Carnegie Community Trust CIO is the preferred bidder for the asset transfer of the Carnegie Library Building in Herne Hill, SE24 from Lambeth Council to community ownership.

The Trust has received Heritage Lottery Resilience Funding and is now looking to appoint a Project Manager, initially for 8 months to help us to establish the first stages of the Carnegie Community Hub. This is an exciting project requiring experience in engaging with communities, managing projects and events, and using your creative energy to promote enterprise, learning, performance, wellness and enjoyment.

Please apply by 7^th December, application form can be downloaded here.

For further information please contact info@carnegiecommunitytrust.org.uk

Carnegie Community Trust CIO is the preferred bidder for the asset transfer of the Carnegie Library Building in Herne Hill, SE24 from Lambeth Council to community ownership.

The Trust has received Heritage Lottery Resilience Funding and is now looking to appoint a Project Manager, initially for 8 months to help us to establish the first stages of the Carnegie Community Hub. This is an exciting project requiring experience in engaging with communities, managing projects and events, and using your creative energy to promote enterprise, learning, performance, wellness and enjoyment.

Please apply by 4th November.

Contact getinvolved@carnegiehernehill.org.uk

The work on the fit out contract for the Carnegie basement and some ground floor work is proceeding and it is hoped that this will complete by January. The ground floor can only be used by the public for the library during this period. However since mid-September CCT have access to one room for planning and meeting purposes. We are inviting local groups to meet with us to help us to plan the development of the Community Hub.

We are also very pleased to have been awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Resilience Fund for legal and development work to take us through to the formal asset transfer in 2019. This grant enables us to employ a Project Manager for a fixed term and we will be advertising this post very soon.

Would you like to get involved and help to make the Carnegie Community Hub a truly community owned venture, a place the whole community can call their own? We hope you do and we would welcome the opportunity to talk to you at the Carnegie. We are writing out by email now to people who have previously expressed an interest in working alongside us, using the spaces, becoming a volunteer or a Trustee. We are keen to encourage former users of the building to return and equally keen to encourage new activities which will benefit the community. To get involved, get in touch at the email below.

With help from the grant we are also able to recruit and train volunteers to give some time and experience helping out at the Community Hub supporting paid staff. As the work programme develops we aim to have a team of volunteers supporting the Enterprise Centre, the Cafe, room hires, performances and events. We will provide training on Safeguarding, Customer Service, Health and Safety and Heritage Protection at no charge. We have volunteer application forms and a short recruitment process. If you would like to know more please get in contact with us at getinvolved@carnegiehernehill.org.uk

We look forward to welcoming more and more local people to Carnegie Community Hub.

CCT October 2018.

At the Bandstand, from 1 pm to 6 pm.    Weather forecast looking good. 

• Live music from different bands and choirs. 
• Numerous attractions, including donkey rides and reptiles.
• All the usual stalls, including plenty of food and drink.
• And there’s the Park’s paddling pool for children to cool down. 

Roll up and enjoy your local Fete!
link to poster

Following procurement, the winning bidder for the contract for ‘Phase 2 of the project for Conversion and Fit Out works to redevelop Carnegie Library, including a new Neighbourhood Library’ is G & V Joinery Limited.  The report to Cabinet recommending the contract award has been published on the Council’s website:  link

The report contains some description of the project and the works to be done. Please note there is a correction to para 3.2 of the report, which says ‘In addition, the contract award allows for a provision of a roof garden at a cost of £100,000’.  This is being corrected to say that the award  allows for provision of a terrace (or balcony) located over the mechanical and electrical plant rooms in the rear garden, and that  this option is capped at £100,000 and would require third party funding.   Any such terrace would be outside the existing door from the main hall to the garden, where a new brick stairway has been built.

The contract start date is 26th June 2018. The project is expected to be completed in November 2018.

Carnegie Community Trust CIO

CCT are continuing discussions with Lambeth about a 75 year lease, an interim licence to occupy and the details of the Stage Two contract which includes some new fitting out on the ground floor.

We aim to be using the building from early May, to begin implementation of our plans, including invitations to community groups and users to look round the ground and first floor rooms with us as they become accessible. This will be an important time for us to configure the use of the spaces in the library in manner which meets the needs and ambitions of the whole community.

We are also now applying for funding for capacity building, early implementation of our plans and ensuring a strong focus on the heritage of the building

So we are now also looking for new Trustees and would be delighted to hear from you if you would like to consider becoming one of the Trustees of this challenging and exciting project. We are looking for a range of diverse skills, experience, local knowledge and interests including heritage, local history, community engagement, planning and communications.

If you are not interested in the role of Trustee, but might like to be involved in a support role, again do let us know.

Please send an email to getinvolved@carnegiehernehill.org.uk  and we will be in touch.

Carnegie Community Trust CIO

Carnegie Community Trust is working closely with Lambeth Council to resolve remaining issues in the contractual arrangements for the asset transfer of the Carnegie building to a Community Hub. We are pleased that Lambeth is at last able to reopen a library at Carnegie. This will be a Neighbourhood Library operated and staffed by Lambeth Library Service who have always delivered a high-quality professional service at Carnegie. Library-based activities for children and schools will return as part of the Neighbourhood Library.

CCT is engaged with the council about the final details of the fit out on the ground floor, including the footprint of the library, the location of toilets on the ground floor, and location of kitchen/s. We are planning initial activity as a Community Hub to commence as soon as possible, and before the final building and basement fit-out work is complete. We look forward to providing dates and information about the first activities.

We are pleased to make our Business Plan, based on current financial assumptions and subject to ongoing negotiation with Lambeth, available (here). If you would like to help with this exciting and challenging project – either now in planning and set up, or in the future – please contact getinvolved@carnegiehernehill.org.uk

Best wishes to all our supporters and everyone who cares about the future of Carnegie Library as a precious community space.

Let us all work together in 2018 to maximise the community benefit from this wonderful asset.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Carnegie Community Trust CIO

Carol and Fred resigned as Trustees last month, and made a public statement of their reasons.  We wish to thank Carol and Fred publicly for their huge contribution over the past 5 years trying to safeguard Carnegie for the Herne Hill community.

Also last month, ironically, another restoration project where Fred was a trustee, the Halifax Piece Hall, was joint winner of Historic England’s 2017 award for ‘Best Rescue of a Historic Building’.

Carol and Fred put in untold hours of voluntary work on Carnegie.  With their good knowledge of the local area, and long experience of Lambeth Council, they were ideally suited to be Trustees.  They are sorely missed.  We are very grateful that both are willing to continue supporting our project as volunteers.

Phil Isaac
Frances Lamb
Helen Schofield

On Sunday 10th December 2017, 2-3 pm, the Salvation Army brass band from William Booth College on Denmark Hill will lead Christmas Carols around the bandstand in Ruskin Park. This is always a great neighbourhood occasion.  All welcome.

Refreshments.