Spring Events around Forest Hill

Ward Assemblies

Ward Assemblies are being held across SE23 over the next month giving you an opportunity to discuss local issues with neighbours and councillors.

Crofton Park
Tuesday, 28th February, 7.00 pm
Ackroyd Community Centre
More details here 

Perry Vale
Thursday, 2nd March, 6.00 pm
Online
More details here 

Forest Hill
Thursday, 23rd March, 7.30 pm
Online
More details here

Controlled Parking Coming to Your Area Soon?
 

Lewisham Council are currently consulting on a CPZ for the whole of Crofton Park ward and this is expected to be followed by similar consulations for Perry Vale and, eventually for Forest Hill ward.

The Forest Hill Society is encouraging residents who live, work, learn or shop in or around Honor Oak Park and Crofton Park to comment on these proposals by completing the survey at https://pclengagement-hub.co.uk/en-GB/projects/stapi
Please bear in mind you will be asked different questions depending on whether you live on a road directly impacted or on roads outside the area (which may also be indirectly impacted).

Friends of Honor Oak have shared some useful thoughts on the consultation and the impact of the CPZ.
http://honoroak.org/news/lewisham-cpz/

Bell Green Neighbourhood Forum
 

The Bell Green Neighbour Forum is still in its initial set up phase and will be meeting next on Saturday 25th March at Sydenham Library from 11am.

Bell Green is likely to see much change over the next few years, not least a planning application that has been submitted for 261 new residential units on the site of the old gas holders,including blocks up to 15 storeys high. You can view and comment on this application at https://planning.lewisham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_LEWIS_DCAPR_117736

Further applications are expected in the near future for more residential development around Bell Green.

Friends of Baxter Field Planting Day
Sunday 5th March - 11am

Friends of Baxter Field have 50 new saplings to plant, thanks to the Mayor's Trees for London programme. They'll be filling in the gaps in the hedgerow round the playground, as well as planting in the woods. Plus giving the park a tidy up in preparation for Spring.

Come along, bring your wellies, gardening gear and willingness to help!

More information here.

Nature Reserve Open Days

As we move into spring it is great to be reminded that we can spend time in nature close to home:

•     Sydenham Woods
•     Horniman Nature Trail
•     Dacres Wood Nature Reserve is open on the last Saturday of every month.
•     Devonshire Road Nature Reserve is open on the last Sunday of every month.
•     Garthorne Road Nature Reserve is open on the third Saturday of every month.

Christmas Tree Lighting for Forest Hill 2022

The Forest Hill Christmas Tree will be switched on Saturday 10th December shortly after 3:45pm at Forest Hill station with carol singing led by Churches Together for Forest Hill and Sydenham. We hope you can join us.

2020 Christmas Tree at Forest Hill Station and carol singing from 2018.

This year we will be planting a sustainable Christmas tree at the station. This does mean that this year's tree will be smaller than usual, but it will grow!

Forest Hill Society Christmas Quiz

 

The Forest Hill Society invites you to The 2022 CHRISTMAS QUIZ

Tuesday 20 December, 7.30pm at All Inn One pub, 53 Perry Vale, London SE23 2NE

Maximum 6 people per team. Register at Eventbrite

Entry is free, but donations to Lewisham Foodbank welcome via our fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/foresthillsocietyxmas2022

Planning Application: Miriam Lodge, Dartmouth Road

Thee is a proposed development at Miriam Lodge, 185 Dartmouth Road, London SE26 4RQ  application DC/21/123657: Demolition of existing annex building ancillary to the hostel at Miriam Lodge 185 Dartmouth Road SE26 and construction of 9 three storey 4 bedroomed dwelling houses together with the provision of cycling spaces at the rear and refuse/recycling storage.

The Forest Hill Society has written to object to this application on the grounds that at least one of the proposed dwellings does not meet adequate standards for the size of unit.

1. The unit in question is the westernmost of the proposed development on the Long terrace, adjacent to the existing substation.

2. Although the Daylight Report by BDLA generally considers that the scheme meets adequate standards, the Report specifically identifies that this unit is deficient in meeting almost all of the daylight standards for most of the habitable rooms.  

3. With its position backing on to the electricity substation, we consider the garden is not of an adequate size for a 4-bedroom house, particularly where it is anticipated that young children/adults will be living there.

We therefore request the application is refused by the council.

Planning Application: Thorpewood Avenue

I am writing on behalf of the Forest Hill Society regarding the proposed development at 88 Thorpewood Avenue, SE26 4BY, application DC/22/128192: The construction of a part one/part two storey rear extension, roof extension to the rear roof slope and installation of rooflights in the front roof slope at 88 Thorpewood Avenue SE26 in connection with the alteration and conversion to provide 3 self-contained flats, together with the construction an outbuilding in the rear garden.

