Dulwich Review Response
From Dance Schools and Teachers, and Performing Arts Businesses and Organisations (16 July 2021)
Dear Councillors, Members of Southwark Council / Streetspace responsible for making Southwark a more inclusive, healthy and better place for all
Further to the open letter submitted recently ‘Corporate response to the Dulwich Streetspace Review from the Dulwich Alliance’, we, as dance schools and dance teachers, who run our businesses in the Dulwich area, would like to draw your attention to the following concerns that relate specifically to dance and fitness, our place within a diverse community and how we believe that Southwark Council’s LTNs , if they remain in place, are in direct conflict with their own ‘Health and Wellbeing Policy 2015-2020’, ‘Preventing Suicides in Southwark Strategy and Action Plan 2017 -2022’, including the ‘Joint Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2018 – 2021’ and ‘Economic Wellbeing Strategy 2017 – 2022’.
Please note, it has been necessary to forward this information separately due to the failure of the Council’s own survey to provide us with the ability to do so. Further, we are not convinced Southwark has made any credible effort to gather the necessary data from us and how the LTNs impact our operations, the consequences of which will undoubtedly have a deleterious effect on large swathes of the community.
Grant Shapps in his letter to Local Authorities October 2020 about LTN schemes stated that the crucial test is ‘does it deliver for the community it serves and has it been done with their consultation’ and that the ‘benefits to cycling and walking’ must not ‘outweigh the dis-benefits for other road users.’ He went on to say ‘We are not prepared to tolerate hastily introduced schemes which will create sweeping changes to communities without consultation, and ones where the benefits to cycling and walking do not outweigh the dis-benefits for other road users.’
Consultation means speaking to and giving proper consideration and weight to all persons/ interests in the community affected by the proposed scheme.
The council’s stated main aims in introducing the current scheme are to reduce inequalities in health and wellbeing; reduce cut through of traffic; reduce parking pressure on local residents and improve air quality. However, the Council’s narrow focus on encouraging walking and cycling to improve wellbeing fails to recognise any other social, dance or sporting activities and the part they play in advancing health and wellbeing for the wider community. Further, the consequent displacement of traffic on to roads not included in the Streetspace scheme negatively impacts on air quality, causes congestion, and significant inconvenience and concern to residents on these streets, evident by recent protests from residents facing increased traffic on their roads.
Indeed, the Equality Impact Assessment carried out by the Centre for Accessibility Environment (CAE) in June 2021 in relation to the scheme on behalf of the Council highlights, under every listed possible benefit of the scheme, significant negative impacts upon disabled children and adults, older, Black, Asian and persons from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds, women, shift workers and persons on low income.
Many organisations gravitate to Dulwich because of the numerous schools and sporting facilities the area offers. Businesses and after school clubs are a hub for many children who both live in and around the area, some travelling significant distances to participate and be part of it. Elderly people with disposable incomes, time-rich and wanting to maintain a healthy active social life, also enjoy the area and the leisure facilities it currently boasts. If people are deterred from coming to the Village (and they already are) it is only a matter of time before they find easier locations to frequent. Naturally, this will have an impact upon the classes they attend and the viability of those who operate and trade in the local area, followed by the inevitable knock-on effect on other local businesses such as cafés, delis, and restaurants etc who provide services to those who drop and wait for their children, or who dine either before or after attending their chosen class.
If the view were that there are sufficient numbers of local residents who can sustain the clubs and businesses that operate within the zone, making it the thriving neighbourhood that people want to be part of, then this would be a misguided one. Dulwich can only survive as a hub of activity if people are able to gain access rather than being discouraged from doing so. The long-term effects (that may take some time to show) will be on those businesses that are caught on the wrong side of the wall – the quasi-gated complex – who will inevitably wither and die; and, as a result, the area becomes culturally impoverished – devoid of life and soul.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
The message that we need to exercise to ensure good health and prevent serious health problems in the future is one of the most important messages we all receive today from medical professionals and the Government. Southwark Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2015 – 2020 says that ‘Southwark is committed to working together to promote integration, to improve and to reduce health inequalities’…. by ’preventing ill health by promoting and supporting positive lifestyles across the community’. Dance is an integral part of this process. With many genres of dance available, there is something for everyone, regardless of their age, social, cultural, and economic background.
