Key Facts:
Project summary:
The Opening at The Fair Field was a project initiated by Croydon Council – a temporary/meanwhile activation as an open call to invite other meanwhile uses of the top floor of the Fairfield Multi- storey Car Park and to discuss with Croydon residents about the future of these spaces.
Location: The Fairfield area, Croydon
Programme: Football, Music, Opening speeches, Workshops
Initiator: Croydon Council
Project Duration: 1 day with other events planned
Lead in Time: 6 months research
Site Area: 2,000 m2
Client Team: Kinnear Landscape Architects, Croydon Council
Project Team: The Decorators, collaborated with tutor and students at Croydon College
Funding Sources: Croydon Council £8k
Funding Type: Fees
Project Costs (Build):
- Labour (volunteers) £N/A
- Construction Materials: £4000
- Permissions & Services: £180
Project Costs (Operation): Staffing: £700
Profitability/Loss: No Profit
Permissions / Permits:
Local Links: Croydon College, MADASS BBQ from Surrey St Market, Fairfield Halls
Publicity/advertising: Croydon Guardian, Croydon TV
Project Evaluation:
Site Details & Ownership:
Site owned by NCP so licence had to be obtained to use the site.
Project Reach / Visitors / Target Audience:
200 people
Problems Encountered / Overcome:
There were many issues with Health & Safety enforced by the Council. This caused the event to be postponed from June to October. The event became a mechanism to navigate and understand the complicated structures within the Council. The lessons learnt will be used to inform change within the Council to enable an easier process to allow events within the public realm of Croydon
Feedback from users / staff:
“This event has been great- although we haven’t been able to reach many people, it is the first time an event like this has happened in Croydon which will hopefully be the start of some changes.”
What next?
Croydon is going through many changes. There is a history of big plans in Croydon without realisation. Thus the public have become jaded by these processes. The current team within the Council are passionate about changing this cycle and have put in new systems to ensure that plans go ahead. This event was one of these changes so we hope that we will continue to work in Croydon and build on the relationships formed so that they may inform the masterplan process and take part in meanwhile activity throughout this process
Complementary Programmes:
Project Website / Further Info:
http://www.the-decorators.net/index.php?/projects/the-opening-at-the-fair-field/