About the BCA - we are 50 this year!
50 years ago, the people of Barnes came together to save an old structure on the High Street from being flattened and replaced with a supermarket. Today, Rose House, this wonderful 17th Century pink building, a former inn, is the BCA’s headquarters and home. A real community hub from where we organise local events, take care of our green spaces, improve our shopping parades and bring people together. We are the heart of the community. We are the community!
Since that fight back in the 70s, we have won other battles: residents at the other end of Barnes had a battle on their hands, to prevent one of the few remaining historic houses in Barnes, next to St Mary’s Church, from being demolished and replaced. Again, strong and organised local opposition won, and The Homestead was saved. We chased off the proposal for the Ringway 2 expressway which would have cut Barnes in two and saved Barn Elms playing fields from becoming a massive over-development. We have also led campaigns to raise money to restore Barnes Pond after it mysteriously emptied overnight and to pay for a new FiSH minibus.
And our work is ongoing today! We recently designed a new High Street with wider pavements, planters and seating; we championed a community parklet; we fund the planters and hanging baskets along our shopping parades. We also fund ALL of the Christmas decorations and lights in Barnes - which most people believe is down to Richmond Borough Council.
The BCA loves Barnes’ green spaces: our BCA Greenkeeper looks after Barnes Pond and Barnes Green and we are working together with Barnes Common on the Flood Resilience Project and with the council to improve our river towpath. We also hope to create a new garden bridge across the Thames soon.
Many local residents already know us for our wonderful Barnes Fair, which attracts thousands of visitors every July; a fabulous food fair in Autumn; a Christmas Festival and an ever-popular jumble sale.
Without our support of local businesses, our high street would look like any other. Pop into the fishmonger, the fruit and veg guy across the road, the cheese shop next door. The people behind the counter are your neighbours - without them, Barnes would be a very different place to live.
In order to keep Barnes special, we need you! Join us! Our annual membership is only £25 per household – click HERE for details and become part of this amazing community.
The legal bit
In June 2014 the BCA was reconstituted as an Incorporated Charitable Organisation (CIO), a charity whose members have voting rights. The main purpose behind incorporation was to give financial protection to the membership and the trustees. The formal remit, within which the BCA must operate, is as follows:
To promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Barnes and Mortlake without distinction of sex, race, political, religious or other opinions, by fostering a sense of community in the neighbourhood and bringing together the inhabitants, the local authorities and voluntary associations in a common effort:
To advance education and to provide facilities for recreation and leisure-time occupations, in the interests of social welfare, and with the object of improving the conditions of life in the neighbourhood;
To promote the preservation, development and improvement, for the public benefit, of the character and amenities of the neighbourhood;
To establish a Community Centre (“Rose House”) and acquire, maintain and manage, either alone or in co-operation with others, the centre for activities promoted by the BCA and its members in furtherance of the above objects.
The BCA now confines its activities to Barnes after Mortlake residents formed their own community association, and aims to support the social life of the village, to preserve its character and improve its amenities for the benefit of all.
The members of the BCA are its stakeholders. Membership of the BCA is open to everyone. There are a maximum of twelve trustees whose role is to manage the association, as a charity, in accordance with the constitution. The BCA is run on a day to day basis by a small team of staff and volunteers. Click here for our Vision and Purpose.
Maintaining this historic building is costly, and the need to raise funds gave rise to the idea of resurrecting the annual Fair on Barnes Green. The Fair has grown steadily over the years, now attracting an average of 15,000 people throughout the day, and money raised contributes to staff salaries, the upkeep of Rose House, and many community projects. The BCA also organises several other key events throughout the year, in addition to supporting several others.
Illustrations by Jeremy Wilson: Wild About Barnes, The Village on the River. © Andrew Wilson / Unity Print and Publishing 2012