Kambala Flamenco Group Shines at the Battersea Community Festival! 💃🎶

I didn’t share this earlier because we didn’t want to spoil the surprise—but our Kambala Flamenco Group had an incredible time performing at the Battersea Community Festival!

Battersea Community Festival 2025 Video: Question: How many member of Kambala Resident Association can you spot in this video ? (Answer is at the bottom of this post)

This year, with funding from the Royal Academy of Dance, our group had the wonderful opportunity to learn Tangos Flamencos—one of the many beautiful styles of Flamenco dance. Fifteen residents took part in the classes and later performed in front of hundreds of people from our community at the festival but our journey didn’t stop there!

In the summer, Kambala partnered with Cromwell House Hub and I taught our routine to their group as well. It is so nice to collaborate with other hubs and share my culture with them.

We were also part of a full Flamenco production created by our teacher, performed our Tango de Triana choreography for an audience of 300 people at the Brady Art Centre in Whitechapel, and showcased our routine at Casa Manolo, an authentic Spanish restaurant in Clapham Junction—where we also got to enjoy delicious Spanish food! 🇪🇸

Flamenco Fantasy: Tango de Triana (Sold-out Show)

At the festival, we were thrilled by how many people showed interest in joining our classes.

We are now applying for another round of funding through the Wandsworth Grant. If successful, our teacher Lola will continue to guide us—this time teaching us Bulerías, a lively street-style Flamenco dance, while helping us perfect different palmas (clapping) techniques and improve our rhythm and count.

The feedback from our learners has been overwhelmingly positive—many said they felt like they had become part of a new family and that is was a fun way to exercise, get fit and feel that they belong in our community. ❤️

We can’t wait to keep dancing, learning, and celebrating our shared love for Flamenco together at a Spanish Cultural evening in Kambala!

The answer to the quizz above is 4: Sandra, Lisa, Selami and Hilary.

Money Advice Roadshow on 2nd october

Great event that may be useful for our residents. I filmed two of those events in different parts of the borough, and they received great feedback. They have a cohort of council officers, charities and advisers who are ready to listen and help by telling all about the services and help that Wandsworth residents can access.

Te video below was the first Money advice Road show in Roehampton from last year. I thought it was very good event with a range of advisers ready to action and help people with a varied range of services..

Money Advice Roadshow Roehampton

Wandsworth resident engagement update

Get involved and join the Participation register

If you want to get involved in Council-run engagement and scrutiny activities for housing across Wandsworth, you can join the Participation Register.

Let us know the areas and activities you’re interested in, and we’ll contact you when an activity becomes available.

Housing Roadshow Events

We also have our Housing Roadshows coming up. Those events are really great and useful.
I attended many of them when I made the videos below for the council, and this is some of the residents’ feedback.

Talk to the Leader, Council Roadshow, York Gardens Library

I can confirm the below dates and locations; posters and leaflets will go out shortly. Any nearby residents are welcome to attend.

  • 3-7pm – 3 September – Putney Vale Estate – Newlands Hall (Putney Vale Clubroom)
  • 3-7pm – 9 September – Aboyne Estate (and surrounding area) – Aboyne Clubroom
  • 3-7pm – 11 September – William Willison, Orchard & Ackroydon Estates (and surrounding area) – Open Door Community Centre, Keevil Drive
  • 3-7pm – 18 September – Doddington & Rollo (and surrounding area) – Doddington and Rollo Community Association
Talk to the Leader, Council Roadshow, Tooting

As part of the council plans to share the outcome of the Housing Roadshows, they are making changes to the Wandsworth website.

This will include listing the current Resident Associations in each area. To help promote our Resident Associations we can add a contact email or website to the listings so residents can contact you. If you do want us to add contact details, please let me know and supply the website or email you would like displayed.

There will be other opportunities to update them in the future. Resident participation in your area – Wandsworth Borough Council

West Hill Coffee Morning 2023 Long version Horizontal

Residents’ Conference 2025

Speaking of the Residents Conference you can now book free tickets online for 15 October. Tickets are free but they help us plan the event and ask for any requirements. You can find use this link to EventBrite or on the Residents’ Conference page of the Wandsworth Website: Residents’ Conference – Wandsworth Borough Council.

