Uptown KenVo

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

From this moment forward the Runoff will be referring to the patch of our terrain between Kennington Cross and Vauxhall as ‘Uptown KenVo’ due to the volume of high rises going up in the area. This afternoon we attended a consultation about a new development proposed (which means, it’s gonna happen) in Montford Place next to the gin distillery. For the observant sorts, we wrote about this plot of land in May as it used to be a pickle factory and was laterally used as a bottling site for Beefeater. Since it was purchased by TfL for the northern line extension in 2013 it has been the site of gravel and lorries…But not for much longer!

Developers Grainger Plc recently purchased the site and are in the early consultation stages of developing the site into two buildings. They aren’t as far along as development of the Applegreen site, but they could confirm that there will be two buildings, one 8 floors and the other 12 floors, with 140 flats. Of these 40% will be affordable housing and most will be studios and one bedroom flats, with building to start in 2021. We were told that the buildings will have the ‘look and feel’ of the homes on the Tesco site, which we assume was meant to be positive. The architect illustrated how the buildings will look by means of playing ‘Jenga’ to entertained onlookers and his efforts are below.

There will be a kind of ‘avenue’ between the buildings and Lambeth have stipulated that the shop fronts at ground level be dedicated to businesses which are not retail and reflect the demographic of people who might live in the residences, such as workspaces. While this is very laudable, the counter argument is that it deprives Kenningtonians of places where they can go in the evening, such as restaurants or microbreweries, and will be closed by 6pm. We love a lively KV debate, so if you agree or think we are bonkers feel free to leave your comments below.

If you are curious or just bored the consultation is will be taking place again on Saturday, 23 Nov. from 10-4 at Kennington Park Community Centre in Harleyford Road. I’m sure the architect will be on hand to play Jenga if you fancy a twirl.

An Apple a Day Doesn’t Keep the Developers Away

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

Guess what, Greater Kennington? You’re about to be the proud parents of another high rise! Yep, the Apple Green petrol station (and home to our favourite Greggs) in Kennington Lane has been sold to developers. Tonight we went along to their consultation to find out more.

First of all, the developers want us to know they want to ‘make maximum use of the site’, which is developer’s parlance for ‘lets build loads of luxury flats’. Apparently the building was going to be 62 metres but ‘we decided to be sympathetic to the scale of the local area’. That’s developer’s parlance of ‘Lambeth wouldn’t let us make it that big’. The building will have 15 floors and contain 116 units, and of these units 35% will be for affordable rents. That developer’s parlance for ‘Lambeth told us they couldn’t all cost two million quid’.

To their credit, they have stated that they will be using light green terracotta tiles and draw influence from Royal Doulton Ceramics, respecting local history. However, they also said that they will ‘be influenced by the Berkeley Homes development across the street (say what!). They’ve also said that the want to emphasize cycling, and this is how that conversation went:

DEVELOPERS – “Yes, we’re thinking that the retail until on the ground floor could be an independent cycle café concept shop”

RUNOFF – Yeah, or it could be a Poundland.

How they manage to contort 116 flats into a what is essentially a petrol station forecourt is certainly a daunting task. And if you want to behold the daunting task yourself, or if you want to lose your collective sh*t then you are in luck as they are having another consultation tomorrow (Saturday) from 12 – 4 at the Foundry, 17 Oval Way. The website for the development can be found here. Apparently they have a few more hurdles to pass with Lambeth, but construction could start by autumn of 2020.

In other matters, we just had wind of more high rises that just passed the planning stages that will be located on that no mans land of a vacant lot next to the Beafeater Gin distillery. When we go to the consultation we’ll fill you in.

A Little History of 20th Century Architecture in Our Realm, Part 1

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

Ok boys and girls, move your chairs up. We’re about to tell about the recent history of the Duchy of Cornwall Estate in two petite, pop up pieces. The first covers the development of the area in Kennington and Vauxhall from 1890 to 1914; the second covers the era between the wars. For the unaware, the Duchy is one of the titles of the Prince of Wales, which is why you can see his heraldic badge popping up around the area. We’ve included a few pics of what we are writing about the bottom, and we have more on our Instagram page.

The modern history of the Duchy Estate commenced in the 1890’s when many middle class folk were abandoning our area. Kennington had not escaped the exodus of people to greener and cleaner areas in the suburbs, and most of the housing stock had become very run down. The Duchy was concerned about the conditions in which many of our predecessors lived, and a start was made in 1893 to create modern, cleaner tenements. These first edifices were social experiments and still very much exist in Chester Way, the Duchy Arms end of Courtney St, bits of Newburn St, and Kennington Lane among other places.

