More Dates for your Diary

Sunday 21 August: Society Walk - Waterlink Way from Bell Green to Ladywell
An opportunity to join us to explore a little known, but rather pretty, river and parkland on the edge of Forest Hill.

Saturday 24 September: Freecycle/Bring and Take event at Dacres Wood Nature Reserve
Following successful freecycle events in Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, we bring this concept to the other side of the railway.

Thursday 6th October: Forest Hill Society AGM
You chance to vote for the next committee and to get more involved yourself. Guest speaker to be confirmed.

Sunday 23 October: open day at Dacres Wood Nature Reserve
Another opportunity to explore Dacres Wood and ponds. Quite possibly the site of one of Shackleton's first expeditions, when he should have been in school!

Outer London Fund bid

On June 13th, the Outer London Fund which had previously been announced by Boris Johnson, went live. This is a £50m fund to boost regeneration and rejuvenate town centres at the very heart of local London communities. The funding will be distributed in two rounds; up to £10m in Round One, the remainder in Round Two.

Round One applications had to be made through the Boroughs, so we held meetings with our local councillors and Lewisham. Thanks to our approach, Lewisham have now applied for Forest Hill as one of their places. We should hear in August whether they have been successful.

We are very excited by this as the Fund is aimed directly at the issues we have been campaigning on including letting empty units, greening of the Town Centre, better signage, improved environment, Pop Up events and removal of street clutter.

The second round will continue the package of support, adding more places and shifting the balance towards more substantial physical projects that can deliver lasting improvement. Round Two applications are required by midday on 14th October 2011 and are limited to £2M per place. We will continue working with Lewisham to develop their bid for Round Two.

Save Honor Oak Rec

Southwark Council are currently undertaking the promised public consultation on the future of their cemeteries, including the possible use of Honor Oak Rec.

They would like to involve as many residents and councillors from Southwark and Lewisham as they can to take part, so please submit your views online now.

There is no end date listed on their website, so act now to make sure your voice is heard!

Act swiftly!

Work on the Horniman Gardens project began at the start of this year and although there has been a lot of disruption, great progress has been made. The £2.3 million project will improve access and repair tired infrastructure and facilities, install new facilities for the community, and help to unlock the educational potential of the Gardens and their links with the Museum's collections, by exciting new interpretation and planting schemes, and a purpose-built learning and community centre - now known as the Pavilion.

While most of the funding has been secured, the Horniman are still looking for further funds to complete the project. Joe Swift, garden designer, presenter of BBC TV's Gardener's World and Patron of the Horniman, has donated an hour's consultation to a charity auction. You can now bid online, but hurry as the auction closes at noon on Monday 25th July. They are hoping to raise £1000, so dig deep! All proceeds from the auction will go to the Horniman Gardens Appeal.

Please note that the consultation, which is for up to an hour, is limited to gardens within the M25 and must be taken by 31st July 2012.



To find out more about the progress of the project, click here.

Capital Clean Up

If you are at a loose end tomorrow or on Saturday, then why not lend a hand to Capital Clean Up.

Following on from last year's success, they have already run eight sessions this year, cleaning various areas including tidying the path opposite Sainsbury's in Forest Hill, and have a couple more sessions remaining.

The first is at Willow Way on Wednesday 20 July from 10 am to noon. Simply turn up if you would like to help. 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 final session is at Sydenham Garden's De Frene Road Allotment Site on Saturday 23 July from 10  to 2 pm. Apart from the usual volunteers, this event will be joined by 35 members of the Fourth Monkey theatre group and members of the local Safer Neighbourhood Team. Due to the numbers expected, please take suitable gloves with you.

Paypal

We are delighted to announce that we are accepting PayPal once more as a way to pay your membership fees, so if you have been putting off joining because it was too much hassle, now is the time to act.

Your membership fees help to pay for the newsletter and to cover any expenses involved in putting on the various events and activities we organise during the year.

Joining is easy. Simply follow the instructions on our Membership page. If you had previously signed up using Paypal, there is no need to take any further action.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sydenham Arts Festival Fri 1 July – Sat 9 July

All over the place!

Havelock Walk Open Studios Event Sat 16 – Sun 17 July 11am–5pm: Havelock Walk

Crofton Park Assembly Fri 15 July 12.30 - 9.00pm: Community Carnival, Courtrai Road, SE23 1PL

Forest Hill Assembly Sun 14 August 2.00 - 4.30pm: Sydenham Girls’ School

Perry Vale Assembly: TBC

A Right Royal Do

On Friday 29 April, the Forest Hill Society held a party on Dartmouth Road to celebrate the nuptials of the now Duke & Duchess of Cambridge as well as a day off work for many!

Antic, who will run the old Post Office, provided a pop up pub venue offering beer, cider and sausage rolls, whilst FHS set to sprucing up the space outside with flags and bunting (and undertaking some much needed weeding!).

The event was well attended with Forest Hilliers getting into the spirit, enjoying the sunshine, sharing cakes and sandwiches as well as partaking in games - guess the weight of the cake, pin the crown on the princess and decorating paper plates. The gorgeous sunny afternoon was a lovely show of community spirit and enjoyed by everyone. Here's to next year and the Queen’s Jubilee!

The Pools Progress

As the Forest Hill Pools are replaced over the next year or so, we’ll hear from members of the team involved in the improvements. This issue we speak to Bill Duke, structural engineer on the Forest Hill Pool’s rebuild

What is your role on the pools project?

I am the structural engineer – which basically means making sure it doesn’t fall down!

What sort of projects do you normally work on?

All sorts of developments including schools, hospitals, factories, retail and leisure projects. This is the fifth pool I’ve done; the last one was the Corby East Midlands International Pool which won a number of awards. It will be an Olympic training venue.

What do you think is the most exciting aspect?

I think any project like this has a major positive impact on the local community and playing a key role is very rewarding

What will be your personal biggest challenge?

As structural engineers we must deliver the design and details to meet the build program and this is always a challenge, particularly on a ‘wet leisure’ type project

How much involvement will you have in the pools project during the construction?

I’ll visit site every two to four weeks and at key steps. Our team will have a heavy involvement in the early stages whilst the building gets off the ground.

What sort of projects are you most interested in?

I’ve done many projects but I find the most challenging are the most rewarding. They are not necessarily ‘high profile’ jobs. I led a team of up to twenty over a two year period in the design and construction of a major factory extension. Contractors worked round the clock to complete it and it was quite invigorating.

Which of the facilities in the new pools complex would you be most likely to use?

Definitely the swimming pool!

ST AUGUSTINE’S

February 5 this year saw the launch of a new exhibition ‘Changing Faces’ telling the story of the life of One Tree Hill, St Augustine’s Church and the people connected with it. As time has moved on, so has the building which is now in desperate need of repair.

Changing Faces launched a major fundraising campaign to save this iconic landmark, and the plans are to develop as a key venue at the heart of the local community; the exhibition is still on show in the studio space.

St. Augustine’s is also about to launch a new project called The Green Rooms which will focus on the areas of the Arts, quiet and meditation and the natural and built environment. Through performances, workshops and community volunteer days we want to serve and celebrate our local community as well as connecting faith and the world around us.

There are many more exciting projects planned. If you would like to be involved in any of the fundraising projects, donate further archive material to the exhibition or would like to hear more about The Green Rooms, please e-mail info@augustaineonetreehill.org.uk