Civic University Agreement

Introducing Our Civic University Agreement

Together we will make Lewisham the most inclusive place to live, work, create and learn.

Our Civic University Agreement sets out a shared vision agreed by 12 anchor institutions in the London borough of Lewisham.

Together, we have identified the priority areas where we can work together to improve the lives of people in our locality.

Developed through consultation and coproduction, these priority areas are: • • • •

Economic prosperity and jobs Educational opportunities and aspirations Culture, health and wellbeing Environmental sustainability

About our borough

Lewisham has a population of around 303,500, which makes it similar in size to the city of Newcastle.

It is the UK’s 15th most ethnically diverse local authority, and 2nd most diverse borough in London.

Two out of five Lewisham residents are from a black or minority ethnic background, and the borough is home to over 75 nationalities.

Lewisham is home to an energetic voluntary sector, renowned cultural institutions, and one of London’s first Creative Enterprise Zones.

In 2021, Lewisham Council was awarded the title of ‘Council of Sanctuary’ in recognition of its track record of supporting refugees and migrants.

In 2022, Lewisham will London’s Borough of Culture, launching a creative year-long celebration of our neighbourhoods, communities and stories.

Population of over

300k Home to more than

75

nationalities

2nd

most diverse borough in London

About the CUA partners

The Albany is an arts centre in the heart of Deptford that exists to inspire, develop and support creativity for the benefit of our community.

Goldsmiths, University of London is a university offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the arts, humanities, social sciences, business and computing, alongside world-leading research.

The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a familyfriendly, free Museum and Gardens that aims to connect us all with global cultures and the natural environment.

Lewisham College is a thriving, dynamic further education college based across two campuses in Lewisham and Deptford.

Lewisham Council is the local authority for Lewisham. Their vision is to make Lewisham the best place in London to live, work and learn.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust is the borough’s local health authority, responsible for several hospitals and a range of community health services.

Lewisham Homes is an enterprising, not-for-profit organisation set up to improve housing in the borough.

They manage over 19,000 homes in Lewisham.

Lewisham Local is a charity connecting the Lewisham community through giving, to grow local pride, fairness, equality and opportunity.

The Migration Museum is a museum that explores how the movement of people to and from Britain across the ages has made us who we are, as individuals and as a nation.

Phoenix Community Housing is a resident-led housing association. They own and manage more than 6,000 homes in Bellingham, Whitefoot and Downham.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is the only Conservatoire of music and contemporary dance in the UK, and a leader in the advancement of creative artistic practice.

999 Club is a charity offering services for homeless people in Lewisham, including those who are vulnerably housed or living in temporary accommodation.

Objective 1 Educational opportunities and learning aspirations

A quarter of Lewisham residents are aged 0–9 years old, and a third of children in Lewisham grow up in poverty.

This raises many challenges in terms of education. Adults in our communities also need more support to reskill and upskill. Demand for high-level digital skills, in particular, will increase rapidly in the next decades, with around 90% of jobs in the next twenty years requiring these skills.

We need to work together to help make sure everyone in our borough fulfils their potential and has the skills that they need to succeed in an uncertain future.

Together, we will: Develop programmes to upskill people and support them into jobs, focusing on barriers faced by Lewisham’s diverse population.

Strengthen our work on breaking down barriers to careers in the Creative Sector.

Re-energise our efforts to meet the education and employment needs of the local adult population.

Develop new short courses that help students build up qualifications, targeting local needs and supporting regeneration.

Heighten our widening participation and outreach activities, working with schools with high levels of deprived pupils.

Objective 2 Economic prosperity, jobs and growth

Lewisham is one of the most deprived local authority areas in England. In the overall Index of Multiple Deprivation, Lewisham is 48th out of 326 English local authorities. In London, Lewisham is the 10th most deprived borough. Lewisham does not have many large employers, with Goldsmiths, Lewisham Council and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust the three largest.

We need to work together on new ways to bring investment, opportunities, prosperity and jobs to our borough.

Together, we will: Mobilise our shared expertise to support local businesses and freelancers, especially in the creative and digital sectors.

Work collectively with local partners to provide resources, including space, expertise and working on joint funding initiatives.

Support business recovery and growth locally, and continue to deliver value to our locality by acting as model employers.

Heighten our contributions to the development of the Greater London Authority’s network of Creative Enterprise Zones.

Continue to deliver our commitments as members of the Lewisham Deal, to promote inclusive growth.

Objective 3 Culture, health and wellbeing

Lewisham is home to a number of world class cultural institutions.

Together with Goldsmiths, places like the Albany, Trinity Laban, The Horniman and the Migration Museum all play an important part in the area’s cultural infrastructure.

Working together, we want to enhance the cultural riches of our borough. At the same time, we want to increase the overall health and wellbeing of everyone who lives and works in Lewisham. Conditions such as anxiety and depression affect nearly 1 in 5 people locally, and health inequalities are significant.

Together, we will: Use Lewisham’s year as Borough of Culture in 2022 to build closer partnerships and deliver social change.

Enhance partnerships and collaborations to strengthen public and local community programmes of engagement Draw on expertise across our partnership to develop community services such as social prescribing, wellbeing clinics, and free law clinics.

Work with the Mental Health Provider Alliance on initiatives to improve the borough’s mental wellbeing.

Work with local communities to support the borough’s initiatives to help migrants and refugees.

Increase student volunteering and placement opportunities in the community.

Enable the local community to access Goldsmiths’ and Trinity Laban’s cultural and sporting assets.

Work with local providers on addressing the needs of our ageing population.

Objective 4 Environmental sustainability

The climate crisis is one of the biggest threats faced by society. We all have a role to play in preserving our environment, acting locally to build a more sustainable future. The borough of Lewisham is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and the partners in our CUA are all working urgently to address the climate crisis. Half the borough’s carbon emissions come from energy use in people’s homes, the remaining half is split between transport and businesses, making this a truly collective responsibility.

Together, we will: Use Borough of Culture 2022 to develop closer partnerships associated with the climate emergency.

Develop shared climate emergency actions, and seek strategic alignment with the Lewisham Climate Plan.

Work on shared actions to reduce air pollution and raise public awareness of its dangers.

Consult with local schools and community groups on reducing vehicle traffic.

Increase access to the green space and ecological resources on the Goldsmiths campus.

Work together to enhance the local ecological environment, including via exchanges of volunteers, knowledge and equipment.

Read the full Civic University Agreement