The Yellow Qube youth club was non operational since the start of Covid. Lambeth Council agrees is unacceptable. By the end of the year Lambeth Council will “have a programme to move forward”. Read more about what happened at our general meeting on youth facilities here
Residents Present:
- Chris Blake – minutes – StMartinsResidentsLambeth@gmail.com
- Cllr Saffer Jaffer – sjaffer@lambeth.gov.uk
- Stephen Kearney – chair
- Sasha Gay Smith – I AM IN ME Charity – sasha@iaminme.co.uk
- Sophie Wintrich – Photography
- About 15 other residents
Guests
- Cllr Olga Fitzroy – ofitzroy@lambeth.gov.uk
- Cllr Dr Mohammad Hashi – Cabinet Member for Safer Communities
- Lewis from eSports Youth Club – contact@esportsyouthclub.org
- Chevon from the St Martins Community Centre – stmartinsccevents@gmail.com
Apologies: Terry Curtis, Mimi Discher, Peter Hurst, Annalisa Premoli, Craig Williams
Gardening Project
Jackie Crawford introduced the resident association’s gardening project. Our first project was by 45 – 111 Abbots Park. We then moved to a bigger project in Challice Way growing vegetables such as tomatoes, celery and herbs. We also have an orchard with 16 fruit trees.
The idea is to make the place look more beautiful and inspire people to see how their food is produced. Local children are learning how easy it is to get a seed in soil and get a plant.
Last year we won the Blooming Lambeth award. This year Milena from Challice Way has been nominated for Incredible Edible Lambeth’s most enthusiastic young gardener. [Minute taker’s note: The winner will be decided by a judging panel of Incredible Edible Lambeth members]
In April we launched a community composting project to get compost for our garden. It stops food waste going to landfill and avoids us buying expensive compost from B&Q
If you’d like to help out with our community gardening project please get in touch. And if you have a balcony and want to know how to use it for growing again please contact us.
Yellow Qube – Residents Association Campaign
Chris opened the discussion. The Yellow Qube is at the end of Maskall Close. The ground floor opened in 2014, essentially for use for Physical Education lessons for the City Heights eAct Academy. The top floor was built at the same time and always intended as a youth club for local people. It didn’t open until 2016 following a campaign by the residents association.
The Yellow Qube was run by a Community Interest Company. It did some events in 2016 to 2019 but the website has not been updated since 2019
In 2023 we launched a campaign to reopen the Yellow Qube as a youth club using door knocking and an online petition. This meeting is the next step in the campaign.
The council owns the freehold to the building so should be able to ensure it is well run and charges affordable rents. It is not well run: the Community Interest Company has a very high turnover of trustees and rents are very high. To rent out the football pitch costs £60 an hour. What is the council doing about this?
According to companies house the Community Interest Company has £200,000 in their bank account. There’s lots of ways this could be used to benefit local residents. What is the council doing about this?
Yellow Qube – Council position
Cllr Dr Mohammad Hashi is council cabinet member for safer communities. He was previously a youth and community worker. He was the victim of a stabbing at age 15 and the victim of shooting at age 23 so this issue is personal. He also helped found Brixton Soup Kitchen in 2013.
Local councillors told him the Yellow Qube was non operational since the start of Covid. This is unacceptable, but nobody from the council was able to access the building. Because of the high turnout of trustees it was not even possible to get proper contact with the Community Interest Company that runs it. At the end of 2022 the council started getting legal advice about best way forward. The Community Interest Company have a tenancy at will. He cannot give many more details now but by the end of the year he will “have a programme to move forward” (thanks to Yemi for pushing him on the final point)
Cllr Mohammad said nobody really knows who runs the place at the moment (thanks to Sina for asking this question)
Cllr Mohammad is happy to address another meeting of the residents association in late 2023 or early 2024 once the situation is clearer.
Once the council get access back to the building they will look at governance. The problem in the past was lack of local involvement (This point was also made by Cllr Saleha in the discussion)
Cllr Mohammad is unable to talk about the £200,000 in the Community Interest Company bank account
eSports Youth Club
Lewis founded the eSports Youth Club in 2021 with Finian. eSports Youth Club offers competitive video games. It started running tournaments using old playstations acquired from friends. It also talks about power of video games in learning. The club is run by volunteers with a paid youth worker. It is funded by Lambeth Council.
The club has been running since May 2023. 20-25 young people come along. The club are now running sessions every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All session are free and provide hot meals.
The club has brought in skilled youth workers and provides careers advice for young people who want career in video games.
It took Finan, his partner, 18 months to negotiate use of the Yellow Qube
There was one event using the football pitch where they got a football coach down from Crystal Palace but this was a one off. The eSports Youth Club isn’t looking to expand beyond video games
The Yellow Qube is a great space. It’s just a shame it’s not being used.
Other Organisations
Sasha from Gaywood Close has founded the charity I Am in Me that provides mentoring for young people. She would like her charity to use the Yellow Qube when it is available.
Chevon works for the community centre in Abbots Park. She wants to organise more youth and community events. If people have ideas about events (for the benefit of children, teenagers or adults) please contact her on StMartinsCCEvents@gmail.com
Discussion
Sasha from Gaywood Close said her teenage son is scared to walk home. We need early intervention to ensure young people do not end up in the criminal justice system.
Bettie from Morrison House said gang fights had happened twice recently near where she lived. Young people need something positive to do (Betty couldn’t make the meeting, thanks to Sophie for making the points on her behalf)
Sophie said teenage boys often hang out near her flat on Challice Way. They are very friendly but also very bored. They need something productive to do. The older children would be happy to mentor the younger children (for example in football) if the facilities were available. Cllr Saleha made a similar point. Cllr Mohammad said it is important not to criminalise these young people and commended the strong community in St Martins
Any Other Business
Dee from Morrison House opened a discussion about the best way to advertise residents association events to people who aren’t on our mailing list. We already put posters on stairwell doors and leave posters in High Trees. Usually we leave posters in the community centre too. In future we should include local stores. Chevon to investigate funding for community noticeboards.
Meylan from Challice Way asks if the Hive Cafe in the Palace Road estate is available to hire. Cllr Olga said it is largely for the benefit of adults with learning disabilities but any member of the public can book it.
ENDS
St Martins TRA 