BrocSoc backs mews action

The Brockley Society has joined the Brockley Cross Action Group in calling for the role of Brockley's many mews to be reimagined.

They are organising a Brockley Society Open Meeting on Tuesday, 20 April at 8pm to discuss the issue at the Brockley Social Club, 240 Brockley Road, SE4 2SU.

No-one has ever accused the Brockley Society of being idle dreamers - these are hard-headed defenders of the fabric of Brockley, for whom no change is acceptable if it risks damaging local quality of life. However, they recognise that the current approach to managing the mews is failing miserably.

Clare Cowen of the Brockley Society says:

"Brockley has a unique range of mews dotted round the conservation area. They can be an attractive and special feature, with artisan workshops, creative studios and social enterprises. Often they are a festering problem: nasty, scary dog walks amid noxious enterprises. Lewisham does not seem to have an overall view of how to manage them other than occasional fire-fighting (literally). A vision for their future needs to come from local residents and users who are familiar with the opportunities and problems they present. Tuesday's meeting aims to begin this."

Brockley Central believes that the mews represent an opportunity to address two of Brockley's biggest structural problems - a lack of public green space and a shortage of studio space for artists. An imaginative approach (perhaps learning from the successful precedent of the Coin Street community builders), bringing together local community groups, Lewisham Council and perhaps other local players such as Goldsmiths, Creative Lewisham and local enterprise networks could create something genuinely innovative that enriches the area's economy and quality of life. Or we could do nothing.