Planning Application: Former Post Office Dartmouth Road

A planning application has been made by the owners of Jam Circus for the former Post Office on Dartmouth Road. Below is the response from the Forest Hill Society.

On behalf of the Forest Hill Society I would like to recommend approval of this proposed development which will bring a new restaurant/bar to a key location in Forest Hill.

As has been recognised in the application, some noise prevention measures should be considered to protect residents living directly above the restaurant. We are pleased that this has been included by the applicant.

We additionally believe that this location would be ideal for a few tables to be located in front of the restaurant during the summer months, adding to the vitality of the high street and making best use of this empty area during the day time. We hope that this is something that can be considered by the applicant and by the council.

We wish every success to this business which has a good reputation across South East London and will help enhance Forest Hill town centre.

Rose Award for Photography

We would like to offer our congratulations to Paul Murphy, local resident and member of the Society, on winning the "Rose Award for Photography" at this year's Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Paul is only the second person to win this award.

The Royal Academy's annual Summer Exhibition, which opens today and runs until 22 August, is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art exhibition and attracted over 11,000 entries this year.

Now in its 242nd year, the exhibition continues the tradition of showcasing work by both emerging and established artists in all media including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film. This year’s co-ordinators, Royal Academicians Stephen Chambers and David Chipperfield, have selected works for the exhibition around the theme of ‘Raw’.

The winning photograph, which was taken in Idaho in the USA, is from a series on Backyards which looks at how we use our outdoor garden spaces and how they describe the owners of the attached property.

Planning Application: 29 Ewelme Road

A planning application has been submitted for 29 Ewelme Road.

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The Forest Hill Society has objected to this development on the grounds of over-development and concerns relating to car and cycle parking.

You can read the full objection here.

Forthcoming Events

Open Day, One Tree Hill Allotments site, Honor Oak Park - Sunday 13th June. 12 to 6pm.

If you didn’t fancy the crowds at Chelsea this year, this is the next best thing! You’ll see a variety of gardening styles from formal allotment layouts to cottage style. There are grand views over South East London from the top, ponds & beehives. There will be three guided walks by allotment members and they start at 2.00pm, 3.00pm & 4.00pm. or you might prefer to do one of the self guided walks.

The main entrance to the allotment site is in the Recreation ground Car park just off Honor Oak Park SE23. The site is 2 minutes walk from Honor Oak Park Railway station. P4, P12, 122, 171, 172 buses. Admission is free but donations welcome. Refreshments will be available. Please wear stout footwear, as it can be slippery if it has been raining and due to the uneven parts of the site some parts are not accessible for Wheelchairs, Buggies or People with walking difficulties although the lower part is. There is a compost toilet on site.


Sydenham Woods walk - Sunday 20th June, 3pm.
Meet at the gate in Crescent Wood Road. This is a guided walk led by Ashley White, the Conservation Projects Officer for Southwark. The local historian, Steve Grindlay, will also give a short talk about the history of the area. The walk will last about1 hour. We would appreciate small contributions for this walk.


Forest Hill Assembly Meeting – Monday, 21 June 2010, 7-9pm.
Sydenham Secondary School, Dartmouth Road, SE26 4RD


The Sydenham Arts Festival’s Summer Season 2010 - has over sixty events during the three summer months (and a little bit of September!) - diverse music, dance, drama, comedy, film, poetry, visual arts, children’s events and workshops – utilising a variety of local venues and parks. It’s a fantastic community event and we really do encourage you to support it. There’s far too much going on to include details in this eNewsletter so please go to their wonderful website www.sydenhamartsfestival.com

Festivals Galore!

Living on the 'Culture Line', we really are spoilt for choice. Not only do we have excellent Museums to visit, but we have a wonderful selection of local festivals to choose from. The Sydenham International Music Festival is in full swing at the moment and runs until 27 June, while the Sydenham Arts Festival kicks off this Sunday and runs until September 11. Slightly further afield, Brockley Max draws to a close this weekend having been running since 27 May.

