Chair's Report

Things are moving fast in Forest Hill and so writing my introduction is harder than usual as I am writing it in mid-May. So apologies if anything is a little out of date and keep checking our website for more information www.foresthillsociety.com.

We were pleased that council officers were able to come to our May General Meeting to talk about their plans for Forest Hill Pools. We hope that before demolition begins we have a proposed building that is acceptable to the majority of local residents and plans for a pool truly fit for the 21st century. We will keep you updated about this important issue. We want to make sure your views are heard.

Southern Rail are planning to install ticket barriers at Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park stations this June and although this would seem like a good development there are still a few concerns regarding their plans for limiting access from Perry Vale to Forest Hill station. The ticket barriers in the ticket offices will take Oyster cards, but will not accept pre-pay Oyster cards until 2010 in line with the plans for pre-pay roll out across the London train services. We continue to remain concerned about access to Forest Hill station from the Perry Vale side and will be lobbying hard on this issue.

Both the pools and the train services are big ways in which we expect to see improvements in Forest Hill but we also want to see improvements to our high streets. One of the keys ways for this to happen is for us all to SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. The Forest Hill Society is taking an active role in encouraging this by setting up The 23 Club. More about The 23 Club inside this newsletter, but to give you the basics it is your chance to help support local restaurants and at the same time meet other people, like you, who are passionate about Forest Hill. I hope to see you on the 23rd June at Kafe La for the first 23 Club.

With Forest Hill Day, Blythe Hill Fields Fun Day, and open days at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve and Havelock Walk all happening in June, this month is a great reminder of why Forest Hill is such a great place to live. We hope to see you at many of these events.

We're having our first ever Forest Hill Society Summer Barbecue on Saturday August 23rd at the Perry Hill pub. This is a lunchtime 23 Club event so one for the whole family to enjoy.

As a final note, looking forward to the Autumn and our AGM, we would be delighted if members would be interested in getting more involved in the Society - helping with deliveries of newsletters, joining one of the committees (transport, development, communications, Executive), or taking over from me in chairing the society. There is lots to do so please get involved. If you want more information about ways you can help, please feel free to email or call me at any time.

Michael Abrahams, Chair, Forest Hill Society