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Latin Elephant’s response to London Enterprise Panel on Economic Development Plan

by Latin Elephant | Dec 8, 2014 | News and Events, Policy Responses

The relationship between urban growth, regeneration and small migrant and ethnic economies is a theme that we feel should be explicitly addressed in LEP’s economic development plan for London. Read full response here: LEP_EmergingThemesSubmission_LatinElephant

Migrant ethnic economies and urban regeneration in London

by Latin Elephant | Nov 15, 2014 | Latin Elephant Blog, News and Events

Is there space for alternative migrant and ethnic economies in a regenerated London? Presentation by By Patria Roman-Velazquez, Latin Elephant. London for All: opening up debate on London’s economy (14 July 2014)
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Instagram

latinelephant

Promoting participation, engagement and inclusion of Black and minoritised Londoners in processes of urban change

🐘 Volunteer Call Out 🐘 We're looking for a passio 🐘 Volunteer Call Out 🐘

We're looking for a passionate volunteer with few hours a week to support us on managing our Instagram account. 

Tasks include: 

- Create a social media calendar 
- Design & schedule weekly posts to increase engagement 
- Produce creative content about spatial & racial justice in Elephant & Castle & London 
- Development of a consistent visual style and identity 

Interested? Get in touch with rio@latinelephant.org by midnight November 20th
We’ve continued coming together as a coalition, bu We’ve continued coming together as a coalition, building on the findings of our report, sharing knowledge and experiences, and working collectively to turn our recommendations into action.

Stay tuned for our next steps!

“[The potential of the coalition is] definitely exchange, and learning from each other - sharing resources and amplifying each other’s campaigns…having a shared pool of knowledge and resources is invaluable.”

Thanks to @wards_corner for hosting us at our last meeting!

@plushse16 
@savebushmarket 
@save_bricklane @friendsofqueensmarket 
@save_nour 
@saveridleyroad @savedeptfordhighstreet @wards_corner 
@Catford Against Social Cleansing @emerging grassroots group at Tooting Market 
@latinelephant
Have you read our POP report yet? Earlier this y Have you read our POP report yet? 

Earlier this year, we came together to launch the report and demand more racially just urban planning in London! The launch was an opportunity to share experiences, exchange knowledge and build collective power towards a more just city.

“I think it’s about shared lived experiences, sharing histories, sharing what sorts of things work and what things don’t work. [Sharing] practical methodologies, knowledge. But also giving each other solidarity that gives us all the strength and helps us build our power.”

A big thank you to everyone who joined us, to @daddyosuyaspot and @el_guambra_ for the amazing food, and to our wonderful volunteer @cata.riveraa for capturing the day! 

Read the full report through the link in our bio!

@plushse16 
@savebushmarket 
@save_bricklane @friendsofqueensmarket 
@save_nour 
@saveridleyroad @savedeptfordhighstreet @wards_corner 
@Catford Against Social Cleansing @emerging grassroots group at Tooting Market
@latinelephant
🙏🏻 With much sorrow and grief we mourn the passing 🙏🏻 With much sorrow and grief we mourn the passing of Janet Yatak, a beloved member of the Elephant and Castle community who was a valuable pillar in the area, leaving a legacy of community spirit that will never be forgotten.

Janet was born and raised in the area, and her presence in the old Shopping Centre was unmissable, as well as her care for the livelihoods of small independent businesses who were trading in the Shopping Centre for decades until closure on September 2020.

In this humble homage to our dear Janet we would like to remember her own words dedicated to the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, which was undoubtedly her second home:

“The centre has always been special to me, the support of the long lasting friendships I have made the laughter and the tears. We are all a family and a community. It has had a profound impact on my life and many others live, which will have a lasting effect. It was the heart of the community.

Jenny’s was also my life line. My second home and my office, my meet up and my breakfast lunch and dinner and wonderful memories.

I will miss the centre so much and the lasting memories over decades. It was like a beautiful love affair which will never die. Thank you my beautiful centre for giving me the best years of my life and for wonderful lasting memories!

I bought my wedding dress in the centre 41 years ago and celebrated my last birthday in the centre at 64.”

(from Latin Elephant's collective archive "My Elephant Story")
Despite the scaffolding installed along Ash Avenue Despite the scaffolding installed along Ash Avenue for façade repairs, local independent businesses remain open and ready to welcome you.

This Latin American Heritage Month and Black History Month, show your support for local traders in Elephant & Castle. Come by, shop local and support these businesses!

@medellinmoda_ 
@stella_fashion_uk 
@lonnieshairbeautysalon 
@nicole_alterations 
Zrepair Centre
We’re pleased to share "Making Regeneration Work f We’re pleased to share "Making Regeneration Work for London’s Communities", a practical briefing produced with Centre for London, Trust for London and Stour Trust, exploring how regeneration can support community wealth building rather than causing displacement.