The Sydenham Arts festival has over 90 events scheduled, featuring dance, drama, poetry, film and comedy as well as workshops and childrens events.

The backbone of the International Music Festival meanwhile is the amazing, virtuoso St Bartholomew Festival Orchestra that gathers together the most prestigious players from London‘s internationally recognised orchestras. Together with Festival Director Robert Trory, their reputation is now well established. This year is the seventh anniversary and presents a real feast of live music to match anything on offer in London with a stunning lineup including international opera star Susan Bullock. All concerts are held at St Bartholomew's Church unless otherwise specified.

The festival was opened on 23 May by the ever-popular virtuoso Russian violinist Sergey Dogadin who gave a performance of Brahms' Violin Concerto. He also teamed up with Martin Roscoe on piano for a further recital last Sunday and there have been two other concerts; EMMA SELWAY - mezo-soprano performed at St Christopher's Hospice and the FIDELIO PIANO QUARTET made its fourth appearance in the Sydenham Festival.

However, worry not! There are still plenty of gems still to come.

On Tuesday 8th June at 7.30pm the LONDON CONCHORD ENSEMBLE will be performing at the Dolphin (£10). This fun evening with an American flavour (and some Mozart and Beethoven thrown in for good measure) is given by London’s leading mixed instrument group that has toured the UK, Europe and North America.

This is followed on Sunday 13th June - 7.30pm - by the SUSAN BULLOCK CELEBRITY CONCERT (£18, £12 concs.). Recognised as one of the world's leading Wagnerian sopranos, Susan Bullock will come together with Maestro ROBERT TRORY and the stunning ST.BARTHOLOMEW FESTIVAL ORCHESTA in Wagner's 'Wesendock Leider' and Cantaloube's 'Songs of the Auvergne'.

The ever popular CHILDREN’S CONCERT (£6) returns on Saturday 19th June - 11.00am and features 'The Carnival Of Animals' narrated by Jamie Ripman. This is a lively working of Scottish Dances with bagpipes for good measure and is a fun-packed concert for children of all ages. Children are encouraged to come dressed as one of the Animals in the Carnival (a fish - a lion - a donkey - an elephant - a kangaroo .....) for a Fancy Dress competition.

Also making a welcome return is the young Serbian cellist MAJA BOGDANOVIC who stunned the audience in 2009 with her performance of Shostakovich Cello Concerto. Maja will take part in the FRIEND’S EVENING on Friday 25th June - 7.30pm, an evening of talk with music, hosted by Noel Craven with MAJA BOGDANOVIC & ROBERT TRORY (£10 - free to Friends of Sydenham Music) before finally closing the Festival with Elgar's Cello Concert on Sunday 27th June - 7.30pm at the CLOSING CONCERT (£18, £12 concs.)

Forest Hill Day, Sunday 6 June

We are pleased to announce that we have been allocated a stall at this weekend's Forest Hill Day, which is being held at the Horniman Gardens from 1 pm to 6 pm on Sunday, 6 June.

As well as over 40 stalls selling a variety of crafts and food, there will be plenty of entertainment for all the family including an inflatable slide and assault course, donkey rides, face painting, Punch and Judy and birds of prey. Live music will be provided by the Ian Petrie band and Rough Justice.

Forest Hill Day is organised by the Forest Hill Traders Association and supported by funding from the Mayor of Lewisham and the Town Centre Management team.

Planning Application for Forest Hill Pools

The Forest Hill Society has submitted a response to the planning application for Forest Hill Pools.

We have been through the application in some detail and write in support of the proposals. To a great extent we think this is a very good scheme, in a good location, and in particular:

1. The general arrangement of the two pools works well and appears to allow a good level of natural side lighting into the main activities of the building
2. The retention of the superintendents’ house is a strong element of the scheme and helps to tie together the three ‘civic’ buildings of the Pools, the library and Louise House
3. The approach to the scheme from Forest Hill Town Centre is effective and the two entrances are well located.....

