REGENERATING THE CLAPHAM PARK AREA

The performance of ‘The Night Christmas was Cancelled’, staged by Whippersnappers Arts and Theatre Company explored the different celebrations which take place over the festive season, and what they really mean.

After enjoying the show, children met with Father Christmas and received a free gift bag, full of treats and activities to encourage reading and literacy, including pens, bookmarks and mini writing pads.

The writing competition prizes were then handed out to children from Richard Atkins School for their short stories based on the theme ‘Winter Celebrations’. The children were challenged to enter the competition, and the best budding writers were awarded book tokens. Two first prizes of £15 book tokens were presented to Camron Weekes and Angel Noah, and two runner-up prizes of £5 book tokens were handed to Nicole Borcherie and Zyggy Lawik.

“The Winter Celebration was a fantastic fun filled event for Clapham Park children. It gave them the opportunity to watch a play, win prizes for writing excellent short stories and see Santa Claus. Clapham Park Project working with Lambeth Libraries will be running many more of these types of events in 2007.” Cynthia Unoarumhi, Chair of the Education and Youth Theme Group

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The party was taken on a tour of the New Deal for Communities area by Neighbourhood Wardens and other staff members who told them more about the projects run by CPP. They visited the New Park Fruiterers owed and run by Julia McFadden, Chair of the Community Safety Theme Group, as well as CPP projects and initiatives including; Shop for Jobs, the Thresholds Centre, Timebank, Generation Radio, and the Lucroft play area. Staff explained which areas of the estate will be refurbished, and which will be demolished and rebuilt by Clapham Park Homes over the next 10 years.

The visitors spent two days in Clapham Park, and were able to experience first–hand the positive changes that NDC funding has brought to the area. By exchanging information about what projects work best, both organisations got new ideas and inspiration. Success stories from Clapham Park will inform some of the work undertaken in Holland.

CPP hopes to continue to work with the s-Hertogenbosch Council in the future. Sarah Lee, CPP’s Programme Director said: “Work on ‘youth’ is a key priority for both the Clapham Park Project and S-Hertogenbosch Council. A meeting will be held in the new year, where joint funding will be top of the agenda.”

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Clapham Park Project worked in partnership with Richard Atkins School to offer the Clapham Park community the opportunity to attend this event and take part in activities from around the world.

Attendees tasted a range of traditional world foods, took part in workshops such as African drumming, belly dancing, ballroom dancing and capoeira, and watched a street dance performance by children from Kings Avenue School.

There was a poetry competition and a guess the flag competition open to all, as well as Columbian arts and crafts, African hair braiding, traditional face painting and Italian embroidery, alongside a host of other international activities. And both children and adults were encouraged to come dressed in cultural costumes, get involved and celebrate their own cultural traditions whilst learning about others.

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The licence to broadcast on 87.7FM will run for 16 days from 4pm on 27th October to 12th November 2006. Until, during and after the launch Generation Radio will continue to broadcast on www.generationradio.co.uk

Generation Radio is run for and by the Clapham Park community, who work together to produce programmes for broadcasting.

The station also provides training for residents in a number of roles, including broadcaster presenter, researcher, features presenter and technician.

“Ian Henry, resident and broadcaster said: The training has been excellent. It was a dream to become a presenter and a trainer, now I can help others in the community to fulfill their dreams and build up their confidence. Generation Radio is already a success attracting up to a 1,000 regular listeners and everyone involved is working hard to ensure it becomes an even bigger success.”

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This free event will take place on Tuesday 10th October 2006, 6pm at the Thresholds Centre, Helby Road, SW4 .

For your free copy of The Dying Wish or for more details about the Clapham Park Project Book Group (available to residents of the Clapham Park NDC area), contact Eve Levic on 020 8678 5933 or elevic@claphampark.org.uk

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Younger residents were encouraged to help improve their local garden as part of Clapham Park Project’s Summer Youth Programme. And the older residents volunteered to get involved because many of them are already keen gardeners and they wanted to socialise together in an open space.

Run by Simon Ghartey and Anne Norris-Copson the Gardening Project has been a great su ccess with the residents of Clapham Park.

