Changes to the 63 Bus Route?

The 63 could be extended along Forest Hill Road and Honor Oak Park to Brockley Rise, to allow residents on the Southwark side to use London Overground services from HOP (part of an election commitment by the Labour Party in the Mayoral elections).

This may cause additional traffic issues, with added delays by using Honor Oak Park which suffers from traffic jams during the rush hour, along with potential infrastructure issues at Brockley Rise which already has the 172 and P12 buses parked on the local roads. Honor Oak Park is currently served by single decker buses, although double decker Route 363 serves Wood Vale, which is less busy in comparison.

Residents in Forest Hill Road already have a regular service to Peckham Rye station which will be connected to the East London line in December when the final phase of the extension opens between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction, also a regular service on Route P12 which can be boarded in Brenchley Gardens or at the very end of Forest Hill Road for Honor Oak Park.

Exciting Times at the Horniman Gardens

Jenny Seymour, Development Officer at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, updates us on the redevelopment project.

The project is now in the final stages. New ramps and paving has improved access to the Sunken Garden, the bandstand has been restored to its elegant 1909 condition with new glass screens, and the Learning and Community building – the Gardens Pavilion - is complete.

We are now moving on to the planting stage and as the new areas take shape, we are able to offer items for 'naming' in return for a donation. You can donate a tree or picnic bench in memory of a loved one, in celebration of a marriage or simply to mark many happy years spent here!

There are a number of items and areas you can 'donate' (see the 'support us' section on www.horniman.ac.uk for the full list). Included in the cost of these items is a discreet plaque acknowledging your support.

There are 12 new picnic benches located on the Bandstand Terrace, costing £500 each. Eight plane trees are available on the Terrace, which will provide shade on hot summer days. They are £1200 each. A ‘Sound Corner‘ (see picture) beside the Bandstand Terrace features five sculptural musical instruments—costs to donate them is available on our website.

This is a wonderful way of helping, whilst you and your family enjoy a lasting record of your support. If interested, please speak to us at: 0208 291 8169 or development@horniman.ac.uk

Lewisham selects Forest Hill for Portas Pilot

We are delighted to announce that Lewisham will be putting forward Forest Hill and Sydenham for funding from the Portas Pilots. Now all we have to do is beat the other 300 candidates.

Get Pampered at Rockbourne

Treat yourself to one of the following treatments at Rockbourne Youth Club on Saturday, 10 March to help them raise funds.
Mini Manicure - Indian Head Massage - Executive chair Massage - Foot Massage - Ayurvedic Head Massage(With oil) - Eyebrow Shaping

Tickets cost £10

Please book your appointment in advance on (020) 8699 0163 or (07834) 491914. Ticket price includes a welcome drink with a tapas and a treatment of your choice. Also on sale will be Exotic ice cream and cakes.

Woodland Walk and St George's Food Fair

Hopefully you are enjoying the new venues and swings which have opened up recently in the area. These are indeed exciting times for Forest Hill. Below are listed a few local events happening in the near future. Keep an eye on our calendar for the latest information.

The next Perry Vale Local Assembly will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, 20 March at the Forest Hill Methodist Church, Normanton Street, SE23 2DS

On Sunday, 25 March, why not meet at 11am outside the Horniman Gardens - at the Sydenham Hill entrance on London Road (the one nearest Dulwich, furthest from the museum) for a circular Spring Walk through Sydenham Woods exploring the nature and history of our local woodland. Steve Grindlay is promising to go along too to shed a little light on the history of the woods and disused railway too.

View Larger Map

Note: Sturdy shoes required and paths may not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs.

Next month, come along to Forest Hill Station Car Park from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Sunday, 22 April to sample the delights of local producers, with the finest local food and entertainment on offer at our St George's Food Fair.
There will be Hot Food by Fleisch, English Cheeses, Pies & Tartlets by Hills & Parkes, The Egg Boss's Handmade Scotch eggs, Award winning Chutneys from Mridula’s Kitchen, Caribbean Sauces and Spices from Pimento Hill, Fresh Delicacies by Franklins, Artisan Bread from BreadBread, The Forest Hill Cake Company's Delicious Cakes and Fresh Coffee from On the Hoof.

Raise the Barn at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

The Devonshire Road Nature Reserve is looking for volunteers to help build the new Green Oak Shelter.

Specialist green-oak carpenter and teacher Tom Trimmins is running free carpentry workshops on three Saturdays, March 3rd, 17th and 31st from 10.00am until 2.00pm. Contact infodevonshireroad@gmail.com for details.

The oak frame will be erected on April 1st; we’ll be throwing a party to celebrate, so dig out your dancing clogs. There’ll be hard work, music and food and drink. Families welcome to come and ‘raise the barn’!

Going Postal

Forest Hill Society members, and everybody else, are invited to the opening of the Sylvan Post.

A message from Antic Pubs:
We are thrilled to announce that Antic Pubs will be throwing open the doors of The Sylvan Post on the 28th February at 6 pm, in the Old Post Office building on Dartmouth Road.  

