The Great Big SE4 & SE23 Raffle

Small independent businesses have been hit hard by the lock-down and a raffle has been organised to help them.

There are some great prizes you can win - all purchased from local businesses.

Enter the Great Big SE4 and SE23 Raffle to support local business and win great prizes!
 
Over £6,000 has already been raised from local people.
Find out more and enter the raffle here.

Free Saturday Parking in Forest Hill

Lewisham Council car parks will be free all day Saturday on 6th, 13th and 20th December 2014. This includes Pearcefield Avenue and Perry Vale car parks in Forest Hill.

This will give you a chance to load up on goodies in the wide range of independent business around Forest Hill. More information on some of the local shops can be found at http://totally-locally.co.uk/foresthill/category/hidden-gems/

The car parks are less than 10 minutes walk from Horniman Museum and Gardens which holds Saturday morning markets and many other exciting events.

Totally Locally Forest Hill - Fiver Fest

Visit independent shops in Forest Hill from 4th-8th December for some special deals - from the sweet shop to the pub, and the card shop to the jewellers - they've got something for everybody!

What’s the difference between SEE3, Totally Locally, Local Assemblies and the Forest Hill Society?

In recent conversations with various people, it has become apparent that there is some confusion about the difference between local assemblies, Forest Hill Society, SEE3 and Totally Locally and how they interact.

The Forest Hill Society is a civic society, supported by its members through their membership fees and volunteer actions. The Society has an Executive of about sixteen members who, together with the additional members on its committees, organise the various events, activities, publicity and campaigns which we run. None of the Executive or committee roles are paid.

SEE3, Totally Locally and the local assemblies are all separate local entities with no direct association with Forest Hill Society. However, since we are the sort of people who are passionate about their community, many of the Executive are also heavily involved in these other organisations too.

The local assemblies are Lewisham Council's way of communicating at a local level. These have been running since 2008 and meet about four times per year. Each ward is given a small amount of money to spend each year on the priorities set by their local assembly. Originally, this was £25,000 per year, with an additional £10,000 at the councillor's discretion. These budgets have shrunk to £15,000 and £3750 as Lewisham Council has had to implement cuts. The Forest Hill Society has successfully bid for funding from various local assemblies to support the Food Fair, cover planting and watering at Honor Oak and Forest Hill Stations, install swings and table tennis tables in the Horniman triangle, run the original PopUp Forest Hill and for a few other projects.

In February 2012, we were approached by Lewisham Council who asked various groups in eight wards to submit a bid for £100,000 of government money. Based on these bids, they chose Sydenham and Forest Hill to put forwards a joint bid for Portas Pilot funding. This bid was put together by a group of people which involved Forest Hill and Sydenham Societies, local councillors and various locals whom we had been working with to improve the area.

Unfortunately, our first round bid was unsuccessful, but we had continued working on the problems and asked why our bid had failed. As a result, a modified bid with matched funding from s106 money (planning conditions) was submitted in Round Two, and was successful at the end of July 2012. None of the money will come to the Forest Hill Society. We are, however, represented in the core group and on the Board of SEE3. We are also deeply involved in delivering the various projects. There are three main projects – Jack & Jill hubs, markets and Pop Up shops. There are also additional projects to support existing businesses.

SEE3 is a commercial organisation which aims to improve the town centres by creating events, improving publicity and encouraging new businesses. They are also required to build a Town Team which involves community groups, landlords and traders. The Town Team will define how the town centre evolves over the next ten to twenty years.

One of the prerequisites for the Town Team is a traders' group in each area. As a result, we encouraged Forest Hill's traders to reform the Forest Hill Trader's Association. This had been neglected following the passing of Michael Davey. Totally Locally is the public face of the FHTA. It has nothing to do with SEE3.

Together all these organisations are working together to make a real difference in the local area, and we are proud that the Forest Hill Society is an integral part of this.

Fiver Fest hits Forest Hill

With over 25 local shops and businesses participating, each with their own festive £5 deal, its sure to be a great time to enjoy what the town has to offer.
The event will run from 8th-15th of December with a late night opening on the Thursday 13th.

Details at Totally Locally Forest Hill.

Forest Hill goes Totally Locally

Forest Hill Traders will launch Totally Locally, the award-winning shop local campaign, in Forest Hill on Saturday 22 September with a day of "Totally Locally Fiver Fest" deals - a mini shopping festival for the town where participating shops will have a special £5 offer. This is planned to coincide with the official opening of Forest Hill pools.

Deals on offer will include:

