Brownfield Land

The recent experiences with Tyson Road raised a number of questions, including the definition of 'brownfield land'.

The term is a broadbrush statement and, as always, government policy, as set out in Planning Policy Statement 3 (Housing), is not necessarily definitive.

Recent guidance, however, has moved away from using the term brownfield land to an even more broadbrush term of “previously developed land.” The latest government planning documents define “previously developed land” as “that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure.” In the case of the Tyson Road development, part of the site was occupied by garages and hardstanding and for this reason this part of the site could be described as previously developed.

There is a commitment from the Government to build 60% of new homes on land that has been previously developed. This is a controversial subject and the drive to build new homes on brownfield is open to some abuse.

Gardens are classified as brownfield allowing developers to build dense housing in the midst of residential areas potentially increasing pressure on local drainage, for example.

Most people recognise that there's an obvious difference between brownfield land such as that behind Tyson Road and industrial brownfield sites. But developers are more likely to look out for the Tyson Road type of "previously developed" land because it offers greater profit.

Converting derelict, industrial buildings into new homes can involve considerable costs in decontamination and other remedial work.

Objecting to a Planning Application

Objecting to a planning application needs careful thought. It is important to remember that any objection must be based on valid planning reasons and should therefore relate to policies contained within the Unitary Development Plan (see Lewisham Council website).

The local authority is not concerned with the impact of development on property prices or the ability to sell one’s house.

Subjective matters should be avoided. Architecture and Design is always a difficult matter on which to object because there are no hard and fast rules about what constitutes good architecture. It is therefore imperative to concentrate on the objective, those things that can be valued – density, open space provision, car parking or bicycle provision.

The key to remember is that objections need to be substantive and relate to sound reasons for refusal. If you do want any advice on objecting to specific proposals, please contact the Forest Hill Society and we will be happy to discuss how best to proceed.

The Not So Common Toad

The Wildside - A regular look at the non human residents of SE23

The Common Toad used to be really common in SE23 twenty or thirty years ago. But, as so often, loss of habitat has meant a serious decline. In London as a whole, 90% of natural ponds have disappeared and this is disastrous for toads who aren’t good at colonising new areas.

Toads aren’t impressed with your average garden pond, so beloved of frogs and newts. A toad is looking for something altogether bigger and deeper. This is where the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve has been so successful. About 7 years ago, they created a large, deep pond and acquired toad spawn from Catford. Now, there is a very healthy toad colony there, which returns every March to breed.

Once established in a pond they like, toads usually do well. There aren’t many creatures that’ll attempt to eat even toad tadpoles. They’re very poisonous! Unlike frogs, toads spend most of their lives on land; they only use the water for breeding. And they have excellent homing skills, always returning to the pond in which they were born. So on warm, damp nights in Spring, Forest Hill toads will make the long, dangerous journey back to their breeding pond on Devonshire Road. Many won’t make it.

So how do you tell the difference between a toad and a frog? The most obvious difference is their skin. Frogs have moist, smooth skin. Toads have drier, bumpier skin, often brownish. Frog spawn forms large clumps, whereas toad spawn forms long ropes.

George Orwell was fascinated by the Common Toad and in 1946 wrote an essay in which he said watching them return to their breeding ponds was one of the things he loved best about spring. He felt reassured by the fact that you could still enjoy this sight in London even though "atom bombs are piling up in the factories and the police are prowling through the cities." So if you’d like to see the creatures that inspired Orwell, do visit the Devonshire Road Nature reserve at its next open day on 25th March or with the Forest Hill Society on 15th April. They may not fire up your political fervour but, if you’re lucky, they’ll give you a true sense of Springtime.

Between Sunderland Road and Trilby Road

For many residents in SE23, the path between Trilby Road and Sunderland Road is an excellent shortcut to and from the station. Following an incident in November, the Forest Hill Society requested that action be taken to improve this pathway.

Since then a number of meetings have taken place involving Councillor John Paschoud, representatives of Forest Hill Society, the police, Perrymount School, Lewisham Council and the Methodist Church. As a result we have already improved the lighting by removing branches from a tree blocking the lamppost and plans are coming together to spend some of the Perry Vale locality fund on other improvements to this path, including:

• Removal of all old concrete fence-posts along the path
• Fencing across the Sunderland Road end (to prevent cars entering the alley)
• Convex mirror on lamppost at Trilby Road end
• Planting along school edge
• Planting to soften concrete wall bounding nature reserve
• Hedge or similar along flats edge
• Possible replacement of concrete wall on boundary with house on Trilby Road
• Resurfacing of the path

We are also hopefully that the overgrown area on Shipman Rd can be improved to make a better exit from this end of the path.

See also Tree Axed

Rockbourne Youth Club Celebrates 25 years

Rockbourne Youth Club (Rockbourne Rd) has been a haven for young people in SE23 for a quarter of a century. The club is open Friday nights for under 13’s and Thursdays for seniors. Special needs and specialist clubs are run on other evenings. Many young people today don’t have access to a safe outdoor space so a club like Rockbourne is vital to the community. The club also runs holiday programmes to provide a productive, supportive and safe environment during school holidays.

On a typical night, about 22 – 30 young people attend Rockbourne. They can play sport in the gym, table tennis, pool and table football. There are also more structured, adult-led sessions. These comply with the Government’s new strategy for education – Every Child Matters – which is all about keeping safe and healthy, enjoyment and making a positive contribution to society. At the moment, Rockbourne is using Arts and Sports sessions to focus on these goals. And the club is sending young people to Millwall on the ‘Junior Sports Leader award’ scheme.

