SoWN News 24 April 2025
- csaunders935
- Apr 24
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 26
Welcome to your South Bank and Waterloo Neighbours newsletter.
This newsletter contains:
SoWN Forum dates 2025
South Bank and Waterloo Sustains Us
Join the Sustains Us Residents Group
Library of Things now open in Elephant and Castle
Funding opportunity: Cultivating Activism – Air Pollution Fund
Waterloo arch mural voting - deadline 1 May
E-bike update
A Guided Walk of London's South Bank, Saturday 26 April
Updates
Jubilee Gardens
London NHS drone delivery
Backstage at The Old Vic
Events
Transforming Hercules Road event - Thursday 15 May
Bankside Open Spaces Festival, Saturday 7 June 2025
Free walking tours for refugees in Waterloo and South Bank
Spotlight on... SoWN Secretary David Clarson
SoWN Forums 2025
The SoWN Forums are a great opportunity for residents and businesses of South Bank and Waterloo to come together to discuss local topics and initiatives. Everyone is welcome.
The dates for the Forums in 2025 are Thursday 26 June, Thursday 9 October and Thursday 11 December.
The Forums start between 6 and 7pm. We'll share the start time, location and agenda nearer the time. If there's anything you would like to see on the Forum agenda, please let us know.
Join the Sustains Us Residents Group to help shape a greener, fairer neighbourhood
SoWN is inviting local residents to join the newly revived Sustains Us Residents Group (formerly the SoWN Environment Group) and play an active role in making our neighbourhood a fairer and greener place to live.
SoWN is a proud partner of Sustains Us, a South Bank and Waterloo-wide initiative which aims to bring our community together to reach Net Zero by 2030 and build a cleaner, greener, and more connected neighbourhood for everyone who lives, works or visits here.
We’re looking for local residents who are keen to get involved – whether you’re passionate about clean air, green spaces, cutting waste, or smarter energy use, this is a great opportunity to support meaningful local change.
One of the group’s first activities will be helping to shape a community event this September as part of the Mayor’s Community Weekend. The event will bring together local organisations and initiatives working to create a greener, fairer South Bank and Waterloo, and offer residents a chance to discover what’s happening locally, celebrate local action, and explore how they can get involved.
Interested? We believe everyone can play a role in moving towards sustainability and we are determined to ensure South Bank and Waterloo is a place that sustains us.
Join us for the first Sustains Us Residents Group meeting on Monday 12 May 2025, from 6 to 7.30pm in the Octavia Room, St John’s Church Crypt, Waterloo. Come along to hear more, connect with others, and help shape this year’s event. Everyone is welcome.
For any questions, feel free to contact Giles Goddard, SoWN Chair giles@stjohnswaterloo.org or Charlotte Glazier, SoWN Programme Coordinator: charlotte@sowneighbours.org
South Bank and Waterloo Sustains Us: Library of Things now open in Elephant and Castle
Library of Things has just opened in Elephant and Castle at The Castle Leisure Centre, making it easier for you to borrow useful household items for a few pounds instead of buying new. Whether you need a drill, carpet cleaner, sewing machine or even a sound system for a party, you can now borrow instead of buy.
Library of Things is a community-powered social enterprise that helps people save money and reduce unnecessary waste, by making it easier to borrow instead of buy.
Reducing waste is one of the aims of South Bank and Waterloo Sustains Us, helping to create a fairer and greener neighbourhood by 2030.
As a local resident, you can get 10% off your first borrow by using the code HEYSOUTHWARK10 at checkout. If cost is a barrier, there’s a no-questions - asked 25% off concession available too.
Visit the Library of Things website here to browse the catalogue, sign up, and use your discount code.
Funding opportunity: Cultivating Activism – Air Pollution Fund
Do you have an idea to tackle air pollution in South Bank and Waterloo? TSIP’s Cultivating Activism: Air Pollution Fund is offering up to £5,000 to individuals and grassroots collectives or organisations in Lambeth and Southwark who want to make a difference.
The fund supports creative, community-driven approaches to raising awareness, driving action and demanding cleaner air. It's open to anyone aged 18+ living in the area and you don’t need to be part of an organisation to apply.
This aligns closely with the aims of South Bank and Waterloo Sustains Us, where we are working towards a fairer and greener neighbourhood with clean air for all.
Deadline: Midnight, Sunday 5 May
Want to chat through an idea first? Get in touch via the Sustains Us contact form
Waterloo arch mural voting
The London School of Muralism has developed a mural project to be painted under the arch connecting Mepham St and Waterloo Rd. To develop ideas, we run 3 creative sessions involving local people through the Arts Club at St Johns at Waterloo. A forth workshops was held under the arch itself, involving passers-by in the process.
From all the ideas and suggestions, they have now narrowed it down to two main ideas, one using humour and the other using an optical illusion. They are now asking you to vote for your favourite. The deadline is 12am on 1 May 2025.
Clear up our pavements!
We know that there is a lot of concern re e-bikes being parked on pavements around Waterloo Station. Our Councillors, Sarina da Silva and Ibrahim Dogus, are working on this with local community organisations.
They have launched an online petition and would welcome residents' signatures to demonstrate the level of concern. The petition is here
Guided Walk
A Guided Walk of London's South Bank - Saturday 26 April
For a long time, the South Bank was perceived as London’s ‘neglected’ bank, where outcasts and rejects from the City of London took refuge and thrived – not always respectably (think drunken taverns and red-light district).
The walk will start in Waterloo in the borough of Lambeth and finish in Southwark, offering stark contrasts between the current urban density in housing and the almost rural developments of the Victorians in their efforts to combat the ills of rookeries and poor housing (e.g. the Mint and Redcross Street cottages).
