Planned improvements to Forest Hill Station

We have just heard from LOROL that they are planning some upgrades to Forest Hill's station to cope with the growth in passenger numbers. The works they are proposing include a number of alterations as follows:

• An extra ticket gate to be installed in the ticket hall.
• Open-up two existing windows into doorways on the entrance to the ticket hall, and onto the platform.
• Install DDA access ticket window
• Improve the lighting

Now, if only we could have a decent looking building too...

July Food Fair - Sunday 7th July from 11am

Great food from local producers and retailers.
Wimbledon men's final begins at 2pm, so come early if you are planning to see a British victory in the tennis!

Second Forest Hill Fashion Week

There will be a second Forest Hill Fashion Week (FHFW) this autumn (20-25 September), and they are looking for local fashionistas to get involved right now!

This time they are doing it in association with the Horniman Museum, who are creating a whole Fashion themed ‘Museum at Night’ event for it. The catwalk shows will be held in Gallery Square, with a fashion market in the Conservatory and lots of other fashion-related events and displays, including static fashion shows.

That's just one evening of course. Over the following few days there will be Fashion Fun all around the Forest Hill shops and venues plus another all-day fashion market.

September will come around very quickly indeed, so this is what they are looking for right now:

• Local designer-makers to submit their collections for consideration for the catwalk/static shows.
• Local fashion/textiles/accessories experts, teachers or enthusiasts to run or host an event/workshop either at the Horniman event or in the high street.
• Ideas for fashion events/workshops that you would love to see.
• Market traders selling designer-maker fashion products.
• Models for the Horniman catwalk show.
• Advertisers and sponsors for their website, brochure or FHFW generally.

For more information and contact details, visit their website, foresthillfashion.com. In the meantime, do put 20-25 September in your diary, subscribe to their newsletter and like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter or do both.

Friends of Mayow Park meeting

Are you a regular in Mayow Park? Would you like to find out more about activities and developments there? If so, the Friends of Mayow Park would like to see you at their General Meeting at 7pm on Tuesday, 9 July.

The meeting will be held at the Dacres Wood Nature Reserve Field Centre, which is a single storey building located up a driveway off Dacres Road, between Homefield House & Catling Close. The Field Centre is accessed through gates at the end of the driveway and turn left into building.

View Larger Map

They are particularly keen to invite regular park users including dog walkers, sports groups, young people aged 16+, parents of young children and others to join them. For more information email: friendsofmayowpark@ymail.com

Chair’s Report - June 2013

It has been a busy three months for Forest Hill Society. Events like the 'Edible High Road' and the Food Fair take a lot of organisation behind the scenes and we are very lucky to have such a dedicated group of volunteers who give so willingly of their time for everyone's benefit.

We would like to do more. However, we need more helpers to make this happen. We also need new ideas and views to keep the Society fresh and proactive.

For example, we would like to extend the planters to the Perry Vale side of Forest Hill station and down Honor Oak parade, but before we do that, we need to make sure that we have enough volunteers to weed, water and tend to them; I do not want the planters to become neglected due to placing too many demands on too few people.

We're also looking for more volunteers to help deliver, write and design this newsletter. Each delivery route takes about half an hour – why not volunteer? It's only four times a year.

The Planning committee are working on a master plan for the future of Forest Hill, particularly the redevelopment of the station area and also looking at the regeneration of Kirkdale. The previous masterplan is now ten years old and many of its recommendations have been implemented so it needs updating. What changes would you like to see?

If you would like to learn more or have an idea which will make a difference in the community, then please drop an email to richard@foresthillsociety.com

Summer Walk on the Pool River - Sunday 21st July

Back in 2011 we had a thoroughly enjoyable walk from Bell Green to Ladywell along the rivers Pool and  Ravensbourne. Two years later we are doing it again.

Despite starting behind Sainsbury’s in Lower Sydenham, this is a remarkably pleasant walk suitable for walkers of all ages.

This year’s walk will take place on Sunday 21st July at 11am. The walk starts at the entrance to the Riverview Walk, opposite the Railway Tavern on Southend Lane (356 goes from Forest Hill Station). We will follow the river through Catford and on to Ladywell Fields, returning back to Catford where walkers may wish to partake in refreshments at the Catford Bridge Tavern.

The walk will take 1½ - 2 hours.

Start point: Bell Green, on Stanton Way, between Sainsbury's Petrol Station and the Southend Lane bridge. Map at http://bit.ly/q9Dt7I 

SEE3

The Portas pilot continues to have a positive impact on Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill.
Recent SEE3 activities include the Makers Market outside the pools and various activities by the Artists in Residence, Michael Burton and Michiko Nitta. Freed from the restrictions of running a community hub, they have been busy running two NESTs* at St David's Coffee House and the Algae Opera and Metamorphosis Factory on Havelock Walk. Hopefully you had the chance to enjoy these investigations into the future of the High Street.

Meanwhile it's Sydenham's turn for the Pop Up treatment with “Pop Goes Sydenham” - a series of evening events, street art, club night and four pop up shops opening in the high street over the summer. The first of the Pop Ups opened on 18 May at 167 Sydenham Road (just down from The Dolphin) with contemporary jewellery and interiors brand Gunpowder Cherry Pie and vintage furniture and clothing company Flash Trash.