We are writing to object to the above application by virtue of the unsuitable accommodation proposed and the detrimental impact on the Forest Hill Conservation Area.

The proposals do not satisfy the requirements within “Technical housing standards – nationally described space standard” (Department for Communities and Local Government, March 2015) or the London Plan (March 2021). The proposed Flat B does not fit the requirement within the above documents that "a dwelling with two or more bedspaces has at least one double (or twin) bedroom" (Para 10b, Nationally Described Space Standards). Furthermore, even if a double bed was incorporated into the layout, the size of the flat would still not meet the requirements.

Moreover, the Development Management Local Plan (2014) Policy 3 resists the conversion of a single family house to two or more dwellings unless they meet certain critera. The document states that:

"2.13 Family housing (single family houses with three or more bedrooms) is seen as a valuable resource which should be retained in order to meet identified housing need and provide housing choice. Single family houses with fewer than three bedrooms should also be retained in order to provide housing choice."

It should be noted that the dwelling as existing is/does not:

a. adjacent to noise generating or other environmentally unfriendly uses
b. lack of external amenity space suitable for family use.

Therefore, the site is contrary to Policy 3a within the DMLP (2014). It is also contrary to point c within the same policy with reference to the Forest Hill Conservation Area, as per below.

The Forest Hill Conservation Area is characterised by its commercial and retail centre around the railway station and surrounding suburban residential streets and green spaces. The application site forms part of a terrace of houses designed and built by prominent local developer E.C. Christmas. The buildings are representative of developments by Christmas and the period in which they were built and thus make a positive contribution to the character and appearnace of the Conservation Area. At present, there are no rear extensions projections on any of the terraced buildings, thereby allowing the original form and pattern of the buildings to be understood. The submitted Heritage Statement has not assessed the significance of the Conservation Area and how the application site contributes to that significance in line with the requirement set out in Paragraph 194 of the NPPF, although the statement does acknowledge that the terraced buildings have “survived nearly unaltered with the original doors, clay tile roofs and fine leaded windows still in place.”

The proposals include a rear extension which will remove the articulation of the original rear elevation, which has a small projection and catslide roof, thus breaking up the rhythm of the host terrace. The Heritage Statement concludes that the proposals would not have any negative impacts, but this does not address the incorporation of the extension on what they have themselves stated is an otherwise unaltered terrace. The extension would ultimately detract from the character of the host property, terrace and Conservation Area as a whole and result in harm to its significance. The application has not provided any public benefits to outweigh the heritage harm caused, as per Paragraph 202 of the NPPF.

We therefore request the application is refused

Forest Hill Society AGM 2022

 

All members and non-members are welcome to attend our AGM, which will take place at 7:30pm, Tuesday 11th October at the All Inn One pub on Perry Vale, just opposite Forest Hill Station.

The AGM is an opportunity to find out more about what is happening in Forest Hill, to share your concerns and to shape the future of the Society.

At the AGM in October we elect the new committee for the Forest Hill Society. We are always keen to have new members on the committee, as well as existing members who wish to continue.

We are fortunate to have a committee consisting of many people who are passionate about Forest Hill and making a difference to benefit the area. The most visible way this can be seen is the planting and maintenance of plants around the town centre. This year the Forest Hill Society has again been awarded “Outstanding” for the In Bloom competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Having more members on the committee means we get a better idea of what is important to you and the everybody in the community. And it also means more people to help at events and in campaigns.

We are particularly looking for people with an interest in the following areas:
 

	Environment - including planting and gardening around the town centre and looking at ways to improve air quality in the local area
	Transport - including improving roads for pedestrians and cyclists, ensuring Forest Hill is well served by public transport, and considering flight paths over Forest Hill
	Planning and Development - including developing long-term plans for the town centre, and also reviewing planning applications in the area
	Communications and Events - including contributing to our newsletter and arranging events for the community (e.g. book sales, gin tasting, history talks, pub quizzes, Christmas tree lighting and carols). We are particular interested in anybody who would like to assist with the editing of our paper newsletter.

You can put your name forward for the committee in one of two ways:
1. Email email@foresthillsociety.com to let us know you wish to stand
2. Join us at the AGM and raise your hand when we ask for nominations
and you can become part of the team that has been making Forest Hill even better for 16 years.

 

Planning Application: 43 Dartmouth Road

43 DARTMOUTH ROAD, LONDON, SE23 3HN, application DC/22/127781: Prior Approval under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class MA of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended) for the change of use of the existing ground floor and basement from retail (Use Class E) to a single dwelling (Use Class C3) at 43 Dartmouth Road SE23.

We are writing to object to the above application by virtue of the unsuitable accommodation proposed and the detrimental impact on the Forest Hill Conservation Area.

