VICTORY FOR FOREST HILL POOLS

We are pleased to report that Mayor Steve Bullock has taken the decision to put the extra money into swimming in Forest Hill. We are now on track to have swimming on the Dartmouth Road site before the 2012 Olympics. The frontage will be retained with a great two pool leisure centre behind.

The Mayor admitted at the meeting that there could have been significant planning problems in building a new leisure centre on Willow Way, a fact that was never mentioned during the consultation. He felt that the additional cost of a pool on the existing site was worth the expenditure compared with the risk of a development on Willow Way being delayed by planning problems. It was also mentioned that if funds were not committed now, a new leisure centre might never be built – public expenditure cuts in the future were a near certainty.

The design is expected to be based on that drawn up by Allies and Morrison and first shown to stakeholders in February this year. A copy of the relevant pictures from the stakeholder presentation is attached. This design really impressed the stakeholders when it was first revealed and it was a major disappointment when it was then revealed that it was unaffordable.

Whilst making the decision, the Mayor agreed to extend the time that the Council would wait for funded proposals from the community for a civic use for Louise House beyond the previous date of November 2009. He also instructed Council Officers to provide some assistance in preparing such proposals. With the Library and Pools site in Civic use, it would be a real shame for Louise House, the building in between, to be converted into housing which has been the Council’s intention. A major effort to develop proposals for Louise House is expected to be the next focus for local community groups now the Pools battle has been won.

The Mayor also said that he had been impressed by the Forest Hill Society proposals that live / work units should be built on the Willow Way site and he instructed the Council’s planners to consider such a use for the site along with any other proposals that might come forward. Any revenues from such a development would offset the additional cost of the new pools on Dartmouth Road. At the moment, the Council is effectively putting a value of zero on the Willow Way site but the Forest Hill Society’s advisors feel that a value of £1.5m is realistic.

This is the best possible result for Forest Hill town centre and for the people of Forest Hill.

This has been a hard fought campaign by the Forest Hill Society and other local groups including Keep Swimming in Forest Hill, Sydenham Society, Tewkesbury Lodge Estate Residents Association, and local councillors.

Particular thanks to Hilary, Penelope, Jeff, Quetta, and Michael from the Forest Hill Society committee who have put a huge amount of effort to getting this result. Without their hard work and dedication it is likely the outcome could have been very different.

Forest Hill Pools - The Third Option

Over the last few years the Forest Hill Society has consistently campaigned for a return for swimming on the site of Forest Hill pools at the earliest possible opportunity.

In May 2009 local residents were given two options to either move swimming into Willow Way, or wait for at least six years to see swimming return to the current site. The Forest Hill Society continued to support the Dartmouth Road site as the best option, whilst recognising that an early return of swimming for vital for the health of Forest Hill residents and Forest Hill town centre.

The report to Mayor and Cabinet now contains a third option which would provide exactly what we ask for; a pool on Dartmouth Road in the timescale of the Willow Way site. We strongly support this option and call on the mayor to support this option when he makes his decision on the 15th July 2009.

We believe that this option would not have been considered without the work of the Forest Hill Society working with other local groups, councillors, council officers, and the mayor. It may be premature, but we would like to thank all those who have worked to return swimming to Forest Hill.

Ewelme Road - Objection to Planning Application

The Forest Hill Society has submitted an objection to the conversion of a semi-detached house into five flats. You can view our submission here.

Forest Hill Society Response to the Pools Consultation

You can read the Forest Hill Society response to the May 2009 pools consultation by following this link.

CONCLUSIONS

5.1 We fully support the Council in a decision to return swimming and public leisure facilities to Forest Hill in the near future.

5.2 We continue to believe that the Dartmouth Road site is the most deliverable and appropriate site for this facility.

5.3 We believe that the recent Consultation supports the need for swimming in Forest Hill and that most people who would make use of the facility believe that this should be located on the existing Dartmouth Road site.

5.4 We would like to see a robust reconsideration of the delivery programme and budget requirements of this project, including consideration of any phasing potential of the development in order to provide a facility that the people of Forest Hill can make use of at the earliest opportunity.

5.5 We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Council to demonstrate the potential for live/work development on the Willow Way site.

Pools Consultation Results

The results of the consultation were presented to the Stakeholders group yesterday evening. You can view the results on the Lewisham Council web site.

Although total numbers are not given we understand that the result is just over 51% in favour of the Willow Way pool in Sydenham (slide 14), although the margin of error makes this a statistical draw and it is difficult to weigh up the differences between schools who may or may not use the pool and individuals who may or may not use the pool.

Of key importance to people in favour of both options is an accessible location (slides 15 and 16). A key consideration for those who voted for Willow Way was that they want to see a pool in the area as soon as possible, and the consultation told them that Willow Way could be delivered faster than the Dartmouth Road pools site.

One clear message (slide 18) is that in all groups people are more likely to visit the site if it were built in Dartmouth Road and the groups who are most likely to go swimming are also those who most preferred the Dartmouth Road site.