The evening events will include supper clubs through the summer at Blue Mountain. Tickets can be purchased online at www.GrubHub.com/Pop-Goes-Sydenham. There will also be a community party at The Dolphin on 13 June.

Despite the initial projects of SEE3 coming to an end, with the contracts for the Markets Coordinator, Hub Coordinator and Artists in Residence drawing to a close by the end of July, there is still plenty to be delivered. We will be returning to Forest Hill with Jack In a Box (a mobile community hub) and another Pop Up, possibly in October. We are also beginning on the next projects which are focused more on supporting existing traders.

Finally, we are building out the Town Team. It will have four action groups; Community Involvement & Development, Enterprise and Creative, Events Communications and Marketing, Built Environment and the Public Realm, Events Communications and Marketing. If you would like to get involved, please send an email to townteam@see3.co.uk

* NEST is an incubator of ideas, future careers, collaborations and projects.

Forest Hill and Honor Oak’s Edible High Roads

Forest Hill went back to its roots on May 18th, transformed into an urban orchard by members of the Forest Hill Society and Anne-Marie Parker of Lewisham Gardens as part of the Chelsea Fringe Festival’s Edible High Road - a volunteer-run celebration of plants, gardens and landscapes. Fifty shops and businesses in Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park joined forces to create an avenue of seventy fruit trees celebrating Forest Hill’s history and its current standing as a hub of community gardening.

Close to one hundred people gathered in Forest Hill station’s forecourt to see Channel 4’s Landscape Man, Matthew Wilson, cut the red ribbon to launch the event. Onlookers were genuinely surprised when several hundred free tomato and runner bean plants and various packets of seeds were handed out – as well as an early Harvest Festival basket of fruits supplied by J. Sainsbury’s. Kate’s Sax Quartet provided the opening music, followed by the sweetest renditions from Holy Trinity Primary School’s amazing brass band.

Continuing until Sunday 9th June, a trail map to lead visitors along the route lined with apple, cherry, pear and plum trees is available from Forest Hill Library, the Horniman Museum and various shops. Children taking part can also win gardening prizes with the first 100 correct answers to the puzzle sheet submitted to Shannon’s Garden Centre before June 9th receiving a small herb pot to kick-start their own gardening fun.

Thanks go to all those who volunteered their time and a not inconsiderable amount of energy to making Forest Hill’s first Edible High Road such a success.

Special thanks go to sponsors Shannon’s Garden Centre and Winkworth estate agents, the Horniman Museum and participating stores, Happy Seeds and the Chelsea Fringe.

     

Lewisham gets its day in court

This Saturday, 29th June Michael Mansfield, one of the most eminent QC's in Britain, will lead the ‘Peoples Commission’ at the Broadway Theatre, Catford from 9:30am to 5:30pm.

Michael Mansfield has mounted an investigation into the Government's plans to close Lewisham Hospital, but is also examining them against the wider implications of the new Law which will effectively dismantle the NHS. It is a whole day BUT it is a one off chance to be part of a historic moment and to see him in action with his team, who have all donated their time and expertise for free.

The theatre and it's facilities have been made available for the day; there will be breaks and all the rest and refreshment areas will be open for your use - you don't have to just sit in a seat for the duration. The event is being filmed, so it would be good to ensure that there are no empty seats. If you can only do the morning or afternoon, why not share your ticket for the day? Tickets are only 50p, with donations being taken at the door. Please reserve your place using the booking form on the Save Lewisham Hospital website.

Immediately following the Commission is the formal Judicial Review, which is challenging the legality of the Government's decision to close the hospital. This will take place at the High Court in the Strand (nearest station Charing Cross/Waterloo/Holborn) from Tuesday, 2nd to Thursday, 4th July, between 9.30am and 5.30pm each day. The Save Lewisham Hospital campaign has been advised by their legal team that it would be beneficial to fill the Public Gallery, which may result in the review being moved to a larger Court. Campaign organisers, top clinicians and Inter Faith leaders will be there, but your support is crucial.

Please go along and show your support; the Press will be there at 9.30am on Tuesday, 2nd July and we need to show the strength of support for the campaign.

Planning Update - June 2013

There have recently been a number of important planning rejections and approvals by Lewisham Council. Most importantly the expansion of Miriam Lodge Hostel from 120 units to 186 units was rejected by council officers, in line with the objections from the Forest Hill Society.

We continue to support the principle of hostels for homeless people in the community, but we agree with the council’s conclusion that ‘intensification of the hostel use on the application site will mitigate against the objective of delivering an inclusive, mixed and balanced community’. There were additional issues where the council agreed that the bulk, overlooking, layout, and other features would have a negative impact on neighbours and future residents.

Meanwhile, 14 Waldram Park Road has been a disaster since a developer began excavating the basement causing the structure to collapse and kill one worker.

Over the last year we have worked with a new  developer to design a building that suits it surroundings, rather than a modern block that would not integrate well into the streetscape.

Officers had previously recommended the acceptance of a modern block, but this was opposed by the Forest Hill Society, and the plans were rejected the council planning committee. The latest plans were supported by the Society but recommended for rejection by officers. Once more  the planning committee sided with the Society and approved the plans. Proof that we are not always against any development at all!