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.”
Lambeth’s most senior police officer has been urged to provide more resources to deal with a perceived upsurge in crime in Myatt’s fields.
Local MP Florence Eshalomi, along with your local Labour team, Cllr Annie Gallop and Cllr Paul Gadsby, say they want extra effort to support measures already being taken by police and council safety teams in the ward.
In a letter to acting Lambeth and Southwark Borough Commander Detective Superintendent Emma Bond, they point out that although there have been recent arrests in the area more needs to be done to deal with what appears to be an upsurge in robberies on the Myatts Fields North and Cowley estates, and around Myatt’s Fields Park.
They write: “This has created significant anxiety in the community, especially as these incidents have been ongoing for some time.”
Florence Eshalomi MP and Cllrs Gallop and Gadsby have written to the Borough Police Commander.
While praising the actions of the local police Safer Neighbourhood team, they point out that more effort is needed to reassure our communities that everything is being done to keep residents safe.
“We are … aware that their hard work and diligence, as well as that of Lambeth Council officers attached to the community safety team, have borne results,” the letter says. “From what we have been told, 8 suspects have been arrested for robbery, another known gang member has recently been apprehended and at least one property search warrant has been executed. This is incredibly welcome.
However, they insist that local initiatives need more support from the Met, and invite the Commander to address a future Safer Neighbourhood Panel — the local body through which police liaise with our neighbours.
The letter is signed by the councillors, Vauxhall and Camberwell Green MP Florence Eshalomi, and Safer Neighbourhood chair Lucy Williams and secretary Mark Mitchell
Update 14/3: Local police report they have arrested and released on bail a pair of suspects following two knifepoint robberies in Myatt’s Fields Park last month. They say they are working with CCTV and Robbery teams to identify “two other males”.
Some of the flats in the new Patmos Lodge development will have more work done to enable better access for people with disabilities, it has been revealed.
Dozens of residents will shortly begin moving into the blocks, on the site of the old care home in Cancell Rd.
The development of 31 new homes includes social rent one and two-bedroom apartments, as well as accessible and much-needed larger family homes with three or four bedrooms and some private homes.
At a site visit, Cllr Claire Holland, who leads Lambeth Council said: “Patmos Lodge is a prime example of the high-quality, energy-efficient, sustainable, modern homes we want to provide for our residents. The new homes will meet the needs of some of the homeless families in Lambeth who desperately need a permanent place to live.
“I am delighted that over 56 residents will be moving into their new homes shortly and we are also making further modifications to the accessible homes to suit the needs of those vulnerable residents so they can also move into their new homes soon.”
Patmos Lodge has been built to high- energy efficiency standards with air-source heat pumps and solar panels included in each property.
Myatt’s Fields Labour councillor Annie Gallop — herself a disability campaigner — said: “It was great to see these beautiful new homes ready to let, all fully adaptable and very accessible. Secure tenancies build better, happier and much stronger communities”.
Cllrs Gallop and Holland at the Patmos Lodge development, with Lambeth’s deputy leader, Cllr Dan Adilypour.
Councillor Gallop, along with Cllr Paul Gadsby, have been instrumental in bringing the project to the area. Cllr Gadsby said: “I was very pleased to speak in favour of this development at Lambeth’s planning committee a number of years ago: it is incredibly important we build more council homes as part of a mix of genuinely affordable housing for our residents. More of this please!”
Cllrs Gallop and Gadsby have long campaigned for the Patmos Lodge development
Twelve homes at the Lodge are being offered for private sale, the proceeds from which will be ploughed back into providing affordable housing in Lambeth.
A group which works to save children and young people in Myatt’s Fields from educational failure and other effects of social problems is the big winner in a list of cash awards worth almost a quarter of a million pounds, announced by Lambeth council.
XLP, which supports young people in Lambeth facing challenges like family breakdown, unemployment, and educational failure, often in areas impacted by antisocial behaviour and gang violence, will get £156,814.
The organisation, which works alongside bodies including St Gabriel’s School in Myatt’s Fields, focuses on creating positive futures through long-term relationships and belief in change, regardless of background. Initiatives include a school exclusion reduction programme, mentoring, sports and arts and a mobile youth centre. Read about XLP here.
Three other local community projects are celebrating their share of the combined windfall from the Borough’s Community Connections fund.
Breath Arts Health Research — £77,000. Breath are world leaders in combining creativity and scientific research to improve health and wellbeing in communities. The Melodies for Mums programme aims to support new mothers in Brixton and Stockwell experiencing postnatal depression or low mood. This free, 10-week group singing initiative, delivered in local community settings including the Liz Atkinson Children’s Centre, has been proven to improve mental health, boost confidence, and strengthen social connections. More details here.
Longfield Hall Trust — £10,000. The famous local landmark bid will receive the funding injection to help continue it’s work in the community: read about the Hall’s work here.
