FAQs

We know that potential investors will have important questions which they want answered satisfactorily before any investment and we have therefore attempted to answer the main questions which we have been asked to date (or expect to be asked) below.  If you don’t think these answers are full enough for you, or if you have further questions please get in touch by e-mailing .

1 WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE BOLD VISION MANAGEMENT TEAM?

There are currently 8 members of the Bold Vision Management Team.  We meet approximately once a month (since 2008) to manage all aspects of Bold Vision. If you would like to get involved, comtact us. We all live in the local area:

• Catherine Edwards – an excellent musician who for years has run events during the Telegraph Hill Festival, leads Events Action Team.
• Catherine Shovlin –experienced management consultant and behavioural researcher, leads Social Inclusion Action Team, former chair of Edmund Waller After School Club
• Clare Sharpen – experienced fundraiser and local resident
• John Knepler – Chair of Bold Vision, experienced architect, leader of Design Action Team
• Patricio Forrester – local artist extraordinaire who was responsible for the Fabric of Society installation around the current undercroft area
• Stephen Carrick-Davies – Freelance consultant and ex-CEO of children’s internet charity, leads Fundraising Action Team.
• Susan Edwards – former Chair of the Telegraph Hill Festival and Chair of the Telegraph Hill Centre Group.
• Tim Fallon – former CEO of Liveability Housing Association

2 ARE THERE DIRECTORS OF THE BOLD VISION COMPANY AND HOW ARE THEY ELECTED?

The Bold Vision Company has been set up as a Company Limited by guarantee and currently there are 4 Directors: John Knepler, Catherine Shovlin, Maxine Ostwald and Stephen Carrick-Davies.  In the future further directors can be nominated and voted in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. Maxine has recently resigned as a director, though she is still keen to support Bold Vision.

3 IF I BECOME A BOLD BACKER DO I ALSO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY?

Yes, all those who contribute to Bold Vision will have an opportunity to be a member of the company and AGM meetings will be held at which members can have their say and review how the charity’s plans have materialised and what our future priorities should be.

4 WHAT IF I WANT TO BE A BACKER BUT CAN’T AFFORD £200?

We recognise that £200 is a lot of money for many of us, but we have a lot to raise in comparatively a short period of time.  This is a Bold Vision and we have to be bold in our expectations of people willing to support this venture.  Originally we set the bond at £250 but reduced it to £200 following feedback.

There are several ways to contribute the £200 and we will always try to be as flexible as possible and believe this process of fundraising will help strengthen community interaction and cohesion.

• Individually by cheque or bank transfer
• As a household
• In instalments or one off
• By running fundraising events
• Through “sweat equity” in which people can help with the physical work of the building.

We value all donations and those who have donated £200 (or more) will receive a Bold Backer certificate as well as seeing their donation visibly acknowledged at the cafe (e.g. by a brick with their name on it).

5 WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE BOLD VISION COMPANY?  ARE YOU A CHARITY?

When we established Bold Vision we set it up as a social enterprise.  On further analysis we recognise there are some advantages from being a charity (fundraising). We are a registered charity (no. 1138413). This means we can apply to trusts and foundations for funding and also that we can recover gift aid money from the government for any of our Bold Backers who are UK tax payers.

We continue to operate under the new model for social enterprise which gives us greater flexibility to raise funds and run a business which in the long-term would be sustainable and not be reliant on donations.  The social enterprise is set up to ensure that all profits from the activities of the cafe or further ventures are ploughed back into the community.

6 HOW WILL MY MONEY BE SPENT?

As soon as you donate to Bold Vision the money will be paid into the Bold Vision bank account which is with the Co-op bank.  The money is used to develop and build a quality café / community space in the undercroft of the Telegraph Hill Centre on Kitto Road at the top of Telegraph Hill.  This includes fundraising activities such as the printing and distribution of the newsletter and fundraising leaflets and paying for any reasonable expenses incurred in running a fundraising event (lighting/PA, production of tickets etc).

7. HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT WILL COST TO DEVELOP THE CAFÉ?

We have done a feasibility study, consists of a measured and a structural survey, consultation with the Lewisham Planners and the church, and an itemised cost estimate.  Trial holes have been dug, and a structural engineer is in the process of writing a report.  Phase 1 has already been built using a combination of donations, pro bono work and volunteer labour / materials. The same approach will be used for future phases.

8 TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE SPACE WHICH YOU INTEND TO TRANSFORM INTO A COMMUNITY CAFE/MEETING SPACE

Underneath the old ‘Cafe Orange’ building there was a garage type space of approximately 140sq meters.  For the last 20 or so years the space had been used as storage (although there is a mock up of Hitler’s bunker down there that was once used as a set for a Sky TV documentary!)

Because it had a sound roof (made of concrete) 2 solid walls and firm floor it only needed hard work to transform it into a wonderful accessible modern cafe space.  The floor needs to be dug down and re-laid and the front wall (facing Kitto road) will be remodelled with quality folding glass doors which means that the cafe space can be extended onto the courtyard area in front of the building in the Spring/Summer.  The entrance would be on the side.

The main costs for the transformation of the space were for the doors, the floor, and the commercial kitchen (including Health & Safety requirements, extractor fans, installation of gas and electricity, etc.).  The design sub group aimed for a layout with maximum flexible space so the cafe can be used for other events (e.g. a poetry gig, music or  art event). The intention is that the space can also be used by local residents (eg for community events) and by “guest chefs” for evening events. We aim to provide wi-fi access to the Internet and allow people to work in the space (as long as they buy coffee!)

9 CAN I GET TAX BACK IF I INVEST IN BOLD VISION?

As soon as we are registered as a charity we can re-claim tax (through gift-aid). We will require all Bold Backers to complete and sign a short declaration to allow this to happen. If you are a higher rate tax payer you should also include this donation on your tax return and receive an additional rebate which you can either keep or donate to Bold Vision.

10 WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T RAISE ALL THE MONEY YOU NEED TO RENOVATE THE UNDERCROFT AREA – WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY DONATION?

We are committed to the long haul and believe that the money WILL be raised. In the first 6 months we raised enough money for Phase 1 and believe that there is a real appetite among local residents to see this venture succeed.  Because we have planned the work in 3 distinct phases (see below) it is possible to pause between phases if the remaining money has not yet been raised – we sincerely hope this is not the case and that we can maintain momentum and stick to our plan to be operational in summer 2010.

• Phase I – Front half of space, café and temporary kitchen
• Phase II – Clear and level rear half of space. Install temporary toilets
• Phase III –  Complete back half of space, permanent toilets and professional kitchen.

A lot of the work has and will continue to be done by “sweat equity”, with people volunteering on our community work days.

If, for reasons beyond our control, we have to close the project then we will offer Bold Backers the choice of having the unspent portion of their investment returned to them or letting us transfer the funds to other local community projects.

11 WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE VISION?

The Cafe is very much the first project Bold Vision is committed to completing.  In the long term we want to breathe new life into the whole of Telegraph Hill and develop the Centre  into a “landmark” building utilising the considerable upstairs space for small offices, meeting rooms, rehearsal spaces, galleries, etc. for the whole community.  Because the views across London are priceless we would also like to develop an indoor/outdoor space on the top of the roof of the annex from which people could look out across the whole of London.  This space could be licensed for civil ceremonies, and used for lectures, performances etc.  There is also a wonderful opportunity for using some of the free space on the hill to grow vegetables and local produce.

12 WILL LOCAL PEOPLE BE ABLE TO BOOK THE CAFE OUT IN THE EVENINGS FOR ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS BOOK GROUP EVENINGS? CONCERTS? PRIVATE VIEWS?

Bold Vision has a policy for the use of hiring the facility by local groups or organisations.  A condition of the contract with the company running the cafe is that the multi-use facilities must be made available for local people want to book out the space for community events.  The policy aims to strike a balance between the need for cafe facilities and the use of the space in this way, and state the responsibilities for hiring out the premises and any costs associated hiring the space.

