Long Live Southbank's video: LLSB: Southbank Centre - A Festival of Irony

Update: Long Live Southbank have come a long way since this video was first published. Having secured the long term future of the Undercroft and we have gained planning permission to restore legendary parts of the space last skated in 2004. To make this restoration into a reality, you can donate at www.llsbdonate.com. Long Live Southbank campaigner Jason took a walk around the Southbank Centre site exploring their 'urban' vision at the 'Urban: Celebrating Street Culture' weekend which featured as part of their Festival of Neighbourhood season. Ironic when you consider that the skaters and street arts the Southbank Centre want to destroy are the most filmed and photographed aspect on the site. So what kind of neighbours are they? After putting their Festival Wing plans on hold for a second time, Southbank Centre Chairman, Rick Haythornthwaite said in a statement issued on the 5th Feb; "Our battle has never been with the skateboarders, whom we have welcomed and guaranteed a future on our site". Yet reality paints a very different picture. On the 28th Feb, Lambeth Council's rejection of the Southbank Centre's appeal against the Undercroft being listed as an Asset of Community Value revealed that the Southbank Centre's views are that; 'recreational use of the Undercroft is an ancillary use' 'the use of the Undercroft does not benefit the "local community"' 'the current use of the Undercroft cannot in reality continue' the Undercroft is equivalent to 'the children's play area in the beer garden of a pub'. All of which were dismissed by Lambeth in their review. Yet the Southbank Centre CEO said they would appeal again! There is a Southbank Centre they do not want you to see, but it is very real. The Southbank Centre has revealed itself as a secretive institution willing to mislead and lie in order to achieve its aims. This has been the most alarming aspect of the 11 month campaign. It is very worrying to think an institute of art and culture, which keeps reminding us it is a 'charity', has adopted secrecy and an aggressive campaign against young people, while at the same time using the 'education' of children and young people as its selling point to reach its own ambition. The closer you inspect the scheme, the fewer people you see are at the helm -- a handful. This is not about denying the expansion of access to culture, this is about the questioning of the hands that seek to stifle and silence culture and the integrity and purpose of their actions. We are the voice of young people who stand for the future of artistic and cultural expression in an ever-changing world, for everyone. Not on paper, but in practice. 'The future is in the eyes of the young, and not the minds of the old.' LLSB Film by Henry Edwards-Wood http://www.holdtighthenry.com Fore more information on the real story and to sign up and get involved in preserving a unique and vital part of London culture: Website: http://www.llsb.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LongLiveSouthbank Twitter: https://twitter.com/Long_Live_SB Instagram: http://instagram.com/savesouthbank