• Any Totally Awesome 12 inch pizza for a Fiver at Question Bar
• A Totally Beautiful Bunch of Flowers for a Fiver at Laurels Florist
• A Totally Bootylicious Fiver deal on a selection of knickers at The Fitting Studio
• A Totally Brilliant offer of three cards for a Fiver at B cards
• A Totally Campervantastic free camper van book with any store purchase at Campervantastic
• A Totally Cool free pair of Children's Disney Character Sunglasses when you spend over £5 on the children's character range at Marie's Boutique
• A Totally Crackers £5 deal on a selection of takeaway meals at Tse's Chinese
• A Totally Dappy £5 off your purchase when you spend £15 or more at Dapper
• A Totally Dazzling £5 Jewellery festival plus £5 off all purchase over £50 at Doopo Doopo
• A Totally Edible 6oz Burger with Fries for a Fiver at lunch and dinner at All Inn One
• A Totally Fabulous voucher for £5 off any hairdressing or spray tan service over £25 at Mirror Mirror. (One per customer and not to be used in conjunction with any other promotion or discount. To be used before October 31st)
• A Totally Gobstoppering 100g bag of sweets free at Sugar Mountain when you spend a Fiver
• A Totally Gorgeous offer of buy any 2 items and get the 3rd for £5 (*cheapest item) with a free glass of bubbly upon entry at Best of Both Boutique
• A Totally Herbally 4 herbs for a Fiver (normally £1.69 each) at Shannon's Garden Centre
• A Totally Hilarious 2 tickets for a fiver for the comedy on Sept. 22nd at 9pm for at The Hob. That's a saving of £8
• A Totally Magnificant £5 off with every £20 spent, plus free Victorian themed sweets and beverages served all day at Bunka
• A Totally Potty choice of panini from the Totally Locally Menu with any drink and a home made brownie for a Fiver at The Teapot
• A Totally Proper pint or a Pimms with a pancake for a Fiver at Canvas and Cream
• A Totally Radical £5 off all purchases over £50 at Finches Ski and Bike
• A Totally Relaxing Coffee and a Sandwich for a Fiver at Aga's Little Deli
• A Totally Satisfying Half Dipped Beef Sandwich and a drink for a Fiver at Sylvan Post. There will also be a carnival atmosphere with live bands and prizes, cocktails and capers
• A Totally Spicy £5 off eat in meal between 5.30-7.30 pm at Thai Orchard
• A Totally Staggering £10 worth of haberdashery for a Fiver, or a 'mind-Bowing' £5 off any workshop booked on the day at Stag and Bow
• A Totally Tropical and Delicious selection of medium meat and vegetarian dishes for a Fiver at Black Hummingbird
• A Totally Watchable 3 DVDs for a Fiver at For Your Eyes Only

Shoppers will be able to collect a map showing the location of the offers from the Totally Locally stall at the official opening of Forest Hill Pools.

Forest Hill is the latest of many towns across the UK to take up the Totally Locally campaign. This free initiative supports Forest Hill's traders to show the value of local shopping and its benefits for the local economy. Many of the shops, businesses and stalls will have special offers - highlighting Totally Locally's message that if everyone in Forest Hill spent just £5 a week in their local independent shops, it would bring an extra £3.5 million into the town's economy every year.

"This is a chance for locals to discover Forest Hill's great shops and businesses, and the real difference they make to our town," said Totally Locally organiser, Serge Sumerling. "Many of my customers have often told me how much of a thriving place Dartmouth Road once was, with butchers, green grocers, fishmongers, you name it along it"...."You could say there's a bit of a buzz on the street right now and local residents both old and new, are taking a real interest in what's happening and want to be a part of it. I guess we want to find a way to celebrate all the good things happening and to help put Forest Hill back on the map. There are so many people in Forest Hill who really care about their town, are proud of its heritage and want to be a part of its bright future. I'm just one of them... to me its London's Hidden Gem that just needs a little dusting off!

"The launch at the Pools opening is one of many events we have planned this year. It’s all about appreciating and celebrating what we have here on our doorstep.

"Totally Locally has had a big impact on the towns that have run the campaign. We are confident that it can do the same for Forest Hill. We have a wealth of wonderful shops here and Totally Locally will highlight the hidden gems right on our doorstep," continued Serge.

"Totally Locally celebrates all local businesses, from Forest Hill's florists to accountants, from clothes shop to gift shops", said Nigel Goddard from Totally Locally. "These small businesses support many other local businesses, which keep the local economy alive. It’s what the whole fabric of a town like this is built on. The stronger the local economy, the better it is for the whole town".

"Totally Locally isn’t anti-supermarket or anti-internet", said Totally Locally founder, Chris Sands. "There is a place for all these things in our lives. It’s just highlighting how a small change in spending habits can make a huge change to Forest Hill. We have a choice to make the place we live that little bit better by just diverting £5 of our weekly spend back into our local economy. And everyone wants their town to be great, don’t they?!".

For more information about Totally Locally visit their website at www.totally-locally.co.uk/foresthill/

Forest Hill Pools pass final milestone

Lewisham Council have finally taken possession of the new leisure complex on Dartmouth Road and Fusion Lifestyle were given the keys on Tuesday.

We have been reluctant to post any updates recently given previous false starts, but the final fit out of the gymnasium and other areas now begins in earnest so that the pools can be opened before the official opening on Saturday 22 September.

There will be a day long feast of entertainment, activities and fun throughout the area. While Forest Hill Pools will be one of the main focus areas with taster sessions, tours of the new facility, exhibitions and more, there will be other activities going on.

Forest Hill Library will have a Victorian theme, with story telling sessions, the chance to record your memories of Forest Hill in days gone by and some creative writing opportunities. There will be entertainers throughout the day, traditional Victorian board games and free Victorian sweets.

The day will also be a chance to find out more about the Portas Pilot - an initiative to help regenerate the area and drop in on Sydenham School as they celebrate their 95th anniversary.

Forest Hill Traders will be launching their "Totally Locally" campaign (more on this later). Havelock Walk's artists will also have their amazing original art and design on display.

Truly a day with something for everyone.