Millbank Community

Millbank Community Millbank Conservation Area consists of Millbank Estate, Tate Britain and ChelseaUAL. The TMO is currently a shadow of itself. MCW also pioneered the FoodTrolley.

Millbank Estate was founded in 1896 and built over a decade utilising recycled bricks from the former Millbank Prison. The new neighbourhood became known for having a number of engaged residents and looking after their neighbours. In 1996 a number of social housing tenants formed Millbank TMO to manage Millbank Estate better than the Council and for residents to benefit from added value such an or

ganisation aims to create. Depending on the board's chairman at the time, it had its ups and downs with its best years during 2008-14, when it became a nationally recognised, award-winning organisation. Under its then chairman, it also formed relationships with neighbourhood stakeholder organisations. After a number of new leaseholders rejected a stock transfer, a new board driven by some leaseholders, introduced a restructuring process focusing on cutting costs. Suffering from negative aspects of gentrification and an influx of extremely expensive new housing bought mainly by foreign investors, traditional Millbank estate residents were threatened to be marginalised and a number had to move out as housing became unaffordable. Previously committed board members still living on the estate turned to MillbankCreativeWorks, which since has become a recognised and award-winning hub for local activities. MCW and its model of utilising a combination of creative and sustainability projects as community driver, have become a partner of Chelsea UAL. College curriculum driven projects are linked with local residents activities that are documented in research, exhibitions and enhanced with public workshops. MCW works also closely with Tate Britain. MCW members are most active in the Moat Community Garden and run the FoodTrolley. They also work with college students and staff on researching local issues and design related solutions. Together with ChelseaUAL BAISD, MCW is also linking up with Thorney Island Society in an effort to rejuvenate local heritage and strengthen scrutiny in neighbourhood planning. With Tate Britain environmental team support, MCW is also running a number of workshops, utilising creative Upcycling to explore and stimulate public discourse on body and mind awareness issues. Since its inception, MCW is also organising the Big Lunch at Millbank, a national annual event celebrating good neighbourhoods with a public picnic. Surplus foods from markets and local shops are distributed to locals with tight budgets and living in isolation. The weekly visit entails a proper chat and further help where additional needs are discovered. MCW members are also supporting a number of elderly residents so that they can stay in their homes instead of being moved to a sheltered home.

We tried in 2014 and the then Tory Council leadership slapped the local community in the face. 12 years later under new ...
26/03/2026

We tried in 2014 and the then Tory Council leadership slapped the local community in the face. 12 years later under new leadership we got the space back. The former Pimlico Library is again becoming a true community hub. Apart from MCW many other groups are using it right ftom the start and yesterday it was announced that this year’s will join too.
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11/03/2026

It’s become much better. But lately we have small poops left on pavements around Millbank and Marsham Street areas.

11/03/2026

There are more and more protest and charity events taking place in Central London. Consider the impact on people who live along Millbank? Noise from overflying police and media helicopters, rubbish left behind and urine stench clouds filling street and Courtyard corners. Would you want these all regularly where you live?

Tate Britain Roses 🌹 Some of Tate Britain’s rose bushes - until now gracing the front of the Gallery - are replanted in ...
22/02/2026

Tate Britain Roses 🌹
Some of Tate Britain’s rose bushes - until now gracing the front of the Gallery - are replanted in Ruskin/Rossetti Courtyard. Rewarding MillbankCreativeWorks’ longstanding voluntary sustainability and creative engagement was recognised by giving permission to replant the remaining plants after Tate employees had taken their share. Millbank residents care about continuation and legacy.

With the new Clore Garden project planning application finally approved, the front spaces to the sides of the entrance stairs plus the ugly and largely empty tarmac space - safe for a small taxi space - will be turned into an enhanced green garden with trees and an event greenhouse with community access.

It all fits perfect into ’s proposed idea to create a “Green Lung” from Victoria Tower Gardens, across Millbank neighbourhood, bridging across Vauxhall Bridge Street to the forthcoming Lupus Street project. Organised by volunteering residents The Greener Millbank initiative will be running public workshops proposed to take place at the forthcoming Rampayne Street Community Hub.




A Thank YouWe think it is time that someone says thank you to those Millbank residents who were volunteering their time...
31/12/2025

A Thank You
We think it is time that someone says thank you to those Millbank residents who were volunteering their time and skills as MEMO board members in 2025. Thank you Francesco, Oscar, Rimantas and Wilfried taking on the respondibilities and extra work as officers. And acclamation goes also to the other board members, namely Eva, Mark, Kristof and Juan. Taking MEMO out of the mess it was in by 2023 and achieving this in only 2 years is a true stunner. This was only possible with the expertise of Faisal Pirphai and Chris Tabi, both joining the organisation 2 years ago as senior staff members.

