Brockwell Park playground and building plans

Anja Stobbart reports on the renovation of the Brockwell Park playground and the broader changes taking place in the park

I’d known for ages about the work planned on the playground in Brockwell Park, but it was still a shock to turn the corner with my two children, heading for their beloved playground, only to come face to face with the earthquake like devastation.

They stood for a while looking at the places we once played.

My two year old described the scene: ‘Broken, Mummy’.

Brockwell Park dates back to 1892 as a public park, though the Brockwell Park Hall Estate was created 200 years ago in 1811.

Land Use Consultants (LUC) has been working on the rejuvenation of the Park since 2005 (with Lambeth Council and Brockwell Park MAC), originally securing £3.5million of Heritage Lottery Fund / BIG Lottery funding in 2008. Lambeth brought the total up to £5 million.

The new and improved Brockwell includes the ‘natural’ children’s playground (already completed) – better known as the sandpit and paddling pool – along with the re-building of the main playground, the restoration of the lakes and improvements to the paths, and plans for new trees and planting, new railings and gates. There will be a new centre for the Community Greenhouses and Gardens Project, plus restoration of the Walled Garden and Temple Building.

The paddling pool was the first part of Brockwell Park’s planned transformation. And, after the usual moans from some, including myself, it has proved a huge success (and no one seems to have knocked themselves out on one of the architect’s sculpted boulder[s] yet).

The paths around the park are also being dug up for new sewer runs – all of which appear to be going to plan too (and mostly finished). It looks like Brixton Water Lane will be the last one to be completed – running from the gate up to the fork of the road near the BMX track (still very much near BWL entrance at present, and a long way from the BMX track).

The end of October sees the closure of the Temple and toilets, as well as the Walled Garden. Winter is, obviously, the best time to close all these areas – but they will be missed. No secret winter garden this year.

The new playground is due for completion by the end of March 2012. Although there have been conflicting rumours, with some mums gossiping that it might be earlier, in February 2012. The various changes are all ahead of schedule at the moment – lets hope the snowy depths of winter don’t strike with such venom this year.

Paul Carter, the park manager, has been writing a regular report about the progress of the work – see here

The equipment has all gone now. But, in the age of recycling, it will be reused if it is in good condition. The ageing roundabout had probably seen it’s last spin – believe me, the sound of dragging metal had got rather grating.

I have had many conversations starting, ‘Why spend money on a new playground when it is fine as it is?!”

Well, the plans certainly look amazing. One report said the old children’s playground was poorly integrated in the park with little tree cover. The new playground and equipment has been designed to sit better within the park landscape, and provide that much needed cover – something come summer we will all appreciate.

The plans show how the playground will increase in size (reaching out to the new curved path ‘above’ the old playground area).

The toddler area will boast a platform playhouse and hut, a small platform hut and wide slide. A snake sandpit and wobble dish are bound to be popular along with the obligatory toddler swings of course.

Junior play may well tempt a few daring toddlers that way as they behold the suspension bridge, sand building site with chutes and wheel, along with a sand transport system, slide and fireman’s pole. And the list goes on.

Senior play has the big money entertainment with a large cableway – which may entice the odd embarrassing parent, along with the whirlwind roundabout. Playhouses and walkways beneath tree level, with huts, bridges, slides and ladders make the new playground sound like a true adventure for all.

Leaving to go home may become more of an issue, but there’s always the Chocolate Box round the corner for a carrot to dangle. Once in a while at least!

The Weekend Ahead in Brixton

Fireworks were cancelled at Brockwell Park last year when Lambeth cut two of three of its local displays. But, thankfully, it’s our turn to host the remaining itinerant event this year. And it’s the 200th anniversary of Brockwell Hall. Double win.

Friday 4: New Brixton Market pintxos bar, Seven At Brixton, launches tonight from 7pm. They’ve got several rooms upstairs curated by different artists and some pretty tasty cocktails.

Saturday 5: Brixton Station Rd is becoming a new hub for temporary, often themed, day markets (see above). Today is the first of a monthly flea market – there’ll be bric-a-brac, clothes, jewellery, furniture and hopefully lots of useless tat.

At 7.30pm head up to Brockwell for the fireworks, starting at 8pm. Grab yourself some sparklers on the way.

