Tag Archives: Cormont Road

New community hub building work to begin in Myatt’s Fields park

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Part of the depot in Myatt’s Fields Park into a new community hub is to be converted into a prestige new community hub.

The new facility – funded by Lambeth Council to the tune of more than £800,000 – will result in new community meeting, cooking and education spaces and provide a much-needed income stream for the park. The work follows year of hard work and lobbying from the resident-run Myatt’s Fields Park project.

The re-development plan includes demolition of the existing depot buildings and replacing them with a greener and more efficient building. The works will transform the space to create:

  • A 30-seater hall with a kitchen
  • A foyer overlooking the greenhouse and providing easy access from the street through the new building and to the park.
  • Office accommodation for the Park Manager
  • Income from hire of the new meeting space and kitchen.

The council says that redeveloping the park buildings will make the centre more visible and a more attractive hub for community activities. It will also allow the community group to nurture local enterprise.

The current park depot building.

It’s hoped that construction work will begin shortly and finish within a year. The full details can be found here.

Myatt’s Fields Labour councillors Annie Gallop and Paul Gadsby said:

“It is excellent to see this project getting off the ground: we want to pay particular tribute to the hard work of volunteers and local residents who have worked hard over many years to bring these plans to fruition.”

Consultation on the future of a vacant Myatts Fields school hailed as a “welcome early step forward”.

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Local Labour councillors have welcomed a new consultation on the future of the empty Charles Edward Brook school in Cormont Road.

The building has been empty since 2019 and has fallen into disrepair, prompting local people to launch a ‘Stop the Rot’ campaign to save it from further damage. Now Lambeth Council – which is now responsible for the heritage site – is asking ‘local schools and other interested parties’ for their views on its future.

The consultation, which is limited to proposed possible loss of the long unused playing fields within the site and is required by law, is the first formal step to decide the future of the building.

Local councillors Annie Gallop and Paul Gadsby have been pressing the council to work with the community and take urgent action to prevent the local landmark from degenerating further. They said:

“This is a first step along what is likely to be a long road which might result in the school becoming homes.

“But we continue to press for wider consultation keeping the wishes of local communities at the forefront of the debate”

The beautiful building is in poor repair in part because the Department of Education delayed transferring ownership to the Council for a number of years. It’s estimated that work to simply stop its condition worsening may cost up to £1.9 million, which the Authority claims it cannot fund on its own.

Renovating the vacant Cormont Road School ‘might cost £1.9 million’, councillors told

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Lambeth Council should work with the community to put the vacant Cormont School building in Myatt’s Fields back into use, according to local councillors.

The condition of the beautiful former Charles Edward Brook school has declined considerably since it became vacant in 2019, in part because the Department of Education delayed transferring ownership to the Council for a number of years.

Last year Myatts Field’s councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop received a commitment that the council would begin work to assess the future of the school and involve the community in deciding its future.

In a question to Lambeth’s Full Council meeting last month, Cllr Gadsby asked the Cabinet Member for Housing for an update amid growing community concern:

“The Charles Edward Brook site in Myatt’s Fields has been empty for some time after being handed over in a poor and declining state by the Conservative government. Can I ask the Cabinet Member for an update on the future of this building as local councillors are keen, as is the community, that the building is put back into use as soon as possible?“

In a lengthy response – which can be read here – the Council confirmed that officers were coming up with a strategy to develop the building for residential use. However, the council says there are significant hurdles, including the poor state of repair of the heritage site, and the likely exorbitant cost of simply making the building safe and preventing further damage – estimated at between £1.4 and £1.9 million which the authority says it cannot afford..

Cllrs Gadsby and Gallop said:

“The Charles Edward Brooke School building has been left vacant for far, far too long. The building needs to be both put back into use and restored to its former architectural glory. It is encouraging the council have carried out feasibility studies, including drone surveys, and it has to be acknowledged that there are financial hurdles which are made more difficult by more than a decade of economic chaos by the recently departed, but not missed, Tory government. However, we are calling on Lambeth to pick up the pace and make a call on the future of the building, in partnership with the local community.”

Local councillors and MP call for crackdown on anti-social behaviour around Myatt’s Fields Park

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Local Myatt’s Fields councillors and Vauxhall’s MP Flo Eshalomi have called for a crackdown on a recent spate of anti-social behaviour around Myatt’s Fields Park.

Residents have been in contact with their local representatives following disturbances during the summer in which a small group of people harassing passers-by, allegedly causing criminal damage and intimidating residents. Local businesses have also complained that their livelihoods were being put at risk.

Cllr Paul Gadsby, Cllr Annie Gallop and local Vauxhall MP Flo Eshalomi, said in a joint statement:

“The recent reports from the streets around Myatt’s Fields Park are completely unacceptable Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure on our streets.

“In response to these reports, we have:

  • Received a commitment from local police that they will be stepping up patrols and carrying out other activity in the area aimed at protecting the community. The local police team say they have spoken to those involved and are using local CCTV to identify any unacceptable behaviour.
  • Raised our concerns with Lambeth’s top police officer – the Borough Commander – and pressed for this issue to be a priority.
  • Attended meetings with residents and the police to  listen first-hand to the concerns of local people.

“We find it encouraging that this action appears to have resulted in a decline in anti-social behaviour during the latter part of August, but we will continue to press for local residents to be protected from any criminal activity.”

The local representatives urged residents to report any criminal behaviour to the police via 999 or 101: the neighbourhood police team can also be contacted here.