Southwark Council joins Future Cities Forum for Barbican event

Image: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre with Tate Modern behind on London's Bankside

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Neil Kirby, Assistant Director of Sustainable Growth, Southwark Council will be speaking at the Barbican this June. Neil will be comparing the cultural and creative districts of Bankside and Peckham to understand where investment should be planned to support local communities, retain talent and encourage tourism..

Neil will join other speakers at our 'Cultural Cities' discussion event where the current renewal programme of The Barbican will be described alongside the need for investment in retrofit of other cultural entertainment spaces and districts throughout the UK.

Future Cities Forum's Lambeth Palace Library discussions in May 2023 gave a focus to the building of sustainable creative clusters, entertainment venues and visitor destinations in London.

Questions were asked around how to build creative clusters in London without falling prey to gentrification, how to involve the community in new projects so that they can benefit from jobs and training, how transport hubs and stations can act as catalysts for the growth of creative businesses and - lastly - how to attract overseas talent to settle in the Capital with a wealth of high-quality cultural entertainment venues and visitor destinations.

Neil Kirby, talked about the importance of balancing investment with serving the needs of the community, when planning joined-up housing, jobs and creative clusters:

'It is a hard balance attracting investment but making sure the community benefits. Southwark Council is the largest local authority in the country and we are building a third of council homes in the country but we still need more housing here. It is about quality otherwise it doesn't get through planning permission. We do want the growth of creative clusters and want to make it happen but we want integration in the neighbourhood.

Above': Mountview Academy in Peckham - courtesy Turner Works

'Often educational establishments can't get in. One project that has been successful is the music school in Peckham - the Mountview Academy. We have offered jobs and apprenticeships through it and therefore made sure that those using it are integrated into the neighbourhood. It is a building that is publicly open alongside students using it and people go there at the weekend. It is a way of encouraging people into the industry. Gentrification is always a concern like in Notting Hill but building creative clusters is also about place-making.

'It is important to encourage struggling artists to stay and we provide subsidised spaces for them. Ten per cent are let below market value with parking places. We want those who have been to art school to stay and we do want to ensure that those artists we help are really local so it benefits the community. The issue we have is money and so we are reliant on developers coming in. Libraries are important politically and the one in Canada Water is a huge resource and we provide lots of activities to get people to come in and experience how the building functions.'