We have been chosen by Lewisham Council as the preferred tenant to take over the derelict Thomas Lane Depot in Catford. We want to turn the space into a contemporary creative hub with our state-of-the-art scenery construction workshop at its core.
We are looking to create spaces that are of benefit to the wider Catford community, including: a community beach, a community mural, and a drive-in movie night.
We also want to provide evening classes, apprenticeships and other training opportunities from our workshop space.
Supersets is a truly local business and we passionately believe in collaborating with and supporting the local community. This is why we want to ensure that our workshop can provide something for everybody; from open-air film screening and a skate park, to apprenticeships and educational partnerships, we want to place our workshop at the heart of Catford.
What we'll deliver:
- Restore the derelict building
- Paint a series of community murals
- Create a skate ramp
- Offer creative workspace to the community
- Offer training and education opportunities
- Create a community beach
- Create drive-in cinema
Why it's a great idea:
On the Catford “Commonplace Map”, the the most frequent comments about Thomas Lane were: ‘run down’, ‘dull/boring’, ‘feels unsafe’.
We believe that our project could change all of this.
We want to create a space that the community can be proud of.
By opening up the depot as a busy working building, and with the introduction of our training programmes and community initiatives, we will create a sense of community in the area and also help improve perceived safety.
When we put out a survey to Lewisham residents, it showed that 98% of them would like to see an increase in community based initiatives in Catford, and that over 96% think that is is important for local businesses to offer training and skills development.
There is clearly local appetite for what we are offering, and we have many of the skills needed to get this project off the ground within our workshop, but an injection of funding will be invaluable in helping us to reach our goals and create all of these initiatives.
Steps to get it done:
- Begin building restoration
- Purchase training equipment
- Recruit apprentices and trainees
- Build community beach
- Build skate ramp
- Establish drive-in cinema
- Paint murals