It is a stated aim in Southwark’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2015 – 2020 that the Council will build community resilience and wellbeing and to promote the impact of arts/creativity on health and wellbeing. We consider this is exactly what we, the local community of dance schools and teachers, provide, but which we can only continue to do if it is financially viable to and the area remains readily accessible.
THE ELDERLY COMMUNITY
More than any other section of the community, elderly people need to keep mobile and exercise to help prevent health problems. An article in the Daily Express, Monday April 10, 2017, by Michael Knowles, titled ‘Dance your way to beating heart disease, cancer and dementia’ reported on an online survey conducted by ‘UKactive’. The then Chair, Steven Ward, said ‘Inactive people are robbed of retirements because of weak bones and joints that lead to falls which render them immobile at huge cost to the state’. The article went on to say, ‘Dancing would prevent 410,000 people breaking hips if all those over 61 did 150 minutes each week, saving £3.3 billion, according to the online analysis. The number diagnosed with coronary heart disease – which kills about 70,000 every year – would also fall by 104,000 and 40, 000 fewer would have strokes.’ It was further stated that ‘just two and a half hours of dancing a week would save the NHS almost £11 billion over the next 10-years’.
LONELINESS AND SOCIAL COHESION
In Southwark’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2015 – 2020 it states: ‘Over the period of 2014/15, the council conducted the Southwark Lives engagement exercise… Stories were collected from residents of all ages. Loneliness and isolation featured in many people’s stories… many people talked about the strength they drew from a supportive social network. Community groups and volunteers were cited by many as integral to their wellbeing and their recovery from health problems.’
Dance has been proven time and time again to break down barriers and alleviate the feelings of isolation. This is particularly prevalent at a time when we have been isolated from social activities and gatherings due to lockdowns of which the true cost has yet to be fully realised.
In an article written by Mickela Mallozzi in the National Geographic, published April 28, 2020, she quotes: ‘The connections I made on the dance floor with people I didn’t know left a deep imprint on me. I was laughing and sharing joy with someone whom I had met only minutes before.’
The article goes on to say: ‘Creative dancers share genes with strong social communicators, suggesting that we evolved to overcome isolation’ and that ‘Recent research has proven that even our earliest ancestors recognized the health and social benefits of dance.’
She also writes: ‘In the Guadeloupe Islands in the 17th century, dance was once one of the only means of communication for an entire population. Members from various ethnic groups speaking different languages began to find common ground in rhythms and dances’…‘speaking through movements and rhythmic accents.’
LBGTQ+ IN SOUTHWARK
It is recognised, within ‘Preventing Suicides in Southwark – Our strategy and Action Plan 2017 – 2022’, that, ‘According to sexual identity estimates developed by the Office of National Statistics in 2017, of the 98 Local Authorities surveyed, Southwark has the second largest proportion of individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.’
Over recent years there has been a significant uptake in ballroom dancing by members of the LBGTQ+ community. Same-sex dancing is extremely popular with many same-sex dancers frequenting the facilities provided by the renowned historic ballroom in Village Way, Grafton Dance Centre; a venue at risk of closure due to its proximity to the LTNs.
MENTAL HEALTH – THE ELDERLY
It is common knowledge that there is a crisis in social care which is likely to deepen. As the older population increases in numbers so cost of care will soar. It would be much more preferable to prevent or inhibit onset of disease. Studies have shown that learning something new such as dancing can help prevent the onset of dementia and other related mental health illnesses. There are many studies now showing that early onset of this pernicious disease can be delayed by activity. Not only do endorphins kick in with the physical touch and the aerobic movement of dance, but frequent dancing increases neuroplasticity, the ability to form new neural connections, which help in recovering from injury and disease. For instance, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Verghese et al, 2003 Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly) found that some mental exercises reduced risk of dementia such as reading (reduced risk 37%) crossword puzzles (reduced risk 47%). However, some physical exercises such as golf and swimming did not reduce risk at all. Of all exercises, both mental and physical, Verghese and colleagues found that regular social dancing reduced risk of dementia by 76%.
MENTAL HEALTH – YOUNG PEOPLE
Southwark Council is committed to giving every child and young person the best start in life. Actively supporting children to take part in dance classes and exercise gives them this positive start in life. Exercise encourages good habits into adulthood, which has a positive effect on a person’s health. Exercise in itself promotes a sense of wellbeing, self-worth, and a belonging, building on friendships creating resilience to life. Dance classes and exercise can also help children do better at school. The benefits of exercise for children are numerous.
