457 Cafe closure and other News in June

Sadly today Nicola and her partner have had to close the cafe. A total lack of community support has left them with no choice, following on from the tragic closure of Come the revolution. It seems that unless you open as a brand, or turn yourself into an expensive hang out for rich students, the chance of a community cafe working and giving real jobs and free community and gallery space to local residents does not have a future. I have seen some great Goldsmith Shows and seen some truly wonderful stuff carried out at this cafe, but you cannot run a community cafe without the support of the community, who clearly have not been supporting it for quiet some time. From today New Cross and Deptford has lost a Community and Gallery Space, i am constantly told is needed. The Good News; Harts Lane Studios, the former Garage repair centre, taken over by People before profit, to stop Labour Lewisham from selling it of for just £15.000 is growing from strength to strength. John Hamilton has done some amazing stuff with this space, and on Sunday the 3rd Open day was another huge success, with wonderful art exhibition, and live bands and singers playing in the street and on the roof, as a free event, it was good to see people before profit putting back an empty building into a truly community space, that going by the crowed on sunday, truly reflected the people that live in the area. Having won the Housing Campaign with Lewisham Council, after Barbara Raymond secured 7000 votes in the GLA election, insuring People before profit came second in our key target wards, and giving us a real chance of getting Community Councillors Elected in next round of local Elections . We did have something to celebrate, Both South London Press and Mercury put our Victory for Common senses as main front page story, whilst other media also ran with the Story such as the BBC. We may not have won the GLA seat, but we are winning the Housing campaign, clearly shows, when you vote People before profit, your vote, for once, truly did and does count. ,Make sure you are on the voters roll for the next round of elections.