Community

The NHS White Paper – meeting with Jim Dowd MP, Sydenham Green Health Centre 7pm Wednesday 26 January

The changes announced this week in the NHS White Paper means that the NHS in England is to undergo one of the biggest shake-ups in its history. Under the proposals, all 10 strategic health authorities and the 152 management bodies known as primary care trusts will be abolished and commissioning powers will be undertaken by GPs.

There will be a meeting to discuss these proposals and patient concerns over the changes, addressed by Jim Dowd MP at 7pm Wednesday 25 January at Sydenham Green Health Centre, 26 Holmshaw Road SE26 4TH.

Jim Dowd MP welcomes proposed Palace FC move to the park

Local MP Jim Dowd has welcomed the bid by Crystal Palace FC to build a £40m new home on the existing athletics stadium site in Crystal Palace Park.

Palace’s plans are for a 25,000-seat stadium, which could be expanded to a capacity of 40,000, and includes provision for an indoor aquatics and sports complex as well as a community sports facility on the present Crystal Palace National Sports Centre site. Palace boss steve Parish said “I don’t see how you could ever want a slightly revamped Crystal Palace [a reference to Tottenham FC’s plans for CP] over a new, purpose-built stadium,” said Parish, who would look to raise the money for the stadium by selling Selhurst Park, their current home. “We believe this is a plan that would suit everyone. I have never understood why Crystal Palace wasn’t based in Crystal Palace. There is a sense of logic to this scheme that would build a better future for our club and the local area.”

Local MP Jim Dowd gave a conditional thumbs-up for the plan and said: “Crystal Palace FC is a vital part of the community here in our corner of South East London just asprofessional football clubs are throughout the country. The possibility to return to their original “home” and thus achieve long term security together with providing a sustainable future for the Stadium site is an opportunity thatis unlikely ever to occur again and thus it must be given every chance to succeed. Although there are many legitimate questions to be raised and answered before any progress can be made I am grateful for the openness the Club have shown and for the opportunity I have had to meet with them to discuss the proposal. I hope very much that it is possible to achieve a solution which will benefit the whole area.”

Chief Executive of Bromley welcomes Tottenham plan to revamp Crystal Palace stadium. Is this bad news for Crystal Palace FC bid to move to park?

Doug Patterson, the chief executive of the London Borough of Bromley has welcomed Tottenham FC’s plan to revamp the Crystal Palace athletics stadium after the 2012 Games. Spurs would like to demolish the Olympic Stadium and rebuilt it as a football-only home for the club. To provide an athletics legacy – one of the promises made to the by the London 2012 organising committee – Spurs have promised to revamp the south London athletics stadium at Crystal Palace Park.

West Ham FC are also interested in moving into the Olympic Stadium – and would retain its use as an occasional venue for athletics – but the club would have to borrow much of the money.

Alerted by Tottenham’s plan to revamp Crystal Palace stadium, Crystal Palace FC have also expressed an interest in moving from Selhurst Park to Crystal Palace park.

However, Doug Pattterson’s intervention would seem to be a tbumbs-down for CPFC and a warm welcome for Tottenham’s plans.

“The Spurs plans would be positive for the area because I am not sure what else would happen. There are not any other significant plans. Nobody has got the money to spruce up Crystal Palace,” Patterson told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “South Londoners would benefit with the Spurs plans. They would not have any direct benefit from the West Ham plans.”

Crystal Palace FC tried to move into the athletics stadium about ten years ago but opposition from local councils and local residents scuppered the plan.

Photo courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgeezer/271726811/sizes/z/in/photostream/

http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/

Sydenham and Forest Hill Walking Club – first walk along Thames Path, Saturday 5 February

A new walking club for serious walkers is currently being set up with the idea of an organised walk taking place on the first Saturday of each month. This is not part of the Sydenham Society, but is being run as an independent group.

The first planned walk is along the north Thames Path on Saturday 5 February from London Bridge to Canary Wharf. Anyone interested in joining the group should contact Pat Trembath on pattrembath@gmail.com

Bromley council plan £40m cuts

Bromley have unveiled a plan to slash £40m from their budget over the next four years. The proposed cuts include:

Closing either Anerley or Penge library
Shutting 20 out of 23 children’s centres
No more school lollipop crossing patrols
Scrapping grants for school uniform purchase for the borough’s poorest families
Volunteers in Child Protection scheme part of the Bromley Children’s Project axed
Park security patrols will be reduced
Park toilets to be closed
Introduce car parking charges at countryside sitesReduce councillors from 60 to 40, but this can’t be done until elections in 2014
£800,000 will be stripped from sheltered housing

The largest cuts in the borough’s budget in living memory – yet you’d struggle to find any news about this on the Bromley website

http://www.bromley.gov.uk/

Waterlink Way – car-free cycling heaven!

Like cycling but don’t like traffic? Then why not take advantage of one of the south-east’s best cycle paths? It’s right on your doorstep and almost all the route is off-road along well-signposted tarmac and concrete paths.

