Community power – council to set up new Black Cultural Centre

Credible organisations are being invited to apply to run the new centre, and local people are being asked to have their say on the services being delivered when it opens later this year.  

The council will make a significant financial investment in the centre at 16 – 18 Hornsey Road, working with the community to operate it for local people and decide what it should be used for.  

The centre will provide a space for community groups to come together to tackle issues and barriers that disproportionately affect Islington’s Black community, as well as a place for positive celebration of Black history and culture as part the council’s year-round Black History Islington programme, a year round approach to celebrating and commemorating Black history and culture in the borough. It could host everything from art exhibitions, talks and seminars to support services, classes and after-school clubs. 

The announcement follows the council’s Let’s Talk Islington engagement programme, which heard from more than 6,000 local people of different ages and backgrounds, focusing on tackling the issues that matter to them and making Islington a more equal place. Feedback from residents of African and Caribbean heritage identified a lack of provision for Black communities, which this project is designed to respond to. 

The council has launched a new consultation with residents on what they want to see happen at the new centre – which will influence the programme of any operator at the site. Residents can take part by completing an online survey or by attending one of the community workshops which will be taking place over the summer. Visit https://www.letstalk.islington.gov.uk/black-cultural-centre for details. 

In addition, the council is looking for individuals, organisations or a consortium with experience of running a community space or delivering goods and services to the community to apply to manage the centre. We welcome applications from Islington-based, Black-led organisations or individuals with African or Caribbean heritage to ensure that the centre meets the needs of the community it serves. 

Anyone interested in running the centre should email equalities@islington.gov.uk to receive an application form. 

Cllr Roulin Khondoker, Executive Member for Equalities, Culture and Inclusion, said: “We spent months listening in detail to the lived experiences of our Black residents, and how they felt a lack of power and ability to influence change. Central to this was a lack of community facilities or spaces to come together.  

“That’s why I’m proud to announce today that we will be creating this fantastic new community space – and devolving power to our community to decide how it is run and what should happen there, rather than deciding in the Town Hall. 

“Islington is a proudly diverse borough and we will always challenge inequality, confront structural racism and celebrate the amazing contribution of all communities to our unique part of north London.”