Discussions are underway to start a new ‘drop in, stay ‘n’ play’ coffee morning once a week in partnership with Brookfield School. Details remain to be worked out but it is hoped that this will take place on Thursday mornings. Watch this space!
The amendments to the designs received planning consent earlier in the year.
Services have now moved out of the main Highgate Newtown Community Centre building as preparations begin for demolition. Security is in place while the contract for the works is procured
Activities haven’t stopped! they continue to run from a range of venues, so check out our website for the latest details.
The plans to convert disused garages on the Whittington Estate as a new home for Ricky’s WtW have proved more difficult than expected, after the contractor pulled out.
For the time being WtW is staying in place, until a suitable new home can be found. With bookings already in place over the Summer, Camden has committed to keeping the project open for business.
HNCC have been recruiting a number of community champions to engage with local people more effectively. These volunteers will have training and will focus on talking about a project they love. Beth who has flat in Bertram Street has agreed to be the first one.
The Community Lunch is growing in strength and numbers!
Lulu the cook (pictured) is currently self-employed, and is due to become an employee of HNCC with all the benefits of a permanent contract.
The Community Lunch is a very much a shared project. The organisations and churches taking part are partners, working together. It’s a model that is likely to be more widely used in future.
The community centre is looking at providing allotments and a new growing project, coordinated by Jane and working with Holly Lodge Estates
The idea is that food can be grown for the lunch clubs, and local schools can be involved.
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This Newsletter is also available to download
Please join us every Tuesday from 12 noon at St Mary Brookfield Church for a Community Lunch.
The Lunch runs until 2pm and costs £2.50 including:
Join us at:
St Mary Brookfield Church,
Dartmouth Park Rd,
Highgate,
London NW5 1SL
Father Damian and Lulu our excellent manager & chef will warmly welcome you.
This is a new partnership with St Mary Brookfield, the Parish Church of Dartmouth Park
We are grateful to the Lady Gould’s Charity. Without their support we could not provide this much needed service. Lady Gould’s Charity is a charitable trust which distributes grants to any individual who lives in the Highgate area of London and who is, for whatever reason, in need of financial assistance, for example through mental or physical disability or through other family or household circumstances that result in the lack of some basic necessity. Find out more at www.ladygouldscharity.org
Our official timetable has been updated with a full list of all events and venues, and is available to download now.
Led by the Network Artist In Residence, Angus Anderson. the programme is designed for all whether young or old, rediscovering an interest or exploring something really new a range of art and craft programmes are made available for all across the community. These include Sewing, Woodwork and a range of Visual Art.
But the most important thing is that the sessions really encourage everyone to have a go. There is no such thing as wrong. The only thing that matters is that people are encouraged find ways that suit them to express themselves visually. And the more they do the better they get, and especially the fun in participating in the wider creative community.
As part of our Creative Community Network Hargrave Hall is itself launching its Easter Holiday programme with free introductory classes for all.
1.30-4.30 Discover Drawing for adults
Come and get a solid basis of principles of drawing; We will get you drawing in an hour’
1.30-4.30 Discover Painting for adults
have fun with paint, how to use the material, enjoy colour, the 101 uses of a paint brush apart from stirring your tea
10.30 – 12.30 Children’s Arts Holiday Club, for children 6-11 yrs
explore our environment and identity; If I was an animal I would like to be a ……
2.00 – 5.00 – Young People’s Arts Holiday Club, for young people 12 – 19 yrs
Imagine your future in the mural – “In Ten Years Time We Would Like To Be…”
Contact Angus Anderson angusanderson@andersongrounds.com or 07802 316703
The Highgate Newtown Community Centre is pleased to announce that funding has been secured and planning approved, allowing our ambitious redevelopment project to proceed.
Feeling creative? Join our free drop-in art course on Fridays at 1:30pm
Starting 1st Feb 2019 and running until the 5th April each 90 minute session requires no previous experience in the arts and is FREE OF CHARGE!
All adults welcome.
The Highgate Newtown Community Centre is pleased to announced that it has joined the Octopus Community Network.
Formed back in 1999, Octopus is a collaboration between the largest multi-purpose community centres primarily based in Islington.
To find out more visit the Octopus Community Network website.
Robert Aitkin, Chair of the HNCC on the progress of the Bertran Street redevelopment project:
I am delighted to restate the primary purpose of our thriving community centre on the cusp of the exciting redevelopment of our Bertram Street site.
We aim to be a self sufficient community based organisation which provides welcoming, supportive, enriching activities and services within our community, with a special emphasis on young and elderly users.
On 14 February the current plans for redevelopment of the site go before Camden’s Planning Committee. The redevelopment will largely be paid for by Camden’s plan for 41 flats .
HNCC has already decanted to various places locally including Hargrave Hall near Archway for our under 5s service and local churches (United Reformed Church Pond Square Highgate and there are plans for St Anne’s and St Mary’s Dartmouth Park) and Holly Lodge for community lunches and older persons activities, art and shortly also woodwork.
Significant changes have been made to the plans as a result of the various stages in the consultation process. While there remain concerns about a range of issues, including overdevelopment, significant adjustments have been made to take account of some of these concerns. The inclusion of 7 units for Camden Living/social housing, strongly supported by HNCC, is a noteworthy adjustment achieved over the original plans.
The HNCC board are supporting Camden in its planning application as we believe this is a great opportunity to gain a first rate, fit for purpose, facility for the benefit of our community.
This temporarily dispersed operation will have its challenges but is also an opportunity to spread our community offering more widely. Once back in the redeveloped centre, currently planned towards the end of 2020, in addition to the activities planned from the new centre we hope to continue to provide some services also from other sites within the wider community, having gained good experience of this wider community offering during the redevelopment.
Do have a look at the rest of our website for full details of activities we undertake (go to the menu bar top left hand side and click on projects).
As always we are always on the look out for more local volunteers and indeed new trustees to improve further how and what we can offer. If interested in volunteering in relation to older persons services contact Larraine Revah (revah.larraine@outlook.com). Volunteers for other activities should contact the Director Andrew Sanalitro (andrewhncc@outlook.com). Those interested in a trustee role should contact me (rgsaitken@hotmail.com or 07986 836 288).
Robert Aitken
Chair HNCC
“A central courtyard provides an active and high-quality public space at the heart of the site, maintaining an outdoor focal point for community activity and encouraging interaction of passers-by, residents and community centre users.”
Care has also been taken to reduce impact on existing neighbours by setting back or recessing all private amenity and providing solid balustrade walls. A central courtyard provides an active and high-quality public space at the heart of the site, maintaining an outdoor focal point for community activity and encouraging interaction of passers-by, residents and community centre users. The central courtyard is connected to the north and south by a new public route that was identified through local consultation.
PLANNING HISTORY
The proposals for the site were developed with local planning and conservation officers over a year period. The team was committed to bringing as much of the community along on the journey as possible by designing in an open and responsive manner and feeding back at regular events and in a range of media. This resulted in a high number of design iterations that demonstrated the team had listened to local concerns. The scheme was granted planning consent in June 2017.