Chair's Report - September 2011

It may seem that we have been a little quiet in recent times, in the absence of high profile issues such as the possible demolition of the pools, and threats to our train services. These united the community in opposition. But let me reassure all members that our work does not stop there and there is plenty going on behind the scenes!

The main campaign we have supported this year has been the ongoing fight to save Honor Oak Rec from being claimed as burial space.

Another focus has been the town centre. To this end, we have been actively involved in decorating the Christmas Tree and planting the flower beds outside the station and organising a pop-up event. We have also been active in removing graffiti, pushing for the underpass to be refurbished and getting the railway bridge repainted, as well as meeting with TfL to make some changes to the South Circular. Some of these changes are still in the pipeline and we will be following up to make sure that the promises are delivered.

The next year looks very busy, with over £17,000 of projects to deliver from the Local Assembly Fund, the effects of the Localism Bill to react to and a resurrected monthly social event. We would like to do more, but need more volunteers. If you have something you feel strongly about, or can spend a few hours a month volunteering then please consider joining the Executive committee. Each year some people leave due to moving house, a new job or University commitment. Children grow up and new residents arrive and we hope that they will all become active in their community.

I look forward to meeting you at the AGM and hearing your news.

Five Years on and Still Going Strong

Whilst there's no room for complacency, nor should we go all sentimental, it is still good to reflect that our AGM this year is our fifth anniversary.
Of course it's not been all plain sailing, we have a broad range of opinions and strive to represent the views of all in this, until recently, relatively hidden gem of SE London.

So how did it all start? On 23 April 2006 a local resident with the pseudonym ‘Roz’ started a post on the chat room SE23.com about setting up a new society. Interest picked up quickly and, a month to the date, around 20 of us met at the Dartmouth Arms. This included mystery residents who used evocative monikers such as Hilltop General, KK, and Loneranger.

It all seemed very organic at the time, but looking back much had already been done by the time we met, our current vice-chair (and former chair) Michael had already started working on a constitution. Importantly we ensured that this recognised that Forest Hill and Honor Oak were already thriving areas, and that our role was to make SE23 an even better place to live.

Four months later at the Friends Meeting House in Sunderland Road 150 members met. The feature was a discussion on the proposed new East London Line extension (aka the Overground) and it was refreshing that whilst most welcomed this, there was a strong voice objecting to any degradation of the existent service to London Bridge. (Now we look to more exotic proposals such at the Bakerloo and DLR extensions). You may find it interesting to revisit these minutes: www.box.net/public/rk7cyyyet6

Committee members were voted in and, in what seems like record time, the Society had gone from a speculative discussion to a fully fledged organisation.
(To be continued in Autumn 2016!).

NEW TRAIN SERVICES, FULL STEAM AHEAD?

Michael Abrahams, from our transport sub-committee, explains how three major rail projects that are already in hand, and a fourth under consideration, could affect us.


Crossrail (see right) will provide fast connections in an East-West direction across central London. For passengers from Forest Hill the interchange at Whitechapel (on the East London Line) will provide good connections to the West End, Paddington, West London and Heathrow.
Thameslink trains are expected to run a stopping service including our stations, allowing direct travel to Blackfriars, Kings Cross, and further north. This could be a half-hourly service during morning peak, extending two existing services into London Bridge.

DLR recently published a map (see below) showing proposed extensions to the East (to Dagenham), to the West (Victoria and Euston), and to the South (Catford and, taking us by surprise, Forest Hill).

The configuration of railway tracks and roads South of Lewisham is a challenge, beyond Catford is more problematic - elevated above or underneath the South Circular, or through houses.
Another option may be terminating at Bell Green rather than Forest Hill, which could be part of the regeneration of the area. We are already well served for Canary Wharf and beyond.

Finally, the East London Line phase 2 project is an important new service for Southwark residents, complimenting phase 1 taking us to Canada Water, Shoreditch, and now Highbury & Islington.

Michael will be explaining how we hope to influence the Bakerloo line extension in our next edition.

Countdown 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0

TfL has quietly introduced an online Countdown bus information service for mobile phones and PC/Mac users. After testing has completed, this should enable you to find out approximate bus times by either typing in a bus route, postcode, bus stop name, bus stop code or if you have a smartphone, GPS will find your local stops for you. You can find the site on your mobile at http://m.countdown.tfl.gov.uk or on your computer at http://accessible.countdown.tfl.gov.uk/

HONOR OAK PARK WOES

In spite of having a lot of money spent on the ticket hall and steps up to the road, Honor Oak Park Station continues to look like an abandoned building site. New benches have been provided, but some are behind fences! As a moderately disabled person, I find that it is not easy to get on/off either the Southern trains or the Overground ones. Why oh why did they not raise the level of the platforms to make it easier for every passenger to get on/off the trains while they were modernising the station? The slope has been stabilised and a ‘weed field’ established. Will this avoid any maintenance?