The Waterlink Way allows you to cycle north from SE26 to Greenwich along the banks of the Pool and Ravensbourne rivers all the way to Greenwich. Head south, in the other direction and the route takes you through Kelsey Park to South Norwood Country Park and beyond – all the way to Eastbourne if your legs can carry you that far!

Access the park from the end of the spine road to the left-hand side of the Savacentre at Bell Green or further north at the end of Selworthy Road.

The Waterlink Way is part of National Cycle Network Route 21. From Greenwich you can access Route 4 (the Thames Path) or push your bike through the Greenwich foot tunnel to join more car-free cycle routes on the Isle of Dogs.

For further details of the Waterlink Way see:

www.sustrans.org.uk/sustrans-near-you/london/easy-rides-in-london/waterlink-way

Main photo courtesy of Pollards Hill Cyclists

www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/

Lewisham’s Mayor – January enewsletter

As I mentioned in my last e-news before Christmas we will be reducing the number issues of Lewisham Life this year. The Council will be supplementing the printed editions of the magazine with a much improved electronic newsletter, which we will launch in April. This will highlight important news and service updates and help you get the very best out of living, working and learning in Lewisham.

New Cross Fire

Tuesday 18 January marks the 30th anniversary of the New Cross Fire, one of the most tragic and painful events in Lewisham’s history, which resulted in the loss of the lives of 14 young people.

A number of events are taking place to commemorate this significant anniversary. A special memorial service will take place at St Andrew’s Church in Brockley on Sunday 16 January and it will be my honour to lead the borough in remembering the victims of the fire at this event. On 18 January, a commemorative plaque will be unveiled at the site of the fire – 439 New Cross Road, SE14.

In 2006 I established a lasting memorial to the young victims of the fire. The annual New Cross Bursary Scheme helps two young people achieve their potential at university, something, tragically denied to the fire victims. Each year the bursaries are awarded to Lewisham educated students to support them through their study at Goldsmiths, University of London. The latest recipients will be receiving their bursaries at a special ceremony at Goldsmiths on 18 January.

The memorial service, the plaque unveiling and the bursary scheme are all significant ways that will ensure we continue to remember and I hope all residents will join me in remembering and reflecting upon these tragic events.

More new schools

During these difficult times it’s a welcome change to let you know about a good news story. Unlike many other local authorities the Building Schools for the Future programme was not cancelled in Lewisham due to the fact that we were so advanced in the scheme. Just before Christmas contracts were signed as we reached financial close on the fourth phase of the scheme.

The signing of these contracts means that work will begin this year on building a brand new special school for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), a new all-age school (Prendergast Vale College), and the rebuilding of two secondary schools, Bonus Pastor Catholic College and Prendergast Hilly Fields College. I remain determined to provide our younger residents the facilities they need to achieve their goals and aspirations. I look forward to keeping you updated on these exciting developments.

Greyhound pub wall competition entries now on view at the Kirkdale Bookshop

The developers of the Greyhound site in Sydenham have incorporated in their plans a bespoke design and installation of a piece of public art to cover the north elevation wall of the refurbished Greyhound pub. This wall will form one side of a public walkway from Spring Hill to the public space around the pub.

A competition to design the public artwork is being organised by the Sydenham Arts Festival (Visual Arts Team) in association with the Sydenham Society.

Entries for the competition are now on view at the Kirkdale Bookshop and there is a book for visitors to make comments. The entries will be judged by a panel in the next few weeks.

Sydenham Road Improvement Scheme delayed yet again. No work on Sydenham Road until 2012

The long-awaited Sydenham Road Improvement Scheme, first proposed by the Sydenham Society in 2001, has been delayed yet again. At the Sydenham Assembly, a report from council officer Andy Frazer was presented. The report states that no work would start on Sydenham Road until 2012 and that work on Sydenham Approach would not now start until August/September 2011.

Work on the scheme had already been postponed for a year at the end of 2009 due to water and gas repairs on Sydenham Road.

For full report see:

TN 35-02 Sydenham Assembly update 130111

Could Crystal Palace athletics stadium be redeveloped as part of Tottenham FC’s Olympic Stadium bid?

Tottenham FC will offer a 20,000-seat redevelopment of Crystal Palace as the legacy component of their bid to occupy the Olympic stadium after the 2012 Games.

Spurs are bidding against West Ham for the arena, and want to demolish the £500 million 85,000-seat stadium and rebuild a 60,000 football ground from scratch without a running track.

With West Ham promising to retain the athletics track in a mixed-use community based stadium, Tottenham’s plan falls well short of the athletics legacy promised by the 2012 Olympic bid.

But while West Ham remain the first choice of many stakeholders, doubts over the financial strength of their offer have increased in recent weeks, and senior figures in government and the Olympic project are now open to the athletics legacy lying outside the stadium.

Photo coutesy of diamond geezer http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgeezer/271726811

http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com