Forest Hill Food Fair - 2nd September

Report on Portas Launch

With standing room only, a capacity crowd listened eagerly as members of the Core Team told them about the Portas Pilot and what it meant for Forest Hill, Kirkdale and Sydenham.

Liz Dart, Head of Community & Neighbourhood Development at Lewisham Council, started the evening off by explaining how the bid process had worked and what not to expect from a Portas Pilot; it was not about investing in infrastructure or the environment, it was about making our high streets lively, dynamic, exciting and social places that give a sense of belonging and trust to the community. One of the fundamental requirements for a Portas Pilot is a “Town Team”: a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for the high streets. This is one way you can be involved.

£80,000 had been awarded for the pilot and this was backed by matched funding from Phase Two works at Bell Green (£100,000) and the High Street Innovation Fund (£15,000). The money will be used to back three projects which aim to re-instill a sense of place and vitality in our high streets.

Ed Holloway, a local architect, then explained the first of the three principle projects outlined in the bid. Jack & Jill are to be two community hubs in Forest Hill and Sydenham. These will be located in currently empty units and renovated by local tradesmen while training some young people (NEETs) to learn a skill. The hubs will be used as a base for the Town Team to interact with the community, showcase local businesses and run business workshops among other uses.

Due to a technical hitch (we had an old presentation up), Louise Brooks, a marketing professional then introduced The Shop Revolution. This project will refurbish up to 12 units for a series of PopUp events with the aim of stimulating demand for empty units. The Shop Revolution will work with Landlords and potential businesses to ensure that we get the right mix of businesses. The Shop Revolution will also work with landlords to find meanwhile uses for premises while looking for long-lasting tenants, maybe under the terms of a meanwhile lease. The ultimate aim is to designate our high streets as a destination – somewhere worth visiting – to bring in visitors from outside the local community.

Richard Hibbert, Chair of the Forest Hill Society, then presented Market Makers. This project will enable the running of a market in each centre. There are already two fledgling markets – the Forest Hill Food Fair on the first Sunday of the month and the Girton Road Car Boot sale on the second Sunday – but it was upto the communities to say what sort of market they wanted. This would be determined by people coming forwards with ideas for stalls and markets and through engagement via the Jack and Jill community hubs.

Councillor Chris Best then summarised the evening, encouraging people to get involved. It was only through community involvement that the pilot would be a success. It was up to you to be involved in the Town Team and shape the future of your high street.

Thank you to everyone who showed up at the Launch Event last night. It was great to see such enthusiasm and so many new faces. We look forwards to seeing you again in the near future. If you filled in a questionnaire, then we will be in touch once we have processed them. If you haven’t filled one in yet, then sign up for our newsletter and we will be in touch shortly.

As promised, a copy of the presentation can be downloaded here. Apologies to those at the back of the Pavilion who could not see the slides.

Reproduced from SEE3.co.uk

Anyone for Table Tennis?

A table tennis table has now been installed in the Horniman Triangle between the cafe and the sandpit. This was funded by the Forest Hill Ward assembly following a bid from the Forest Hill Society.

Please come along and give it a try!

Thameslink Franchise

The Forest Hill Society has submitted a response to the combined Thameslink and Southern Franchise document provided by the Department for Transport.

Summary of Our Recommendations

1.                 Thameslink stopping service on the Sydenham corridor as outlined in the 2007 Route Utilisation Strategy.

2.                 Continued connections from Forest Hill to East Croydon.
3.                 Plans for the introduction of 12 carriage trains on the Sydenham corridor.
4.                 Minimum services frequencies of 4 trains per hour at Crofton Park.
5.                 Inclusion of minimum specification for off-peak services, including maximising the central Thameslink corridor beyond the primary Thameslink routes.

Full submission can be read at http://www.freewebs.com/foresthill/Thameslink%20Franchise.pdf

Mayow Park Beach - Wednesday 29th August

Greenwich and Lewisham Young People's Theatre present: 'Coming to a beach near you'

Mayow Park, Wednesday 29th August, 1pm-4pm

Forthcoming Events - August 2012

On Thursday 23 August, you will get your first chance to find out more about the Portas Pilot.  As you may have heard, Sydenham, Kirkdale and Forest Hill were successful in the second round of bidding.  The Town Team (called SEE3) will outline the three projects which have received funding and explain how you can get involved.  Come along to the Horniman Pavilion at 7:30pm to find out more.

Our next Food Fair will be on Sunday 2 September at Forest Hill Station, with its blend of fresh and hot foods.  Come along  between 10am and 2pm to give the new vendors a try as well as supoprting the regular stall holders.  We are delighted to say that the first of our stall holders will be opening a shop on Dartmouth Road in September and another couple are looking for premises.

 

On Saturday, 8 September, we will be holding a public meetng at 2pm to establish a Friends of Dacres Wood group.  This will be held at the nature reserve in the Field Centre which is accessed down the driveway next to Homefield House.

 

Sunday 9 September will see TheLittleGreenSccreen screening the second of their open air cinemas as part of Showtime at Grow Mayow. 'Garbage Warrior' will screen at 7:30pm, with upcycling art sessons with the Skip Sisters atrting at 3pm.

