Covent Garden
Local community initiatives
The Capital & Counties Covent Garden Estate, which has continued to expand through acquisition, lies at the heart of a diverse local community underpinned by the large number of residents living in the area. This diversity coupled with a long history and varied architecture promotes a rich community life attracting many visitors from within the UK and around the world.
For the second year running, during National Enterprise Week, an Inter Primary School Enterprise challenge was held. This year the challenge involved schools from Merton and Covent Garden. The children, competing for a prize, had to come up with an idea for a market stall and make a presentation to a judging panel. The draw of Covent Garden has been very evident in the variety of local events run or sponsored by C&C over the last year. Events like Kids Week and the celebration of the centenary of the first production model of Lancia cars were amongst the highlights.
The Covent Garden Big Draw was a series of unique workshops exploring the excitement and magic of drawing - all for FREE! The Big Draw consisted of celebrity drawing and art enthusiasts including cartoonists Gerald Scarfe and Posy Simmonds plus the crème of London’s art community all coming together to take part in a series of interactive drawing initiatives. Similarly, the Super Design Art installations on the piazza during London Art Week in early October publicly showcased new work by renowned designers Arik Levy and Ross Lovegrove.
We supported a Royal Ballet School Event which celebrated Covent Garden as a centre for the performing arts. Three pieces were performed on stage in the Piazza by award winning students of the School and enjoyed by the large audience gathered in the Piazza. Covent Garden’s association with fruit, vegetables and flowers is world-renown and our August Night Markets created an opportunity for the local community to buy great quality, fresh, organic produce on their doorstep with a great deal more on offer than just fruit and vegetables.
Working with the Conservation Foundation, our Green Corners competition celebrated the efforts of small-scale gardeners in the local area and beyond. Professor David Bellamy and actress Susan Hampshire took part in the judging. Trowels and gardening books were given to the winners. Plans are in hand to develop the Green Corners initiative in 2008.