SE23 On Show

A number of local historic buildings were open to the public on 17/18 September as part of the London Open House Weekend. Here we focus on one of our many gems.

The Capitol pub entertained a couple of hundred or so visitors, taking them around many of the original features. Opened in 1929, and now Grade II listed, this is the only remaining John Stanley Beard designed cinema in the country. In its heyday it sat 1,640 for films, variety shows and the Saturday morning childrens’ club. On the first day the queues went all around the building. It was the perfect location, as the comedy actor Frank Thornton (‘Are You Being Served’, and ‘Last of the Summer Wine’) recalls, being on the convergence of bus, tram and train. Planned for silent movies, it pioneered a new sound system where the speakers went behind the screen, which had 1000s of small holes made in it.

Visitors explored the balcony with all the seats still intact, and marvelled at the views over toward the Greenwich and the ‘Dome’. You can see one of the three resident ghosts in the previous picture.

The architecture has been described as Art Deco Egyptian, but it is more Greco-Roman. The sensitive refurbishment was carefully agreed with English Heritage and Lewisham Council; the few original features not on show were carefully hidden, or where removed replaced by a sympathetic addition. It closed as a cinema in 1973, and as a bingo hall in 1986. Developers would have loved to get their hands on it, but J D Wetherspoons preserved it for public use for the foreseeable future.

Many thanks to ‘Bean’ for showing us around and hope he recovers swiftly after repeatedly climbing all those stairs. Some members will recall the tour the Society had in one of our pub crawls. Bean please keep looking for the keys to the projectionist’s room, and tell us when you find the original Compton organ, in its time the largest in the country.
The self build ‘Segal’ houses in Walters Way, that share many similarities with timber framed buildings from Elizabethan England, have now been on display at numerous open houses. Many have now been remodelled to provide a most eclectic mix, set-off perfectly on the slope of a wooded hill only spitting distance from Honor Oak Park station.

Numerous Havelock Walk studios and The Horniman Park and Gardens were also open on the day, giving visitors the chance to see behind the scenes.

Last year we showcased Louise House, and in a years time this and the Pools may well be on the Open House list. We would be interested in hearing from others who may wish to be involved in next year’s event.

WANTED! HANDYMEN AND LADIES FOR NATURE RESERVE

Are you a frustrated craftsperson? Do you get a kick out of DIY? Have you ever dreamt of building your own shelter in the woods? Do you watch those TV programmes about building your dream home and think “these people are buffoons!”; well the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve has just the thing for you!

We need volunteers to build a greenoak shelter with a living roof at the reserve. We’ll be running carpentry workshops during the winter, cutting and shaping the green-oak frame for the building, making the mortice joints and bracing pieces and forming the curved roof timbers.
In the spring we’ll be clearing the site, casting the pad-stones ready for an Amish style ‘barn-raising’; a two-day buildfest to get the frame erected and the roof on. Finally we’ll be running hands-on workshops to build and plant the living roof (similar to the roof on the Horniman Museum).

We’ll have seasoned professionals on hand to guide the work, but the building will truly be yours, something to look back on and say “I did that!”. Contact Jake on 020 8291 2272 or e-mail jake@foresthillsociety.com to enrol.

MORE RETAIL THERAPY

Following our article in the last issue on new shops, we now feature some old favourites.

ON THE WALL

Mirror Mirror, 25 London Road
Mirror Mirror Hairdressers, on the ‘boulevard’ side of London Road, has been styling the hair of Lewisham residents since 1994.
Their hairstylists are all qualified and also colour specialists who take pride in their constantly updated skills. So if you feel like an autumn spruce up, pop in and be the fairest one of all.

ON THE GREEN Shannon’s Garden Centre

99-105 Stanstead Road
Henry Shannon started his landscaping company in 1959 and won major awards, including the '1988 Principal Award for Hard Landscaping Construction' awarded by the British Association of Landscapes Industries. This was for a project carried at Coin Street River Walk, SE1.
He opened his garden centre in 1989 which was the realisation of a dream for Henry. It is now run by the next generation, and still has Henry Shannon in the background to see that it is run the 'correct way'. They are always happy to give customers advice on plants and flowers and will recommend suppliers for landscaping etc. They will also deliver if you just love gardening but can’t carry all your purchases. Shannon’s are very keen to play a part in the local community helping and advising on planting projects such as The Stanstead Strip. They have also been fundamental in getting the planting at Forest Hill station underway and this year helped the Forest Hill Society with the plants in the forecourt and on the platforms.

