RCDT Kennington & Vauxhall Alliance
Monthly ENewsletter

This monthly enews of local events and local issues to sent to RCDT members by email in PDF format. If you would oike to join RCDT please contact Sean Creighton, Consultant Administrator and ENews Editor on sean.creighton@btinternet.com.

RCDT is a Community Development Trust and as such is a perfect engine to drive economic and social development in Kennington; an area consisting of two of the poorest areas in Lambeth.

RCDT have been inspired in their approach to this opportunity by the example of the Coin Street Community Trust which was empowered by a land grant from the GLC and has gone on to be a major engine for economic and social growth on the South Bank.

The Lilian Baylis old school site offers similar opportunities for long term growth in Kennington.

 It would be a failure of imagination and opportunity for the council to miss this chance to create another major engine for growth in the poorest part of the borough.

As a community development trust RCDT offers the widest possible community access and control of this key asset for the long term. We therefore suggest that –
• The Council use their powers to dispose of assets to community organisations to support a broader based strategy based around a community development trust. Community Development Trusts are charitable bodies with wide powers whose membership is open to all members of the community and whose officers are elected annually by the membership.

We propose -
• The Council grant RCDT a long lease on the Old School Site to secure long term community control.
• That the Council work with RCDT and all other groups in the area to develop a broad economic and social strategy for the area based around the full potential of the site.
• That the work of Sports Action Zone, Ethelred Nursery, and All Nations Church be considered core activities in the development programme
• That all parties ensure the maximum amount of consultation and community involvement in the process through a planning for real exercise.
• That the process is sustainable and exiting to attract key resources to its development and is of long duration.

The current absence of a clear strategy for the structure and future direction of a community plan invites the danger of an expedient solution which will not stand the test of time.

A solution firmly rooted in its local community with broad based support offers a solution in which all Trustees can be proud.

June 2009