Coin Street visions

Spent a chilled out day grooving to the beats of South African music at the Coin Street festival on the South Bank today.

The Coin Street development is a particularly interesting area of the South Bank, and runs 13 acres between Waterloo and Blackfriar bridges. In 1977, the area was derelict and an obvious target for commerical developers. The Coin Street Action Group protested the threatened commercialisation and successfully proposed an alternative vision focussed on recreational parks and social housing.

Alternative visions for the area continue today: there are plans for new housing cooperatives, as well as a public swimming pool and community health centre.