South Norwood Regeneration Programme Newsletter - December 2021 by We Love SE25

DECEMBER 2021

CONTENTS 3

Recovery and Relaunch

Regeneration Programme 2021

5-6

Transforming Our Community Spaces

Partnering with the South Norwood Business Network

8-9

South Norwood Business Support Programme

10 - 11

Building the Community Network

A New Management Plan for South Norwood Conservation Area

Reimagining South Norwood’s Public Spaces

High Streets Improvement Grant Scheme

Taking a Closer Look at South Norwood's High Street Heritage

Our Funders

South Norwood Regeneration Programme Focus Area

3 RECOVERY AND RELAUNCH As South Norwood heads towards the festive season, we look back at what’s been happening in the Regeneration Programme since activities resumed in April 2021. After a pause in March 2020, which we all thought would be a matter of weeks, it has been wonderful to get back to the high streets, meeting the people who rose to the occasion to support the community in lockdown and to hear about the creativity of our local businesses. Like so many communities in London, we have seen significant change over the past 20 months. While we have said some goodbyes, we have also made new connections and welcomed new faces. The Regeneration Programme is funded by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund and Historic England’s High Streets Heritage Action Zone. The programme aims to deliver improvements to buildings and public spaces, to support local businesses to adapt to life post-lockdown, and to strengthen the community infrastructure.

FIND OUT MORE

croydon.gov.uk/southnorwood

REGENERATION PROGRAMME 2021 APRIL MAY Business Engagement Officer joins the team

JULY Regeneration Programme stall at South Norwood Community Festival CAAMP public engagement begins Love South Norwood app launches

SEPTEMBER First group workshop with the community network

NOVEMBER

Launch of South Norwood Business Network Shop Local campaign Second group workshop with the community network Fundraising & Bid Writing Workshop for cultural organisations

South Norwood’s High Street Heritage Action Zone Officer joins the team

JUNE CAAMP research begins CounterCulture meets local community network groups

AUGUST

Community panel selects Placemaking design team

OCTOBER

South Norwood business support programme begins Works starts on site at Socco Cheta

COMING UP IN THE NEW YEAR

Launch of the High Street Improvement Grant scheme Public consultation on the Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Talks and guided heritage walk New business support events and workshops High street oral history project Proposals for Placemaking

TRANSFORMING OUR COMMUNITY SPACES WORKS BEGIN AT SOCCO CHETA When Croydon Council advertised the lease for the Socco Cheta building in May 2018, it was the first step towards delivering We Love SE25’s vision of a network of spaces across South Norwood which would provide the much needed room for community-led activities in the area. A series of open days at the centre, the long-time home of Croydon Domino Club, led to a new partnership. The Socco Cheta Community Hub CIC will bring South Norwood Community Kitchen, Screen 25 and The Association of Jamaicans (UK) Trust to join the Domino Club at 44B Portland Road. It has been a long road to the first spade in the ground. However we are now two months into the four month construction programme for the first stage of works, with a budget just over £280,000 funded by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund and Green Fund, Croydon Council, Croydon Almshouse and London Marathon Charitable Trust. When the Council's contractor finishes their work and hand the keys to the consortium, there will still be a lot of work to do. We look forward to hearing more about the consortium’s plans in future editions of the newsletter.

BIG CHANGES SO FAR The building has had many incarnations since it was first built as a cinema in the 1920s and holds many different memories for the community. The removal of the covered walkway from the small building at Portland Road to the main building will be a big change for people who have spent time in the building in the past.

Removal of the Socco Cheta walkway

PLANS FOR STANLEY ARTS We have been working with the Stanley Arts team to support their fundraising for ambitious plans to transform the jewel in South Norwood’s heritage crown. The Good Growth Programme is funding co-working space for creative organisations, an extension of the co-working initiative which Dr Dan Winder and his team began in 2019. The High Streets HAZ programme is funding works to the Assembly Hall and Society Room, focussing on the repair and reinstatement of heritage features and addressing the problems with heating and ventilation which make it difficult to use these spaces at the height of winter and summer.

