Before the clean up. Pic: Phil Brunner
Clapton residents took part in a big clean up this morning to make room for the areas first alternative performance venue.
At eight this morning members of the community were eagerly waiting outside 33 Chatsworth Road wearing work gloves and warm jackets ready to clear the area.
Volunteers had only 30 minutes to fill a skip with rubbish from the backyard, as they had no permit, for what will be one of Clapton’s first alternative performance venues.
Phil Brunner, founder of the performance space, had posted on a local discussion forum asking for members of the community to help him clear the space, for what he calls “an event space for the future.”
Brunner said: “As we only had 30 minutes, we thought we needed as much help from the community as possible.”
The skip showed up just before nine this morning and by nine-thirty the only thing left in the backyard was branches and leaves. Brunner and his friends were happy with the turn out and is now looking forward to get on with the progress.
The space will be used as a performance venue, hosting one-off performances. The first performance is this Sunday, where the underground music duo Mak Murtic Ensemble will perform a progressive jazz gig.
Brunner explained that the front house will be a bar with a small stage and the back garden will be equipped with a tent for slightly bigger performances.
The area isn’t fully licensed yet, but Brunner has goals for the near future: “We are going from permit to permit at the moment, but hopefully in the future we will be able to get a more permanent license.”
The space on 33 Chatsworth Road is one of many new local initiatives that have popped up in the neighbourhood.
With the opening of the Sunday market, and the many cafes and delicatessens, Clapton is starting to resemble the early years of Stoke Newington and Broadway Market.
The local forum where this originally appeared and the source of this article was the Hackney social network yeah! Hackney http://www.yeahhackney.com/groups/hackney-volunteers/forum/topic/help-transform-this-garden-rubbish-tip-into-an-event-space-for-the-future/
Referring to last paragraph – the early years of Stoke Newington and Broadway market??!! what u mean when it became gentrified and full of ponsy twats who have not the faintest idea, like yourself, it seems, of the area’s rich history. Market, cafes and delicatessens where middle class ponsies can sip on frappachino’s whilst pushing up rents and pushing ppl out of the area when benefits are getting cut. Get a grip, do your job as a journalist and beware that old time residents and not just students read this news web site.
We are delighted that old time residents read us but I think you may be mixing cause and effect. Young people are moving out to “cheaper” areas because the cost of housing is rising for everyone and they also need places to live. Inevitably they bring their own culture with them and try to make the place feel like home. I think the cause of the housing crisis can be traced to the decision to sell off council housing and discourage councils from investing. We are all reaping that harvest so turning on in-comers to the area is not the solution campaigning, together, for housing investment would do more good.