The Gardening Project is funded by Clapham Park Project’s Community Chest funding, Lambeth Council and the Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens and currently runs in Richard Atkins, Glenbrook and Kings Avenue primary schools, in Agnes Riley Gardens and across Clapham Park. Cleanaway provides gloves and gardening equipment for the volunteers to use.

Simon Ghartey who runs the project said: “The Gardening Project has been a big su ccess with everyone who uses the park. It has taught the children to have some self esteem and enabled the two generations to get to know and understand each other. Children are also learning more about social responsibility through this scheme.”

Resident Doris Osborn aged 91 said: “I like plants and gardening so I wanted to get involved in this project. The kids are really good and have all helped and worked really hard.”

Resident Samuel Peters aged 12 said: I like gardening because I like getting dirty. I also like planting flowers and vegetable seeds so I can watch them grow.”

Friday 1st September was the final day of the four week pilot Gardening Project at Agnes Riley Gardens, but the Project has been so su ccessful that Clapham Park Project will be working with Simon Ghartey and the Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens to continue its success.”

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Younger residents were encouraged to help improve their local garden as part of Clapham Park Project’s Summer Youth Programme. And the older residents volunteered to get involved because many of them are already keen gardeners and they wanted to socialise together in an open space.

Run by Simon Ghartey and Anne Norris-Copson the Gardening Project has been a great su ccess with the residents of Clapham Park.

The Gardening Project is funded by Clapham Park Project’s Community Chest funding, Lambeth Council and the Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens and currently runs in Richard Atkins, Glenbrook and Kings Avenue primary schools, in Agnes Riley Gardens and across Clapham Park. Cleanaway provides gloves and gardening equipment for the volunteers to use.

Simon Ghartey who runs the project said: “The Gardening Project has been a big su ccess with everyone who uses the park. It has taught the children to have some self esteem and enabled the two generations to get to know and understand each other. Children are also learning more about social responsibility through this scheme.”

Resident Doris Osborn aged 91 said: “I like plants and gardening so I wanted to get involved in this project. The kids are really good and have all helped and worked really hard.”

Resident Samuel Peters aged 12 said: I like gardening because I like getting dirty. I also like planting flowers and vegetable seeds so I can watch them grow.”

Friday 1st September was the final day of the four week pilot Gardening Project at Agnes Riley Gardens, but the Project has been so su ccessful that Clapham Park Project will be working with Simon Ghartey and the Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens to continue its su ccess.”

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The Clapham Park Summer Youth Programme runs from 27th July to the 1st September and includes canoeing, sports, reading, photography, jewellery making, arts and crafts and a bikes workshop, plus much more.

On Thursday 3rd August a sports day has been organised at The Cage, off Clarence Crescent. The event will include basketball, rounders, tennis and athletics. The sports day will be run by Clapham Park residents Richard Sobers and Jason Pinnock.

The Clapham Park Summer Youth Programme is funded by Clapham Park Project in partnership with SMILE – Soul in The City, the Clapham Park Junior Youth Inclusion Programme and Clapham Youth Centre.

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The Festival ran from 12.00pm to 5.30pm with special guests, music and live performances from Pamela Maynard, DDubble, acrobat the Mighty Wonderer and Clapham Park residents who took part in an Extra Factor competition earlier in the year, plus much more, with compère Martin Jay from Choice FM.

Activities for adults, young people and children included fun fair rides, goal scoring, complementary therapies and face painting, as well as projects provided by Clapham Park Project, including personal safety and self defence, bike maintenance, free health check, reading and story telling, advice from Shop for Jobs (helping the unemployed find work and/or training), Citizens Advice Bureau, Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme and Healthy Living, plus much more.

Residents also had the chance to find out about the Safer Neighbourhoods Team in the police bus and Clapham Park Homes were on hand to answer questions.

The Clapham Park Festival was held at Agnes Riley Gardens, Poynders Road, SW4 on Saturday 1st July 2006 from 12.00pm to 5.30pm.

The Phoenix Carnival Band received a Community Chest grant from Clapham Park Project to take over 30 residents to the Notting Hill Carnival in August 2006. The funding will go toward helping the residents to make their costumes for the event.

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The new community radio station has now launched from it's studio at 35a Muller Road, Headlam Road, Clapham Park SW4.

