Lewes Road Community Garden & the Fight Against Gentrification

Go to 58 Lewes Road in Brighton today, and all you’ll find is a rather sub-standard Morrisons Local. The space of this shop holds a sordid yet colourful history, filled with cohesive community spirit and a campaign against the gentrification of UK high streets.

Before the Morrisons was erected, 58 Lewes Road was the site of the fantastical Lewes Road Community Garden. Originally the site of a former Esso garage, it had been left derelict for over 5 years. Frustrated at the lack of progress at the site, in May 2009 residents of the area took control of the empty space and transformed it into a community garden. The garden was formally opened on Sunday 24^th May.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosmancouncil/

The garden was accomplished through the collaborative efforts of around a hundred residents from Brighton and the surrounding areas. Plants and pots were donated by Brighton based garden centres, old tyres and scrap from a garage in Patcham were used to make seats and bedding areas for plants, and upkeep for the overgrown plants and trees overshadowing the area was provided by a tree surgeon in Horsham.

With the garden finally open, it quickly become an inclusive and community focused area open to all residents. What made the garden truly unique was its position as a lone green space amongst one of Brighton’s greyest and most heavily polluted areas, right next to a busy arterial road. The area's ramshackle and barebones construction had a certain appeal that highlighted the power of what community action could do, as well as the inventive ways in which it could be accomplished.

For a year the garden flourished, becoming home to hundreds of different plants and flowers, as well as offering value to residents through live music and film screenings, market stalls, free food, and a whole host of classes ranging from knitting to yoga.

However, it eventually emerged that the site was owned by property developers Alburn Ltd, who had submitted a proposal for a Tesco Express to be built on the site of the property. By mid-2010, legal proceedings to remove the garden had been approved and the Lewes Road Community Garden would need to be emptied. Consequently, local residents organised community action to prevent the construction of yet another grocery store, with three already within the local vicinity. A petition to keep the garden open received over 4,000 signatories, and was presented to the local council in a last ditch attempt to save the Lewes Road Community Garden.

The petition argued that a Tesco Express in actual fact provided little or no value to local residents, who already had plenty of local places to shop, and threatened local businesses. It also put forward that Lewes Road was in dire need of a green and open community space, and a Tesco Express would only add to the congestion and air pollution within the area. Despite a strong argument, there still existed no legal standing to protect the garden and it seemed clear that the end was in sight

On 21^st June 2010, leaders of the Lewes Road Community Garden project were instructed by the county court to vacate the premises or face a costly legal fee worth around £7,000. A community meeting at the garden the following day, which attracted over 40 people, was called to determine what the response would be. Reluctantly, it was agreed that it would be best for all involved to vacate the premises and allow the development to go ahead.

Eventually, after a prolonged protest and lengthy campaign to save the Lewes Road Community Garden, bailiffs, police, and excavators arrived at 2am on 17^th September and begun to remove the garden and its remnants. With Tesco in financial difficulties the space was given to Morrisons Local which eventually opened around 6 months later and was met with fierce opposition by local residents, Green Party councillors, and community leaders who voiced their anger.

The Lewes Road Community Garden is currently considered to be in exile, with remnants of its inhabitants' work scattered across parks and schools in Brighton. The garden was both a testament to the accomplishments that local communities can achieve in bringing residents closer together, as well as a strong stand against the gentrification of our high streets. Even if, sadly, the big boys won in the end, crushing community spirit and removing colour and value from the area.