New gallery planned for Brockley

Previous articles about the development of new apartments and shops for Brockley Cross (dubbed 'the Tea Factory') have referred to the possibility of a new gallery being created as part of the development.

Brockley Central is indebted to Councillor Dean Walton for providing a copy of the Section 106 agreement, which provides more details about the plan.

Section 106 agreements are essentially the price that councils extract from developers for granting planning permission for their projects. In this case, the Council have attempted to support the local arts scene by securing a new gallery in one of the commercial units that the Tea Factory will include.

With the project not due for completion until next year, there are still relatively few details, however, the s106 document states that:

  • Unit 2 of the street-level shops will be used to create a new Gallery
  • The nominated gallery occupier will be selected by the Council
  • The gallery will operate for two years, rent free
  • After this two year period, the gallery operator will have first option to continue in the unit, on commercial terms
Done right, the gallery could serve as a permanent focus for Brockley's artistic community and provide the sort of "destination" for visitors that a number of contributors to this blog have been calling for.