Circle Community Centre
ST GEORGE’S THEATRE
49 Tufnell Park Road, London N7 0PS 020 7609 1283
NEWSLETTER: January 2005
Dear Friends and Neighbours
We are writing to you as local residents
to update you on what is happening at St Georges Theatre and to invite
your participation in the planning of its future. You may know that
the Church of England de-sanctified the building and sold it to a private
individual in the 1960s who ran it as a commercial theatre, then a cafe.
Following a period of disuse, it came on the market again about two
years ago and various local groups (including Islington Council) expressed
interest in purchasing it but were unable to organise themselves adequately
to finance it. Eventually it was bought by a group called House on the
Rock who have left it standing vacant (with an urgent repair order outstanding)
while they raise funds for an architectural project to turn it into
a single denominational church.
However, this cannot be done without
applying to Islington Council’s Planning Department for a Change
of Use, and all local residents should have been consulted. Some very
close by may have been, but this is such a major project that the interest
group extends beyond the nearest neighbours to a wider group of potential
users. The hearing was originally planned for 7th December, but due
to the number of enquiries the Council was receiving it was postponed
to 14th February 2005, and will be held from 7pm in the University Union,
Archway Campus, almost opposite the Whittington Hospital (to be confirmed).
The situation has only been drawn
to our attention because of the activities at the theatre led by a group
called Circle Community who began occupying the building last September.
Some excellent events and charity fundraisers have taken place, but
to make St Georges Theatre become viable, the group is keen to invite
local residents to participate in developing it as an eco-community
centre, which is where you come in. The first step is to voice your
objections to the planned change of use to Islington Council’s
planning department and to your own representative on the Council BEFORE
18th January. Read on for details of how to do this, and also how you
can participate in the project.
Circle Community Centre
We are an environmental community project, run on a
not for profit basis, currently by volunteers. Ranging in diversity
from activists, artists, circus performers musicians, builders, cleaners
and gardeners and much more, the circle is made up of a number of different
groups. From September 2004 we have occupied this building, which had
been left unused for nearly four years and was in a state of serious
disrepair, out of the urgent need for action on our environmental situation
(Agenda 21 from the Rio Earth Summit).
St Georges’ was built in 1867
based on a 5th Century Greek church and also modelled on Shakespeare’s
Globe Theatre. It is ideally located as a community space capable of
uniting the diverse multicultural communities of Tufnell Park. At its
heart is a unique circular space that is ideal for theatre-in-the-round.
It has been designated a theatre and community space for 32 years, but
now a group called House on the Rock want to change the building into
a single denomination church.
We are concerned that the change of plans for
the theatre would mean yet another valuable space remaining
unused by the wider community, apart from the ten hours per week proposed
in the current planning application by ‘House on The Rocks’,
which would be limited to church-approved activities. The proposed architectural
alterations (which you can view in the centre foyer) would destroy essential
features of the existing structure. We would like to see the building
being used as an environmentally aware theatre and community centre
used by as many different groups as possible. We will continue to occupy
and maintain the theatre until the local community of Tufnell Park and
the wider community of London can reach a consensus on the best possible
uses of the space.
Regular events so far arranged include
those shown on the next page. Upcoming workshops and events include
Yoga, Meditation, Mime and Clowning, Tai-chi, Ki-Aikido, MC and DJ skills,
Samba, Jazz rehearsals, Dance classes, Comedy nights, more Kids events
and Youth club, Elders club, Cinema night, Whole Food Co-op, and Bike
fixing. We would like to see an even wider range of activities taking
place.
If you have more ideas on workshops
and activities please come in and talk to us. Help is also needed every
day with care taking, welcoming people to the building, cleaning, tidying,
repairs and maintenance, recycling,office work, organization campaigning,
arranging events, and much more.
Contact us:
St George’s Theatre, 49 Tufnell Park Rd, London N7 0PS •
020-7609-1283
www.circlecommunity.org.uk • circlecommunitycentre@yahoo.co.uk
Regular Events
Monday: General cleaning and maintenance day.
8pm - Project Meeting this is an opportunity to get involved
Tuesdays/ Wednesdays/ Thursdays : 4-7 pm - Tea and
Guided Tours
Wednesday: 2-7 pm - IT and Computer Workshop
8pm - Talking Circle: Listening and Talking
Thursday: 3-7pm - Kids Activities (& childrens
clothing swap)
6.30-8.30pm - Juggling and Circus skills
8 -11.30pm - Music Jam - bring an instrument!