Sunday 6: Upstairs at The Ritzy is hosting the appropriately-named reggae night, Catch a Fire. African reggae performer, El Fata, will be playing.

Review: Majestic Restaurant

Curried goat, plantain and beans

Guest food blogger Lucy Ferguson, who blogs at ‘tv dinners‘, reviews the Majestic Restaurant

With the ever increasing publicity and praise currently being heaped on Brixton Village, here at Brixton Blog we’ve been dining out in one of the lesser known eateries in SW9 – Majestic Restaurant on Coldharbour Lane.

Majestic is a Nigerian restaurant, there’s not much to see from the outside and you may well have walked past without really noticing. Once inside, it’s a trove of traditional Nigerian food and drink. Unperturbed by the stated half-hour preparation time for our first course, we started the meal with moimoi, a savoury steamed bean cake cooked with onions and seasonings. It was so tasty, I could eat it every day. This high protein, low fat food serves as a slimming aid – not that a slimming aid could be any use considering the sheer size of the next course!  The moimoi was served with a wickedly hot suya, spiced beef kebab meat which made us happy to have ordered the large bottles of palm wine to accompany the meal.

Moimoi

For main courses we tried three mains. The first was tilapia, a huge fish cooked in a rich sauce that barely fit the plate, served with richly flavoured jollof rice. The second main course was assorted meats, a courageous choice, which included cow’s foot – which managed to pull off the surprising combination of being both gelatinous and grisly – and tripe. The tripe looked pretty frightening but took on the spices of the sauce and melted in the mouth. Third main (see above) was a plate piled high with curried goat and plantain with rice and beans. It was outstanding, and a struggle to get even half way through, but the type of meal you wanted to carry on eating well after you were too stuffed to eat any more.

Assorted Meats

Tilapia

The staff were super friendly and enthusiastic, explaining the dishes well. As we were leaving a PA system and drums were being brought in, suggesting Friday nights in Majestic can turn into quite a party – just as long as you’re not too full to get down.

Two courses plus palm wine around £15 per person<

Majestic Restaurant<
330A Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8QH
020 7274 6676

OxJam Brixton 2011

It’s OxJam Brixton today. The festival is taking over four venues – The Windmill, Dog Star, Plan B and Upstairs at The Ritzy – with up to 30 acts including drum ‘n’ bass DJs Logistics, the Work It! DJ team and the BAC Beatbox Academy with performance poet MC Angel.

They aim to raise £6000 for Oxfam with the money from the tickets, costing £10 each for a day pass. Here’s what you can see for a tenner:
PLAN B (6pm-Midnight)

Nu:tone B2B Logistics ft. SP:MC
Ayah Marar
Drop/ Dead
Somethink Sounds
DJ Strago

THE DOGSTAR (3pm – Midnight)

Work It! DJs
The Stow
Wara
The Great Malarkey
Electrixcity
Vibeadeliks
Jack Leon Colton
Hejira
Colomboloco
BAC Beatbox Academy ft. Deanna Rogers and Paul Cree

THE WINDMILL (3pm-11pm)

Kay Suzuki
Beaty Heart
Lo-Fi
Spectre Spector
A Sweet Niche
Soccer 96
Stinger
Little Big Noise
Zoe Konez
Mercy Alexander

UPSTAIRS AT THE RITZY (7pm-11pm)

Russell Swallow & The Wolf
I Am A Pilot
Jon Nickoll
Grace Banks
We Are Goose
Tim Lacy

Brixton Recipe: Apple and Quince Cobbler

In the first our new guest food blogs, Miss South of North South Food shares her recipe for apple and quince cobbler. With Brixton ingredients of course…

Despite the last gasp of summer a few weeks ago, we have to accept autumn is with us again. It happens to be my favourite time of year with those slightly crisp sunny days, the smell of bonfires in the evenings and the abundance of harvest everywhere around us. The trees and bushes are groaning with plenty and the markets are a joy. It was no difficulty to choose a recipe where the ingredients could be bought or foraged or a mixture of both.