A popular room is the computer suite, donated by a local hostel resident. When he came into some money, he decided that Rockbourne was a worthy cause. The ‘John Jolly computer suite’ provides the young people with safe, monitored computer access and training in computer skills.

Lewisham Youth Service provides the grant for the running of the building and a management committee oversees the spending of funds. Any additional money has to be raised by the Club. Recently the club raised £10,000 for a new bus minibus with the Variety Club finding the balance. ‘Girls Aloud’ presented the bus to the club in a West End presentation!

The Club is regularly inspected and all volunteers have to be CRB checked by Lewisham Council. The venue can be hired and many other local organizations regularly use this space.

BUT….. running a club like this takes commitment from the staff, the volunteers and the Rockbourne Youth Club committee. Help is always needed, especially from people who can play an active role on the committee, volunteer for sessions or help with general maintenance. In particular, the Club is looking for a treasurer and fund raisers. If you think you can help the Forest Hill Society can put you in touch, please contact us by email.

Social Events

The Forest Hill Society isn't just about campaigns and petitions and planning objections. We do occasionally like to get together for a bit of fun.

On the 21st January, about 30 members enjoyed what we loosely described as a pub crawl. It was craftily designed to take in both Honor Oak Park and Forest Hill allowing people to join and leave as convenient.

The first stop was Bar Equal with its extensive choice of cocktails and the rare dark Budweis on draft. Jason kindly opened up his tapas bar, Tapastry, over the road especially for us and provided some welcome nibbles. Then it was a short trek to probably the only true backstreet boozer in the area (shamefully, many of us were unaware of this traditional hostelry) - the General Napier in Bovill Road. There were gasps of "change from a fiver for two pints!".

Finally, we finished at the Foresters (see picture below), where Richard laid on some lovely nosh to soak up the alcohol. A great evening for making new friends!

There was less drinking and more walking on the History Tour of Forest Hill on 25th February, led by local historian, Steve Grindlay. A lesser man would have been a bit intimidated addressing a sea of 70 expectant faces (we hadn't expected the Tour to be so popular!) but Steve rose to the challenge magnificently.

We started at Christ Church on South Road before we were led into ever higher altitudes, culminating on the summit of Canonbie Road. On the way we encountered militia groups, a canal, a German Girls School, a folly and Walter de la Mare! Steve is a fantastic source of information and conveys it with great enthusiasm.

We'll try and persuade him to devise another History Tour for us in the not-too-distant future.

A New Building for a New Century

Forest Hill Methodist Church has been in Stanstead Road since 1896. However, in recent years the congregation has recognised the need for a more modern, user-friendly building and a desire to move away from the busy, light industrial area. Much more importantly though, was the desire to be at the heart of the community.

Fortunately, the Church owned some land with a thriving sports club in Normanton Street. Over the years, the club premises fell into disrepair and the site became derelict. Thus the decision to move to Normanton Street was made. For more than ten years, we were hampered by a host of challenges. But our ambition to become part of community life will be realised in April 2007 with the official opening in May.

We now have a new, modern, landmark church building with fine facilities. They are for not only for Church use but also for the local community and will be available to rent. We particularly look forward to welcoming Perrymount School who will be using some of our facilities each week.

The two outdoor tennis courts can also be used for 5 a-side football and basketball. There are large garden spaces and an ecology / conservation area. The indoor spaces include two large halls, a medium-sized meeting room and a consulting room. It is wheelchair-friendly throughout and all areas are flexible in their uses.

It is truly a wonderful place with great atmosphere and many opportunities for the residents of Forest Hill. Thanks to the congregation who, in 1923, had the vision and courage to buy the land and to the 21st Century congregation who have transformed it into a modern place of worship! Now we are fulfilling our greatest ambition – to be at the heart of the community.

Forest Hill Society Survey

When we designed our membership forms we included a section in which we asked you to indicate your areas of interest so that we would know where best to focus our resources. Here’s what your answers told us.

Shops and amenities were identified by the most people, perhaps reflecting disappointment over the current state of our high street. Transport was also seen as important, against the uncertainty surrounding the East London Line extension.

Crime was identified as an issue by fewer people than almost all other issues. While we should not be complacent, we hope that we can take some satisfaction from this and continue to enjoy living in an area that is rather less affected by crime than most of London.

Trains to Forest Hill Discussed in Parliament

Today the House of Commons discussed train services to Forest Hill in an Adjournment Debate: Impact on Network Rail services of the Southern extension to the East London Line (Jim Dowd).

You can view the debate on Parliament TV website, jump to approximately 90% through the broadcast to view Jim Dowd MP proposing the motion. Jim Dowd made the concerns of the Forest Hill Society and local residents very clear to The House and praised the Forest Hill Society and other local groups for their campaigning on this issue. The debate covered many of the key issues for the Forest Hill Society and made sure that the Department for Transport is very aware of the concerns of local residents in Lewisham.

We would like to thank Jim Dowd for raising this issue with the minister in parliament.

Hansard transcript of this debate currently available here.

Sydenham Society Public Meeting - Wednesday 14th March

THE EAST LONDON RAILWAY HOW WILL THE NEW LINE AFFECT ME?

Peter Field, Director of London Rail Development (the man in charge of ELR) will explain the new line and answer your questions.

Michael Abrahams, Chair of the Forest Hill Society, will be presenting the findings of the Forest Hill Society survey and petition.

Naborhood Centre (next to the post office), Sydenham Road, Wednesday 14th March 7.30pm

Organised by the Sydenham Society & supported by the London Borough of Lewisham.