In 1909, following a tour of housing estates in Germany, Stanley Adshead proposed further development of the Estate as more land became available. His idea was to draw middle class people back to our area, but the Duchy resisted as it felt it had a much more noble obligation to re-house existing tenants, mostly the old and working poor who were living in very substandard conditions. What they agreed on and what we still see today reflect a compromise. The houses on Denny Street (where you can see the German gabled influence of Ashtead’s travels), Cardigan St, and the bottom of Courtney Street were then created not for the destitute, but for older people and working families who deserved something better. A new and revolutionary kind of tenement was also erected, now called Woodstock Court, set around a central courtyard.

In designing some of the homes of this period, Ashtead was influenced by the Georgian houses in Kennington Road, which by that time were well over 100 years old. As an urban neighbourhood he appreciated the scale and feel of being in a town, as opposed to the rustic terraces inspired by Victorians like William Morris, and his small squares remain an influence. One of his last projects was St. Anselm’s Church in Kennington Cross. Work was commenced and then paused in 1914 due to the war, not to be resumed until 1933. You can see the pause in the brickwork about 16 feet on the side of the building. And this, reader, is where our story itself pauses.

In our next atom of archival architecture we will move through the first world war and up to the second, and focus on the estates in Oval and further into Vauxhall.

If you would like some more insight into the Duchy of Cornwall Estate check out this documentary on YouTube. If you have a poor attention span like us scroll to minute 41 where they talk about Kennington, Vauxhall and Oval. You might even see your own home!

The Migration Museum

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

The other day we toddled over to Lambeth High Street to revisit the Migration Museum, only to discover that they are only open to special events ahead of moving. We reached out and discovered that while they aren’t technically closing, they just need a new venue, but in the meantime have a range of activities to titillate our Kennington senses.

Political events in recent months and years have cast a vivid light on migration and how it has shaped this country. The Museum certainly embraces the notion that migration has been beneficial to Britain, and uses examples of the real lives of immigrant groups to explain not only how they integrated into British society, but also how they incrementally changed it. This is achieved through photos, graphics, quotes, and art.

You might be asking, ‘why am I reading about a museum that is about to leave our area?’. After it’s deportation from our area the Museum will be living a very lively life online (especially Facebook and Twitter), with resources including links to about how to trace your lineage, the impact of immigration in the UK, and refugees.

Before its departure, the Migration Museum is hosting a number of free activities (have we mentioned how much we love free stuff?), and some are kiddo friendly. We will definitely be at a few, so just wave wildly and we might spot you….But you won’t spot us as you don’t know what we look like…So just wave at everyone

A Judge’s Journey; John Dyson (the Hoover guy) in conversation with Shami Chakabarti, 31.10 18:30 – 20:00. And yes, tickets are still available!

Family History Day; a day to explore genealogy and local history (kid friendly) 2.11 10:30 – 16:30

Special Opening; A final opportunity to explore the collection, including Caribbean Takeaway and Room to Breathe. 23.11 12:00 – 18:00. This will be your last gasp before the Migration Museum flees our shores!

#migrationmuseum

Kuma in Kennington Cross

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

If you follow our inane ramblings on social media you might have noticed that we’ve been sniffing around and discovered that the site formerly known as ‘Doost’ is about be transformed into ‘Kuma’ and the cuisine will be Korean/Japanese (yeay). Works are moving apace, and if we ever succeed in our mission of becoming ‘Kennington Influencers’ we’ll be invited to the soft launch, showered with sushi, and tell you all about it.

Extinction Rebellion in Lambeth County Court

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

A few months ago you might recall that we visited Lambeth County Court. Well it appears that it was unknowingly rented to Extinction Rebellion and was raided yesterday. Oh dear. The following below is from Cleaver Sq. residents association.
A number of you will be aware of the current police activity outside the County Court in Cleaver Street.Offices in the County Court had apparently been rented out by a charity linked to Extinction Rebellion, and these ended up becoming the main storage depot for equipment destined for the major ER protests planned from Monday onwards. There were a large number of lorry deliveries throughout the day and evening on Thursday/Friday. I understand from the organisers that other more suitable warehouse space had failed to materialise.The ER team barricaded themselves in when police tried to gain entry this afternoon, but the front door of the court was broken through and several activists were arrested. Here are further details in BBC and Guardian news reports:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49946821

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/05/london-police-arrest-extinction-rebellion-activists-in-advance-of-environment-protest

There has been liaison between us, the ER team and the police over the previous 36 hours to keep the situation peaceable, but we are now leaving the matter to the police.

The manager of the building has been on site and will be securing the court building once the police have finished clearing the offices later tonight.

Best wishes
Penny

Chair, Cleaver Square, Cleaver Street and Bowden Street Residents’ Association and Neighbourhood Watch

City and Guilds MA Show

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

Yesterday we scooted our little Kennington legs over to City and Guilds to catch the preview of their mighty MA show. We highly recommend it but please be forewarned that it is huge. And we’re talking ‘take a pack lunch as you might get lost and hungry’ huge and is set over four floors of their atmospheric Georgian buildings.

