The idea of replicating the on-line community of redbricks.org.uk has inched slowly nearer now that the decision has been made to target the north side of the borough and in particular the New Cross Gate area. The reason for this decision is down to the criteria of the Department of Education and Employment (Dfee) who are currently looking for local authorities to take up the 'Wired-up' community initiative and move it forward in a bid to bridge the 'digital divide'.

Lewisham Council are now waiting to hear whether they are one of the chosen ten who will benefit from £10 million that Dfee are putting forward in an attempt to give more people greater access to computers, the Internet but more importantly community based Intranets.

A Community Intranet is not something everyone can readily identify with immediately. The idea has similarities to what large organisations and businesses use to filter information to all members of staff and can carry all manner of data. On a housing estate this can be used to buy and sell, carry on-line discussions, be used as an emergency alert system to notify residents of incidences of crime, a communication system where all those with a computer can email one another as well as a notice board for what’s going on locally.

Being on-line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for £12 a month also benefits and encourages residents to get more involved in computing and learning computer skills. This can give low income groups greater accessibility to packages not normally available to them and can lead to the discovery of potential website designers and computer programmers.

The Expression of Interest submitted to Dfee on behalf of Lewisham Council had to be linked to other regeneration funding streams such as SRB and Sure Start in order to qualify through to the next round. It was with this in mind that the New Cross Gate area was chosen as it was bidding for a £50 million New Deal for Communities programme to regenerate many of the deprived parts.

A consultant from the on-line community of Redbricks has been in the borough of Lewisham helping to identify people and places around the New Cross Gate area that would be suitable for replication. The areas that have been chosen are those which are deemed not only suitable by geography but also by the make up of the community that exist there.

One area in particular that lends itself well is the Winslade Estate on the boundary of Lewisham and Southwark just off Ilderton Road. The lay out and design of this estate would make the issue of cabling the area much easier due to a series of ducts that exist beneath the walkways. There is also shop space on the estate that could be utilised as a ‘drop-in’ centre for local residents to call into so that they could offer local skills to the project.