We will be focussing on the restoration work of the beautiful Victorian tiles at the halls as part of the High Streets HAZ community engagement programme. Look out for details of how you can get involved in future newsletters.

Stanley Arts

CROYDON YOUTH THEATRE ORGANISATION

Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation

CYTO’s Shoestring Theatre on Oakley Road is a hidden gem in South Norwood. We are currently working with CYTO as part of our community community network project before work begins on the physical changes to the building which will be funded by the Good Growth Programme.

PARTNERING WITH THE SOUTH NORWOOD BUSINESS NETWORK The South Norwood Business Network (SNBN) is a local business network committed to uniting South Norwood’s business community and creating an optimal environment for business growth. Since joining the Council in May, Tamara Amarquaye, our Business Engagement Officer and local resident, has been working closely with SNBN's co-founder Nicky Thompson to deliver business training events, grow their membership and support Shop Local initiatives, such as their Christmas Shop Local campaign which launched in November.

‘Our Shop Local campaign is promoting South Norwood businesses and encouraging the community to use their local shops, cafes, restaurants and bars this Christmas. After the last 20 months, we need that support more than ever!’ – Nicky Thompson, co-founder of the South Norwood Business Network.

Join the South Norwood Business Network facebook.com/groups/southnorwoodbusinessnetwork

Nicky Thompson, SNBN co-founder and Tamara Amarquaye, Business Engagement Officer

Social Media & Digital Sales workshop. Stanley Arts, 13.10.21

SOUTH NORWOOD BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAMME We’ve partnered with South Norwood Business Network to launch a business support programme to respond to the needs of our high street businesses and budding entrepreneurs. The programme is funded by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Programme and covers business plan writing, marketing, sales, fundraising strategies and more. Our first workshop, Social Media & Digital Sales for Creatives took place in October at Stanley Arts and featured sessions led by local businesses East Croydon Cool, 31% Wool and BetterShared. Although the programme ends in March 2022, we are looking at ways that businesses can continue to benefit from the support beyond the life of the programme.

For instance, we are offering social media and marketing training to help businesses make the most of the recently launched Love South Norwood app, which connects businesses with local residents. 'I found the Social Media & Digital Sales workshops very useful and it was good to meet and talk to other businesses in the local area. I think it's a great networking opportunity.' - Kavitha, founder of isifiso clothing brand

Kavitha, founder of isifiso

COMING UP Innovate Your Business: The Business Model Canvas Learn how to create a simple one page business model strategy that you can pitch to investors, and present to your clients and team.

Wednesday 8 December 2021 | 9 - 10.30 AM Webinar Free

LOVE SOUTH NORWOOD: DIGITAL TOWN HUB One of South London Partnership’s Innovate Projects this year, led by our colleagues in Croydon Digital Service, is a digital town hub. Love South Norwood was the first of three pilot projects launched in 2021. The app is designed to help connect the community with local businesses, to get alerts on offers, rewards and events. Get all the latest local news direct to your phone Find local community events Get access to exclusive offers from local businesses Keep your data safe within your local community Support your local independent businesses

lovesouthnorwood.app

The six community groups meeting together for a capacity building exercise at CYTO

BUILDING THE COMMUNITY NETWORK Empowering people is one of the three aims of the Good Growth Programme. In South Norwood, we are investing in six community organisations which play different roles in community life and are key to supporting elements of the Regeneration Programme. Some have shaped the regeneration journey over many years, others are responding to fresh pressures, all of which contribute to a thriving community network. Straddling community, business and cultural organisations, this project has brought together South Norwood Business Network, the Clock Tower Market, South Norwood Net, The Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation and All Heads Recognized, all members of We Love SE25 to look at how the network communicates, collaborates and grows. We’ve been working with these organisations in a series of individual and group workshops since June to identify individual organisational development plans and the skills and strengths they bring to the community network. This month, we’ll be finalising plans for investing in support for communications and volunteering strategies for the network which will provide a strong base for expanding the network in the future.