The MA degree show showcases the work of 31 artists and is staged across the school. The artists embrace mediums from oils and acrylics to applied art, sculpture, textiles, and even, err….pickled things. Most of the artists are present to explain their work and, failing that, there are useful viewing notes that describe their sometimes curious approach to their craft. And most of the work on display is also for sale.

It’s difficult to ascertain an overall theme to this year’s show, but recurrent themes seem to be about isolation, technology and alienation. Having said that, there is a pervasive theme of playfulness and frivolity in many of the works. If you want to encounter real, hands on work in progress there is an artist creating textiles and is happy to discuss her work with you. Also, in the ‘historic carving’ area you can have a chat with Taku Obata and watch him hard at work creating sculptures in wood. And this might be your only chance in life to meet a Japanese sculptor/break dancer/hip hop artist.

Top tip – If your other half is looking puzzled at any point and says ‘what the hell am I looking at’, look them square in the face and say ‘It’s about IDENTITY’. If they reply ‘no it isn’t’, then say ‘it’s about MEMORY’. It works every time.

City and Guilds is on Kennington Park Road and the entrance is on the side next to Cleaver Square. The hours are

Tuesday, 10 Sept to Sunday, 15 September 12 – 5.

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Bee Urban, People!

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

A few days ago we had a stroll through Kennington Park to check out the new pizza joint ‘Collective’ (which we will review, but we’re busy at KR towers) and encountered a gaggle of folk apparently in haz mat suits. We instantly thought ‘FINALLY a team has assembled to grapple with the great pong of the Kennington tube platform. As it turns out they we had stumbled upon ‘Bee Urban’, a secret garden and bee sanctuary on the Walworth side of Kennington Common.

After becoming slightly obsessed with bees following our discovery of an apiary at Walworth Garden Farm, we totted along to Bee Urban and had a conversation with manager Barnaby to find our more about their good deeds. Bee Urban is a bee centric social enterprise with a goal of promoting positive, ecologically sound gardening and greening with a focus on faming and the preservation of our buzzy friends. They are particularly skilled in offering courses and training for vulnerable people and kids.

Based in the Old Keeper’s Lodge behind the café, Bee Urban is not only a lovely refuge from our urban lives but also a place to stroll, contemplate, and to purchase honey and other accessories associated with bees. There are also many ways to get involved for both adults and kids, from making (and buying) honey to courses dedicated community gardening and biodiversity. We only have a few days of warmth and greenery lefty folks, so check it out!

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Culture Under Attack at IWM

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

As busy Kenningtonians we sometimes forget that we have a massive, world class museum on our doorstep. To address this we recently decided to take a moment out of our exhausting cycle of ~~Murder She Wrote repeats~~ deadlines to pop along to the Imperial War Museum to see their latest show ‘Culture Under Attack’,

Culture Under Attack is set over three gallery spaces and grapples with the distinct ways in which our cultural lives are compromised during conflict. We spent the most time in ‘Rebel Sounds’, an immersive exhibition which deals with music censorship in four vastly different eras and cultures; Nazi Germany, northern Mali, Northern Ireland in the ‘70’s, and Serbia in the 90’s. The theme is how specific people or institutions sought to rebel against censorship and prevail. The Northern Irish story is told by record store owner Terri Hooley. The northern Mali story is told by the band Songhoy Blues, who now perform their music as exiles in the south of the country.

A second exhibtion is called ‘What Remains’, and focuses on how war kills not just the ones we love but also the cultural symbols which help make up our identity. The exhibit moves in time from the physical destruction of Hiroshima to the very conscious destruction of icons and art by ISIS only a few years ago. In each of these exhibitions you are invited to take a quiz about the importance of culture, censorship, and the protection of buildings.

The third exhibition is called ‘Art in Exile’ and it focuses on attempts by the IWM and other galleries to safeguard their works of art during WW2, and how at times these attempts failed. This exhibit also details the heroic and altruistic methods employed to protect other forms of material culture in times of conflict by undertaking activites such as concerts and plays. It poses several intriguing questions such as ‘to what lengths do we go to preserve culture’.

Culture Under Attack is free to all of us and open until 5 January. Get your good selves along this weekend as it’s a hell a of a lot better than thinking about Brexit or climate change.

The Railings That Aren’t Railings

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

I thew this up on Instagram a couple of weeks ago (if you don’t follow us there, please do!) and it seemed rather popular, so we’ll post it again here.

Have you ever noticed some strange looking railings outside a number of Kennington estates? Well they are actually stretchers left over from WW2 and have found a new life. The smaller ones were probably used for children. An early form of ‘up cycling’.