Community forum launches Brixton Heritage Files
BRIXTON – The local community forum urges residents to show the city the true heritage of their suburb.
The Brixton Community Forum is calling on residents to share newspaper articles, photos, maps and memories they have of the suburb.
According to the forum, the Corridors of Freedom project and the Provincial Heritage Resources Agency of Gauteng (PHRAG) have ignored the rich history and heritage of Brixton and surrounding areas.
The forum said that if the project has its way, Brixton houses will be demolished thus further erasing the current fabric of the suburb.
According to the City of Johannesburg, the Corridors of Freedom is a long-term developmental programme that aims to improve the quality of the public transport system and cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
The programme has garnered the support of government, the private sector and communities around the city.
The benefits to this project will see the communities of Johannesburg linking together for easier, cheaper and fast commutes.
It will also promote healthy lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions. This will help stimulate economic activity and create opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs in the city.
In a statement released by the forum, they said the City has failed to recognise Brixton for what it is.
The statement said, “They view Brixton as an ordinary middle-income suburb with ordinary houses and ordinary people.
They see no merit in preserving a fabric of Brixton that supports a unique mix of people from actors, musicians, mechanics, vendors, students, teachers and architects.”
They further stated that the problem with the process is that applications for heritage status are assessed individually.
If a home or building isn’t specifically unique to Johannesburg, a permit to demolish it will be passed.
In the statement, they described Brixton as, “A suburb that straddles rich and poor, a continental divide, one with a painful past and an uncertain future but one where its residents negotiate and contest living in a unique and extraordinary place.”
Over the next six months, the forum will be compiling the Brixton Heritage Files to showcase how the heritage of Brixton has a strong association with their particular community.
They hope to force the heritage agencies to preserve a place that supports them.
For more information please contact Brixton Community Forum via brixtoncommunity@gmail.com
Alternatively, you can sign up to volunteer your time in various ways online
