Christopher Bell wrote: 'Even the entire ground floor of the second Lyra block which was supposed to be dedicated to the local community is still empty after about 3 years.'Acton Community Forum (ACF) has now negotiated a long lease for this community space, so that it can be run for the benefit of as many people as possible, including as a venue for voting. (ACF already manages the Oaktree Community Centre in South Acton and the North Acton Pavilion.) However, all we have is a shell and no funds to fit it out, although negotiations are continuing with a local college to see if we can offer experience to vocational students to do the actual work. I've talked to various developers (the latest being the one representing The Portal, which will be built between the Lyra building and The Castle pub and will eventually be some 35 storeys), asking if there was a possibility for a donation to pay for some of the plumbing, electrics, etc. – a cost that would be a pittance compared to the millions they will gain by their development – but they are only interested in providing community space for their own residents. So we can look forward to a forest of 'silos', with no interaction between them and no dealings with 'normal' residents.If you know of anyone who would be interested in providing a bit of payback to the community in terms of simple fitting out of this space – plumbing, electrics, kitchen facilities for a community cafe, etc. – please do get in touch with Acton Community Forum at 8993 6158.(Disclosure: I'm vice-chair of the ACF board.)
Nancy Duin ● 3799d