SOCIAL VALUE + COMMUNITY VOICES

Letter To the London Assembly:

As PLUSHSE16, a displaced community with direct, lived experience of the impact that current development policies have on real people, we want to let our community know publicly that we work daily adding our voices and perspectives to the conversation on 'social value.'

Our journey has been one of resilience, struggle, and relentless advocacy to protect what we know is irreplaceable: our community, our culture, and the authentic social connections that we’ve cultivated over decades. When policies do not protect communities like ours from the whims of developers like Regent Land and Developments who see only profit, the very essence of our neighbourhoods gets eroded, and the people who bring life and vibrancy to these places are forced out but the cultural diversity marketed to the prospective new idea of local.

What Social Value Means to Us: Social value, to us, is not just a buzzword or something that can be quantified in reports or assessed on a spreadsheet. It’s a living, breathing concept. It’s the barbers who know every family by name, the food traders who offer a taste of home to immigrants and locals alike, and the countless interactions, stories, and memories shared within the walls and railings of our space. Social value is the culture we bring, the safety net we create, and the sense of belonging we foster. It’s the glue that binds us together and reminds us who we are, even in the face of hardship.

The #NoPriceOnCulture movement emerged from our fight against displacement. It’s our reminder—to developers, to policymakers, to everyone—that you cannot put a price on the spirit of community, nor should anyone be able to uproot it so easily. We believe that social value must be defined by what local people value, what they fight to protect, and what they would grieve to lose. When policy priorities the interests of developers over people, it fails to recognise the importance of these spaces in fostering identity, safety, and connection.

The Disconnect in Policy: Our displacement happened because policies meant to safeguard community interest are often toothless in the face of well-funded developers. These developers come in with promises of "regeneration" and "revitalisation"—yet what they leave behind are voids, gaps in the social fabric, and a profound loss felt by the people who gave these spaces life. We are often told that progress requires sacrifices, but why is it always our communities being asked to sacrifice?

Policies like the London Plan 2021 need to be rooted in the lived realities of people, not just the projections of market analysts.

There must be protection for businesses and spaces that provide genuine social value—determined by communities themselves, not imposed by outsiders. 

It’s time to bring the people who are most impacted into the room when these decisions are made, so that our voices are not just heard, but respected and acted upon.

Our Hope Moving Forward: While we are raw from our experiences, we are also hopeful. Hopeful that this conversation on social value becomes more than just a theoretical exercise. Hopeful that future policies will not only recognise but actively protect the communities and cultures that define this city. Hopeful that PLUSHSE16 and others like us will be seen for what we truly are: invaluable, irreplaceable pillars of social fabric.

We’re grateful for allies and advocates pushing for change, and we urge decision-makers to listen closely to the people who live, breathe, and build this city every day. We’re committed to continuing this fight, not just for ourselves but for every community facing displacement.

Thank you to our friends in this fight, so much coming by way of building on our lived experiences through this journey in our collective efforts to amplify community voices, and giving a platform to community to share their local stories ahead of The next London Plan.

London Assembly Recommendations

As a 22 year boot on the ground organisation here are our public recommendations to The Mayor of London Assembly on aspects around Planning and Space need change:

1. Inclusion, more needs to be done to welcome people across communities into these spaces where policy is being adopted or changed, for far too long communities are impacted by decisions made without their true engagement, we call for more outreach on finding out whats wrong with London directly from people. Policy officers need to sit amidst small business and local communities regularly.

2. The Mayor and Places for London should actively champion policies that protect and preserve all small business owners, recognising all as crucial contributors to London's social and cultural landscape. When we think about Southwark and our 22 year contribution to our society our community now more than ever have so many community groups that need access to more lower rental rates because affordable is not affordable, access to funding and training to help local businesses thrive not just merely survive.

3. A city-wide led commitment to safeguarding spaces from rapid redevelopment or displacement would show a tangible investment into the social value that community groups like PLUSH bring, this is the role the Mayor and Places for London can play in supporting our communities.

4. Current planning and regeneration policies as we have seen first hand often prioritise large-scale development over preserving existing local businesses, resulting in insufficient support for local economic trade. While some policies claim to protect these spaces, in practice, they lack the enforcement and resources needed to provide real, on-the-ground support. Strengthening these policies to include specific protections against displacement and prioritising long-term sustainability small and medium sized businesses is essential.

5. The London Plan could explicitly mandate protections for small businesses by embedding “social value” as a key criterion in development decisions. Creating dedicated real rent reflective zones of local trade along with, implementing rent caps, and incentivising developers to preserve existing businesses would help maintain the unique character of these spaces.

   Additionally, establishing clear social value benchmarks but working with locals to achieve this and offering financial assistance programs would further empower business owners to thrive and continue serving their communities.

6. Developers must be held accountable even after a project is completed, especially for any direct impact on communities following local authority sign-off. Too often, developers disappear when design decisions negatively affect the surrounding area. We believe there should be a mandatory accountability period—perhaps 5 years—during which developers remain responsible for any consequences arising from their work or ideas. This would encourage them to consider the lasting impact of their developments more thoughtfully and thoroughly especially when thinking about groups failed by Equality Impact Assess

So, What does Social Value mean to you?

Ahead of this large piece of policy change, we are asking on a local level across our community to feed into this long winded but necessary work through our project Displaced Society, which is a series of talks, events and local engagements.

We have put together a Poll below that you can feed into which we will factor into using to shape our community with real voices echoing amidst our fight.

Select the one that you connect with, when you are asked What does Social Value mean to you? What do you think about?

Whether you are a member of our community or not, we would like you to contribute if you need to talk to someone, we are all still available. Although we have lost our physical space, our commitment to relocation remains. While the PLUSH site may be derelict whilst we are displaced, the bond within our community is now more robust than ever. We are here for everyone and invested in this work of community, harnessing unity and belonging along the way.

Peace, Love, Unity, Strength, Harmony

The PLUSHSE16 Team

#JusticeForPlush #NoPriceOnCulture