Councils must recognise the creative and economic contribution that artists bring to their areas

Councils must recognise the creative and economic contribution that artists bring to their areas, writes Susan Rosenberg in a letter to the Guardian. Susan Rosenberg has been an artist with Collage Arts and resident of the Chocolate Factory for 20 years.  In a recent artists meeting with local MP Catherine West and Cllr Peray Ahmet, she said: “Over the years, I have seen this wonderful community grow. This could never have been possible if affordable studio space had not been available.  This is a shining beacon in London and we cannot afford to lose the creative cluster of artists that have made the Chocolate Factory and Haringey their home over the past 22 years.”

Read Susan’s full letter in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/mar/21/tacita-dean-has-her-space-now-its-time-to-make-room-for-other-artists

The letter was published the day after Haringey Council Planning Sub-Committee approved two more large-scale housing and workspace developments in the Haringey Cultural Quarter – The Workspace Chocolate Factory/Palma House planning application and the Iceland planning application.  The level of affordable workspace for artists in London continues to diminish day by day.

The completion of the Wood Green Area Action Plan is a unique opportunity for Haringey Council for recommitment to the concept of the Cultural Quarter to create a real sense of place in the locality with a distinct and unique personality in a London that is becoming all too homogenised.  We would encourage the Council to be bold, be creative but to retain the best of what they have.