A pivotal moment for community ownership? Join the movement from Brixton to Frome
As wealth is sucked upwards faster than ever, away from people and communities and into the hands of the world's first Trillionaire and his peers, a South London community and a small town in Somerset are swimming in the other direction.
Join us to learn from – and support – two ambitious community ownership projects happening right now: #BuyBackBrixton and Mayday Saxonvale.
These projects don’t just matter to the people of Brixton and Frome: they are symbolic to all those seeking a different future than the one we are hurtling towards. The community ownership movement has demonstrated that local people can successfully acquire and steward local assets like pubs and community centres. Now communities are exploring something bigger: major regeneration projects and economic infrastructure that will influence local prosperity for generations.
We need these projects to win: to light a different way forward.
In this event we will showcase both Buy Back Brixton and Mayday Saxonvale, highlight how individual initiatives contribute to a wider movement, and explore what is needed for the movement to thrive and grow. And we will ask: what can we do to support?
Speakers:
Saba Shafi, CEO of The Advocacy Academy
Paul Oster and Holly Lawton, Directors of Mayday Saxonvale
Jon Alexander, Author of Citizens
This event is for you if:
You’re a champion of community ownership and/or community-led action
You’d like to take tangible action to support this movement
You fund, resource or invest in communities in the UK
You’re a journalist or storyteller who wants more people to know about these projects and the movement they're part of
You want a hefty dose of inspiration and hope
More about the projects:
Buy Back Brixton – The Advocacy Academy is working with the Brixton Traders Community Association to bring Brixton Village and Brixton Market Row into community ownership. There is a strong concern that private ownership would lead to further rent increases, trader displacement and the erosion of community control over one of south London’s most significant cultural and economic assets. After the deadline was suddenly curtailed, Buy Back Brixton have made incredible progress toward their target of £50m needed to make a bid for the purchase of Brixton Village and Market Row. You can support their public fundraising page, petition and join their WhatsApp broadcast group.
Mayday Saxonvale – A Community Benefit Society aiming to bring Saxonvale (a 12-acre brownfield site in Frome, Somerset) into community ownership, building long-term resilience, opportunity and belonging for the people of Frome. Saxonvale would be the UK's largest community-led development, setting a national blueprint for community-led placemaking and local control. By establishing community ownership Mayday would be able reinvest value back into the site and prevent private interests extracting value from the town to benefit distant shareholders. They need to raise £1.5m through community shares to create a serious bid for the site. You can invest now as an individual or organisation.
Event organisers:
Zahra Davidson and Sara Bender are working mums living in Frome, volunteering to support Mayday Saxonvale, and championing projects like Buy Back Brixton and Mayday Saxonvale as tangible ways to build toward a future we’d like to see.
Notes and accessibility:
This event will be on Zoom. You will be able to turn on closed captions.
We will be recording this event. If you don’t want to appear on the recording you are welcome to turn your camera off.
If you have any specific requests please contact [email protected] and/or [email protected] and we will do our best to respond.