Online respondents were the most Forest Hill based group (slide 10), and out of this group a massive 66% favoured the existing site, and an enormous 93% would swim there, compared to only 38% if it were in Willow Way. Taking this into account we believe that the Forest Hill Society has accurately reflected the views of local people and will continue to push for the pool to be built in the Forest Hill town centre, not in an industrial estate in Sydenham.

Please feel free to add your own comments below.

Proof that the Community Can Win - Tyson Road proposal defeated

Written for the Forest Hill Society Newsletter by Cllr John Russell and Cllr Philip Peake

It doesn’t often happen so when the community comes together and wins a significant victory against overdevelopment, we should all take note and learn lessons for the future. When Loromah Estates put forward a planning application to build nine blocks of flats on a backland site behind the Christian Fellowship Centre on Honor Oak Road and to the rear of Tyson Road, local residents refused to accept the odds stacked against them and came out fighting. The Forest Hill Society supported them all the way as did their local councilors, John Russell and Philip Peake. We asked the councillors to explain why this victory matters.

In our short number of years as councillors, we have frequently come up against that bane of local campaigners’ lives: the English planning system. Particularly at Lewisham Council, it is very difficult and rare to be able to defeat a developer’s proposal once it has the support of the Council Planning Officers.

Yet on 31st of March, that’s exactly what we all did at Planning Committee ‘B’ – not just marginally, but entirely: members of the committee voted unanimously to turn down officer advice and reject Loromah Estates’ application to build 74 flats on predominantly ex-garden land between Tyson Road and the Christian Fellowship Centre on Honor Oak Road.

The community, Forest Hill Society, and we councillors can all be proud of ourselves. But celebration should be tempered by caution. Draft documents in the council’s new planning policy – the ‘rules’ committee members have to consider – still allocate the site for 80-odd flats. Loromah may not appeal but instead present another plan: it remains to be seen whether any new ideas will genuinely address local people’s concerns.

Now is a useful time to look and see what happened: just why did the residents, the Forest Hill Society and ourselves working together manage to win this one? We can all learn lessons and apply them to future planning applications.

In this case, the developer was his own worst enemy. In an attempt to maximise profit, his team had introduced a fundamental design flaw. All car movements would have had to go underneath the blocks as there was no space for roads elsewhere. And despite extensive use of public relations consultants, it was clear that the development would not feel like a “woodland glade” after most of the trees had been removed and bat-boxes and green/brown roofs had been used as eco-sticking-plaster.

The obvious flaws created a vigorous residents’ campaign. Three-hundred-and-thirty-five objections must be a record for this borough. Led by Andrew Wood, residents did their homework and fought a very informed and highly effective campaign. The secret to their success was not to object saying “we do not like this,” but in properly studying and understanding the Lewisham Council planning policies and the London and national planning frameworks.

Campaigners were then able to argue from a postion of knowledge, putting together a coherent argument, based in planning law. This is a position which has to be taken seriously. Backed up by the strength of local feeling, residents, FHS and councillors were able to pull this together into an argument that ultimately won over the committee.

It is a powerful example of what local residents can do when working in partnership with the FHS and ourselves in a common cause. We should be proud of what we have done and ready to start again at a moment’s notice when necessary.

Chair's Report

Unfortunately, our Chairman, Peter Irby, has been unwell for a few months now. We all wish him a speedy recovery but until then the honour of writing the Chairman's report has fallen to our vice-chair, Michael Abrahams.

We have had an eventful few months with visits to areas of nature conservation, a pub crawl, a general meeting plus our regular events from the 23 Club. Behind the scenes, we have had lots of meetings about swimming pools, planning issues, transport, swimming pools, improving the natural environment, and ... swimming pools.

All these issues and more came up at our General Meeting at The Hob on 7th May. Thank you to everyone who came along and shared their views. You can read the full minutes on our website www.foresthillsociety.com.

Beyond the Forest Hill Society, we have seen some great things happening in SE23 despite the gloom of the global recession and the flu pandemic raging around us. There’s investment going into our parks and gardens (see below) and, although we have seen a few shops closing recently, we have also seen some new shops opening including a gym in the former site of McDonalds, and Tapastry is now twice as big but with the smaller name of Try. This bodes well for developments in the coming year as we see TfL take over the station this Autumn and the East London Line starting next summer.

We are particularly pleased to see fewer bins in Dartmouth Road and London Road with daily collections being arranged by Lewisham Council. Honor Oak Parade is looking better than ever thanks to the support of the Friends of Honor Oak Park.

So this Summer, don't fall for all this gloom in the outside world. It's a bright future in Forest Hill - we might even have a swimming pool one day!

Thanks to everybody who has continued to support the Forest Hill Society. Attending events and helping out in any way allows us to do so much more. So if you would like to get actively involved, please let me know - don't leave it all for others to make Forest Hill an even better place to live.

Improvements for Forest Hill Parks

We’re not short of green spaces in SE23 but some of our parks have been neglected over the years. Now, thanks to extra funding, the Horniman Triangle and Mayow Park are getting the tender loving care they deserve.

