Farewell to Direct Services from Charing Cross

Thanks to @terryduffelen

Death of Charing Cross Direct Service

Today we bid a sad farewell to the through trains to Charing Cross.

A funeral procession, complete with coffin, will assemble on Platform 1, at 1 pm, at Forest Hill Station and will take the following train (back coach) to Charing Cross to mark our tragic loss.

13:09 - Sydenham
13:12 - Forest Hill
13:14 - Honor Oak Park
13:17 - Brockley
13:19 - New Cross Gate
13:26 - London Bridge

Ironically we will have to change trains at London Bridge due to Engineering works.

13:38 - London Bridge
13:47 - Charing Cross

Everyone affected by the unfortunate occurrence will be welcome come to the to the funeral, suitably dressed of course.


Funeral directors: Brockley Cross Action Group, the Brockley, Telegraph Hill, Sydenham and Forest Hill Societies

December Festivities

Saturday, 5th December, THE START OF CHRISTMAS IN FOREST HILL.

10am-5pm – All Inn One – Dancing on Ice. The car park will be transformed into SE23’s only ice rink with skates of all sizes available for hire. Father Christmas will be there, as will carol singers and face painters. Food and drink a-plenty!

Father Christmas will also be at Question Bar 45/47 Dartmouth Road between 2 and 3.15pm. He will then do a walkabout in The Town Centre. Festive singing will be provided by the Youth Choir from Living Springs International Church

12-5pm - Craft Fair at The Hob, 7 Devonshire Road.


12-5pm, The Honor Oak, 1 St German’s Road - Tea & Make. Craft and the art of making-do. PLUS Celebrity Christmas Light switch-on at 5pm! (Special guest to be announced.)




Saturday, 12th & Sunday, 13th December - The Havelock Open Studios. The artists invite you to join the excitement and show your support for creativity in the community.

PLUS 11th December – 7-9pm - Opening Night. Barbecue, Music, Performance. They're also having a prize draw during the open studios to win one of three works of art - tickets £1 each. www.havelockwalk.com


Sunday, 13th December from 11am. Tree dressing in Mayow Park, by the pavilion. It would help us if you could bring any special scraps of fabric, coloured leaves, berries, paper, ribbon and glue with you. There’ll also be a Christmas Fair between 11am and 4pm with Father Christmas, a local choir and market stalls.

Sunday, 13th December – 3pm- 6pm. Horniman Gardens Carol Singing. Christmas really isn’t Christmas until you’ve sung your heart out at this fabulous annual event. The carols start at 5pm with the English Baroque Choir and Crystal Palace Band. But before that there’s festive fun with a FREE Santa’s grotto, refreshments, toy stalls, roasted chestnuts.

Interview with Richard Hibbert on Rail Cuts

Thanks to http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/

No To Train Cuts! - The Campaign moves up a gear

Our train services are under threat again from multiple fronts.

With the cross-party support of local politicians, the Forest Hill and Sydenham Societies have been running a campaign against proposed cuts to our service on one of Southern's busiest passenger routes. We have written to the Minister of Transport, both privately and in an open letter, requesting a meeting to discuss our concerns, but while we have had a reply, he has not yet agreed to a meeting. Over 1500 people have already signed our petition.

As a result, all the civic societies along the line will be leafletting their local stations demanding action. Brockley Central, Forest Hill and Sydenham Societies handed thousands of leaflets out today and HOPRA and the Telegraph Hill Society will leaflet Honor Oak Park and New Cross Gate tomorrow. We will be encouraging all the affected commuters to sign our petition at http://nototraincuts.notlong.com/ and write to their MP (either Joan Ruddock or Jim Dowd) asking them to raise this matter with the Minister for Transport.

What are the cuts?