 

Saturday, 22 September should see the official opening of the pools.  It is frustrating that the pools are not yet open, especially given the false starts and media coverage, but we are assured that progress is being made and Willomtt Dixon should hand the building over to Lewisham and Fusion Lifestyle soon. They are still running ahead of schedule, albeit slightly later than had been hoped.

 

The Executive Commitee has been working flat out for the last two years on various projects.  Our AGM will be in October and we need fresh blood to reinvigorate us with their ideas and enthusiasm.  If you are frustrated about transport, planning or environmental issues or can simply offer your support to help, then please contact me via email@foresthillsociety.com.  We would also benefit hugely from having someone with PR, publishing or legal expertise on the committee as well.  The Olympics ambassadors demonstrated the depth of community support in the UK; lets make the Olympic legacy a community one a well as a sporting legacy.

 

If you have any ideas for how the Assembly Funds should be spent this year, bids must be in by 31 August for Forest Hill (up to £2000), 14 September for Perry Vale (up to £2000) and 12 October for Crofton Park (up to £500). Contact email@foresthilsociety.com for an application form and further details.

 

The nice folk over in Sydenham are looking for images to do with Sydenham for their Greyhound Wall Competition.  If you would like to have your photo preserved for posterity, then head over to whatifsydenham at whatifsydenham.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/be-part-of-the-greyhound-wall-artwork/ for further deails. You can submit an entry providing you or the subject matter have a connection to Sydenham.

Portas Pilot First Steps

Yesterday saw the first meeting of the Town Team (or more correctly, the bid team) since we heard news of our success.

The main item discussed was how to officially constitute the Town Team so that it can take over from Lewisham as the responsible body in the longer term.

We also discussed at length the importance of being transparent and spreading the news about what the Portas Pilot is intended to achieve and what it is not. We want as many people as possible to be involved, but we also have to manage expectations, so please be patient while the nitty gritty of name, website and communications is sorted out. We hope to get this sorted out in the next week or so.

In the meantime, please contact one of the following with any queries you may have:

Who	email	Twitter	Facebook
Richard Hibbert	email@foresthillsociety.com	@FHSoc	/foresthillsociety
Louise Brooks	louise@bakelondon.co.uk	@bakelondon	/bakelondon
Ed Holloway	ed@beepstudio.co.uk
Rebecca Leathlean	rebecca@alhambrahome.co.uk	@AlhambraRebecca	Facebook page
Chris Best	cllr_chris.best@lewisham.gov.uk	@ChrisBestUK	Facebook page
Paul Gale	paul.gale@lewisham.gov.uk

Planning Application: 139 Sunderland Road

The Forest Hill Society has objected to the latest planning application at 139 Sunderland Road following the refusal of the 2009 application which was rejected by both Lewisham Council and the Planning Inspector.

The key points are that a number of the units have poor quality living space as a result of over-development of the site. However, we have welcomed the retention of the frontage of this house which was not included in the previous application. Full details of the Forest Hill Society objection can be read here.

Forest Hill wins Portas Funding

Thanks to the determined efforts of a dedicated band of volunteers, Forest Hill, Kirkdale and Sydenham's joint bid for upto £100,000 of government funding to revitalise the High Street has won one of 13 Portas Pilot grants in the second round of bidding.

With £100,000 of matched funding towards town centre improvements for Forest Hill and Sydenham from the Phase Two development of Bell Green and a further £15,000 from Lewisham, the pilot will concentrate on three projects.

Jack & Jill

Two high street shops will be renovated for creative community engagement, exhibitions, showcasing local products, business workshops, ‘pop-up’ events and as a Town Team base

Shop Revolution

A high impact project with lasting sustainable benefits will renovate upto 12 vacant units, letting them to an eclectic mix of businesses and organisations, including successful Market Makers traders on a Pop Up or trial basis.

Market Makers

More than a market, this will build on the success of the Forest Hill Food Fair, to pilot markets on a rotational basis across the area, with the aim of finding long term tenants for our vacant units.

Richard Hibbert, Chairman of the Forest Hill Society said "These are exciting times for Forest Hill. The Town Centre has been the top priority of the Society and the Forest Hill local assembly for the past two years and we are beginning to see the results of our efforts. We are already seeing signs of revitalisation in Dartmouth Road ahead of the pools opening in the next couple of weeks.

"We have managed to get graffiti removed from various shops and buildings in the town centre, won an Outstanding award from the Royal Horticultural Society for the planting outside the station, revitalised the Trader's Association and hosted three successful Food Fairs. The Portas funding will focus our efforts for the next stage and enable us to deliver the town centre that local residents want.

"We firmly believe that this investment in our high streets is another important step in our founding aim of making Forest Hill an even better place to live and look forwards to working with the other members of the Town Team.

"Particular thanks are due to Ed Holloway, a Forest Hill Society member, who put a lot of time and effort into enhancing the first bid and turning it into a winning bid in the second round."

Pools to open imminently

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock has just posted the following on his Facebook page

Just had a swim in the new pool in Forest Hill!!!! Its been a long struggle but worth it - the new building looks great and so does the old frontage - everyone involved is working their socks off to get it ready to open to the public in a few days time - I was there with some local school students to make sure the pool really is as good as it looks. it is!

This is great news and will be a great addition to Forest Hill.