THE GROUPS WE'RE WORKING WITH SOUTH NORWOOD BUSINESS NETWORK South Norwood Business Network was established by two local businesswomen in September 2018 as a networking group for local businesses with a high street presence. Their aim is to establish an effective voice for local business, to become the repository of knowledge and business advice and to lead on reconnecting the community with the high street businesses. In December 2019, their first late-night shopping week took place in the run-up to the Clocktower Market. Their second initiative, the 2021 Shop Local campaign, launched in November.

SOUTH NORWOOD NET South Norwood Net is an important local connector and local advertising medium. It is a platform for local business and events and has a directory of community organisations. Alongside its regular activities, it organises the annual week-long South Norwood Community Festival, a free, volunteer-organised festival which culminates in an all-day event in South Norwood Recreation Ground.

THE CROYDON YOUTH THEATRE ORGANISATION Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation is a youth theatre organisation which has been operating in Croydon for over 50 years. They are based in Oakley Road, South Norwood, providing drama, dance and music activities for young people aged 6-18, focusing as much on personal development and confidence as live theatre skills.

THE CLOCK TOWER MARKET The Clock Tower Market is a monthly, volunteer-led community market, established in 2015. It showcases local makers and businesses, with a mixture of regular traders, established businesses and new traders who either test the market for their products or are taking their first steps into the retail. It has been the launch-pad for businesses which have gone on to open retail units in the area.

Credit: Clock Tower Market

ALL HEADS RECOGNIZED All Heads Recognized is a social enterprise specialising in education, training and development for all ages based in a unit on Portland Road. Their key programme is ‘Ready to Work’ construction skills for 18-24 year olds, including work experience on partner Willmott Dixon sites. Their priority is working with young adults who have left school without skills and qualifications.

We Love SE25 cupcakes by Essence of Cake

WE LOVE SE25 We Love SE25 sits at the heart of the community network, creating a meeting point for its membership organisations, which include community organisations, businesses, faith groups, schools, resident groups and local councillors.

A NEW MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SOUTH NORWOOD CONSERVATION AREA As part of the High Streets Heritage Action Zone, we are reviewing South Norwood Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan (CAAMP). Conservation specialists Place Services began work in July, visiting the Croydon Archives, meeting with local historian John Hickman and joining us on our stall at the South Norwood Community Festival in July. If you’d like to understand more about what a CAAMP is and how it is used to protect a Conservation Area’s heritage features, you may be interested in a talk which will take place during the statutory consultation in the new year. Place Services will also lead a guided walk which has been commissioned as part of the programme and will be hosting a workshop on how to date your property.

Consultation at the South Norwood Community Festival in July

Community panel selecting the Placemaking design team

REIMAGINING SOUTH NORWOOD’S PUBLIC SPACES In August, We Love SE25, Reaching Higher and Croydon Domino Club joined the Regeneration Team and the GLA to select the design team for the Placemaking project. The team is led by CarverHaggard, who worked with We Love SE25 on the 2018 Community Plan and with Socco Cheta Community Hub CIC on the refurbishment of their Portland Road home. Also part of the team are Croydon artist collective Turf Projects and graphic design studio Europa.

MEET WE LOVE SE25’S VOLUNTEER LEAD FOR THE PLACEMAKING WORKING GROUP I’ve lived in South Norwood for 20 years now. I’m a cabinet maker and designer and have always been interested in how good design effects the way we experience our environment. I volunteered to be part of We Love SE25’s Placemaking working group to play a part in the way our high streets are changing. I work from my workshop just off the High Street. In 2019, I designed the new windows on Mamma Dough’s new Station Road restaurant, so I have already had a little part to play in the area’s transformation.