In December, Southern Railways plans to cease service into Charing Cross station, terminating all services at London Bridge.. This is as a result of the DfT and SouthEastern Railways agreeing to exclusive access by SouthEastern Railways (also operated by Southern Railways' parent company GoVia). Southern have tried to smuggle this change in without any announcement; there is nothing on their website regarding this change in service despite the fact that they claim to have consulted widely in their official submission to ORR, the rail regulator. This off-peak service on one of south London's busiest lines has significant demand and there was supposed to be further investigation before the service to Charing Cross was altered.

As if this wasn't bad enough, Southern Railways plan to reduce the number of trains in the afternoon and off peak which serve the Sydenham line by making the Caterham and Sutton trains fast to Norwood Junction. This means that the number of trains will be reduced from six trains an hour to four trains an hour once the East London Line starts operation in May 2010.

Southern have previously argued that the Sydenham line requires eight trains an hour formed of 12 coaches in order to have sufficient capacity to take commuters to Central London, which is where the majority wish to travel. How can a reduction from six trains an hour to four be justified (regardless of the number of coaches)? They claim that we will have additional capacity, but official modelling of demand for the East London Line service predicts severe high peak crowding from day one.

The third threat to our services comes from the possible reinstatement of the South London Line service from Victoria to either Bellingham or London Bridge. One of the options currently being considered by TfL and Passenger Focus is to cancel our loop service from London Bridge to Victoria via Crystal Palace and replace it with one via Peckham Rye instead.

Letter to South London Press

Below is the text of a letter published in the South London Press from the Forest Hill Society, other local civic societies, and local councillors.

Dear Sir,

We are deeply concerned by the proposed deep cuts to already overcrowded train services run by Southern Railways via Sydenham, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Brockley and New Cross Gate. Passengers are rightly outraged by these cuts and concerned that an already overcrowded and unpleasant commute will turn into a daily nightmare.

We welcome the introduction of the East London Line extension which is due to start in May 2010, but local residents were promised by Transport for London that existing services would not be cut once the East London Line became operational. These promises have been broken. From December all direct evening services to and from Charing Cross will be stopped. From May 2010 Southern intend to cut 1/3 of all main line services during the day and most importantly during the evening rush hours.

Over 11 million people used this train service in the years 2007/8 and Department for Transport figures and Transport for London figures all show that this line has suppressed capacity of up to 40%. In other words, were train services to improve the numbers of people using this line would increase significantly. The argument put forward by rail bosses that passengers will immediately transfer to the East London Line do not stack up. Improved services will create extra demand for all services, not less.

As representatives of Local Residents Groups, Locally elected politicians and as Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee we have written to the Minister at the Department of Transport requesting an urgent meeting on these issues. The Department of Transport sets the requirements of the Train contracts that train operators have to run. It is the Department of Transport who can resolve this problem. Both TFL and Southern have made it clear that solutions must come from the Government Department. We have asked the Minster to travel on an evening peak time train service with us to see for himself how overcrowded it is. The Department must take responsibility for this issue, engage with local residents, and provide solutions to their concerns.

Kind Regards

Lewisham Councillors:

John Russell; Philip Peake and Alex Feakes - Liberal Democrat Councillors Forest Hill Ward.

Dean Walton; Romayne Phoenix and Darren Johnson - Green Councillors Brockley Ward.

Chris Best, Marion Nisbet and Seamus McDermott - Labour Councillors Sydenham Ward

Susan Wise, John Paschoud, -Labour Councillors Perry Vale Ward

Local Residents Groups:

Richard Hibbert, Chair; Michael Abrahams; Tony Petim - Forest Hill Society

Tim Lund, Chair - Sydenham Society Executive Committee

Malcolm Bacchus- Telegraph Hill Society

London Assembly Members:

Caroline Pidgeon AM - Chair, London Assembly Transport Committee.

A History of Croydon Canal

Presentation by Steve Grindlay 

 

https://www.slideshare.net/foresthill/croydon-canal-talk

 

Croydon Canal Talk from foresthill

200th Anniversary of the Croydon Canal

Over 120 people from the Forest Hill Society and Sydenham Society celebrated the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Croydon Canal with a walk from Sydenham station to Forest Hill station, via the last remaining section of the canal in the area in Dacres Wood.