13 HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE COMPANY/CO-OPERATIVE TO RUN THE CAFE?

The café is currently being run under a service contract by Ian Convery. We will issue an invitation to tender once the café is completed and established in order to find a local company or individual to run the café – based on clearly published criteria.  Having had experience in running a successful cafe in the past will be a condition for success as well as a strong ethos of inclusivity, sustainability and creating a varied quality menu.  The successful applicant will be expected to provide an inspiring creative environment which will attract local people to come and use the cafe, and provide a “destination” cafe  that can build a reputation that also attracts customers from further afield.

If you are interested in bidding for the contract once the tender criteria have been produced please contact  – Chair of Bold Vision.

14 WILL THE CAFE MAKE PROFIT AND HOW WILL THIS PROFIT BE USED FOR THE COMMUNITY?

It is absolutely crucial that the cafe will not be subsidised on an ongoing basis by any fundraising activity and those businesses wishing to bid for the contract to run the cafe have to do so knowing that they can provide an offering in a way that sustains a viable business, including the contribution they pay to Bold Vision for the facilities.  Bold Vision will review with the successful tenderer how profits can be re-invested in the facilities.

15 WHAT ELSE COULD YOU RUN IN THE CAFE SPACE?

The menu and offering at the cafe will largely be determined in discussion with our customer base (that’s you!).  In the future, facilities will include the sale of certain items e.g. newspapers, milk, quality sourced and local produce.  It may also be possible to sell cards, locally produced artwork, etc. which will help the “foot-flow” and encourage people to come to the cafe. We plan an exchange centre for books and DVDs.

16 WHY CAN’T THIS BE RUN FROM THE OUTSET ON A COMMERCIAL BASIS – I.E. WHY DO WE NEED TO FUNDRAISE – SURELY THERE MUST BE A COMPANY OUT THERE WHO CAN RENOVATE THE WHOLE SPACE FROM SCRATCH AS PART OF A BUSINESS PLAN?

When the Centre was developed in the 1970s it was specifically set up as a partnership between the Church, the Local Authority and local people.  As such the Centre belongs to all of us.  It would therefore not be appropriate for a private company to develop the undercroft space (which is currently under-utilised) as the community would then not have any say in how this community asset would be run!

We believe that the investment by the community for the community ensures that this space remains an integral part of the Centre and can be a facility that future generations can share and use.  We believe in the principle of “communities doing it for themselves” and wish this to be our first step in increasing the say we have in our local area.

17 I REALLY LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

We have established a number of Action Teams – each led by a member of the BV Management Group.  Please contact the team leader specified if you would like to be involved with that activity

• Design Team: planning the designs for the space you can join the led by .
• Fundraising Team led by .
• Events Team including fundraising events led by .
• Social Inclusion Team led by 
• All names to be added to our communications database for regular updates should be sent to .

18 WHAT WILL THE OLD CAFE ORANGE SPACE BE USED FOR?

The old Cafe Orange had very limited opening hours and was used by Carr Gomm very much as a training centre for some of its clients.  From December 2010 this space will become a dedicated 6th form Common Room for Haberdasher Aske’s School.  It’s good that this space will be used by young students and we are confident that the BV cafe can run alongside this space.  The rental income from this space is essential for the functioning of the rest of the Centre.

19 WHY IS THE CAFE CALLED THE HILL STATION?

We held a competition for local people to nominate and then choose the name of the Cafe. From about 50 suggestions The Hill Station was the winner. You can see the history of this in our blog.

20 WHAT ROLE DOES THE CHURCH HAVE IN ALL OF THIS?

The church’s Parochial Church Council agreed that Bold Vision could lease the undercroft area and raise funds to adapt and renovate the space into a community cafe as this reflects the community outreach intentions of the Church.  They helped provide funding for the preparatory building work and are fully behind this project.  The PCC ensure that the Church remains an active stakeholder in the venture and the Bishop of Southwark both attended our opening in July 2010 and has arranged funding of £3000 towards Phase 2.

21 WHAT ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE?

The Bold Vision management committee feels strongly that social inclusion is an important role of our work. During development we ran workshops with young people to think about possible designs and uses for the Centre.  It is hoped that on a sessional basis it might be possible to run special youth events from the café eg a monthly youth club.

There are other excluded groups we also want to consider and involve in appropriate ways eg refugees, new arrivals, the elderly