Thousands of residents celebrated the official opening of Brixton’s Windrush Square this weekend.  The new town square opened with a bang as fireworks filled the air above a spectacular human catherine wheel and a giant fire-breathing phoenix.  Local children took centre-stage with a lantern-lit procession that finished in the square.  I was privileged to join the Mayor of Lambeth on the main stage to welcome the children and declare the square well and truly open! 

Windrush Square is named in honour of the first Caribbean immigrants who came to Britain on the ship HMS Empire Windrush after the Second World War.  Brixton is now widely recognised as the spiritual home of Britain’s black communities and the new square honours this unique history. 

The square is now part of the heart of Brixton, creating a beautiful public space that expresses the pride and confidence local people feel about their area.  But it nearly didn’t get built at all.  While anti-Brixton Lib Dems and Tories were running the Council until 2006 they blocked the plans for four years, stopping any progress from happening.  Planning work only re-started when local people threw the Tories and Lib Dems out and chose Labour to lead the council instead.  Not a single Lib Dem or Tory councillor joined residents from Brixton's diverse communities to celebrate the square's opening.

The new square will be the focus for community events, public celebrations, market stalls and an open-air café in the summer months.  The Ritzy Cinema has opened a new bar facing onto the square and soon the country’s first National Black Heritage Museum will open in Raleigh Hall also on the square. 

Our Labour Council is hard at work regenerating all Lambeth’s town centres.  We’ve just opened a new secondary school in West Norwood with plans well under way for a new swimming pool and leisure centre.  A new health and council service centre’s opened in Streatham with plans for the new leisure centre, pool and ice rink to be confirmed later this month.  Waterloo will benefit from a new public pool, gym and improvements to local roads and green spaces.  In Clapham work’s already begun on the new pool, leisure centre, library and health centre,  and a consultation’s taking place that will see a new public square created in Clapham Old Town. 

Brixton's Windrush Square, honouring Brixton's diversity, would never have been built if Lib Dems and Tories had got their way