Help save one of England’s most unique cultural hubs! Portsmouth council have underhandedly terminated the Arts Lodge & Park Café lease after 17 years of award winning creative community work.
Portsmouth’s Art & Soul Traders CIC Co-Op desperately needs your help! Seventeen years ago they saved a 140-year-old building from demolition and began the most amazing creative oasis in the city centre for the whole community. Now the council have snatched it back which will make them homeless and bankrupt in the next few months. This vital organisation needs to carry on doing their good work including charity events, workshops, exhibitions, courses, festivals, live music, first co-op café and vegan and vegetarian café. In the last few days the most incredible story is unfolding that has shocked not only our community but much further afield, as this is another example of what is happening to our communities across the world.
Just over a year ago I stumbled across this friendly community and started volunteering. My life has never been the same since!
Sadly, and most unexpectedly, our council (its seems illegally) evicted us with the most underhanded and nefarious methods this city has ever seen. There is a long history of battles between the A&ST and the council over 17 years, and A&ST have stood their ground. Now the hammers of austerity have finally tried to crack these nuts!
It is really important to raise vital funds for new premises, a good legal team, company overheads and expenses, and raise awareness of this campaign and our unbelievable situation.
Please read up on what we have achieved on www.artandsoultraders.com
See the campaign on www.savethelodge.com
YouTube-Facebook/ arts lodge and park cafe
We're all over social media from BBC TV and radio to local news. Please support this campaign as much as you can! I know we are all feeling the pinch but just £2.50 each (you can type in amount) from the 10,000 signatures on our petition we can do this :) x