The walk will take in a remarkable adult education establishment, a cathedral, two hospitals, a medieval domestic building, a cemetery rumoured to be connected to Bankside’s red district, an area of former slums, and a charitable quarter.
The walk will start at Morley College, and finish in Borough High Street at the George Inn. This walk is based on Mireille Galinou’s book London’s South Bank – A History and will be conducted by the author.
When: Saturday 26 April 2025 at 2pm.
Meet at: Morley College, 61 Westminster Bridge Road, Waterloo, SE1 7HT
NB: Comfortable shoes recommended.
Booking The walk is free but donations welcome. Please book a place with Vicky Woollard, waterloolocalhistory@gmail.com
Updates
Jubilee Gardens Enhances Green Space with Wildlife Hedge and New Benches
Jubilee Gardens has introduced two new features to boost biodiversity and improve our visitors’ experience. A100-metre holly hedge, funded by Park Plaza Hotels Europe (PPHE), has been planted to replace a box hedge lost to disease. This native evergreen not only enhances the garden’s visual appeal but will support local wildlife by providing year-round shelter and food for birds, pollinators, and butterflies, including the Holly Blue.
In addition, all ten of the Gardens’ original benches – installed in 2012 – have been replaced with sustainable teak seating, thanks to a £16,447 grant from Veolia Environmental Trust through the Landfill Communities Fund. The new benches are durable, perfectly placed for scenic views, and designed to age beautifully. The older benches have been donated to local community spaces.
Together, these improvements reflect Jubilee Gardens Trust’s continued commitment to sustainability, biodiversity, and providing an inviting, green retreat for residents, workers, and visitors in the heart of London.
London NHS drone delivery
Representatives from the London NHS drone delivery team presented at the SoWN Forum in October 2024. The trial is a collaboration between Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Apian, and Wing and aims to provide a rapid healthcare delivery service in London.
The team are pleased to report that the trial has been highly successful and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approved an extension of the service for an additional six months, starting on 7 April 2025.
For more information watch the video below and visit the website.
Backstage at The Old Vic
The Old Vic are pleased to update you on the progress of their project, Backstage - the new six-storey building for creativity, education and community. They are making good progress with the first-fix installation of the mechanical and electrical systems. They are in the process of installing new doors, a polished-copper plaster effect on the lightwell, the first-floor balcony, plus the front façade and internal glazing.
What's next?
Their focus for the Backstage building this month will be on significant progress across several areas. Externally, they aim to complete the cladding and glazing, as well as installing the façade doors. Internally, they will begin joinery installation on all levels, continue with interior decoration, and complete door installations throughout the building. Finally, they are on track to finish all plant work and install the acoustic screen at roof level.
You can find more information here.
Events
WeAreWaterloo invites you to celebrate recent greening efforts to transform Hercules Road.
Date: Thursday 15 May
Time: 12 - 2pm
Location: Hercules Road, SE1
Register here.
Bankside Open Spaces Trust invite you to the Bankside Open Spaces Festival 2025.
Date: Saturday 7 June 2025
Time: 12 - 8pm
Location: Marlborough Sports Garden, Red Cross Garden, Crossbones Graveyard and Redcross Way, SE1 1HA
Free
More information here.
Free walking tours for refugees in Waterloo and South Bank
Waterloo Community Counselling (WCC) have arranged 6 more walking tours for refugees living, working or studying in Waterloo and South Bank
When: Wednesday 7th May, 10:30am to 2pm
Where: Meet at the WCC office, Barley Mow Clinic, Greet House, Frazier Street, London SE1 7BD
What’s on offer: 2.5 hour outing with professional tour guide, lunch & travel included
Sign up today:
Email: info@waterloocc.co.uk
Call: 02079283462
Spotlight on... SoWN Secretary David Clarson
What’s your role in SoWN?
I have been Secretary of SoWN since 2019, a few months before the referendum approving the Neighbourhood Plan. The main purpose of the role is to organise the Steering Group and Trustees meetings, as well as the Forum, and generally to keep things moving along. I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for, but it’s great fun and very rewarding.
What was your first job?
My first job was during the Christmas holidays when I was 15 working in Jones department store in Bristol, which later became part of the Debenhams group. My first full time job was as a quantity surveyor. One of my early projects was the first multi – storey building in Bristol. I had to measure the thermoplastic floor tiles on the office floors, no luxuries like carpets then!
What/where is your favourite hidden gem around South Bank and Waterloo?
Giles will kill me for not saying St John’s, but I think it has to be the 1901 Club in Exton Street. As a music venue it has the intimacy of a chamber music salon, and the Chopin and Champaign evenings are a favourite of mine. In that order of course!
What would be your three desert island disks, one book and one luxury item?
Disks - as you will see I have an eclectic taste -
Starship’s “Nothing’s gonna stop us now” – it kind of sums up my philosophy to life and those around me
Chopin’s “Minute Waltz” – my Grandmother used to play it
Handel’s “Ombra Mai Fu”, sung by Andreas Scholl – he has a voice to die for
Book – I have never really taken to reading books, so a subscription to the Economist
Luxury item - a cocktail shaker!
What’s at the top of your bucket list?
Finland – I haven’t been there, and it is so crucially placed geographically, with the happiest people and some good restaurants I believe.
What’s your message for the SoWN community?
To keep working together for positive outcomes. I have witnessed all kinds of community engagement, and am convinced most is achieved by a positive collaborative approach.
Who do you nominate for a SoWN spotlight?
Paul Cons and the wonderful work he is doing for Emma Cons Gardens
