Admission is £5 (+ £1 membership) and 10% of all takings will go to CIS to help with the Convenience restoration.

Create a Garden
Hackney Council is abandoning its recycling boxes – but they do make excellent planters. We need boxes, six scaffold boards, rubble and soil to create a pavement garden to brighten the street. Please bring stuff along to Chatsworth Road toilets this Sunday, 24th February.

Take a Stall in the Gents
Beverly’s vintage clothes and re-imagined decoupage suitcases (each one is unique) were a hit last week – but there’s room for more! If you want a stall contact Jon on 07970 265966.

Renovation Under Way
Last week we cleared the roof of debris, plants, estate agents signs and doggy bags and made it waterproof. All help is welcome – next we’re preparing for decoration. Emma Jane has been de-rusting the futuristic handdrier, prior to powder coating.

Find us on Facebook
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www.claptonimprovementsociety.org
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Catchup: Chatsworth Road Toilets Back in Community Hands

Clapton Improvement Society has obtained a council lease for the old toilets on Chatsworth Road (next to Sol’s bike shop).

We’ve got the keys and the plan now is to push ahead and bring the building back to life, converting the former ‘Ladies’ into a luxury mixed public toilet, with the ‘Gents’ transformed into a cafe/bar/gallery.

We need HELP with the works. So, please come along this weekend and lets get started. We’ll be there Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th Feb between 10am and 5pm – even if you can only spare an hour or two, please come along…. No special skills needed, though if you’re in the building trade we especially want to hear from you.

Here’s to plenty more Events in the Gents!

Pre-booking essential

email claptonimprovementsociety@gmail.com

Courses @ The Levy Centre

18-24 Lower Clapton Road E5 0PD

10am- 4pm

Free to benefit claimants (proof required)

£25 for Hackney residents

£50 otherwise

Food Hygiene

• Thursday 26th April

Essential if you want to work with food, this course offers a Level 2 certificate and is run by Fatima, a first class trainer.

Using Social Media for your Business

• Thursday 3rd May

Top marketing expert James Cherkoff will show you how to get the best out of Facebook, Twitter and other stuff.

Running a market stall

• Thursday 10th May

Jane MacIntyre of Hackney Homemade guides you through the process from buying stock to getting a licence.

In taking the lease on the toilets and seeking to get lottery funds, we have to formally register as an Industrial and Provident Society. So it means we have to get more formal about membership. The minimum cost is to buy a £1 share – which does not entitle you to dividends if we get rich.

The cost of registering is £850 and of applying for planning permission is £335. We have that money from our various entrepreneurial activities to date, but we have no reserves. Please help by paying at least a fiver with the Paypal button and registering your membership.

Community Owned Hydro

We have taken up the challenge of trying to create a local renewable energy asset, by taking forward a scheme to install Archimedes Screw hydro turbines at the Lea Bridge weir. Initial estimates suggest that the scheme will be economically viable, but a detailed feasibility study will be needed once we have an agreement with British Waterways that we can take the scheme forward.

The Toilets Threatened

A shock phone call just before Christmas alerted us to a bid from Homerton Hospital to buy the toilets site and demolish them to provide extra office space. We have discussed the issue with the hospital and are hopeful of helping them meet their needs without the toilet site.

But it may mean a renewed campaign. There is no doubt of the need for toilets- as evidenced by the e-mails from the hospital urging us to extend the toilet operating hours!

We have submitted the planning application for change of use (drawings and design and access statement here) and there’s a petition to sign in support.

Sustainable Clapton

There is a new lottery programme called Communities Living Sustainably that will fund 10 pilot projects nationwide to bring together community action and education in less advantaged areas in pursuit of more sustainable lifestyles.

Our plan would see a series of actions around use of renewable energy, traffic reduction, recycling and neighbourhood planning as outlined in the “Sustainable Clapton” report.

We held a meeting on Monday23rd January at 7pm at the St John’s Ambulance Hall, Mildenhall Road E5- just behind Clapton Pond- to discuss the bid before we submitted it. The Council, Springboard Hackney, the hospital and Chatsworth Road Traders and Residents’ Association joined the partnership.

