The Richmond Society, a civic and amenity charity of nearly 1,300 members in North and South Richmond Wards and part of Ham, Petersham and Riverside Ward, held a forum on Thursday 15 October 2020 to discuss how the Arts could help to revive Richmond. Participants were leading figures in the Arts and business in Richmond as well as the Council’s spokesperson for the Arts.

The forum was in the context of the deleterious effect on mental health and wellbeing caused by the coronavirus pandemic and its adverse effects on public life. At that point, people had been deprived of cultural nourishment for more than six months, although the availability of abundant open spaces in the immediate area and across the borough had been important to the preservation of physical and mental health in the face of widespread challenges affecting all sections of the population.

Richmond is rightly celebrated for the diversity and richness of its cultural and leisure offerings. When post-pandemic life returns to normal it is unlikely to be as it was before COVID-19 began to infect people at the beginning of 2020. People will have adjusted to a pattern of less frequent commuting and increased working from home, with more time for cultural, social and other leisure pursuits which they will seek increasingly in their immediate or nearby neighbourhoods.

Hence the concept of the 15-minute city in which proximity permits minimal travel between homes, workplaces, restaurants, cultural venues, parks and sports facilities. Richmond is ideally placed to benefit from this behavioural change. In many ways, it is already a 10-minute town.

Our virtual forum recognised that the Arts have a part to play in restoring vibrancy to a town centre made desolate by the demise of many retail, entertainment and hospitality businesses. It also showed that business and the Arts can work together for mutual and public benefit. For example, businesses have employees who are potential daytime consumers of the Arts; they may also have funds to sponsor something that fits their objectives. Property developers and landlords, with the encouragement of the local authority, could be asked to do more to support the culture sector. Hoardings around development sites could be made more interesting with information about local history or old photos. Recently, Be Richmond (the Business Improvement District) has led the way on this by producing colourful vinyl coverings for the windows of vacant shops. They feature local places of cultural interest – an initiative that we applaud. Be Richmond has other initiatives in the pipeline.

Our Borough is blessed with an abundance of parks and open spaces – amenities that make it so attractive as a place in which to live, work or visit. The present consultation should usefully examine whether they provide adequate facilities and are kept safe for the enjoyment of residents of all ages and abilities in the face of increased incidents of anti-social behaviour, particularly since the start of the public health emergency.

Although the decline in the retail sector began with the trend towards online shopping – i.e. before the pandemic – it was exacerbated by the effects of government measures to deal with the spread of the disease. People have been obliged to learn new habits. So the revival of the High Street may not be possible on the same terms as before. Fresh thinking is needed to bring shoppers, who are contributors to the local economy, back to retail centres. People will need another reason beside the acquisition of things to be persuaded to return. The shopping experience will have to be raised to a higher level of engagement and retailers will need to offer more than artful window displays and enticingly stacked shelves. The Arts sector can be a partner to them and to the local authority in devising imaginative ways to make this happen.

Many ideas for restoring vitality to the town emerged at The Richmond Society forum. These included:

• Creation of a new town square as a permanent outdoor performance space for cultural performances near the under-utilised Old Town Hall and the Riverside.
• A street-level location for the Museum of Richmond, which is all but hidden in a remote, difficult- to-access part of the Old Town Hall.
• Pop-up exhibitions of contemporary visual arts in static window displays in vacant shopfronts.
• Use of hoardings around building works to depict local artists.
• Creation of a vibrant, creative studio space – possibly one or more of the many empty shops – to host active artists and help them financially to develop their own ideas, engage the community and create work that animates the townscape.
• Allocation of studio space in vacant buildings such as the former House of Fraser department site in George Street where artists can work and produce everything from fashion to sculpture to music.
• Production of a performing arts, circus-style street festival.
• Bring landlords and artisans together.
• Engage young people in re-building the cultural scene.

The present review of cultural services flows naturally from this initiative.

The Richmond Society is pleased that the Council is looking towards a ten-year vision for the culture sector and we are keen to work with all stakeholders on how it can be implemented.

Our enthusiasm is tempered only by our conviction that the need is more pressing than a ten-year view would allow. Therefore we would encourage the Council to take more immediate, shorter- term steps to support the cultural community.