Who gets to stay, who gets to decide, who gets to own, and who gets to benefit?

Read the full briefing here: bit.ly/4jk6byr
This year we celebrate 12 years of Latin Elephant! This year we celebrate 12 years of Latin Elephant! 🐘

Last Saturday we marked it with a cinema event at the Cinema Museum, screening films from 1993-2026 that explore the Latin American community's huge contribution to London. From Brixton to Seven Sisters to Elephant and Castle, seguimos aquí!

Thank you to our 3 panellists for a rich discussion on Identity, Belonging and Community, and to everyone who made this possible:  @chucha.uk @victorriosuk & Alejandra Jimenez 

In collaboration with: @pepaduartes @wonderingcic @wards_corner @veronicaposadaalvarez @paloma.passetto @d.e.diaz 

We were honoured to host this at the Cinema Museum, which is currently fundraising to buy its venue. Please consider supporting them @the_cinema_museum
Latin Elephant Anniversary: Cinema Edition ✨ Come Latin Elephant Anniversary: Cinema Edition ✨

Come and celebrate 12 years with us! We are hosting a special screening of short films showcasing Latin London and our beloved Elephant and Castle. 

We will also host an amazing panel discussion on identity, belonging and community. 

Watch this space to learn more of the short films screening on the day. 

FREE but ticketed. Grab your ticket in the link in bio 🎟️ 

WHEN & WHERE:
📆Saturday 19th September, 3-6pm
📍 Cinema Museum
📍 2 Dugard Way, London SE11 4TH

Nos vemos pronto!
Changes are being proposed to the affordable retai Changes are being proposed to the affordable retail commitments for the New Town Centre. We’re concerned about what these could mean for displaced and evicted traders from former E&C Shopping Centre.

Help traders push for meaningful consultation and fair, genuinely affordable terms for traders.

Comment on the S106 Variation. Find the Southwark Planning Portal link and our suggested template to download in our bio!

Swipe to find out more →
A huge thank you to everyone who joined our Walkin A huge thank you to everyone who joined our Walking the Elephant Summer Edition! 🥟

Together we explored Elephant & Castle, learned about the impact of regeneration on the local community, and discovered how one of Latin America's favourite snacks – the empanada – tells a story of migration, culture and identity across the region.

Along the way we sampled delicious Venezuelan, Bolivian and Ecuadorian empanadas, while hearing first-hand from local traders about their businesses and their journeys in Elephant & Castle.

A special thank you to Doris @loschamos.uk, Diego @bodeguita.deli and Lenin @mikosecuadorianrestaurant, for sharing your incredible food with us.

A big thank you as well to our amazing volunteers @abb.lew for the support and an extra shout out to @isabelaastorquiza for introducing us to the Walworth Road Opportunity, a community-led project that Latin Elephant has been part of. We'll be sharing more about it very soon!

Thank you all for walking, listening, asking questions and supporting the independent businesses that continue to make Elephant & Castle such a vibrant and diverse neighbourhood.
In Recent weeks, Elephant and Castle has once agai In Recent weeks, Elephant and Castle has once again become a vibrant gathering place for thousands of people of Latin American heritage, reminding us of the area’s enduring significance as a cultural home and meeting place for our communities.

Despite the ongoing, so-called “regeneration” and the challenges that the Latin American and other racialised communities keep facing in the area, this barrio will always continue to be our space for celebration, joy and embracing our cultures. 

For the past ten years, we have been advocating for our barrio to be recognised as the Latin Quarter, ¡sequimos aqui! 

Check our Latin Quarter Elephant & Castle Community Vision Report, February 2015: https://bit.ly/3T3dHCG #LatinQuarter #Barrioslatinos
📣 We are is seeking a Policy & Research Officer wh 📣 We are is seeking a Policy & Research Officer who can advance the organisation’s mission to promote the inclusion of migrant and racialised communities in processes of urban change. Working closely with colleagues, community campaigns and the Protect Our Places (POP) Network, the post holder will lead on policy analysis, research and advocacy to inform planning decisions, regeneration projects & economic development at local and London-wide levels.

ℹ️ Find out more at: www.latinelephant.org/vacancies/

🗓️Deadline: August 10th (by 6pm)
🗣️Interviews: September 2nd
Walking the Elephant: Summer Edition 🥟☀️ Explore Walking the Elephant: Summer Edition 🥟☀️

Explore Elephant & Castle's recent past, present and future through an anti-gentrification lens, and learn about the ongoing "regeneration" of the area and how it continues to impact local communities and independent businesses.

