The competition

Lambeth Council, working with the Brixton Market Traders’ Federation, launched a competition for a team to design, build and run activities in a fantastic central Brixton location, close to the Rec, the markets and the stations. Rather than put up with an empty space for two years we want a lively destination that can employ people whilst adding to the buzz about Brixton.

“I am delighted to announce the launch of the competition to decide the meanwhile use of the space at Pope’s Road. The project presents a fantastic opportunity to support local enterprise and employment in Brixton, a part of London with a rich history, a bright future and an active and engaged community. While a challenging brief, we hope to encourage innovation and creativity from bidders and a commitment to working with local businesses and residents. This is a chance to be involved at a very exciting time in the regeneration of Brixton, with all it has to offer “. Cllr Imogen Walker, Cabinet member for Environment and Sustainability

The closing date for submissions was Monday 17 March. We worked with local people to develop a brief and here’s some information about what we asked for.

What do we want on the space?

It’s a large space and will be available to use immediately. It’s mainly empty, so any structures you need will have to be built. Two years isn’t long to start up and recoup costs so we’re potentially offering up to £85,000 seed funding.

Enterprise: We’re looking for a business plan full of interesting ideas that evolve with local community input. What happens with the space must help us promote local enterprise and employment.

We want this space to be busy so it’s a great opportunity to experiment with new activities and events. Successful ideas might find a longer-term future in the re-development of the site.

Parking: We’ve agreed to keep some space on the site for parking. At the moment there are up to 28 spaces, which were used by the ice rink staff car park. We are working towards providing an extra 42 spaces, which would create a larger market trader car park so that they could then turn their existing car park into public parking. The management of the parking will be separate to the rest of the meanwhile activity.

Who do we want to run it?

We’re looking for a team who can design, construct, programme and manage the space – and can prove it. The team will be responsible for the site and the activities, including all insurances, permissions and licences.

We’re looking for a team who understands Brixton and we’ll want to know that you can develop activities with local residents and businesses.

What have local people said so far?

At the public workshop held in November 2013 a number of principles emerged including:

• Local management: Programming and use of the space should involve local people, organisations and businesses to support local trade and enterprise and local community initiatives.
• Support local groups: There are lots of cultural and creative organisations in Lambeth that should be encouraged to get involved in delivering activities and using the space.
• Compliment not compete: Whatever is provided on the site should not compete with local businesses, including the surrounding street markets.
• Keep money and skills locally: Future plans should seek to ensure that income generated supports the local economy, users of the site and the community.
• Additional car parking: The site should accommodate additional car parking to support the street markets

A bit more about the space

The site is approximately 3,900 sqm. Most recently the site has been used for a temporary ice rink, whilst a new ice rink was built as part of the Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre, which opened in November 2013. Before that it was a town centre car park that was closed on health and safety grounds.

Detail for the longer-term uses on the site are being agreed with local people through the Brixton Central masterplan development brief. It’s possible that the Pope’s Road site will form part of the first phase of development in the area. Your business plan should assume the site is available for a minimum of 2 years, but with the potential for extension.

Interested in entering the competition?

We want to see bidders coming up with an overall concept and business plan. The deadline for submissions is midday Monday 17 March. The main points to consider are:

• It is expected that the site will be made available immediately and then for 2 years. The Council will make the site available to the selected team at no initial charge.
• Should the project deliver an income surplus or profit, we’ll look to ring fence this (to the meanwhile project or the wider Future Brixton programme), or to consider some form of profit and risk share/Joint Venture arrangement. Proposals should include details of how this might work as part of the costed business plan.
• The income from any car parking should not be included in any business plan. The management of car parking will be undertaken separately from the rest of the meanwhile activity.
• The evaluation criterion encourages self-sufficient projects and business plans to come forward. However, if there is a demonstrable requirement, it is proposed to make Initial seed funding available of up to £85k for projects that deliver against the Council’s key outcomes. Bidders will need to make it clear in their proposals how this investment will be spent and provide a business plan showing projected income streams. Bidders will also need to be clear whether there is an opportunity for the Council to retain the asset at the end of the project, or not, as part of an exit strategy. Price will be included in the evaluation so the less seed funding required, the greater the score against price.
• Proposals will also need to set out the implications of the meanwhile activity and the business plan (both positive and negative) should the site be available beyond the two years.
• This is a challenging brief, and if we do not receive proposals that take into account all the considerations laid out here and the necessary financial sustainability, the Council will not appoint and will reconsider how it develops meanwhile activity on the site.

Please contact Pawel Pietraszek, Regeneration Programme Officer on [email protected], or 020 7926 4083 to register your interest and receive the tender pack.

Local people and groups who are not interested in bidding themselves, but are interested in potential future use of the space and in learning more about the shortlisted bidders once the selected, should sign up to the Future Brixton mailing list by clicking the link on the righthand side of this page.