Sian Berry, the Green Party candidate for Mayor of London, today promises to rewrite London’s planning rules to protect fringe and other arts venues.
If she is elected Mayor she will also set up a register of “meanwhile” spaces in empty buildings to provide a home for arts and cultural organisations under threat from property speculation.
And she will boost small arts organisations and emerging artists with new advertising policies on London’s transport network. These will include a requirement that digital advertising space in Tube stations is dedicated to art projects for one minute every hour.
Sian says: ”The West End and major players such as the Royal Opera House continue to earn global admiration. But despite great initiatives such as live streaming to cinemas, those venues remain largely off-limits to most Londoners.
“For people on ordinary incomes, the premises that matter more are fringe theatres, music venues and local arts centres – many of which are currently battling to stay open in the face of rising rents or predatory property developers. This squeeze is in danger of the stifling the grassroots creativity for which London has been justly renowned for generations – from rock ’n’ roll and punk to Britart.
“As Mayor I will rewrite London’s planning rules to give protection to fringe venues and rehearsal and production spaces. That will help us build a more diverse economy which is less reliant on financial services and the undue influence of the biggest of big businesses.”
Her policy has been worked out in consultation with Caroline Russell, the Green Party’s No 2 candidate for the London Assembly, who practised as a fine artist earlier in her career.
Caroline says: “Arts education is under threat from the property squeeze too, with institutions closing and skills, teaching expertise and facilities being lost.
“I was involved in the sadly unsuccessful campaign to save the Cass art faculty – a creative powerhouse on the edge of the City – from being redeveloped. Just because it stands in a place where land values are rocketing off the scale, it is now being sold off, with courses disbanded and so much staff and student skill lost.
“We have to think about values other than profit in this great capital of ours, otherwise we are in danger of losing the cultural richness that helped make it great in the first place.”
Pictured: Sian Berry and Caroline Russell with Patrick Brill (better known as artist Bob & Roberta Smith), an associate professor at the Cass art faculty