You can read the full response here.

East London Line Arrives at Forest Hill

Tewkesbury Lodge garden opening 2010

A group of five very different gardens will be open to the public under the National Garden Scheme, to raise money for cancer, caring, and gardening charities. The gardens are within a few minutes walk of each other.

Opening times and combined admission: Sat 29 May, (5-9pm) £6.50 with glass of wine. Sun 30 May (1:30-6pm) £5. Free for accompanied children. By a ticket on the Green at the junction of Horniman Drive and Liphook Crescent.
Refreshment: Homemade tea and cakes on Sunday. Plants for sale on both days.
NB. Sorry, wheelchair access not possible. Well- trained dogs on leads welcome.

Coach House, 3 The Hermitage.
Mature courtyard and roof garden crammed full of unusual plants and the artist's ceramics and sculptures. The aim is a wildlife garden of interest and productivity twelve months of the year. Water features, decorative plants and vegetables in containers large and small. Art work for sale, pottery demonstrations.

30 Westwood Park
A garden designer's sloping creation, full of unusual plant combinations to suit a variety of conditions in the borders, a herb garden, water features, and winding paths. Featured in The English Garden, Gardeners' World magazine, Homes & Gardens, and House Beautiful.

27 Horniman Drive
Traditional planting in a re-designed contemporary setting to complement modern extension and emphasise long-reaching views to North Downs. Below and beyond there is a potager-style vegetable haven. Small, low maintenance, north-facing front garden with shrubs creating a tapestry of green.

28 Horniman Drive
Garden in two sections, evolving from the owner's love of growing vegetables. Raised beds, fruit cage, greenhouse, working and wildlife areas. Deep informal flower borders under mature trees. Some uneven paths. Newly planted front garden designed for low maintenance.

53 Ringmore Rise
Corner plot with spectacular views over London. Front garden inspired by Beth Chatto's dry garden, with stunning borders in soft mauves, yellows and white. Mature rear garden is on three levels, with themed beds of herbaceous plants and shrubs, some shady, others sunny. Large pond, terraces and pergola.

Forest Hill Clean Up

Lewisham's Environment and Community Development team are organising a series of clean up sessions in the area as part of the London-wide Capital Clean-Up campaign.

The Capital Clean-Up Campaign aims to make London a cleaner, safer, greener capital fit to host the Olympics in 2012 and is supported by Keep Britain Tidy, 31 London boroughs, McDonald’s and sponsors Enterprise.

Previous campaigns saw Londoners initiating and taking part in clean-up activities including Thames riverbank and canal clean-ups, litter picks and graffiti removal. Over the past two years, the campaign has coordinated over 500 clean-up events. This year’s Capital Clean-Up will take place between 12 May and 23 June. Over the six-week clean up period, people from across the capital will be involved in making London a place to be proud of.

The clean-up involves removing overgrown vegetation and weeds, cleaning off graffiti (where possible), removing flyposters and clearing and sweeping litter. Lewisham council will provide necessary PPE such as hi-viz jackets and gloves but please bring your own sturdy boots and old clothes. The following local clean up sessions are planned

• Friday 11 June, 10 am - 2 pm, Earlsthorpe Mews, Sydenham SE26
  (Earlsthorpe Mews is the alley which runs parallel to, and between, Earlsthorpe Road and Sydenham Road)
• Monday 14 June, 10 am - 2 pm, Willow Way, off Kirkdale, SE26
• Friday 18 June, 10 am - 2 pm, Forest Hill Footpath (off London Road) SE23
  (Directly opposite Sainsbury's)

If you would like to help or require any further details please contact Colin Sandiford by email or using the information below.

Colin Sandiford
Environmental Projects Officer,
London Borough of Lewisham,
Wearside Service Centre,
Wearside road,
Lewisham,
London, SE13 7EZ
Tel: 0208 314 2295
Fax: 0208 314 2128