Nothing says autumn to me more than fruit topped with carbs, but it is possible to tire of crumble. So try a cobbler instead. Similar to a scone mixture, it gives a new fluffy dimension to fruit. I’ve used apples (from Brixton Blog’s own garden) and quinces from A&C Continental Deli on Atlantic Road, but Perry Court Farms are doing beautiful English apples at Brixton Farmers’ Market and you might know someone in Lambeth with a quince tree…

I used three Braeburn sized apples and one large quince to make enough for four people. I did measure the cobbler topping to make life easier for you. Start by peeling your quince. They have a sticky feel and are tricky to peel cleanly. Slice thinly and cover with lemon juice as they discolour instantly. Pop in the oven at 180℃ or Gas Mark 4 for about 30 minutes as they take much longer to cook than the apples.

While the quinces are filling the house with a beautiful perfumed fragrance, prep your apples. Peel and slice and cover with water. Then turn to your topping. You’ll need:

100g plain flour
50g cold butter
50g sugar
4 tablespoons milk (approx 60mls)
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or cinnamon (your choice)
50g walnuts, hazelnuts or cobnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

It’s very simple to make and the kids can easily get involved. Add the flour and butter and rub the butter into it the flour til it resembles breadcrumbs, like you do with crumble or scones. Add in the sugar and then beat in the egg and milk (and vanilla or cinnamon) gently and quickly until just combined.

Take the quince out of the oven and mix in the apples, making sure it’s even. I didn’t add sugar as I prefer my fruit tart and tangy. You could if you like. Spoon the cobbler batter over the top of the fruit. It’s quite runny. Then top with the chopped nuts for extra crunch and flavour. Pop in the oven at 200℃ or Gas Mark 6 for about 20-25 minutes for individual cobblers or 40-45 minutes for a large cobbler or until golden and crunchy. Cool slightly and serve as it is or with ice cream or a large dollop of clotted cream. You can also prepare these in advance and simply reheat when needed.

The apple is tart and works perfectly with the sweet fragrant quince. The topping is light and fluffy and the cobnuts I used (also from Perry Court) added a gorgeous creamy crunch that made this feel a bit more grown up and less like nursery food than it might. Celebrate autumn in style with this perfect dessert. Perfect on a Sunday tea-time after a leisurely trip to Brixton Farmers’ Market!

Debate: Brixton Village – price rises and rent hikes

Brixton Blog asked its Twitter readers what they thought of recent price rises in some of the new eateries in the indoor markets, particularly Granville Arcade/’Brixton Village’. Prices have gone up Federation Coffee, Brick Box and Kaosarn among others. While some felt less able to support the local businesses, others pointed to the rent rises and inflation (at a three-year high today) traders are facing themselves which mean they have to pass on the cost to the customer. Still others argued that most of the restaurants are still relatively cheap for the quality of food they serve.

First, some background to the development of the Granville Arcade. In 2009, the owners at the time, London Associated Properties, worked with Spacemakers to “entice new retailers into a location that had suffered over the years from high vacancies and low investment”. It has been suggested by some that new businesses receiving positive press then allowed the owners to increase the rents in the market.

Here is the LAP Annual Report from 2010:

“Our two markets in Brixton have seen strong performers in terms of rental growth…Since 2009, we have spent considerable time and effort in re-branding the markets as more exciting places to shop, with a particular emphasis on quality food and restaurants as well as cutting edge fashion. The net result of this input is that rents have grown by some 8% and Brixton Village, on eof the markets, is fully let for the first time in some 20 years. … We have plans to work with a leading market operator to ensure the next phase of this asset’s growth. 

While this project has been a success throughout 2010, we do not feel LAP has the resources to develop Brixton Markets further. Consequently, since the year end we have agreed terms to let the two markets to In Shops Ltd, a subsidiary of Groupe Geraud, Europe’s largest private market operator. The leases are at a base rate of £817,500 per annum with a profit share on the net rent above that amount.”

So LAP now lets the market to In Shops Ltd, who specialise in shopping centres across the UK and are owned by Groupe Geraud.

 Here are your tweets (some rather more than 140 characters):

@Lucy Caldicott  I was amazed the calzone at Agile Rabbit only £4 yesterday. Still really cheap. Bread Room coffee and croissant only £2

@TheBrixtonite LAP doesn’t own the market. Their rents and service charges have been increasing every month & the new owners want more money 4 late nights. SMH at moaning Brixtonians. Brixton Village traders have kept prices as low as they can while Geraud the market’s owners have upped rents.