The Remakery – £9,995. This renowned sustainability organisation which includes a collection of workshops and community space in Lilford Rd will use the grant to support its ongoing community outreach work. Read more about this project here
Community Connections encourages initiatives set up to make our borough fairer and safer — more details can be found here.
Cllr Annie Gallop and Cllr Paul Gadsby said:
“It’s great to see Lambeth stepping in and putting our cash where it’s going to have a significant effect on the lives of many vulnerable people. We’re also please to see big financial boosts for organisations which have been working to improve lives in our neighbourhoods for many years.”
A Government minister has weighed in on Myatt’s Fields Labour councillors’ call for better powers to deal with the ‘blight’ of e-bikes and e-scooters left strewn across our pavements and open spaces.
Councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop wrote to Simon Lightfoot MP, Minister for Local Transport, urging the government to help Lambeth council deal with the problem, following representations from local people.
Now Mr Lightfoot has replied, thanking the councillors for their comments and assuring them that he was aware of the issue, in Lambeth and in the rest of London.
In their letter sent earlier this month, Cllrs Gallop and Cllr Gadsby urged tighter regulatory powers in the face of a growing problem from “dockless” e-bikes and scooters.
Residents in Myatt’s Fields have complained about public spaces in the ward being used to abandon the vehicles, creating an eyesore and blocking pavements – a particular nuisance for our neighbours with mobility issues.
In his reply, Mr Lightfoot said he agreed with the councillors’ view that so-called “micro-mobility” schemes can benefit many users and contribute to our environmental targets.
However. he said: “I am particularly conscious that while pavement obstructions caused by poorly parked e-bikes are an inconvenience to many, they present a serious safety risk to vulnerable pavement users such as those with mobility issues or visual impairments.”
He went on: “On e-scooters specifically, until any legislative changes are brought forward and come into effect, private e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, and rental e-scooters can only be used in national rental e-scooter trial areas. Enforcement of illegal and/or irresponsible e-scooter use is a matter for the police. Users can face fines and fixed penalty notices, criminal prosecution, points on their driving licence, and have their e-scooter impounded.
“As you will appreciate, the new government is still in its early stages, and I am still carefully considering the future of micromobility policy, including on shared micromobility rental schemes and e-scooters”.
He said he was grateful to the councillors for getting in touch with him as he considers action – “Your distillation of the specific nature of the problem in London and your recommendations for suggested action will be of great help as I do this”, he said.
Separately, Lambeth has proposed a big expansion of bays for dockless bikes – some of them in Myatt’s Fields – but has emphasised that users should act responsibly and refrain from leaving the vehicles in inconvenient places.
A tree which has died after being deliberately damaged is to be felled by the Borough council.
The Ailanthus tree, between Russell Grove and Vassall Road, was confirmed to be lifeless earlier this year. Experts say the cause of death isn’t known but there as been “determined vandalism” to the stem – shown in the picture below.
The bark has been deliberately cut through right around the tree stem, up to a height of a metre from the ground.
The tree is located on ground to the rear of houses on Russell Grove – shown in the red square below. Lambeth council says a felling notice will be placed on the tree to inform residents before it is felled this Winter. It will be replaced next Winter.
Ward Labour councillors Annie Gallop and Paul Gadsby said: “it really is pathetic that vandalism has played a part in the destruction of this tree and we would urge anyone with information to contact the Council. It is however important the Council seeks to replace the tree and that this is has already been committed to.”
Plans are afoot for a big increase in the number of roadside spaces for rental e-bikes and scooters in the borough — including some in Myatt’s Fields. The council wants to hear from residents before approving the plan which, they say, would put hire vehicles within a three-minute walk for most residents.
If the program is approved, the number of locations would rise from around 200 to 350, with four of the new sites in our ward – in Foxley Rd, Welby St, Mostyn Rd and Patmos Rd. These and others can be viewed on this map.
Some local residents have recently complained about e-bikes and scooters left strewn across pavements and public open spaces. Local Labour councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop have written to the Government minister responsible asking for councils to be given more powers to deal with the ‘blight’.
Deputy council leader Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, said: “Lambeth Council supports the further expansion of sustainable forms of travel such as rental dockless bikes and scooters, but we also recognise the accessibility issues that parking on pavements and in high demand locations can cause.
“It’s vital that when people are finished using rental scooters and bikes, they are stored safely in one of the new dockless bays rather than abandoned on the street for the next person to use.”
Many of the new sites chosen are proposed to be installed in some of Lambeth’s busiest areas and frequent destinations to ensure that e-scooter and e-bike users can properly park their rental vehicles when they finish their journey.
The council has launched a consultation on the proposals and is asking residents to respond by visiting this portal. The consultation finishes on Friday December 6.