Steve Grindlay provided the historical details with stops along the route and a talk and slide show at the Hob.

We had traditional bargeman's songs along the route provided by Andrew King, including a special song composed for the opening of the Canal 200 years ago!

After the walk many of us went to the Dartmouth Arms, where a traditional bargeman's lunch had been prepared of beef or vegetable stew with beer.

If you have other good photos from the day, please send them in for us to include on the website, and we hope to make the slide show available soon. In the meantime, you can read the article on the history of the Canal from our latest newsletter.

Introducing the new Chairman

Last night's AGM saw the election of the new chair of the Forest Hill Society, Richard Hibbert.

Richard has been on the Executive committee for the last year and is also on the Forest Hill Ward Assembly Coordinating Group.

We wish him congratulations and a successful year ahead.

TfL Presentation to the Forest Hill Society

Meet the Manager - Southern Railways

This Thursday, 15th October, Southern Railway are organising one of their regular 'Meet the Manager' sessions on the London Bridge station concourse from 7:30am - 9:30am. We would like as many people as possible to join us to explain to them why cuts to services is unacceptable. We hope that a large number turn up so that Southern Railway management will see the strength of feeling from their passengers. Additionally we have invited the press and local politicians to join us to hear the views of passengers.

Please join us on Thursday in opposing these cuts.

In December 2009 Southern Railways plan to cut our direct evening service (and Sunday service) from Charing Cross, running all trains from London Bridge. This is a well used service and provides a direct connection from the West End after 7:30pm. As this is an off-peak service we reject Southern Railway's claims that there is no capacity through London Bridge.

In May 2010 Southern Railways plan to reduce evening peak services and daytime services from London Bridge by over 30%, from 6 trains per hour to just 4 trains per hour. They will continue to run 6 trains per hour in the morning, meeting the demands on the line, but will not provide a similar service in the evenings, hoping that customers will switch to East London Line services or put up with serious overcrowding.

You can also join over 1,200 other people and sign the petition at http://nototraincuts.notlong.com

Campaign Agianst Rail Cuts hits the front page

Front Page story in the News Shopper

BBC Online article

South London Press

Sign the Petition at http://nototraincuts.notlong.com

Horniman Gardens Redevelopment

Below is the Forest Hill Society response to the planning application submitted by Horniman Gardens:

Members of the executive committee of the Forest Hill Society met with representatives from the Horniman to discuss their plans. As a result we would like to provide some feedback on the planning application.

We generally welcome the the planning application for Horniman Gardens which will improve many aspects of the gardens. The changes to the bandstand and the surrounding area will substantially improve the views across London which make the gardens so special. The improved access and integration of the animal enclosure will also enhance the gardens particularly for visitors with young children.

However there are some comments that we would like to make that may further improve the plans for redeveloping the gardens.

1. The positioning of the new community education building appears to leave a narrow path to the west which leads to the entrance to the animal enclosure and to the meadow field. Due to the topography of the area and the trees and shrubbery this narrow path may look as if it goes nowhere, despite being a major route around the park. This could present some safety and security concerns, as well as obscuring the entrance to the enhanced animal enclosure. We would recommend adjusting the positioning of the education building so that it is slightly higher up the hill (to the east), leaving more space for this path.


2. The sunken garden is an important feature of the park and is enjoyed by older members of the community, who are able to sit on the many benches available and enjoy the flowers. It is important to continue to provide a bright, well planted, space in this section of the park that can be enjoyed throughout the spring and summer. A water feature in the centre of the sunken garden is most welcome but should not be to the detriment of the high quality planting that has long been a feature of the gardens.