This year, I bid for a We Love SE25 Neighbourhood Mini Grant to pressure wash the high street pavements. I want to prompt people to be conscious of the ground beneath their feet and the space around them, seeing our environment in new ways, to help them notice more as they go about their daily life. I have at least 20 volunteers so far who will work with me and I’ve spent the last month sourcing equipment so we can make a start after Christmas.

Henry in his studio

I’m looking forward to working with the Placemaking design team in the new year and bringing my neighbours and fellow SE25 residents into the conversation.

HIGH STREETS IMPROVEMENT GRANT SCHEME The South Norwood High Street Improvement Grant Scheme, funded by the Good Growth Fund and High Street Heritage Action Zone programmes, aims to improve shops, reactivate empty units, and restore heritage shopfronts and building facades. Launching in the new year, funding will be available for eligible properties in the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) boundary area which takes in Station Road, Selhurst Road from the Clock Tower to Samuel Coleridge Taylor Centre, High Street from the Clock Tower to Goathouse Bridge, South Norwood Hill to Stanley Arts and Portland Road from the junction with High Street to the junction with Coventry Road. For further information, please contact the South Norwood Regeneration team, SouthNorwoodRegen@croydon.gov.uk.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT SOUTH NORWOOD'S HIGH STREET HERITAGE An important part of Historic England’s ambition for the High Street Heritage Action Zones is to translate South Norwood’s love of its heritage into an active role in preserving and protecting it for future generations. From the new year, we will be hosting talks, workshops and other community activities around the topic of high street heritage, including: An oral history project to capture the living memories of South Norwood’s high streets in the present and years past. Events focussing on the professions involved in all aspects of the heritage world, from specialist contractors to the designers and architects who will be helping to deliver our programme. A series of talks and workshops looking at the role of heritage in the economic health of the high street If you have an idea or would like to suggest a subject for this programme, please get in contact on SouthNorwoodRegen@croydon.gov.uk.

HIGH STREETS HAZ CULTURAL PROGRAMME The HSHAZ Cultural Programme is headed by a team based at Stanley Arts and is being developed with a consortium of local creative and community organisations to provide exciting, heritage-focussed activities across the HAZ boundary high streets until March 2024. The Invention Point programme will include exhibitions, events and projects which will run in parallel with the changes delivered by the main programme, immersing the local community in the heritage and cultural life of South Norwood.

Invention Point at the October Clock Tower Market

OUR FUNDERS MAYOR OF LONDON’S GOOD GROWTH FUND The Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund is dedicated to supporting the regeneration and improvement of high streets across London, creating thriving businesses and empowering local people to shape the changes in their area. In South Norwood, this fund is delivering public realm improvements, creation of workspaces and creative hubs, improving the look of shop units, supporting resilient, sustainable businesses and growing the community network.

SOUTH NORWOOD HIGH STREET HERITAGE ACTION ZONE South Norwood is one of Historic England’s 68 new High Street Heritage Action Zones. £1.1 million has been awarded to unlock the potential of South Norwood’s high streets, fuelling economic, social and cultural recovery and breathe new life into the area for future generations. South Norwood boomed in the 19th century with the arrival of the railway, and its centre is predominantly composed of original buildings, dating from the 1840s to 1910, many of which retain their original features. South Norwood’s conservation area is currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register and the aim of the programme is to restore it to its original vibrancy and remove it from the register.

SOUTH NORWOOD REGENERATION PROGRAMME FOCUS AREA The Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) boundary marks the area for the placemaking and grants programmes. It includes Station Road, Selhurst Road from the Clocktower to Samuel Coleridge Taylor Centre, South Norwood Hill up to Stanley Arts, High Street from South Norwood Clocktower to Goathouse Bridge and Portland Road starting from the junction with the High Street to the junction with Coventry Road.

High Street Heritage Action Zone Boundary. Credit: Historic England

GET IN TOUCH SOUTH NORWOOD REGENERATION TEAM Michelle Normanly Regeneration Manager Tamara Amarquaye Business Engagement Officer E: SouthNorwoodRegen@croydon.gov.uk Website: croydon.gov.uk/southnorwood