2010 – the year in Brixton

Kaye Wiggins reports on 2010 in Brixton – a year of elections, closed leisure centres, happy lido days, rising market rents and a jerk chicken festival.

 

2010 has been a year of change for Brixton. It has said hello to Windrush Square, Starbucks, Chuka Umunna and the co-op council. Here’s a quick round-up of the bigger stories of the year.

The renamed and re-landscaped Windrush Square opened in February. Lambeth Council said it would “create a safe, high-quality public space reflecting our unique and diverse community.” But critics questioned whether an “expanse of concrete” could really reflect Brixton’s character.

Also in February, the council announced its plans to “go co-op”. It has spent much of the year trying to explain to residents what this means, and gather our thoughts about it, sometimes in unorthodox ways. Asking us to put coloured balls in different bucket and stickers on bits of paper was a memorable example.

But what the council claims is a worse-than-expected budget settlement from central government, announced in October, has brought a sense of urgency to the plans. They are due to come into force from spring 2011.

Sticking with politics, the general election in May saw Labour hold its Streatham, Vauxhall and Dulwich and West Norwood seats. Chuka Umunna replaced Keith Hill in Streatham, Kate Hoey kept her Vauxhall seat and Tessa Jowell held onto Dulwich and West Norwood.

In the local elections, there was a strong showing for Labour, which gained seven seats. The Lib Dems and the Tories each lost three seats.

A plan to temporarily move Streatham’s ice skating rink to the site of the Pope’s Road car park in Brixton caused unrest this year. In October, more than 100 demonstrators marched to Lambeth town hall to protest about it.

The plan also angered traders on Brixton market, who said using the closed car park as an ice rink, rather than reopening it for parking, could cause them to lose more trade. They had been arguing since February that the closure of the car park in December 2009 had affected their trade, and a Freedom of Information request in October added weight to their argument.

Market traders have had a difficult year, warning in September that rent rises could force more of their shops to close. But there was good news in April, when Brixton’s indoor markets were given listed status.

Shopping in Brixton changed a lot in 2010. Whilst several market stalls have closed down, and independent shops like Lori’s Frothy Coffee have struggled, big brands including Starbucks, H&M, T-Mobile and, most recently, Holland and Barrett, have arrived in the town centre.

But Brixton’s local businesses have had some causes for celebration. The Brixton Pound marked its first birthday in September. And who could forget Charles and Camilla’s surprise visit to the market in July?

Brixton Campaign: Ban/Boycott Brixton Starbucks

Starbucks Brixton

Starbucks opened a new branch in Brixton today right beside the tube station, and already a campaign has been launched to boycott the new shop. In the past few years, the high street has seen the death of Woolworths and the arrival of H&M and T-Mobile, while the market is becoming a home for independent, but more ‘chichi’ shops.  What do you think? Is it the death knell for Brixton’s unique ‘character’ or is it best to agree with one tweeter’s remark that, “it’s only a small branch of Starbucks, stop whining. That’s how our economy works.”

If you want to boycott the Starbucks, here are some views on where to get the best coffee in Brixton (and they’re not all votes for Federation Coffee):

Christopher Douse, Brixton: Federation hands down. Only other contender is Opus (1.50 for a small cappucino) but it’s a bit inconsistent. £2 for a cappucino in Federation (there is only one size), very smooth but intense coffee flavour and lovingly prepared each time so it’s consistent. Plus they are really friendly (e.g. gave me a new one for free when I spilt my first one without having had a sip!). So even though it’s £2, which is relatively expensive for an independent coffee, you don’t feel remotely ripped off. You can get a loyalty card, too (6 coffees get the 7th free or something like that).

Anonymous (ahem, apparently that’s how contentious coffee is in Brixton this week…): Rice milk latte @ Wild Caper… Why? It’s light, sweet and smooth all at once… Little cup of heaven 🙂

@tomp2 @FederationCoffe without a doubt! Their flat whites and iced lattes are made with more attention than any other coffee I’ve had

@82mmphotography hey- mine would have to be the hive! Great place for lazy hangover lunchtimes;) Thanks 82mm.com

@FreeSouthLondon It has to be @FederationCoffe(e). All other Brixtonian coffeemakers will undergo 3 hours of public ideological humiliation.