I have attached a digital copy for your noticeboards.

Please do encourage your residents to attend 😊

Help with Booking – If you would like to undertake a group booking for the conference, you can also just email [email protected] and the events team will ask you for the necessary details. If you have residents who are not online, you can book for them through the events team too.  We will need a name, contact information, and whether they have any dietary or accessibility requirements as well as an idea of which workshop they would like to attend.

GDPR ALERT – You should make sure you tell residents who you are booking on behalf of that you are providing this information to Wandsworth for the purposes of the conference and not retain the info afterwards.

Homelife

The latest edition of Homelife will be delivered over the coming weeks. You can find a digital copy here wandsworth.gov.uk/media/kkbccwpr/homelife_july_2025.pdf

It includes an update on the Regulator Judgment, details on the complaints process, an update on some issues with Thames Water, and local news. We rely on your stories to share in Homelife, so please do let us know if you have any good news to share.

🌟 Join the Kambala Resident Association – We Need You! 🌟

Do you care about our community and want to help make it even better? The Kambala Resident Association is looking for passionate, committed residents to join our team.

We currently have three exciting volunteer roles available:

  • 1st Representative – Be the voice of our community and help shape local decisions.
  • 2nd Representative – Support community projects and make sure every resident’s voice is heard.
  • Treasurer – Keep our finances on track and help us fund great community initiatives.

Previous experience preferred but not essential—just enthusiasm, reliability, positivity and a love for Kambala and the community! Volunteering is a great way to meet your neighbours, learn new skills, and make a real difference.

📩 If you’re interested, please contact [email protected] or come and join us on Tuesday 2nd of September in the Kambala Community Clubroom at 8pm.

Let’s work together to keep Kambala thriving! 💛

Spotlight on three talented Kambala Residents

In this post, I am delighted to celebrate three wonderful Kambala residents who make our community brighter every day.

Simon
Tony
Selami

Simon is often spotted on sunny afternoons, skillfully carving rescued wood into stunning works of art.
I enjoyed discovering his sculptures and learning about his passion.

Tony has lovingly created and maintained a hidden garden in the courtyard of one of our blocks, volunteering for years to keep it flourishing. He is also a very talented and quirky scriptwriter.

And Selami, always smiling and ready to lend a hand, inspires healthier lifestyles across the neighbourhood—whether it’s encouraging to help local resident to get fitter, helping the Battersea Park Parkrun on Saturdays, teaching kids table tennis at York Gardens or volunteering his time at the Kambala Resident Association.

These are the people who make Kambala such a special place to call home.

Update from the Eastern Area Housing Panel – 9th July 2025

Last On 9th July 2025, two representatives from KERA attended the Eastern Area Housing Panel meeting to raise ongoing concerns about the inadequate cleaning of communal areas on the Kambala Estate. These concerns have been consistently highlighted by residents, including recent complaints shared in our Kambala Residents’ WhatsApp group.

Some residents reported that certain communal areas had not been cleaned for months, prompting a few individuals to take on the cleaning themselves. There have also been calls for the council to consider refunding leaseholders for cleaning charges if the service is not delivered properly. One resident also requested that the council set up a clear complaints process for reporting neighbours who leave rubbish behind, especially where children play and leave litter in shared spaces.

In response, Kevin Jones, Deputy Estate Services Manager, confirmed he would speak with Atlas Cleaning Company to put an action plan in place and provide direct contact details so issues can be reported more easily. He explained that the council does not use cleaning attendance sheets, as these only show that someone visited, not that the cleaning was done to standard. Instead, the borough uses a team of cleaning inspectors who will now monitor Kambala’s cleaning on a rotating basis. Mr Jones also noted that the current cleaning contract is “output-based” rather than “frequency-based”, meaning cleaners may not sweep or mop if the area is already clean when they visit. He advised residents to avoid cleaning communal areas themselves for now so the council can accurately assess the contractor’s performance.