All we do is moan! We treat that market like our own personal playground & forget that it is a business.Landlord increases the rent & service. service charges. Where do you think the traders will get the money to cover those increases? Why not petition Geraud to stop the unfair rent increases instead of moaning at the traders? & if y’ll took the time to ask the traders how they are doing, then you’ll know that they are stuck btwn a rock & a hard place in BrixVill. If they speak out against the rents,they risk the owners cutting off their contracts because the market is so popular &someone will pay more. But they want to stay as many have been there from the beginning. The management office is in Market Row. Let the owners know how you feel

@BrixtonVillage yes rents and service charges have been increased. LAP does not own Brixton Village

@lukewaterfield I think it’s in the interests of @brixtonvillage places to have this out – bit of a PR disaster waiting to happen. The popularity will pass – and their survival will rely on loyalty – same as everything in brixton.

If they’re being pressured into price rises by increases in rent/service charges etc – they should let people know.

@memespring poss initial low rents coming to an end? LAP always saw the project as a way of raising (annual report suggested so anyway). details of the report here: urban75.net/forums/threads…

@annawaltz price increases are a thankless way to treat customers who made those places popular by word of mouth. They lose their charm.

@ClaireWinship14 yep the rent is supposedly £7k a month I was told that by a shop owner, not sure if that price is OTT but yep changes occuring!

@daisydumps shame ppl complaining. Amazing thing on our doorstep. BYO policy and no taxi home equals cheap and fabulous. Also give brickbox a break. Not for profit and a caiphirinia to knock your socks off for £4.50?!

Something original, non-chain, cool, cheap and exciting lands right on your doorstep…complaints start. Bizarre.

@cornishop @daisydumps @BrixtonBlog @jayrayner1 exactly. i feel very lucky we have brixvill. it’s a (secular) miracle

@tash_mous I def now think twice about impromptu week dinners out in ‘Brix Vill’ whereas before I’d be there every Weds/Thurs in a flash.

But Brix still reasonable compared to most London! It’s usual thing of ppl getting used to cheap products+expecting to be norm

@Brixton_Bugle Do we know what In Shops Ltd plan to do? Increase rents further I presume…

@ejoftheweb  food costs also a factor. plus demand pull. tenants are businesses not charities. They should charge what they can get.

@dougiewoo
@jayrayner1 :if the @brixtonvillage price hikes r because of you, such is life! We should all be promoting Brixton!!

@lukewaterfield @dougiewoo @jayrayner1 @brixtonvillage @BrixtonBlog To the detriment of who though? Inevitable consequence is local people priced out.

@dougiewoo RT @lukewaterfield: @jayrayner1 @brixtonvillage @BrixtonBlog – fair point but you would hope there could be some sensibility there…

@lukewaterfield @dougiewoo @jayrayner1 @brixtonvillage @BrixtonBlog Not seeing it yet. Not sure how many people who work locally can afford a £7 lunch.

@kate_t re.prices, still a great value evening though given its BYO, happy to pay a bit more to keep it worthwhile for the restaurants

@gbbailey Given the popularity of the place it’s hardly surprising. Shame though.

@jayrayner1 and so it begins. I imagine you’ve had a few claiming it’s all my fault.

@nickwood if the demand is there (and it is!) then the prices will follow… I don’t think you can blame them – second outlets to follow?

@natasha_gould from experience, Kaosarn prices went up after the first Jay Rayner review and portions went down. We stopped going after that. it’s a shame. all for supporting local business and healthy capitalism, but when you are fighting for a seat you feel exploited

@northsouthfood I think Kaosarn has gone downhill as well as up in price. But what folk expect? Food prices are up everywhere, so is rent!

@princess_knicks I dunno about shop rent in the village but my landlord just discovered brixton is hot and hiked my flat rent up

 @MsVanessaG could be an umfortunate consiquence of new landlords increasing rents and service charges.

@dougiewoo – Would be a shame if places have increased prices but is it due to greedy landlords that may once again ruin a good thing?

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