According to Southwark’s Preventing Suicides in Southwark, Strategy and Action Plan 2017 – 2022, ‘Southwark is one of just a few London boroughs to report higher suicide rates than the national average’. It is Southwark’s vision that ‘all partners within Southwark’s suicide prevention network are committed to reducing suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm in Southwark from currently among the highest to among the lowest rates in London.’ ‘Young people are at greatest risk of self-harm, in particular young women. They are more than twice as likely to report having self-harmed as their male counterparts, with one in five females aged 16 to 24 reporting having self-harmed at some point in their life.’
The pressures on our children in the modern world are immense. The Covid 19 lockdowns over these past months have had a devastating effect on the mental health and wellbeing of our young population. Add to that the pressures of social media and the expectations upon them on how they should look and conform have pushed many just too far. The subject is a sensitive one, but it has been recognised by some local grassroots dance teachers that there is an explosion of self-harming and cases of anorexia (particularly amongst girls), the signs of which are not always visible to parents or teachers whilst the child is wearing clothes, but which is clearly visible to a dance instructor when the child wears a leotard or similar.
One could argue that by closing roads it would not diminish a teenager/young person’s ability to travel by bike or public transport to classes, but in many instances sound and caring relationships between trusted instructors and pupils develop over many years, typically starting when the child is as young as 4 or 5 years old. The journeys taken by parents who drive between multiple venues across Dulwich, dropping siblings to their chosen classes, are being made untenable by road closures.
Dance schools and dance teachers may not necessarily be recognised as official partners but are, nevertheless, an essential component in facilitating Southwark’s preventing suicides strategy and action plan 2017–2022 ‘to reduce…..self-harm in Southwark to among the lowest rates in London.’
OBESITY
The number of obese children resident in Southwark is higher than the national average. Reducing obesity in children is an important issue for Southwark Council. Southwark Council is committed to take purposeful action to reduce obesity in children and young people. Southwark has, as its priority, the development of an obesity strategy which takes a whole systems approach to effectively tackle obesity. Exercise has to be key to this strategy and encouraging young persons to dance positively promotes this priority.
ECONOMIC WELLBEING
Southwark Council’s Economic Wellbeing Strategy 2017 – 2022 states that ‘Southwark wants to be a place ‘where businesses thrive and prosper’. In his Foreword, Councillor Johnson Situ, Cabinet member for business, employment and culture says, ‘Every day we are demonstrating that we are a borough that is open for business and will promote and support economic wellbeing.’
Dulwich Village and the surrounding areas provide numerous opportunities and facilities on which many different livelihoods depend. At a time of immense economic challenges, Southwark should be supporting its business communities. Dance teachers who can no longer access or traverse the area will inevitably go elsewhere, taking with them all the positive benefits the classes they offer to the community. Standalone dance venues who operate without any financial support other than income from customers (customers discouraged from attending difficult-to-reach venues) will become unsustainable and close.
CONCLUSION
Presumably, the view held by those on one side of this argument is that the health benefits gained by cycling on empty roads for the short distances before reaching roads outside of the exclusion zone will far outweigh the loss of dance/fitness classes. Whilst there ‘may’ be some merit in the argument for fair-weather riders in the midst of summer, that can hardly be the case in the depths of winter. It is ironic that in 2017, the Labour Party’s Manifesto slogan was ‘For the Many Not the Few’. However, here we are faced with a Labour Council promoting quite the opposite by facilitating an exclusion zone for a privileged few, local, and incredibly determined vocal residents and cycling lobbyists, at the expense of many more who are on the peripheries of Dulwich, live and or work in Dulwich, and who travel to and through the area.
Southwark Council’s vison is for its residents to live healthy, happy, and longer lives and to prevent residents from becoming unwell. In achieving this Southwark Council promises to prevent poor health and promote wellbeing, community-based care and activating communities. Southwark Council’s LTNs dismally fail to achieve this and fails to acknowledge and respect the needs of many of its residents, businesses, and key community stakeholders.
The road closures, as they stand, must be removed, and returned to how it was before. A fully inclusive review / consultation with proper data can be commissioned thereafter to establish what will work for all sections of the community rather than what we currently face, which has been opportunistically rushed through on the back of poorly constructed Covid 19 Legislation.
Signed by the principals of nine Dulwich schools of dance and the performing arts, and 21 local teachers and practitioners