The Pepys Community Forum
Key Principles
- Establishing a management structure to suit your needs
Details
At Pepys Estate in Lewisham, the local community has been at the forefront of the regeneration process, influencing key decisions and getting involved in the long-term management of assets which has transformed a former problem estate into a Building for Life silver award-winning neighbourhood.
In 1997 Pepys Estate residents got together to find ways to improve the quality of life and services, leading to the formation of the Pepys Community Forum in 1998. It put its own community regeneration bid together, via Lewisham Council. The bid was successful, and provided funding to deliver community-based services and a Community Development Trust.
An umbrella body, with the legal, constitutional and democratic framework, the Community Development Trust is designed to enable local residents to set up, manage and develop their own services and resources in the area and act as a lever for bringing new money into the area.
The Trust is designed to out-live any other funding regime. The community’s appreciation of existing large open spaces and insistence for these to be retained influenced the layout and design of new buildings in the reconstruction proposals generated by an architectural competition.
The Pepys Estate community has not only initiated educational and training programmes for the community but also delivered key social amenities such as the Pepys Community Centre.
Other Information
- Location: London Borough of Lewisham
- Project Team: Key partners: Pepys Community Forum, Local Area AgreementFunds, Esmee Fairbairn, CRED
- Contact: www.mcad.demon.co.uk