Councillors have promised to monitor closely a new pilot scheme which will see Myatt’s Fields Park open to the public 24/7.
Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop say they have heard from residents and park users worried about a possible overnight upsurge in anti-social behaviour. Others have welcomed the move because, they say, it will make the park more convenient and accessible.
For many years, the gates have been locked between dusk and 7.30am. Now the local authority has decided to — possibly temporarily — leave them open all the time.
The pilot began earlier this month and is scheduled to continue until next Summer (July 2025). The council points out that Myatt’s Fields is one of the very few open spaces in the borough to have been regularly locked overnight and that no uptick in anti-social behaviour has been experienced when other areas have been left open: recent pilots elsewhere in the borough had been “successful”, Lambeth claimed.
The council insists that cost-saving is not the main reason for the decision. In a statement — the text of which may be read here – Cllr Fred Cowell, Lambeth’s Co-Cabinet Member for Equalities, Governance and Change said three other parks in the borough had been allowed to remain open all the time in the first phase of the trial.
He said: “no increases in crime or ASB were recorded during the first phase. Following relatively positive reports from stakeholders and the police during the first phase I took the decision to move onto the second phase which involved Myatt’s Field as one of the parks in the scope of this trial.”
Cllr Cowell said that £140,000 was being spent each year locking parks but this was unlikely to represent a good use of public cash because it didn’t necessarily deter crime or vandalism.
He went on: “Crime and anti-social behaviour in parks [is] not deterred by the locking measure in isolation. It also can be counterproductive for access for policing or emergency vehicles which can actively be counterproductive to prevent crime and disorder. Furthermore, there are large parts of the year where the locking policy closed access to parks for many park users, [whose] only option for going for a run or walking their dog during the winter months is when the park has closed.”
An earlier study carried out alongside the Myatt’s Fields Park Project, which runs the open space on behalf of Lambeth, had agreed to leaving the facility permanently unlocked, he said.
“A few area-specific factors were looked [at] in relation to proceed[ing] with the unlocking of the park. These included the ongoing authorised evening use from the floodlit 3G pitch […]. This will act to some extent as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour specifically in the park.
“Current health and safety protocols require park workers to leave at least one set of gates unlocked if people refuse to leave the park at locking-up time, so there always has been access to the park through one entrance after dark. Before taking this decision, we had heard from park officers and the staff that help run Myatts Field that during the summer months it is common to leave the park unlocked.”
Cllr Cowell said the pilot is due for review in late July next year although he urged interested parties — including ward councillors and the park project — to report any concerns in the meantime.
Councillors Gallop and Gadsby said:
“We recognise that this change has worried a lot of people — not just in our ward, but also in the wider community of users. We will insist that the council closely monitor the pilot and, listening to residents and users, respond swiftly to any problems, bearing in mind that the park must be kept accessible for as many people as possible. We would encourage all residents to send any feedback on this issue, or raise any specific problems they see during the pilot’s operation, to parks@lambeth.gov.uk.”
Pedestrians in the Holland Grove, on the edge of the Holland Town estate, are set to walk a little easier thanks to Lambeth Council’s newly-announced highways improvement plans.
The neighbourhood features in a list of projects, which are yet to be prioritised but are likely to go ahead in the near future.
Part of the pavement in Holland Grove shares in the plan, which also covers many areas across the borough. Papers released by the council reveals that the pavement on the west side of the road, from Chryssell Road to Vassall Road will be renewed (shown in green below). Flexible paving will be used to protect tree roots.
The council says it wants to start the work ‘at pace’ to avoid the worst of the Winter weather, although it admits some parts of the long list of sites may have to be delayed. All businesses and residents effected will be notified individually, by letter.
Local Labour councillors Annie Gallop and Paul Gadsby said:
“We are pleased that a particularly delipidated part of Holland Grove has made the cut for the borough’s roadway improvements: we have been lobbying for the past 12 months for these pavements to be refurbished following feedback from local residents. If residents do have other roads they feel need some attention, please get in touch with us!”
The historic Minet Library in Myatt’s Fields is set to benefit from a major share of new money from Lambeth Council.
The library, which dates from the late nineteenth century, will enjoy an extensive refurbishment, including improved electrical and heating systems, renewed shelving and other furniture, and upgraded PCs.
Other improvements will include more spaces for hire and enhancements to audio loops, as well as health-check machines and better soundproofing in event rooms. A total of £1.7 million will be spent on Minet and other libraries in the borough, part of the Council’s commitment to ensure libraries are at the heart of Lambeth’s communities.
This significant investment ensures they remain fit for the future, offering not just books and learning resources, but also vital community spaces for events, technology access, and personal development.
Local councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop welcomed the refurbishment, saying:
“This is a long overdue refurbishment to this much valued local institution. We are pleased the Council has listened to our calls for this funding.”
Myatt's Fields Labour 