Friday: 8-12pm - Open Mic and Cabaret Night
Saturday: Performance & occasional Celebration
Events
“Save St George’s” Campaign
Please join our campaign to keep this building in community use. We
feel that it is vital to have open spaces amongst our communities that
offer a diverse and holistic range of activities for all members of
our society at low cost. Were you informed of any change of use of the
theatre? Residents of Islington, Camden, Hackney or Haringay are entitled
to object. The request will be considered by a committee of local councillors
on Monday February 14th from 7pm.
You can contact your own local councillor by visiting the Council’s
website at www.islington.gov.uk or calling 020-7527-2000. Those for
the local area are:
Angela Brook, Town Hall, Upper St, N1 2ED, 020-7689-9152 - angela.brook@islington.gov.uk
Graham Baker, 5 Celia Road, N19 5ET, 020-7700-7340 - graham.baker@blueyonder.co.uk
Wally Burgess, 40 Tytherton Rd, N19 4QA, 020-7687-0567 - wally.burgess.@islington.gov.uk
You can attend the meeting, at the
University Campus, Highgate Hill, opposite the Whittington Hospital
(venue to be confirmed), or you can write BEFORE this date to the Planning
Department (with a copy to your local Councillor and also to us for
our projects records). It is best if your letter raises specific objections.
The Planning Officer to whom you should write is Roger Allen, Planning
Dept, Islington Council, 222 Upper St, N1 2UD: 020 7527-2847.
A form letter which you can complete, sign and post,
is enclosed, or available at the centre, or you can write your own letter.
If you drop your letter into us we will take copies and deliver it.
PLEASE ACT NOW to defeat the plan.
St George’s “Community Land Partnership”
Once the battle over the planning application has been won, we will
be able to move to the next stage in the campaign. This involves setting
up a sustainable structure to acquire and develop the property based
on a new organisational model: the Community Land Partnership (CLP).
The purpose of this is to ensure that the local community, the owners
and the occupiers are working in harmony together rather than in opposition
to each other. The land is put into trust, and the investors in the
project own proportional shares, so that the property itself need never
be sold again. The CLP is an agreement to co-operate by the three main
stakeholders: the trustees, the investors, and the users. Each has a
democratic process enabling its members to take part in decision-making
on an ongoing basis. Individuals and organisations can belong to one
or more of the stakeholder groups. We are being advised on the development
of this innovative model by Partnerships Consulting. We will report
further on this in the next newsletter. We do not yet know much will
be needed to purchase the building. House on the Rock paid over a million
pounds almost two years ago: if their planning application fails they
may be willing to sell for less, or re-enter as co-owners. More funding
will be needed to carry out refurbishments as the project develops.
Meanwhile if you want to get involved in any aspect: representing the
community, putting funds into an ethical investment, or using the space
for your own or your group’s activities, please get in touch.
Even before the planning meeting, you can PLEDGE to invest a certain
amount of money, which demonstrates your support, will certainly influence
the council’s decision and may enable us to obtain external funding.
Sustainability: Eco Discussion Forum
Sustainable means meeting the needs of today without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their needs. There is an old saying
‘We do not own the land, we borrow it from our chilren and our
childrens’ children. This is a space to discuss environmental
solutions and putting them into action. Many of the solutions to our
environmental situation already exist. What is needed is more networking
of these solutions. Sustainable solutions such as wind, solar, water
and tidal power, permaculture, vegetable oil fuels, hemp, low-impact
dwellings, local exchange trading and community currencies, skill sharing,
co-operation, recycling, refuse, re-use, reclaim and many more. How
do we take action to make these things happen for better futures? To
join this forum go to: www.circlecommunity.org.uk
Involved and supporting Organizations (to date)
• Saint George’s Theatre Development Trust • Earth
Theatre/Circus • Save London’s Theatres Campaign •
Be the Peace Theatre • Purple Broccoli Kids Theatre • The
ART organization
• Unity Works Community Project • Access All Areas •
Islington Music Forum • Sugumugu Sunday Charity • Warp Theatre
Community • Green Future • Peace not War Music Collective
• The Synergy Project • LARC • Rhythms of Resistance
• Rainbow Circle • Metropolitan University / Drama Departmentt
• Unity Works • Indymedia • Green Party • 491
Gallery
• Agenda21 • Ramparts Community Centre • Pathways
Information Service
• Letslink London • Partnerships Consulting
Is your organisation involved? If not, please lobby them to join the
project.