Hello everyone! 

Thanks for your continued support. The team are attending as many local community events as possible to spread the word! 

Newham Council Co-create has just released the opportunity to register for the first of 6 phases of the Beckton Parks Masterplan consultation  process over the next year including very specific references to the future use of the closed Newham City Farm site. 

You can find the initial survey, register and participate here: 

https://newhamco-create.co.uk/en/projects/becktonparksmasterplan

You have until 21st January 2022 to participate so the sooner the better especially for schools and community groups which will be closing for Christmas and individuals preoccupied with so many other concerns right now. 

It is important that as many interested and impacted parties as possible engage with this process since the Council will base the ensuing consultation and their actions on the results of their own process rather than the evidence of the petition about the farm or the Save Newham City Farm campaign team or any other community engagement.  

The Save Newham City Farm campaign started in response to an expression of great concern about the future of the farm and on behalf of the community so when submitting your survey responses now and subsequently, you may like to consider the proposal of a community-managed initiative with business sponsorship and grant funding as an alternative operating model such as is adopted effectively by other City Farms rather than one funded and managed entirely by the Council which has proved not to be effective previously. A community-led initiative within a charitable organisation could be a helpful, positive, viable alternative for the Council. 

It seems to be random how and to which individuals and organisations the initial survey has been promoted so we are sharing it widely ourselves so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to voice their views on the future of the green spaces in the Beckton and Custom House. People from across Newham and beyond benefit from these spaces and particularly benefited from the farm because it was a unique and universally appealing asset in the borough. The cumulative space is in a prime position because of its proximity to so many schools, SEND providers (JFK School, resource-provision schools, Richard House and SEND community groups which have been displaced by the closure of the farm), the Royal Docks hotel district, public transport and is linked to off-road cycle routes between the Greenway, Stratford and the Docklands. 

The Council says that the results of the survey will be made available but we recommend that you opt for your response to be sent to you so that you keep a record of it. 

If you are willing to share your responses with us, this can help to inform how we proceed with our campaign. You can do so by forwarding your responses to: savenewhamcityfarm@gmail.com

Thank you! 

Alison
On behalf of the Save Newham City Farm campaign team