KERA will invite Atlas to attend one of our upcoming meetings to discuss these issues directly with residents.

Get Involved!

We’re looking for a volunteer to help the Kambala Estate Residents’ Association follow up on the cleaning issues, attend meetings, and chase responses from the council and contractors. If you’d like to get involved, please contact us—your help would make a real difference!

Megaskip is back in Kambala

Great news, will have Mega skip day in Kambala McDermott Close on 26th July !
This is an opportunity to get rid of old sofa, fridge, and broken furniture right on our doorstep.
Mega Skip Days will be held from 9 am until the skips are full, or 12 noon – whichever comes first.


Also as a resident you also get two free bulk collection a year from the council.

Skips will be in the following places: 

  • McDermott Close, SW11 2LY   

To find out the full Megaskip schedule for the summer as well as some more info about the items that cannot be brought to the skip, click on the link below:
https://wandsworth.gov.uk/mega-skip-days

For more information about the free bulk collection:
https://wandsworth.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling/bulky-waste-and-diy-waste-collections/standard-bulky-item-collection-bulkywaste/

Kambala Residents Participate in Strictly Wandsworth!

The Kambala community was proud to be involved in Strictly Wandsworth, the first major public event of Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture 2025 celebrations. This spectacular dance event brought together over 150 dancers from across the borough, representing a wide range of dance styles.

Strictly Wandsworth, 26th April 2025

As a Chair of the Kambala Estate Residents’ Association and a London Borough of Culture Champion, I wanted to involve our resident in the community dance. So I organised a special session for our residents who are part of the Kambala Flamenco class to be involved. They learned the Strictly Wandsworth group dance and took part in a video performance that was premiered at the event choreographed by Jeanefer Jean-Charles who specialised in Mass dance choreography. Her work includes the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on 27 July 2012.

Can you believe that the Strictly Wandsworth dance was performed by over 3000 people on the day at this sold-out event!

I also secured free tickets for some Kambala residents to attend this sold-out celebration. See if you can spot some of our residents doing the Strictly Wandsworth Dance!

Strictly Wandsworth Community Montage

It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved and a great way for our community to be part of this exciting cultural moment for Wandsworth!

Find out more about Strictly Wandsworth on this small documentary created for the event and shown on the day.

Road to Strictly Video

Videography courtesy of Sandra Munoz-Alvarez, ©KeepsakeVideos


Wandsworth London Borough of Culture 2025

Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture 2025 Programme has launched!

Kicking off this April, our year-long celebration will bring people together to enjoy the rich mix of traditions, festivals, food, and arts that make our borough so special. This year is all about showing how culture can spark joy, making us feel happier, healthier and more connected to each other.

LBOC Launch Event at the BAC V2 Horizontal

Sandra Munoz-Alvarez, chair of Kambala Resident Association, is one of the Wandsworth London Borough of Culture’s Champions, and she will make sure to share all the amazing events currently brewing for this amazing year through her Battersea Noticeboard Whatsapp group. The champions are local creatives who share the information, attend funding decision meetings for the various art funds, and are involved directly with the London Borough of Culture. In Kambala, we started the London Borough of Culture year by securing funding from the the Royal Academy of Dance and organising free Flamenco Classes in our community clubroom

Official Launch of LBOC 2025
London borough of culture champions

Get ready for epic experiences: from a mass dance event to huge outdoor concerts, plus festivals of food, heritage and performing arts, all designed to lift spirits, spark creativity, and connect us all.

Culture is for everyone, and 2025 will open doors, offering young people creative opportunities, involving every school, and paving pathways to careers in the arts.

LBOC Launch Event at the BAC

The Official Wandsworth London Borough of Culture video launch was premiered at the BAC Art Centre on the launch day, and another version was displayed later in the evening on the iconic Picadilly Circus screen.

LBOC Screening at Piccadilly Circus Square version

This year is more than an event – it’s a catalyst for change, aiming to improve our wellbeing, strengthen our communities, and celebrate the joy culture brings to our lives.

Visit: welcometowandsworth.com