3. There are some concerns about the number of trees and lampposts positioned around the bandstand which may obstruct views of the bandstands from the avenue leading from the museum and London Road, the trees may also limit the views of the bandstand during concerts. Some trees in this space will help break up the large empty space, but putting lamppost between them seems to turn the area into an obstacle course. A better solution would be to provide lighting incorporated into the branches of the trees together with less obtrusive lighting around the edges of the area.

We hope that Lewisham planning department, together with the Horniman Gardens, can consider these issues and whether the implementation of this development may be further improved in line with our suggestions. Subject to these points, we recommend that the planning department approve this planning application and we wish the Horniman great success in raising funds to make these enhancements to the gardens, which are well loved by all in Forest Hill.

Tyson Road Application Rejected Again

We are pleased to report that following our objection to the proposed development on Tyson Road and almost 350 letters of objection from local residents, that Lewisham council planning department have rejected this development for the following reasons:

The outline proposal, for which scale, appearance, layout and access fall to be determined would, by reason of the layout, height, design, fail to complement or, moreover, be compatible with the scale and character of the surrounding environment, resulting in an un-neighbourly form of development contrary to URB 3 Urban Design, HSG 5 Layout and Design of New Residential Development and HSG 8 Backland and Infill Development in the Councils adopted Unitary Development Plan (July 2004).

We applaud this decision by the planning department but there is a strong possibility that the developer will now appeal to the planning inspectorate. We hope that, should this happen that the inspectorate will reaffirm the decision of the planning department and back the views of local residents.

Many thanks to all those who wrote to object to this planning application.

New Gate for Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Saturday, 3^rd October – 5pm. Official opening of the new fencing and gate at the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve.

Do join the Friends of Devonshire Road Nature Reserve as they celebrate the culmination of several years’ hard work. No longer will this fantastic piece of urban nature be hidden behind tatty, municipal fencing. It now has an entrance to be proud of, designed by Jacob Twyford and hand made in wrought iron and welded steel by local blacksmith, Steve Capper. The reserve will be open from 3.00pm and there are plans for a party with music and more after the opening. There is an exhibition of children’s drawings and a sculpture in lead made by girls at Sydenham School - all used as inspiration for elements of the gate design.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

AGM

Thursday, 15th October at 7.30pm

upstairs at The Hob opp. Forest Hill Station.

Guest Speaker from Transport for London.

Croydon Canal Bicentenary Celebrations.

Saturday, 24th October, 11am at Sydenham Station.

see below for further details

Forest Hill Ward Assembly

Wednesday, 7th October 7.30-9.30pm

Living Springs International Church, 8-10 Devonshire Road, SE23 3TJ

Perry Vale Ward Assembly

Thursday, 15th October 7.30-9.30pm

Forest Hill Methodist Church, Normanton Street, London SE23 2DS.

23 CLUB

(book direct with restaurant mentioning 23 Club/FHSoc)

Saturday, 24th October at approximately 2pm: Dartmouth Arms. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE as we come together with the Sydenham Society for the Croydon Canal bicentenary celebrations.

7 Dartmouth Road, SE23 3HN, 8488 3117

Monday, 23rd November at 8pm : Honor Oak Pub.

1 St. German's Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 1RH.

Tel 8690 8606

From Strength to Strength

Forest Hill is changing fast and the Forest Hill Society is now truly part of the process of making Forest Hill an even better place to live. As he prepares to step down after a busy year as vice-chair and acting chair, Michael Abrahams assesses the role of the Society in SE23.

Over the last few years, we have had victories on train services, on defeating and supporting a number of planning applications and, most recently and most importantly, on keeping swimming at the centre of Forest Hill. We have worked to form a better sense of community in Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park. The 23 Club has created a monthly event for people to share a meal and conversation with others in the area and to support local restaurants. We have also had nature and history walks opening up areas that none of us had previously visited.

October sees an important milestone in the history of Forest Hill since it is exactly 200 years since the London to Croydon canal came through the area and Forest Hill came into being. We are celebrating this with our most exciting event to date. You’ll find details in this Newsletter but, basically, it’s a walk, some nature, a bit of local history, and some food - a great day out in your local area!