ON THE FLOOR

EJ Carpets, 1-5 Perry Vale
Established in 1974, E J Carpets is a family run business offering a wide variety of flooring including carpets, real wood, laminate and vinyl floorings
As well as advice and sales they provide a friendly and professional installation service too. As members of the Carpet Foundation and accredited by the Office of Fair Trading, it seems we have a real gem on our doorstep.

ON YER BIKE Finches Ski Emporium

25-29 Perry Vale
You can tell by the name that this is much more than a bike shop. Also a local, family run business, Finches has six different departments: Skiing, Snowboarding, Cycling and General Sports in the winter months, Skateboarding and General Sports in the summer months. They also trade online at www.finches-ski.com.
Current customers will know that the shop front on Perry Vale leads you into a wonderful 200 square metres of beamed space filled with every type of gadget and accessory you could imagine. They also stock ice spikes for shoes and boots, essential for traversing the slopes of Forest Hill in the icy winter.

Honor Oak Rec deadline. Act now!

The consultation process by Southwark Council is almost over - you have until Friday to submit your questionnaire. If you have not already done so, the questionnaire can be completed online at Southwark's website.

About 150 people attended last weekend's Public consultation event at the Rec and the questions and comments gave the loud and clear message to the council :
that our community want the Rec to stay as an open green space, to be improved and not used for burial.

We recognise that the passing of loved ones is an emotional affair and that people need to visit graves to grieve, but are also cognisant of the fact that we have limited space locally for the living and the deceased. We are not against burial, but urge Southwark (and Lewisham) to follow a sustainable policy which does not consume valuable amenity space; the previous extensions of Camberwell New Cemetery were supposed to last many years and yet are already full. Using the remaining space of Honor Oak Rec will merely delay the inevitable day when there is no more burial space available in Southwark and Lewisham - it is not a solution to the problem. In 2007 the Government stated it was supporting London boroughs in the reuse of burial grounds that are more than 75 years old.

Our suggested answers

How often do you visit the cemeteries or crematoriums in Southwark?

Enter frequency of visits to all Southwark cemeteries and Honor Oak Rec (which is part of Camberwell New Cemetery from the viewpoint of this questionnaire)

What is the reason for your visit(s)?

Tick all that apply

Do you have a preference for burial or cremation?

Answer truthfully. Obviously, if you say burial, then more burial space is required.

If you have chosen burial as a preference please let us know what would be important to you when selecting a cemetery plot

If you chose burial, then explain that you want a sustainable solution, encouraging grave reuse by lift-and-deepen. The Church of England recommends grave reuse after 50 years in its Churchyards' Handbook.

Do you feel it is important for Southwark Council to continue to provide burial space for its residents

If you feel that Southwark should provide burial space, then stress that this should be either by reuse of existing space, or by provision of new space outside the Borough

Please rate the following options in order of those you feel most appropriate for the future of burials in the borough. Please number your preference from 1 to 8 with 1 being your first preference and 8 being your least favoured option.

A. Re-use of common graves - 1
B. Re-use of private graves - 2
C. Use of burial chambers - 3
D. Find burial site outside of Southwark - 6
E. Share other cemetery or buy privately - 4
F. Find shared land with other councils - 5
G. Use some/all of Honor Oak Recreation Park - 8
H. Stop burying in Southwark Providing a burial service is not a statutory responsibility. - 7
Add comments stating the need for any Burial policy to be sustainable. Also note that when Camberwell New Cemetery opened, there was plenty of green space in the Borough and this is no longer the case; burial space should not be provided at the expense of amenity space.

The campaign to preserve the Rec is being supported by Fields in Trust as well as the Friends of Honor Oak Rec.

Apple pressing afternoon at One Tree Hill

The One Tree Hill allotment society have their annual apple pressing afternoon on Saturday, 1st October, between 1pm and 5pm.  All are invited to go along and join them “chop/ mash/ scrat/ press apples into lovely fresh juice for you to drink".

It’s a free event at the One Tree Hill Allotments, just off Honor Oak Park. Entry is by the top side gate on Honor Oak Park. See this map for the location (marked “ALLOT”) or email london_cider@btinternet.com for further information.