Sadiq Khan comes to Forest Hill to launch proposal for London-wide Ultra Low Emissions Zone

In March 2022, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan came to Forest Hill to visit Forest Hill Secondary School and announced his proposal to extend the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) from the south and north circular roads to include all of Greater London.

Back in 2018, when the mayor was consulting about the ULEZ that came into effect in October 2021, at that time the Forest Hill Society responded to the consultation with one clear message: “Recognising the need for action to combat poor air quality, the Society would support a larger ULEZ, extending even to the full extent of Greater London.”

This proposal is particularly good news for South London and for Forest Hill. The south circular is much closer to the centre of London than the north circular. While the boundary in North London is a large duel-carriageway, the south circular is a more modest road that goes right through the heart of communities − as Forest Hill residents know only too well.

By extending the ULEZ to the whole of Greater London, there will be less pollution for miles beyond the South circular and this will hopefully have a positive impact on the health of local residents.

The proposed timescale is ‘end of 2023’, after which time drivers with more polluting vehicles will be charged £12.50 to drive anywhere in Great London – the same charge already applies to vehicles within the current ULEZ.

The Forest Hill Society welcomes this initiative and is delighted that the mayor chose Forest Hill as the place to launch this proposal.

Calling Educators, Creative Practitioners & Learning Providers

Forest Hill School will be hosting a family learning event on Saturday 26th October 2013 aimed at engaging with the parents/carers, children and young people (including extended family members) attending primary or secondary schools in west Lewisham or living in the Borough. The event will run from 10am to 4pm.

They would like to invite local groups (or individuals) to apply to take part in this event! For no charge, you can promote your services directly to a family audience by delivering a workshop of your choice. This is a valuable opportunity to show off the exciting opportunities that each organisation can offer, and hopefully build relationships that will lead to future work. The event's title and theme is ‘Connected’, referencing the connections between learning, achievement and well-being and families, generations and communities that the event aims to highlight and foster.

Forest Hill School aims to select a broad range of workshops covering both art and non-art subject areas, representing provision available across the formal and informal learning sectors. To register your interest, please email cpa@foresthillschool.co.uk by 5pm Friday 7th June 2013 to obtain an expressions of interest form.

Bryn Coedwig

Aber (or Bryn Coedwig, which is Forest Hill in Welsh) Outdoor Education Centre, a much loved centre that has been frequented by pupils and staff from Forest Hill School for over 40 years, is in desperate need of some attention.

Two ex Head Teachers are heading up the ‘Aber Action Team’ with local residents of Forest Hill and trying to get the community involved. The building is showing signs of fatigue and many, many years of wear and tear. Unless something is done now, the future of adventurous experiences for children at Aber will be under threat.

The Aber Action Team, which also includes several members of the Widehorizons Trustees, intends to spend a week at the centre from 27th February where they will be decorating and undertaking repairs. If you would like to help the team in any way, you can donate at AberActionTeam on Virgin Money Giving or contact the charity directly on (020) 8850 1581.

20mph Zone in Forest Hill

Below is the Forest Hill Society response to Lewisham council's plans for a 20mph zone between Wood Vale and Devonshire Road.

The Forest Hill Society Executive, after reviewing the council’s own statistics and proposed plan, could not support this proposed 20mph zone as it is, nor could we support the road humps being introduced in this wholesale manner. There is widespread support for this view from the Tewkesbury Lodge Estate Residents Association (TLERA), although they will respond separately.

This view was confirmed by the council’s own statistics showing the maximum speed that 85% of traffic are travelling at along these roads are in most cases below the 24mph guidelines.

There were some strong views from the Executive committee that most people “would prefer that drivers kept their eyes on the road, and not their speed odometers”. There was general agreement that most people did not perceive a speeding problem in this area, and council statistics showed that there was not a significant accident problem either. One other view/comment was “the money spent on this consultation could be better spent on improving the bus stop at Sydenham Rise, which would only cost £8k-£10k and benefit the wider community greatly”.