But before that, we have our AGM which will take place on 15th October upstairs at the Hob, opposite Forest Hill Station. This is a chance to hear our guest speaker from Transport for London who will explain the plans for our local stations now that TfL controls them and the East London Line that will be running through them from next year. This will be followed by elections for the Forest Hill Society Executive. There are up to twenty-three places available on the Executive all of which will be up for election. There are also roles on sub-committees looking at Development, Transport, Environment and Green Spaces and Events and Communications. With so many positions available, we hope that you will consider getting more involved and helping the Society to continue its run of successes over the last few years. Every year, new people join our committee bringing fresh ideas and energy to the Society. Without them and people like you, the Society would not be able to function, let alone succeed time after time.

Unfortunately, our Chairman, Peter Irby, has not been well this year and will be resigning at the AGM. I, in my capacity as vice-chair, have been running the Society in his absence but work and other commitments mean that I am unable to continue next year so we are looking for somebody to take over and shape the direction of the Society.

If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact Michael Abrahams or come along on the 15th October and throw your hat in the ring!

Train Services

The East London Line is creeping closer to Forest Hill and changes are already underway. From 20th September, Transport for London will take over the management of the stations on our line including Honor Oak Park and Forest Hill. Already at Forest Hill we are seeing the old footbridge replaced with a new one with lifts to both platforms. But the picture is not all positive.

Most importantly, we are expecting East London Line trains to start running to Forest Hill from June 2010 or possibly a bit earlier. We expect these to comprise four carriages from the start of operations.

But on the railway system every silver lining appears to have a cloud and we have learnt that Southern Railways intends to cut some services from Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park from December this year. This is in spite of intense lobbying by the Forest Hill Society and Sydenham Society over the last two years.

From December 2009, we will no longer have any services to or from Charing Cross. All trains to Forest Hill will start or terminate at London Bridge. Southern claim that their sister company, South Eastern, requires the tracks between Charing Cross and London Bridge for Kent services. But at off-peak evening times there is clearly spare capacity on these lines, just as there is today for our direct services from Charing Cross.

From May next year, Southern is planning to reduce daytime off-peak services to Forest Hill from 6 trains per hour to 4 trains per hour. This is not a disaster as it is relatively recently that these services were increased to 6 per hour, and at off peak they are not entirely full. However, in the last month we have confirmed with Southern that it is not just the off-peak services that will be affected - THEY ARE PLANNING TO CUT PEAK EVENING SERVICES AS WELL. This decrease to 4 trains per hour will hit passengers travelling all day after 9am, right through the evening peak. Frequent users of these evening services will confirm that they are already running at maximum capacity, and the removal of 30% of trains is likely to be a real problem for passengers from London Bridge.

The Forest Hill Society has asked Southern to reconsider these cuts to our services and we have been speaking to politicians to see what can be done before the all important date of May 2010, when we lose 30% of our trains.

Sign the Petition at http://nototraincuts.notlong.com

Transport News

Forest Hill Station - Perry Vale Entrance Open Till Late !

We finally get Network Rail approval to have the new automatic ticket and Oyster machine access via the Perry Vale entrance to the Forest Hill Station open until the last train leaves from the station. We wish to thank all those groups and volunteers who campaigned with us and lobbied for this to happen.

Disability Access Challenge – Perry Vale Car Park & Post Office

After much expense to try and improve access to the Perry Vale Car Park and the entrance to the Post Office Delivery Depot, someone has forgotten to make the facility easily available for all. Someone else has decided to locate the Car Park Ticket Machines at one end of the Car Park in the middle of an island that is extremely difficult for anyone in a wheelchair to use. The Forest Hill Society will be pressing Lewisham Council to come up with reasonable alternatives.

