Residents at loggerheads over plans to redevelop estate
By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter
Residents are at loggerheads over plans to redevelop two community spaces on their estate.
Hyde, a housing association, wants to bulldoze a building occupied by an arts group on the Kennington Park estate and replace it with social housing and new community space.
The plans, submitted to Lambeth council, would also see the estate’s adjacent community centre refurbished and a new courtyard created to connect the two buildings.
Former Lambeth council leader Joan Twelves, who runs the community centre, says the development will give the building a much needed facelift and improve facilities for people.
But the plans have met fierce resistance from Shannon McNab, who runs Oval Arts Depot (OAD) out of the building next door which is due to be demolished under Hyde’s proposal.
A petition she launched opposing the proposed development has racked up more than 1,100 signatures and posters against the plans are stuck up around the estate.
Cllr Twelves said: “We are really excited. It’s really sad that Shannon does not want to get involved with us. We think it’s important that the community centre is working and running and does not have doors that don’t open and toilets that don’t block. There’s a lot of the building that’s crumbling.
“Hyde is investing millions into refurbishing this site.”
But, Ms McNab is concerned at the loss of the OAD as a space to run various clubs and groups.
She said: “What do you do if you have no place to run a summer club like this? Where are you supposed to go? I don’t understand where you’re supposed to go.”
Joan said she had leased the community centre from Hyde since 2017, and raised money from letting the space to local groups, such as drama school All In Actors. Cash raised through hiring out the building allowed the centre to fund initiatives such as its Monday Lunch Clubs which provide local people with a free hot meal, she said.
Ms McNab’s petition calls on Lambeth council to refuse Hyde’s plans to demolish the OAD. But it incorrectly states that the housing association intends to demolish the community centre. It goes on to incorrectly claim that Hyde proposes to build ‘commercial flats’ on the site, whereas the planning application says the eight planned homes will be at social rents.
In a South London Press article from 2023, she describes the potential closure of OAD as a ‘terrible blow to so many people’, adding that many of the kids who attend activities come from families with ‘disrupted home lives’ and living in poverty. Ms McNab has invested £60,000 of her own cash into the project over her three years occupying the due-to-be-demolished building, according to the same article.
Caught in the middle of the disagreement is Alex Wolfenden, 26, who has run coffee stall Sexi Coffi outside the OAD building since 2022, subletting the space from Ms McNab.
Mr Wolfenden will have to leave the site if Hyde’s plans go ahead, but he said the housing association has suggested he may be able to set up a new cafe on the ground floor of the planned new building when it is finished.
He said: “I’m trying to stay positive about it, but until I see it in writing I’m not getting my hopes up.”
Lambeth council will make a decision on the housing association’s plans at a yet undisclosed date. If the development is approved, building work is expected to begin in 2025.
A spokesman for Hyde said: “Communities are just as important as the homes we build, which is why we’re investing in Kennington Park Community Centre (KPCC).
“KPCC provides vital services for the area. It’s used by community groups including theatre groups, dance classes and for children’s activities and parties. The design has been part of a thorough consultation process, including a public consultation in March 2024 and collaboration with the trustees of the community centre to refine the design.”
Pictured top: Dominique Marshall and Joan Twelves outside Kennington Park Community Centre (Picture: Robert Firth)