Generation Radio will discuss issues which affect life across the Park, as well as playing the best music around, taking you through the decades from the 60's to today's chart music, adding a sprinkling of specialist music shows.

www.generationradio.co.uk is run by local volunteer residents and is open to all Clapham Park residents to join. Full training is provided in radio broadcasting skills and who knows maybe we will find one or two radio stars of the future?

We want to bring the community together by providing a real local community radio, so whether you are 13 or 113, Generation Radio is for you.

Our aim is to obtain an FM or AM community license from Ofcom and this is the first step on that path.

If you are a Clapham Park resident and would like to find out about joining Generation Radio, please contact Andrew at asayers@claphampark.org.uk or call 020 8678 5900.

No matter where you live, why not log on, tune in and get involved with www.generationradio.co.uk

Generation Radio is run by and for the residents of Clapham Park.

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Mr. Prescott was accompanied by China’s Ambassador to the UK, Mr Zha Peixin, who had asked to see how the Government is investing in London’s housing and communities.

The visit began with Angus Johnson, Chief Executive of Clapham Park Project giving a short presentation about the Project’s main achievements over the past five years.

Mr Prescott then took a tour of Clapham Park where he was introduced to local business owners, the Neighbourhood Wardens and local residents.

The tour ended at the Clapham Park Homes office on Headlam Road SW4, where the visitors were shown a model of the Clapham Park redevelopment and were able to find out more about the new community led housing association and the impending stock transfer.

Mr Prescott who set up the New Deal for Communities programme said: “I was delighted to accompany the Chinese Ambassador to see at first hand the great work going on in Clapham Park and to meet the residents and front-line workers to hear about their experiences, their problems and their hopes for the future. Clapham Park is about benefit from a multi-million investment which will transform the area’s housing and community infrastructure and the people I met seemed genuinely excited by the changes they can see taking place around them. I was particularly impressed at the way CPP has involved local residents in this process of major change and that residents feel they have been included in the whole process. ”

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The Coffee Morning began as an opportunity for Clapham Park Project to talk to residents about the about the housing redevelopment and stock transfer, but has quickly transformed into a weekly forum where residents can discuss issues, get help or advice, meet and make friends and find out about other projects they can get involved with.

Teresa Eeles of Tresidder House, Clapham Park said: “I had a fall which resulted in restricted mobility. I was unable to leave my house for 12 months and didn’t see a soul the entire time. Attending the Coffee Mornings has transformed my life, I enjoy the company and have made new friends and now have something to look forward to every week.”

The Coffee Mornings attract around 20 residents. And although 80% of them are woman, more and more men are now attending. They take place on Tuesdays, 11am to 12.30pm, at 4a Homan House, Bourke Close, off Kings Avenue, Clapham Park SW4 8DB.

Candice Ampah, Community Engagement Officer said: “The Coffee Mornings have helped residents to find new interests, learn about different cultures and make friends. They all hope to enjoy many more Coffee Morning anniversaries in the future.”

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The event, hosted by Gavin Neath, Chairman of Unilever UK, aimed to share with residents and partners the results of a scientific study by South Bank University of the Flora Fit Street project, as well as look at ideas for sustaining what the project has achieved so far.

Flora Fit Street was a partnership between Clapham Park Project and Flora which aimed to show how the adoption of a healthier lifestyle can lead to significant improvements in the heart health of local residents.

Attracting over £1 8 million of private sector funding, the project aimed to reduce raised cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure measurements to a healthy level, increase amounts of physical activity, improve nutrition and encourage a reduction in smoking.

The scientific study led by Professor Ann Tacket, showed that: “Flora Fit Street had a positive and sustained effect on the health of all of those who stayed with the programme. If the success can be replicated then the public health implications for the community seems to be noteworthy.”

The ‘Seeing is Believing’ event took place at Knights Youth Centre in May 2006, attended by residents, partner agencies and representatives from Clapham Park Project and Unilever.

The event kicked off with a presentation, followed by a group led discussion with the opportunity for residents to share their experiences of how the project helped them to improve their health.

Working in partnership with Clapham Park Project, Clapham Park Homes will build on the success of the Flora Fit Street project by developing brand new community facilities which will house a number of health organisations. The new housing redevelopment and access to green space will also help to sustain the level of health improvements for Clapham Park’s residents.