@Brixtonbeats love a good latte at opus… Just tastes like quality in coffee form 🙂

@mr_richie Has to be San Marino’s, best in #Brixton by far. Enormous lattes, a veritable bucket of coffee. And they’re pleasantly brusque.

@mr_richie Oh, and Lori’s Frothy Coffee booth in the newsagents by McD’s is worth a look too.

@rodstanley the new Starbucks *sarcasm*

@SimonTateBooks Honest cafe is decent, as is Ritzy, not tried San Marinos. I’m kinda depressed about the new Starbucks opening 😦

@lauracward Cornercopia, then Federation. I like everything about Cornercopia – desserts, tables, chutneys and it’s a bargain!

@DJDanCook Federation, Flat white, every morning

@DogstarBrixton federation coffee – cool place, amazing coffee, good beans from nude esspresso, in Market which is great & NOT starbucks 🙂

@DogstarBrixton by time we roll up its time for a Caffè macchiato…

@CllrMattBennett Rosie’s in the market does tasty coffee; plus it isn’t just served in an identikit bucket like the chains…

@WindmillBrixton Bollocks to Starbucks. Adam’s Bakery on Brixton Hill does good coffee at £1 a cup!!!

In what is becoming a bizarrely coffee-themed week, here’s a pic of the new coffee shop (selling coffee beans to take home as well as cups of coffee) about to open next to Rosie’s Deli in the market.

And I don’t even drink the stuff…

Not so frothy coffee – Starbucks-style

This is a step too far for me. It looks like Brixton Rd is going to get that dreaded death knell for any high street – a Starbucks… The  website Building.co.uk reported in February that Starbucks have signed a lease for 439 Brixton Rd, one of the units by the underground station. According to Building.co.uk, the company “is thought to be paying around £110,000 a year for the store which has a 1,300 sq ft ground floor”. On May 16, ‘Caroline 27’ posted on the Urban 75 forum that the lease had been confirmed by @Starbucks. Here is the recent debate on Urban 75…

And in the spirit of supporting independent businesses, see below for a mini interview with Lorient Gashi and go here to find out about the new Federation Coffee in the Granville Arcade.

Lori’s Frothy Coffee #2

When Brixton Blog interviewed Lori Gashient in January, he reported that business at the new ‘Lori’s Frothy Coffee Bar’ (in the Brixton Central Stop Shop) had been slow.  We caught up with him now that summer has come and after the rumours that Starbucks have signed a lease in a unit by the station. Here he is in his own words:

“Business hasn’t been very good, but it’s going OK. I think it takes a while for a food and drink business to get going – people put the stuff in their stomachs so they have to be more confident about it. I will stay open, but the summer will be quiet because people don’t want hot drinks like coffee as much. I would do cold coffee, but I’d need a sink to prepare that. Or I’d like to sell slush puppies. My wife is from Brazil so we might sell some Brazilian food too.

I had to stop selling the popcorn, because it wasn’t selling and the people in the offices upstairs complained about the smell!”

Lori’s Frothy Coffee Bar

Lorient Gashi in his coffee booth

In early January, a coffee booth appeared in the Brixton Central Stop shop next to McDonalds, selling cheap coffee to cold commuters. I have been walking past Lorient Gashi every morning and wondering about his stall. As it turns out, Gashi has been in Brixton a while – on the other side of the road with the Brixton Bazaar food market every weekend. When that was closed down at the end of last year, he decided to move Lori’s Frothy Coffee Bar into the Central Stop. “I stayed here because the people are alright. There’s trouble here and there, but it doesn’t affect us as traders.” Brixton residents are apparently so stuck in their ways that he has had to build up a new clientele after switching sides. “At the moment I don’t have many customers, because I’m new and not properly advertised in this booth. Maybe I’ll put a nice sign up.”  The coffee is not out of this world, but it is a good price (a regular latte is £1.60). “I try to be affordable for everybody”, he says. Lori is so well-meaning that he will prove a welcome addition to many a Brixtonian morning. Asked what one thing he would say to sell his coffee, he replies, “people are just welcome to come here, you know?”