Let’s talk about The Curve

The Council held a seven week consultation from 18 August to 7 October 2021 to give as many North Kensington residents the opportunity to have their say and join the conversation about the future of The Curve services and the remaining £1.3M budget from 2022-24.

The community were invited to have their say and vote for their preferred option via an online survey promoted in Council and third-party communication channels throughout the consultation period. A paper copy of the survey was also distributed to 29,000 addresses in seven North Kensington wards.

The consultation asked residents: ‘What would your preference be for the future of the Curve?'

a)         Curve services relocated in another community centre building?

b)         A Curve legacy fund, designed to fund projects that serve the north Kensington community.

c)         A combination of ‘a’ and ‘b’.

d)         Another idea, developed and overseen by the Curve Legacy Steering Group. A free text box was provided for this option, so respondents could write their ideas down and provide contact details.

The fourth option (Option D) gave people the opportunity to put forward their own ideas and suggestions. During the consultation, the Curve Board of Governors put forward their idea of a Community Trust as an idea under this option which was subsequently promoted via an unbranded flyer and distributed to residents in North Kensington.

Using independent specialists

To ensure an unbiased and thorough approach from the outset, the Council appointed independent community engagement specialists.

Incentivising participation

The community were also invited to participate in real world and virtual workshops which were incentivised with a £20 Love2Shop gift voucher to recognise participants' time.

Widening reach to hear from as many North Kensington residents as possible

In addition to the survey and the workshops, this consultation involved community events and engagement at The Curve plus several high footfall locations which provided a broad range of North Kensington residents with multiple opportunities to join the conversation, have their voices heard and have their say about how they would like the future Curve budget to be spent. To reach out to as many North Kensington residents as possible, this consultation was promoted using:

• Translated copies of the survey
• Article in North Ken News.
• Social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor.
• Targeted Facebook adverts to North Ken residents.
• The Council’s website and enewsletters to residents, voluntary and community organisations, faith organisations and resident associations.
• Posters displayed at The Curve and on local estate noticeboards.
• Electronic noticeboards on local estates.
• A new dedicated Curve enewsletter for residents specifically signed up to receive Curve updates.
• Suggestion box at The Curve for completed surveys.
• Sharing content with community and voluntary sector partners to include in their channels.

A total of 167 responses were received. The results indicated that the most popular preference was for ‘a Curve Legacy Fund, designed to fund projects that serve the North Kensington community’, with 30 per cent of respondents preferring this.

The second most popular choice, ‘another idea, developed and overseen by the Curve Legacy Steering Group’, was chosen by 22 per cent of respondents. Within that, the majority (but not all) respondents endorsed the Board of Governor’s proposal for a Community Trust.

A consistent theme, throughout the consultation period, was concern relating to the sustainability of the Curve legacy beyond the ending of the recovery strategy. The Community Trust option was considered a way that this could happen, whilst also ensuring greater community ownership over decision-making. 

Based on the results of this consultation and the majority view, on 10 November 2021 the Council formally agreed to work with North Kensington communities to form a resident-led Curve Legacy Steering Group, who we will partner with to:

• create a Curve Legacy Fund, designed to fund projects that serve the North Kensington community, based on their expressed needs and
• form a Community Trust to oversee the Curve Legacy Fund. The Community Trust’s focus will also be to sustain the Curve Legacy after the five-year strategy has concluded in March 2024.

In addition 

After the consultation ended Kensington and Chelsea Council and The Curve Board of Governors held a public meeting to feedback to local North Kensington residents on 9 November 2021 as requested by the Curve Board of Governors. At this meeting the community was clear that in addition to the next steps for The Curve they want their own community space to be provided by Kensington and Chelsea Council in North Kensington. This was presented to the Leadership Team on 10 November 2021, the following was agreed: for Kensington and Chelsea Council to relook at the Community Asset Review that identifies Council buildings and commercial properties with a view to report back on the potential of local North Kensington spaces that could be made accessible for local community usage; this may include shared spaces.