Horniman Triangle

.... or Forest Hill Beach, as we like to call it! Yes, it’s just a sandpit at the side of the noisy South Circular but this is no ordinary sand pit. It’s got climbing frames and a water pump and the children love it. It has been packed since it opened in early April thanks, no doubt, to the unexpectedly warm weather this Spring. There’s also a little café with outside seating BUT there are no toilet facilities and this is a regular complaint. The swings are also missed especially by people with very young children. Nothing’s ever perfect, unfortunately.

Mayow Park

The Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) put in a bid to Lewisham Council for ‘Playbuilder’ funds to create a new space where older children could socialise and exercise. That bid has now been successful and the park will receive the funding in 2010-2011. The new space is intended for young people of around 10 to 14 years old.

Even before this exciting news came through, FOMP had started talking about the scheme with some of the Lewisham Young Advisers to the Young Mayor. They are keen to take a lead with planning and development of the proposed new area and a committee has been formed with some Young Advisers, the Council Officers who support them, Green Scene officers, Councillors and FOMP members.

Meanwhile, a revised version of the plan for the Bowls Club accommodation has been submitted to Lewisham Planning Department. Plans were available for viewing in the Bowls Club Pavilion on Saturday 16th May. If the Bowls Club can vacate the present pavilion, it would be available for refurbishment and potential use when cricket restarts in the Park, it’s hoped in Summer 2010.

May Bank Holiday Revels on our Millennium Green

Some places celebrate May Bank holiday with parades, or dancing, maypoles and ribbons. Forest Hill and Sydenham Societies decided to join forces to celebrate with.... a group litter clear-up.

Millennium Gardens, a little visited green oasis at the end of Albion Villas Road, off Sydenham Park Road, was the venue. And, true to Bank Holiday tradition, on a grey, overcast day, enlivened with occasional drizzle, a small group of stalwarts turned up armed mainly with eagerness to sort out any mess.

If that all sounds a bit grim, well, it really wasn’t. With a freshly mown grass meadow, a copse of deciduous trees, bluebells, lilac, frothy masses of mayflowers and the remains of a tennis court with benches, we set to hacking through stinging nettles to retrieve the miscellany of rubbish which had been dumped over the perimeter wall. An hour or so later, a now warmed-up people-chain had passed old sofas, defunct computers, bags of domestic and garden refuse and other junk into a clearing near to the exit from where it could be collected.

It’s amazing what people throw away – and where they choose to throw it. Why would anyone dump their junk into a lovely public space like Millennium Gardens? But discarded old chestnut paling was quickly identified by gardeners in the group as recyclable for bean or netting supports. And a couple of wooden pallets, separated by bricks and stuffed with other debris, were reconstructed into a bug hotel.

There were about thirty of us for the picnic lunch, tucking in with a satisfied air after a job well done. Revels it wasn’t, but a junior cricket match on the meadow green and senior boules on the old tennis court rounded off the afternoon.

Maybe next year we could have dancing and ribbons and maypoles?

23 Club Update

June 23rd is the first anniversary of the 23 Club. It’s really taken off and exceeded our expectations. Thank you to Mary who organises the venues, thank you to Rob for coming up with the idea, thank you to all our members who’ve supported the event and thank you to the local restaurants who’ve given us a great welcome and twelve enjoyable evenings of good food and good company.

A quick recap of where we’ve been since the last Newsletter:- In March, the 23 Club went to the Old Bank restaurant in Honor Oak for some excellent, authentic Italian food. You can see your food being prepared as the main kitchen area is in full view. With the restaurant busy, the service was a little slow, but the results were worth waiting for!

On April 23rd, we celebrated St George’s Day and Shakespeare’s birthday, choosing from an excellent and imaginative menu at the Dartmouth Arms, a gastropub with car park in Dartmouth Road. One member, Bernard Keeffe, rose to his feet and recited the topical passage from Henry V, getting a round of applause from everyone there!

We hope you’ll continue to support the 23 Club in its second year. The restaurants we have chosen for the Summer months feature delicious dishes from Bangladesh, Spain and England at reasonable prices. And please note that because August 23rd falls on a Sunday, we’ve turned it into a family-friendly Club event and we’ll be meeting at 1pm.

Tuesday June 23 at 8pm : Elachi – (Bangladeshi) 16-23 Sunderland Road SE23 2PR : Phone 8699 0866

Thursday July 23 at 8pm : Try (formerly Tapastry) - Spanish tapas 39 Honor Oak Park SE23 1DZ : Phone 8291 2822

Sunday August 23 at 1pm : Forest Hill Tavern – lunchtime, family friendly get-together 108 Forest Hill Road SE22 0RS : Phone 8693 0338

Just to remind you, the 23 Club is open to Forest Hill Society members and their guests. Please make your booking directly with the restaurant, saying you want to be seated with the Forest Hill Society or 23 Club group. Everyone orders and pays separately for their meal. Do please book so that the restaurant can arrange the seating in advance – thank you.