The proposals do not satisfy the requirements within “Technical housing standards – nationally described space standard” (Department for Communities and Local Government, March 2015) or the London Plan (March 2021). The above space standards do not cater for a 1 bedroom/2 person accommodation over two floors, so this would be subject to the 1 bedroom/2 person requirement. The proposed 45 sqm unit would therefore not satisfy the requirement within both of the above documents of 58 sqm.

The Forest Hill Conservation Area is characterised by its commercial and retail centre around the railway station and surrounding suburban residential streets and green spaces. The commercial core, including the retail units along Dartmouth Road contribute to this area’s character. The loss of a retail unit in this area and the resulting inactivity of its frontage would erode this commercial character and ultimately, the character of the wider Conservation Area.

We therefore request the application is refused.

Forest Hill Station Forecourt

A new trial access to Forest Hill station started on 30th July which is designed to demonstrate that we can make the station more pedestrian friendly.

The car park remains open except the side closest to WH Smith. Drop-off and parking at the station is still possible through the existing vehicle entrance, but this also functions as the exit from the car park. The initial trial was not designed to be the final solution and as such was never expected to be perfect.

We have received lots of predominantly positive comments about the scheme with pedestrians feeling safer getting to the station, particularly with young children. We understand that it has made it harder for some cars manoeuvring around the car park after dropping off passengers and for the next phase we are looking at ways that this can be improved. Based on feedback they key issue is widening the entrance and exit and providing an easier way to turn around and drop off. In regards to that we will propose removing the 4 car parking spaces in front of the Lazy Chef cafe in order to widen the entrance/exit. We are also working with the council to remove the dilapidated toilet that has been closed for a number of years.

Any final plans will need agreement of TfL, Network Rail, Lewisham Council and other parties. This trial has demonstrated that there are ways to improve this important location in our town centre and make it safer for all users of the station. We now feel that we have collected sufficient feedback and therefore we propose to end the trial early - within the next couple of weeks. We are targeting mid September, pending availability and discussions with station staff, TfL and councillors.

Finally we are continuing to campaign for a nicer station as a whole. In the longer term we would love to have a better station building (with a public toilet), improved crossing on the south circular, and also lifts for disabled access and a pedestrian crossing on the Perry Vale side.

Thanks to everybody who has provided feedback to us already - both positive and negative comments. Please do continue to send feedback and suggestions to email@foresthillsociety.com

Planning: Drakes Court, Devonshire Road

DC/22/127093 

The construction of residential dwellings (Use Class C3) together with new play space, cycle parking spaces, refuse/recycling stores and associated landscaping works at Drakes Court Estate, Devonshire Road SE23. | DRAKES COURT, DEVONSHIRE ROAD, LONDON, SE23 3LY

Following the final consultation phase the planning application for the above is now being considered. The Planning Committee of the Forest Hill Society discussed this application at their meeting on 26th July 2022.

We would like to support this thoughtfully considered scheme which is considerate to existing residents and neighbours in scale & design, sympathetic to its context and with a particularly comprehensive & imaginative landscaping plan. The documents and plans in the application were clear and detailed which is not always the case with infill developments. The scheme will provide 8 new quality social rented council homes and substantial improvements to the landscaping & amenity areas.

It is pleasing that comments made by residents and others have been incorporated in the final submission.

However, we do consider it important that the contractors respect the intentions of the plan during the construction. Once large quantities of plant & materials are moved on site, we have unfortunately seen too many ‘non material amendments’ seeking to remove inconvenient trees or RPA’s compromised in some other infill developments.

We feel this plan should be a source of pride for those who have worked hard to develop it, and welcomed by the local community.

Horniman wins Museum of the Year

 We are so proud of and grateful for the Horniman Museum - 2022 winner of Museum of the Year.

 

 

The Horniman Museum and Gardens was announced as Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 yesterday (14 July 2022). The £100,000 award – the largest museum prize in the world – was presented by DJ and broadcaster Huw Stephens at a ceremony in the spectacular setting of the Design Museum, London. 

The Horniman Museum and Gardens was recognised for its transformational programme in 2021, re-orientating its activity to reach diverse audiences more representative of London and engaging people in addressing the climate emergency.

Nick Merriman, Chief Executive of the Horniman Museum and Gardens, says: ‘To be awarded Art Fund Museum of the Year, when the other finalists have such wonderful achievements to share, is an incredible honour. Thank you to the judges and to Art Fund. I particularly want to pay tribute to everyone involved in the Horniman, in whatever capacity, in 2021. It takes a community of people to create a museum that truly serves its local area. People love museums – we hear “I love the Horniman” a lot – and this award is a great endorsement of love as a motivation for the work that we do here; love for our communities and love for the world we all share.’