to experiment with film techniques that have formed the foundation of our cinematic experience and history, such as stop-motion, Lumière minutes and montage.
By the end of the term, students will have made six short-form films exploring different techniques, gained theoretical knowledge of film art and film history, and developed their creative and communication skills.
To book a ticket please click here. Enter the promo code MINIFREE before you select the tickets to see the free option.
Planting seeds
From St Mary’s Eco Church
The Seedlings group for Under 5s meets every Thursday from 10.30am near the playground in Archbishop’s Park (inside if it’s raining), singing songs about spring bulbs, squirrels, owls …and puddles!
From June, there will be a second weekly session every Friday from 11am in Jubilee Gardens, near the playground by the hedge.
If you spend time with a baby, toddler or young child, come and join us. For more information, please email Sharon - hello@smarysecochurch.org.
Hundreds have ‘no faith’ in St John’s service!
St John’s Church was packed for last week’s No Faith in Fossil Fuels service organised by Christian Climate Action and launching a march to the weekend of protest in Parliament Square. The church, foyer and balcony were all crammed, with scores of people spilling out into the churchyard.
Keep ‘em coming…
This local news ‘umbrella’ format which we’re trialling for SoWN Together can be more frequent and we aim to publish whenever there’s enough to say. So please don’t wait for deadlines; if you have news to share with others, email anytime - news@sowneighbours.org. And please tell others what you’ve read here and encourage them to subscribe for themselves at www.sowneighbours.org, where you can also catch up on previous editions.