Therefore, the Forest Hill Society asks that Lewisham Council abandon this proposed 20mph Zone and humps as is, and instead look at a more targeted, and better value for money approach summarised below:

• Manor Mount - statistics shows that of 85% drivers are going below 23mph, which is well within government guidelines. The drivers going down the “wrong way” go at 30.9mph because they are trying to avoid being caught.
• We believe it would be better to have temporary or permanent cameras in place on the one-way Manor Mount System, or a sign saying “mobile traffic enforcement cameras operate in this area” to discourage people entering the wrong way down this road, and thus bring speeds below 23mph and thus no need to introduce a 20mph zone on this street.
• We support some limited speed restrictions or traffic calming outside schools, nurseries or places where known accident hot spots are, say at junctions. Although, as per council’s own statistics there is no widespread accident problem within the proposed 20mph zone.
• Waldenshaw Road - This road does appear to have a minor speeding problem of average 27.3 for one-way and 31.5mph for the other, after looking at the Lewisham Council statistics. However, the Forest Hill Society ask that Lewisham Council look to other means of speed control, which does not involve reduction in parking spaces or road humps/cushions.
• General - If against our recommendation the council does pursue their proposed 20mph zone, then we would be happy to work with Lewisham Council to come up with a sensible plan that is targeted and meets local needs.

In summary we welcome the opportunity to consult on this proposal, and ask that Lewisham Council abandon the proposal and implement the above suggestions as an alternative which will be just as effective, but not be anywhere near as costly to implement and run. The money could be better spent on other road improvement work and real safety measures.

Jerk Cookout Festival

Date: Sun 9 August
Times: 1 - 6pm
Venue: Horniman Gardens

Come to the biggest and best Jerk Cookout competition live from the Horniman Gardens. Relax in our award-winning green oasis, listen to sizzling live music, sample the finest Jerk in south London from the many stalls competing, and buy fantastic gifts.

The Forest Hill Society will have a stall, so look out for us and buy an SE23 fairy cake or our special gingerbread people!

23 Club Update

June 23rd is the first anniversary of the 23 Club. It’s really taken off and exceeded our expectations. Thank you to Mary who organises the venues, thank you to Rob for coming up with the idea, thank you to all our members who’ve supported the event and thank you to the local restaurants who’ve given us a great welcome and twelve enjoyable evenings of good food and good company.

A quick recap of where we’ve been since the last Newsletter:- In March, the 23 Club went to the Old Bank restaurant in Honor Oak for some excellent, authentic Italian food. You can see your food being prepared as the main kitchen area is in full view. With the restaurant busy, the service was a little slow, but the results were worth waiting for!

On April 23rd, we celebrated St George’s Day and Shakespeare’s birthday, choosing from an excellent and imaginative menu at the Dartmouth Arms, a gastropub with car park in Dartmouth Road. One member, Bernard Keeffe, rose to his feet and recited the topical passage from Henry V, getting a round of applause from everyone there!

We hope you’ll continue to support the 23 Club in its second year. The restaurants we have chosen for the Summer months feature delicious dishes from Bangladesh, Spain and England at reasonable prices. And please note that because August 23rd falls on a Sunday, we’ve turned it into a family-friendly Club event and we’ll be meeting at 1pm.

Tuesday June 23 at 8pm : Elachi – (Bangladeshi) 16-23 Sunderland Road SE23 2PR : Phone 8699 0866

Thursday July 23 at 8pm : Try (formerly Tapastry) - Spanish tapas 39 Honor Oak Park SE23 1DZ : Phone 8291 2822

Sunday August 23 at 1pm : Forest Hill Tavern – lunchtime, family friendly get-together 108 Forest Hill Road SE22 0RS : Phone 8693 0338

Just to remind you, the 23 Club is open to Forest Hill Society members and their guests. Please make your booking directly with the restaurant, saying you want to be seated with the Forest Hill Society or 23 Club group. Everyone orders and pays separately for their meal. Do please book so that the restaurant can arrange the seating in advance – thank you.

Forest Hill School Report

Recent report from Forest Hill School for BBC Schools' News Reports.

General Meeting - 7th May

The Forest Hill Society will be having a General Meeting on Wednesday 7th May at 7:30pm (doors open 7pm) at Forest Hill School on Dacres Road. This will be a chance to discuss issues that you feel are important for the Forest Hill Society to address in the local area. We will have two guest speakers from Lewisham Council; Aileen Buckton, Executive Director for Community Services, and Steve Gough, Director of Programme Management and Property, who will be giving us the latest information on the rebuilding of Forest Hill Pools, one of the most important issues for the development of our town centre.

Members and non-members are welcome.

Official Re-Opening of Forest Hill School

Forest Hill School had its official reopening this evening with wonderful performances by pupils. Earlier in the day my good friends Jake and Mathew (ex-pupils like me) went along to help a group of students put together a video for the BBC school report project. Their video celebrating their yellow school can be seen below with more details at http://foresthillschoolnewsreport.blogspot.com/