Victorian Christmas HistoryAt the beginning of the Victorian period, the celebration of Christmas was in decline. The In...
25/12/2025

Victorian Christmas History

At the beginning of the Victorian period, the celebration of Christmas was in decline. The Industrial Revolution, in full swing in Dicken’s time, allowed workers little time for the celebration of Christmas.

The Christmas stories of Dickens, particularly his 1843 masterpiece A Christmas Carol, rekindled the joy of Christmas in Britain and America. A Christmas Carol continues to be relevant, sending a message that cuts through the materialistic trappings of the season and gets to the heart and soul of the holidays.

It made a permanent mark on how Christmas is viewed and celebrated in modern times. You could say that every aspect of the festive season – turkeys, mince pies, mistletoe, present giving, and overall merriment – was down to Dickens’ portrayal of Scrooge’s spiritual transformation.

Charles Dickens reminded his readers that a joyful Christmas morning does not require money or wealth, but heart, love, and family. Sometimes incorrectly known as ‘the man who invented Christmas’ Dickens influenced the spirit of Christmas we know and love to celebrate today! Particularly in consideration of renewed hard times many people find themselves in right now. Does that Christmas message resonate into policymaking we trusted into tbe hands of the elected and unelected powers of our land?

We hope everybody enjoys Christmas in their own best way. Please don’t spoil it for other residents by discarding your t...
25/12/2025

We hope everybody enjoys Christmas in their own best way. Please don’t spoil it for other residents by discarding your tree in the streets or Courtyards. Like every year Westminster City Council has installed a deposit point at Erasmus Street‘s Micro Recycling Center, where you also can recycle small electrical goods, books, clothes, glass bottles and cardboard boxes. However, it is not a space for dumping removed boilers , mattresses and building materials. Millbank residents established a reputation as good recyclers and taking care of their Couryards.
Keep it up for 2026!




Westminster Council is really driving home how urgent sustainability awareness and action are. You can now learn related...
12/12/2025

Westminster Council is really driving home how urgent sustainability awareness and action are. You can now learn related skills by attending a new skills hub. Bus 36 gets you there from Millbank.

22/11/2025

Millbank Estate residents have become dedicated Food waste recyclers and have been at the forefront of recycling and greening initiatives being part of Westminster Recycling Champions and MillbankCreativeWorks initiating the concept of the Moat Community Garden 25 years ago, followed by many other creative sustainability projects including recycling awareness popup desks.



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22/11/2025

Millbank Estate TMO - MEMO started to build residents’ recycling and general sustainability awareness 2 decades ago when board member Wilfried Rimensberger contacted neighbouring Tate Britain to find creative ways to engage with residents who would be interested in environmental improvements. Eventually he met with Ashley McCormack who had joined the Museum as its first local community engagement officer. Ashley was invited to run art workshops with the local kids. They were encouraged to create artworks using various techniques including collages made with recycled paper. Since then Millbank - usually with MillbankCreativeWorks organising - has played an important role in local waste recycling, greening and supporting wider environmental initiatives such as Westminster Recycling Champions, workshops in schools and Community Hubs. During 2014 food was first recycled at the MCW initiated Moat Community Garden where a food composter was installed. Garden compost was already produced since 2013 when the Moat Garden went life. In 2016 Millbank residents volunteered for 2 years monitoring the new locsl recycling Centers installed across Pimlico and Millbank’s neighbourhood. This was part of WCC’s Bin It Win It campaign. MCW was again coordinated and recruiting needed volunteers. At the same time creative Upcycling workshops where started at Tate Britain with their new sustainability team supporting, the Pimlico Resource Centre and Abbey Community Centre were further workshop locations. There is a whole collection of artefacts, including the Frankie Stein . Next was MCW’s . Surplus food was collected from the Washhouse Café. The food was portioned up, loaded into a recycled shopping trolley and distributed to mostly elderly people on tight budgets. During COVID lockdown, the Foodtrolley was from day one distributing food and providing other help when other organisations kicked in weeks later. Since 2024 initiative is being built up. The initiator behind these voluntary work and a number of other local community enhancing projects has now become one of Veolia’s recycling pinups used in a new awareness campaign by Westminster City Council. Incidentally, bananas are one of his favourite fruits, he likes Andy Warhol’s art and has created a collage replica of that famous banana. Recycling can be made fun. Why don’t you?

Tonight expect the witches to follow the moon and flying over Millbank.
06/11/2025

Tonight expect the witches to follow the moon and flying over Millbank.

Address

Millbank Creative Works, Community Projects, 36a Ruskin House
London
SW1P4HU

Telephone

+447958766337

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