The Richmond Society has urged Richmond Council to provide public lavatories in a bid to prevent a repeat of anti-social behaviour witnessed in popular gathering places last year.

Action is needed urgently before the start of finer weather and the visitor season if Richmond is not to be plagued by incidents of urination and defecation on public and private property, including residents’ gardens.

Provision of public lavatories is under review by the Council with the aim of agreeing a plan of action by the end of March. There has been no indication that the Council will accede to residents’ demands for a permanent solution to the dearth of facilities or, as a temporary measure, install portable toilets.

The Society is working with councillors for South Richmond, which attracts most visitors and where most incidents occurred in 2020. Areas affected included the Green, the Riverside and the Hill.

The Society’s Chairman, Barry May, in a message to Council Leader Gareth Roberts, said the absence of facilities raised issues of public health, hygiene, safety and decency.

He asked whether there is an allocation in the current financial year’s budget for provision of public lavatories. If not, what re-allocation is envisaged so that facilities can be put in place in time for this year’s visitor season?

“Given the damage inflicted by lockdown and other consequences of measures to deal with the coronavirus pandemic on the local hospitality, leisure and retail sectors it is only natural that the Council would wish to attract visitors. To do so without providing adequate facilities, however, would be reckless,” he wrote.

The Council’s Community Toilet Scheme, in which hospitality, leisure and retail premises are paid a monthly fee to allow members of the public who are not customers to use their facilities, whilst helpful in theory, has failed in practice.

Portable toilets, although considered by some to be an unsightly second-best solution, would be better than no solution. They can be only a temporary stop-gap, however.

Social distancing, self-isolating and the new normal

In the Richmond Society News of 23rd April, our chairman Barry May called for photos, short audio or video clips (less than one minute), or stories (less than 100 words), on what’s different in Richmond since social distancing and self-isolating became a thing and a new normal changed us. Here are some of the contributions.

A quiet day on Water Lane

Lamar Raine, one of The Richmond Society’s volunteers, has just completed a pen and ink and watercolour showing an all but deserted vista down to the river. She writes:

“My street, Water Lane, is now usually full of people walking to and from the river. As I watched the trees leaf up since my quarantine 27 February, having come back from Half Term in Italy, this painting shows the change. More birdlife than people and not a plane in the sky. A lovely change! However, it also shows our fabulous but now closed, new local, ‘The Waterman’s’. Indeed a sad change. Much work had gone into its ten month makeover with such a well received opening last November. Richmond Society members may know its great food, fabulous wine and warm hospitality – Karen Feeney generously hosted a ‘Thank You’ drinks for our supporters there 28 February. Let’s hope it can re-open again very soon!”.

Tango by the Thames

Loic Verrall writes: “My Grandfather, Eric Ruggier, who is 88, and loves dancing Tango. Well, with the restrictions of social distancing, he has managed to work out how to continue dancing Tango, with his dancing partner, Jola, by using a broomstick!”

Enjoying the quiet

Lisa Perez writes: “There’s no boating allowed on the Thames during lockdown, but at least we can sit on the moored boat and enjoy the quiet”.

Safe Distancing

Our first contribution was from new member Sandra Thwaites:

By 7am I am walking at a prompt pace along the Thames path to avoid other path users that increase in numbers later in the morning.

With the weather so glorious the temptation to stare at anything other than four walls has never before been so precious. Whereas most people are considerate enough to maintain a safe distance on the river path there are unfortunately, as with any restrictions on human behaviour, the odd few who appear to be completely oblivious to me. In such situations I take responsibility for my own health and move out of the way.

How are you coping with life under lockdown? What has changed for you in these strange times of keeping your distance from others; shuttered shops, pubs and restaurants; controlled access to supermarkets; streets emptied of traffic and fewer people about?

Every cloud… Have you noticed the clearer, unpolluted skies enabling you to see farther and allowing birdsong to be heard in our gardens and open spaces?

Send us a photo, record a 1-minute audio or video clip, write a story (100 words max), on what’s different in Richmond since social distancing and self-isolating became a thing and a new normal changed us.

If you use social media – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter – go to the Richmond Society pages and use the hashtags #lockdownrichmond and #loverichmond