🥟 Taste delicious empanadas from some of Elephant's much-loved traders, while hearing directly from some of them about their journeys, and why their empanadas are the best!

🕚 Saturday 18th, 11am-1:30pm
📍Meeting point: Tiendas del Sur (91–95 Newington Butts, London, SE1 6SF)

🎫 Free – book via the link in our bio.

¡Nos vemos! 😊
Querido Benito, Queremos que nos hagas el coro: Querido Benito, 

Queremos que nos hagas el coro: ¡Que cuenten a los latinoamericanos del Reino Unido en el censo del 2031!

Bienvenido a Londres, Benito. Aquí también está tu casa.

#UnVeranoEnLonDoN

No nos queremos ir de aquí.
NEW REPORT! 📢 *To Market, To Market: Asset Manage NEW REPORT! 📢

*To Market, To Market: Asset Managers in the UK Retail Sector* investigates the financial powers behind Elephant and Castle’s remarkable transformation, six years after the 
demolition of the beloved Shopping Centre in 2020.

💰Who profits from land ownership in Elephant and Castle?

Get Living plc, the developer and operator behind the Shopping Centre’s regeneration scheme, is the first entity in a cascading network of extractive private ownership, spanning Canadian and Australian pension funds, Dutch asset managers and German insurance companies. 

📑This report uncovers who profits as the existing local community continues to struggle, and how the government’s private capital-led investment model runs counter to supporting place-based economic development.

Full report in bio!☝🏼

——————————————

Author: Adam Almeida
Project Leader: Patria Román-Velázquez
Collaborators: Jerry Flynn, Sarah Goldzweig, Santiago Peluffo Soneyra, Natalia Pérez and Sophie Wall
Graphic Designer: Gabriela Mac’Allister
In partnership with: Impact on Urban Health
As part of #VolunteersWeek, we want to take a mome As part of #VolunteersWeek, we want to take a moment to celebrate and thank all the volunteers who have contributed their time, skills, knowledge, and energy to Latin Elephant over the years. Much of our work and impact would not be possible without the commitment, generosity and solidarity of volunteers. From supporting events, research, campaigns and community activities, to sharing expertise, building relationships and championing our vision, volunteers have played a vital role in helping us support traders, migrant communities and campaigns across London. 
 
This week, we also pay tribute to Gonzalo, a cherished member of our Latin Elephant family. His kindness and dedication have left a lasting impact on our organisation and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

Thank you to every volunteer who has helped shape Latin Elephant over the years.
Ahead of the upcoming local elections, we have dev Ahead of the upcoming local elections, we have developed a short pledge calling for clear actions to support local traders in Elephant and Castle and across the borough.

It sets out what’s needed now: access to affordable and suitable retail space, stronger accountability on planning commitments, and meaningful, long-term business support.

Read the full pledge via the link in our bio, and share the form with your local candidates: https://bit.ly/4w2tcJZ

Tag your Southwark councillors and candidates below!
POP REPORT LAUNCH 📣 Join us for the launch of our POP REPORT LAUNCH 📣

Join us for the launch of our newest report, reflecting on three years of the Latin Elephant-led Protect Our Places (POP) coalition. 

🔖”Coming together to demand more racially-just urban planning in London” reflects on our coalition work since 2023.

🗺️This *free* event will also provide an opportunity for discussion and questions, and include a network mapping activity where we hope to identify our collective knowledge and resources.

🥟Also! Refreshments from a local Elephant and Castle trader.

🗓️Join us on Monday, 27 April 6:30pm 
📌 Hotel Elephant, St. Johns Walworth (SE17 1NJ)

✍🏼Register on Eventbrite: (link in bio)
You can join us in person or online (Zoom link on Eventbrite)

(Protect Our Places is funded by Trust for London under their Racial Justice Fund.)
Next 18th April join the National Housing Demonstr Next 18th April join the National Housing Demonstration for rent controls and council homes!! Start location announced! 

Meet at 1pm at Soho Sq. Gardens W1D 3QP. 

Thousands of tenants. 60+ unions and grassroots campaigns. One message. Let’s make housing affordable again.
Diana Sachs, owner of La Bodeguita for over 20 yea Diana Sachs, owner of La Bodeguita for over 20 years, makes the case for all migrant-led small businesses being displaced in Elephant and Castle due to so called ‘re-generation’.

📢“I am one of the dozens of traders who were relocated to nearby sites such as Castle Square and Elephant Arcade, following the demolition of the Shopping Centre, with the promise that we would be able to continue trading and eventually return to the new town centre. Many of us have now lost the businesses we spent decades building.”

Watch the Full Deputation at Southwark Council on our YouTube channel 📺
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