MEET THE TEAM

The Herne Hill Forum (HHF) is a volunteer-led community group of local residents and traders, who work together to help make Herne Hill amazing, independent and unique. HHF was formed almost twenty years ago and (as well as organising fun community events) has successfully spearheaded local campaigns to make Herne Hill a better place to live, work and do business. HHF will be leading the charge to bring Station Hall back into community use, running public consultations; securing the lease and the development funding for this proof of concept phase; getting the space ready for public use; and working with the local community to pull together  a programme of events and ongoing bookings; as well as working with architects to propose a vision of how things could be for the future. From this phase, HHF will aim to prepare a full business case and evaluation to put forward to additional funding bodies, with the hope of securing more significant capital investment to make Station Hall a fully accessible, truly remarkable venue at the heart of South East London. 

Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth, of which Herne Hill is one of 21 wards. Station Hall is fully supported by Lambeth Council and local Councillors. 

Network Rail own Station Hall as part of their portfolio of station premises across the country. They have been working closely with HHF to regenerate the station underpass that sits alongside Herne Hill Station and have been instrumental in the success of this community project. Building on this, they are now providing full support and assistance for the Station Hall proof of concept stage, ensuring that the community has a safe, warm and welcoming base for these activities. 

Mayor Sadiq Khan's Good Growth Fund is a £70 million regeneration programme to support growth and community development in London. The Herne Hill Forum was successful in its application for development funding to run a short term phase of trial activity in Station Hall and to appoint architects to develop detailed options for how the space might look, operate and support itself longer term.  Working with the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), the Good Growth Fund supports innovative, best practice regeneration activities, that enable: Londoners to actively participate in their local community and have a say in how their city is shaped; Delivery of coordinated, place-based strategies that welcome growth in a way that works with the physical character of London’s many places; Diverse and accessible local economies to realise their full potential and make London a place of opportunity for all. These principals will underpin Station Hall.

Southeastern are a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services between London and Kent, and are a vital partner for the Station Hall project. As with Network Rail, they have worked closely with the Herne Hill Forum on the underpass project, to improve and enhance this neglected space. Following on from this, they have been staunch supporters and facilitators of Station Hall, not only undertaking significant improvement works to make the space fit for community occupation, but also being key delivery partners for our work experience and mental health events. The aim is that we can together build a replicable model to be used in other stations across the franchise where vacant space could be brought back into use by the community.