Lovingly restored with many of the original features preserved and complimented by Antic’s inimitable approach to interiors, we are sure you will be pleased with the changes we have made. In a nutshell, we are really excited to be bringing our unique approach to Forest Hill.  

With a hand picked selection of Ales, Premium Lagers and Wines, we will be offering our guests the chance to sample our wares, meet the team and in return you can let us know what you would like to see happening at the pub, be it Business Jelly’s, Games Nights, Music or Book Readings, we are open to all suggestions.  

We’re confident that the Sylvan Post will become a central feature of the local area and we’re very keen to meet with local community groups to extend our welcome and make sure we’re giving locals exactly what they want from their local!

Portas Pilots - Urgent!

We have just heard from Lewisham that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is inviting partnerships to pilot the idea of ‘Town Teams’ set out in the Portas Review.

The Portas Review believes that Town Teams can help drive innovation in the way the high street is managed, and develop a strategic and collaborative approach, and should be made up of a wide range of local interests including landlords, developers, retailers, local authorities and local communities.

DCLG are looking for 12 pilots and are offering successful bidders grant funding of up to £100k each. Given that only 12 pilots will be funded across the country, and in order for Lewisham to have the best chance of success of having one of these pilots in the borough, the Council will support one application. Forest Hill has been offered the chance to submit an application to Lewisham as the Town Centre is one of the ward priorities.

If you feel that would be interested in putting together an application for our town centre then please let us know by Monday 27 February, with some of your initial ideas so that we can submit an initial bid to Lewisham by Friday, 2 March. We can be contacted on (07833) 315563 or by email

The Council will then review these initial expressions of interest and choose one area to support with a more detailed application. In considering which area to support, they will take into account previous investment in that area.

Selection of the pilots by DCLG will be based on the following criteria:

• Mix. The twelve pilots will be a mix of high street types, geographical spread and areas with both low and high vacancy rates.
• Strong Leadership. Pilots must have a transformational vision for their high street and the backing for this from their community and partners.
• Commitment. Pilots must demonstrate commitment to the approach amongst businesses, landlords, the community and local authority.
• Potential for improvement. Resources will be allocated on a value for money basis.
• Innovation. DCLG are looking for the most innovative ideas that will have maximum impact and could be replicated elsewhere.

The deadline for applications is 30 March to DCLG, with successful applicants announced in May. Further information and the application form can be downloaded from the DCLG website. Each partnership application must identify an ‘Accountable Body’ which will be the local authority. A confirmation letter from the local authority is required with the application.

Elisnore Road Incident - Community Meeting

Meeting on Saturday 25th February 2012 organised by the Metropolitan Police

Following on from the meeting held at St George's Christ Church yesterday in relation to Sunday's (19.02.12) incident where a 25 year old man was shot by police in Elisnore Road another community meeting will be taking place this Saturday (25.02.12).

The purpose of the meeting is for local residents to discuss the incident with the police and to hear directly from them about their concerns.

Senior Officers from Lewisham will be present to take questions
The IPCC have also been invited.

Residents will have the opportunity to ask questions about how the case is being handled.
It will be held at Kilmorie Primary School, Kilmorie Road, London, Lewisham SE23 2SP and will start at 1pm

New swings for Horniman Triangle

Last June, bids were requested for the Forest Hill ward's Assembly Fund.

Various people suggested on local forums that the Horniman Triangle could do with some swings, especially for the younger children. Unfortunately, nobody followed through and no application was received by the Co-ordinating Committee at their initial review. It was agreed, however, that the Forest Hill Society could submit a bid as it was felt that the need was there.

The Forest Hill Society therefore visited play parks throughout London and researched suppliers before putting in a last minute bid. This was successful and £9,500 was allocated from a combination of the Assembly Fund and Localities Fund. The Council agreed that they would deliver the project, which allowed the monies to go further as we would not have to pay VAT on the equipment.

The swings have now been installed and will hopefully provide many hours of enjoyment in the years to come. A big thank you to all those involved in this project.

The Forest Hill Society bid on four projects from the Forest Hill Assembly. These were:
Weatherproof Games in the Park
Horniman Theme for Empty Shops
Town Centre Planting Scheme and
Swings for Horniman Triangle.

Other projects which received funding from the Forest Hill Assembly Fund were:

Platform One

Safety Rulez – Part II: A Community Cohesion Project working with 12 girls aged 13-15 currently facing difficulties at school

Friends of Albion Millennium Green

Wildlife Hedgerow, Fencing and 8 New Fruit Trees for Community Orchard Open Air Theatre Millennium Green

Ageing Well in Lewisham

Arts Befriending Group and Theatre project-to help isolated older people

Centrepoint

Healthy Living Workshops, teaching and encouraging cooking, nutrition and gardening

Sydenham and Forest Hill Youth Forum

Youth forum workshops, training young people to fundraise for our organisation

Friends of Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

New Green Oak Shelter for the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Kirkdale Village Traders Association

Kirkdale Village Beautification

Horniman Museum

Busy Bees - Sessions for under fives and parents, at the Horniman Museum