Clapton Music Club

The neighbourhood musical appreciation gathering returns in the louche lounge that is the Hackney United Services Club 69 Powerscroft Road E5 on Friday 3^rd March at 7.30. Admission is £3.50 for members, and membership £1.

The evening features a Dance Night- by popular demand an evening of hip shaking grooves- showing how eclectic Clapton’s favourite club is. Hot dogs (vegan as well) will line your stomach for the workers club priced beverages on offer.

Environmental Projects

One of our members- Suzy Enoh-Arthur, who works at Homerton Hospital, is doing a couple of environmental projects with the Society’s support.

The first involves assessing environmental impact and growing vegetables with mental health patients in the hospital, and the other setting up raised growing beds in Rushmore School. We’re happy to support such initiatives by our members.

Training

Following the great success of the food hygiene course, we’re planning three more this spring- how to run a market stall, how to use social media in business and food hygiene again. Register an interest and we’ll let you know details as they’re confirmed.

We expect to sign the papers next week and be in occupation on Thursday 1st December.

So, we need help and volunteers and ideas to bring this valuable convenience back to life.

We have a wonderful plan for the renovations, including transformation of the gents into a fully-functioning events space, public toilets (with disabled access) and solar hot water and electrical panels to cut down on our bills.

If you can spare any time in December, or in the new year, we need your skills and help;  in the immediate future to get the toilets up and running, and following that with our planned renovations.

Builders, plumbers, cleaners, painters and electricians, please email us with any offers of help at claptonimprovementsociety@gmail.com or ring Jon on 0797 026 5966.

Events in the Gents

There will be opportunities to run bar/cafe/restaurant in the Gents and we’re looking for people to offer different foods on different days. If you’re interested please get in touch.

Likewise, we’re looking for gallery installations and other events to promote.

Nothing beats some good sounds

and Northern prices are  a bonus.

Would you like to start a food stall at one of the Clapton’s local markets? Perhaps you’re struggling with the red tape, can’t afford the training, or just need some help to get going.

Top trainer Fatima Zahar is running our one day Food Hygiene Certificate Course  in partnership with Springboard Hackney.

• Thursday December 8th
• The Levy Centre, 18 – 24 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0PD

It’s free if you’re not working (proof required) or only £25 if you’ re in employment.

Only 25 places are available, so please get in touch to book as soon as possible.

Okonomiyaki master, Patrick Knill who studied the art in Osaka, Japan will be cooking off against Fumio’s  true roots Hiroshima style  pancakes.

Meat and veggie options from both prefectures.

Public vote to crown the King of Okonomiyaki.

This is BringYourOwnDrinks event so feel free to bring anything you fancy drinking.

Corkage fee (£1 per a bottle or a can of beer/£2 per a bottle of wine or spirits).

Within a few short hours, the site had raised around £5,000. In the same way that social media fanned the flames of the riot, it is also providing a rapid response to the situation. Rebuilding trust and confidence is going to be a long difficult task, but restocking Siva’s shelves is something that we can do quickly and effectively if we all pull together. Please donate as much as you can through the website and forward it to anyone who may be interested. You can also spread the word on twitter using the hashtag #helpsiva.

A couple of support events are in the pipeline….

There will be a Community Tea Party on Clarence Rd, a week after the riots, on Monday 15th of August from 5pm onwards. The street will be closed to traffic. This could be a chance for reflection, or a time for socialising and catching up: No speeches, no agenda – this is whatever you, as a member of the local community, want to make it. Please contact jane@hackneyhomemade.com if you want to volunteer to help move tables and chairs or help in any way. Please bring cake!

Hackney Homemade Markets on Saturday and Sunday will be going ahead as usual, and will be fundraising for Siva. The Society will be at both events. Please come along, have a cup of tea, and show your support.

- Read more, here on dalstonpeople.co.uk, Hackney Gazette.