Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre | Ofsted Reports, Reviews (2025)

It's hard to believe that in the early 1980s the Oxo Tower Wharf region was desolate and neglected, with few stores and restaurants, a fading residential community, and a poor local economy.
All of that was altered as a result of a remarkable effort by neighbourhood residents and supporters that resulted in Coin Streets purchasing and redeveloping a 13-acre land.
Our location is now in the centre of a vibrant neighbourhood that includes co-operative housing, parks, gardens, shops, design studios, galleries, restaurants, a family and children's centre, sports fields, and a variety of community programmes and events.
In addition, the riverbank on which it is located is one of the most popular areas of London, with sites like Guys' and St. Thomas' Hospital, the London Eye, the Southbank Centre, the BFI, National Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, Tate Modern, and Borough Market among its most well-known landmarks.
The South Bank had sustained significant bomb damage during World War II.
The area's residential population had decreased from 50,000 to about 4,500 by the early 1970s.
Numerous neighbourhood stores, schools, and businesses shut down.
In response, the Coin Street Action Group was founded.
But in 1981, it backed the community initiative with all of its might.
In 1984, Coin Street Community Builders was founded, and it paid the GLC $1,000,000 to acquire the 13-acre site.
To make our North Southwark and Waterloo neighbourhood a better place to live, work, and play, Coin Street Community Builders (CSCB) was founded.
Additionally, members have established Coin Street Secondary Housing Co-operative, a recognised housing organisation, and a tenant-owned "fully-mutual" main co-op for each residential complex.
The CSCB employs a professional team to monitor its community and commercial activities and programmes as well as to design, manage, and maintain the website.
Related charities further promote leisure, the arts, physical fitness, and other civic initiatives.
Offices, hotels, and private housing complexes have blocked off existing communities from the river throughout a large portion of the Thames.
We wanted to make the river accessible to everyone.
Between 1984 and 1988, we oversaw the removal of abandoned structures, the construction of the South Bank riverfront promenade, and the development of Bernie Spain Gardens, a new riverside park.
This created breathtaking views of the Thames, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the City, which are currently enjoyed by Londoners living and working in addition to attracting tourists from all over the world.