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The visit began with Angus Johnson, Chief Executive of Clapham Park Project talking to the Mayor about how the Project had worked with residents to develop the Master Plan. The Mayor then heard from Clapham Park Homes about how the Stock Transfer and the housing redevelopment would improve Clapham Park.

Finally the Mayor talked to residents to find out how they felt about the Master Plan, Stock Transfer and other issues.

The visit, organised by the London Regional Labour Party, took place at the Threshold Centre, Helby Road SW4.

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Whilst there he was briefed about Clapham Park Project’s key achievements, the master plan and the impending housing stock transfer.

This was followed by a walk through New Park Road to meet some of the local businesses, and find out more about local projects such as Shop for Jobs, the Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme and the Community Drugs and Education Project which are all based on New Park Road.

The visit ended at MacArthur House where Jim Fitzpatrick MP talked to a number of residents about their involvement with Clapham Park Project, how the area has changed and how they feel about the redevelopment of Clapham Park.

Macarthur House is a block of 16 flats that was refurbished in 2005 to give residents living in Clapham Park east an idea of what their homes would look like once building works to their block/area was complete.

Jim Fitzpatrick MP said: “I am delighted that residents are the driving force behind how the government’s substantial investment in Clapham Park is being spent. The residents are doing a great job, and I am positive that once the stock transfer goes through, they will benefit even more from the new and refurbished housing and excellent community and business facilities.”

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Workshops taught them how to make story sacks for the bookstart packs, how to make props to help bring books to life, tips and techniques on reading to children and making up and writing bedtime stories.

The workshops aimed to give confidence to parents/carers and were open to parents enrolled on English for Speakers of Other Languages courses who wanted to improve their English.

Throughout the day, The Library of Unwritten Books recorded everyone’s unrealised ideas, fictional tales, and personal histories. These will be published as limited edition mini-books for use at exhibitions and special events. All contributors were given a free copy of their own unwritten book.

Parents also received a FREE Quick Reads book. The books were for those who wanted to regain the reading habit or for those who experienced difficulty reading. Authors published in March include Ruth Rendell, Maeve Binchy, Richard Branson, Matthew Reilly, Joanna Trollope, Minette Walters and the Premier League.

Cynthia Unoarumhi, Education and Youth Theme Chair and Clapham Park resident said: “Sharing Stories aimed to give parents and carers the confidence to enjoy books and reading with their children. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn reading tips and techniques to make reading more exciting and fun.”

Sharing Stories took place at Knights Youth Centre and was funded in partnership with Lambeth Libraries and Mobile and Community Services.

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The visitors were given a tour of Clapham Park and a presentation about Shop for Jobs.

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The auditions took place on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th February at Knights Youth Centre and Friday 17th February at Clapham Youth Centre.

Clapham Park Project’s Community Development Team Leader Roz Thompson said: “The Clapham Park Festival is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our residents’ hidden talents. The EXtra Factor event helped us to identify gifted entertainers, and invite them to attend workshops and rehearsals so that they are able to give a professional performance at the Festival.

There will be more EXtra Factor auditions coming soon. If you live or work in Clapham Park and would like to take part, or if you want to work behind the scenes at the Festival, call Roz Thompson on 020 7926 0610.

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• Kids City, who provide volunteer placements in child care with accredited training
• Oxfam, who provide training for retail placements
• Innovation Sports, who offer sports career advice and volunteer placements in sports

As well as a number of other orgnaisations keen to benefit from Clapham Park volunteers.

In the past 5 months the Volunteer Scheme has successfully registered 135 residents, achieved over 2000 hours of volunteering, helped nine residents gain an accredited qualification paid for by their volunteer placement and helped three people into employment as a direct result of their volunteering.

Ben Westwood said: “Becoming a volunteer has provided me with the experience I needed to get a job.”

Natalie Dunkley said: “Volunteering is a great way to experiment with different career paths until you find the one that best suits you.”

Samuel Anifalaje said: “Volunteering has really helped to build my confidence and helped me to understand what it’s like in a work environment.”

Clapham Park Project’s Volunteer Co-ordinator Karen Chillman said: “The Volunteer Scheme offers Clapham Park residents a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable work experience, build confidence, get an up to date reference and try out different areas of work. The New Opportunities Day gave them the chance to talk to a number of organisations and with our help, choose one that’s best suited to their skills.”

The New Opportunities Day is funded by Clapham Park Project.

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