Honor Oak Road Traffic Light Phasing

We received news last month that, following our representations to Transport for London regarding the junction between Honor Oak Road and London Road, the traffic lights and traffic management system have been adjusted to allow a more responsive green time for Honor Oak Road. Hopefully this should remove the excessive queuing on Honor Oak Road.

Controlled Parking Zones – Perry Vale Consultation Not Going Ahead

The Forest Hill Society does not support Control Parking Zones in principle, unless the majority of local residents wish for them. It was good news, therefore, to see that Lewisham Council has listened to the views of local residents in the Perry Vale area and voted down any new Controlled Parking Zones in that area. Controlled Parking Zones, albeit useful in some situations, normally push any parking problems to local neighbours and neighbourhoods. The annual hike in permit costs is normally well above inflation.

If you have any comments or views about the above, please contact Tony Petim, Chair of the Forest Hill Society Transport Committee.

Brief History of Croydon Canal

By Steve Grindlay

The Croydon Canal was formally opened on 23rd October 1809, fifty years after the opening of the pioneering Bridgewater Canal. It connected Croydon with London, by way of the Grand Surrey Canal at Rotherhithe and the Thames, and passed through Sydenham and Forest Hill.

The canal was intended to make the transportation of fuel (timber, coal, charcoal), building materials, foodstuffs and other goods more convenient than was possible on the roads. These goods were delivered to our area, and local produce sent to Croydon and London from a wharf near Sydenham Bridge and another near the Dartmouth Arms.

The canal was 9.5 miles long and rose, by a series of some 28 locks between New Cross and Honor Oak, to 150 feet above sea level. From the final lock, near Honor Oak Park station, the canal wound round the hills of Forest Hill and Sydenham towards Norwood and Croydon keeping about 160 feet above sea level. The canal was 5 feet deep, 34 feet wide and had a towpath on the eastern bank. It was crossed by a swing-bridge at Forest Hill and a road bridge at Sydenham.

In 1878, an elderly Sydenham resident described his memories of the canal: “My brothers, myself and others often used to hire a boat at Doo’s Wharf, situated near the [Sydenham] bridge, and row either to Croydon, or the other way to the first lock [near Honor Oak Park station]… occasionally we had a picnic in Penge wood… listening to the nightingales… There was a large reservoir occupying the site of Sydenham Park… much used by the young men of the neighbourhood for bathing in summer and skating in winter”.

It was not all peace and tranquillity. Several murders, suicides and drownings are recorded along our stretch of the canal. Perhaps the most touching was the murder of Mary Clarke in June 1831. Mary bought tea and hot water from Mrs Stacey, who sold groceries from her cottage near the Dartmouth Arms. Mary told Mrs Stacey that she was planning to meet the father of her unborn child. Mary was last seen that evening in a boat on the canal, with a “young gentleman”. The next day the empty boat was floating on the canal, but there was no sign of Mary. Her body was discovered several days later, her face bruised and her forehead fractured. Although the Coroner’s verdict was that Mary was “found drowned” he gave strict instructions that the young man be tracked down and certainly local people were “firmly persuaded the hapless young woman was foully murdered”.

The canal was beset with problems. The 28 locks were costly to maintain and caused “traffic jams” for the barges waiting to negotiate them. It was also difficult to maintain the water level of the canal. The canal was also a financial failure. The proprietors raised money to build it by selling shares at £100 each (more than £3000 in today’s money). By 1830 theses shares were worth just 2/- each.

The final blow was the arrival of the more profitable and efficient railways. In 1834 the London & Croydon Railway Company began showing an interest in the land and assets of the canal. On 22 August 1836, the Croydon Canal closed and the railway line from London to Croydon was built, generally following the route of the canal. However, the greater speed of trains meant that, unlike the leisurely meanderings of the canal, the railway line used cuttings and embankments to avoid such twists and turns. The railway opened in June 1839, and is the second oldest passenger line in London.

Although most evidence of the canal has long disappeared, it is still possible to find traces, if one knows where to look…