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Forest Hill School falls £1m into debt

Forest Hill School in Mayow Road reported a £615,000 loss last year and the school expects to lose a further £557,000 this year. This startling news was given to Lewisham Mayor and Cabinet at their meeting on the 1st December. 

The school was recently rebuilt under a PFI budget and the school had overestimated the income they would receive under the terms of that budget. The school  also found that the arrangement where they managed the shared sports facilities on behalf of the council unsustainable, and Lewisham has now assumed direct management of these facilities.

 The M&C agreed that Forest Hill School should have a licensed deficit budget of £557,000 this year on condition that the school brings the budget back into a surplus position within a three year period. The maximum period in law allowed for a secondary school to be in deficit is 5 years. 

The school aims bring its finances back into line by making the following cuts: 

  • The Senior Leadership Team by one post
  • The teaching staff by 1.4 FTE
  • 2.6 FTE Learning Support Assistants
  • A Learning Mentor has been identified for redundancy.
  • Several experienced teachers have been replaced with teachers on lower points, while Recruitment and Retention Incentives have been withdrawn
  • Lunchtime Supervisors have been reduced in number by 4.
  • Following a resignation, two posts have been amalgamated while one administrative post (0.6) has been identified for redundancy.
  • Reducing the working week to 25 periods.

Forest Hill School has a high reputation locally and a strong academic record. Last year, 50% of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs Grade C or above including English and Maths – results which are above the national average.

 

For details of the report to Mayor& Cabinet see: 

http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/DE60D1DD-00A1-41E8-9074-DD911A90B825/0/74ff598a91d643a2b62a68d09e1f7d12Item7ForestHillSchoolDeficit1December2010.PDF

New Wells Park Youth Club – funding gets the green light!

Welcome news – funding for the proposed youth and community centre is confirmed. A planning application has been lodged with Lewisham Planning to demolish the church hall in Wells Park Road and construct a three storey building.

The proposed youth club, which will contain a large multi-use hall with theatre, a cafe, climbing wall, IT/education studio, recording studio and multi-use games area, is expected to go before a planning committee in spring 2011 and be completed by spring 2013.  

For more detail click on the link below:

http://acolnet.lewisham.gov.uk/lewis-xslpagesdc/acolnetcgi.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPSESSION=%7B%5B%2A%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%21%2A%5D%7D

Flytipping and posting – making a mess of Sydenham Road

Take a hard look at our high street. Everywhere you see the evidence of illegal flyposting and the hanging of banners advertising everything from local fairs and music to five-a-side-football training.

The photographs shown here were all taken on the same day and show the avalanche of material that is currentlyon display – as well as  that which was  removed  from lamposts, shopfronts and railings in just the core shopping area of the Sydenham Road. It’s clear that Sydenham Road is drowning in unsightly posters and stickers.

Pat Trembath looks at what should be done about this:

On April 7 2005 the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill received Royal Assent following a successful passage through Parliament to become the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act. This act should deal with many of the problems affecting the quality of our local environment through anti-social behaviour, vandalism, disorder and levels of crime. It is intended to provide local authorities with more effective powers and tools to tackle poor environmental quality and anti-social behaviour. Part 4 of the Act deals specifically with graffiti and fly-posting. The photographs here show the amount of fly posting removed from the core shopping area of Sydenham Road (between Cobbs Corner and Mayow Road) on the morning of 15 June.

 

Featured here are the ubiquitous shop front and roller shutter stickers, peeled off a reel and stuck, willy-nilly, on practically every shop door and shutter along the length of the road. It would appear that these shop front businesses consider they have every right to fly-post throughout the area and, although some were removed, many remain, and have been added to in the interim, as the adhesive is of a very strong type. Also shown is the mish-mash of other fly-posting which had been stuck on lamp posts, railings, telephone boxes, any old spare space seems to do. To add to the general fly-posting are the sad tales of much loved, but lost pets. Did Betty ever get found? We shall never know, because the owners of missing Betty (or the Yorkshire Terrier or the friendly black and white cat) having stuck their pleas for help to our street furniture never return to remove them. Finally, on virtually every lamp post can be found the heavy-duty plastic ties that once held public authority notices – the notices get removed eventually, but the ties remain tightly bound to the lamppost and very difficult to cut through to remove. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act is there to help protect our environment but is rarely used by the local authority and is therefore to a large extent ineffectual with regard to lesser offences. It also begs the question are we so used to seeing fly-posting everywhere we look that eventually we no longer see what is defacing our neighbourhood, thus leaving it in situ in perpetuity.

Are we prepared to continue to let this happen?

Public art competition at the Greyhound – an update

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.

“Registrations to enter the competition continue to flow in but there are still two weeks left before the registration closing date if it has slipped your mind. Just email your details by 22 December to receive your competition brief to greyhoundpubwalldesign@hotmail.co.uk

 You don’t need to be an artist to enter. The winning design might be completely “off the wall”  (sorry couldn’t resist that). With this year’s Turner Prize being awarded to a “sound installation” by artist Susan Philipsz http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/dec/06/turner-prize-winner-susan-philipsz?intcmp=239 the Greyhound competition judging panel will have to keep their eyes and ears open.

 The final date for competition entries is 9 January. So you will have nearly three weeks during the Christmas and New Year’s break to get those creative juices flowing. The sound of art – a “Great Escape” from “The Sound of Music”! Any other puns welcome…….”

 

The design competition is open to anyone who lives or works or studies within 2km of the pub, in other words, local people, artists, designers, family and friends. This area includes all of Sydenham and most of Forest Hill, Penge & Crystal Palace.

Each entrant may submit up to three entries.

The final date for registration to enter the competition is 22nd December 2010. The final date for entries to the competition is 9th January 2011. The winning design will be chosen by a judging panel by January 31 2011.

Individuals wishing to participate in the competition should register with the organising team either via email to greyhoundpubwalldesign@hotmail.co.uk or  in writing to The Greyhound Pub Wall Design Competition, c/o The Kirkdale Bookshop, 272 Kirkdale, Sydenham SE26 4RS  before 22nd December 2010, by giving the following information:

  • Name
  • local address (a residential, business or education address located within 2km of the Greyhound pub)
  • home address, if different from above
  • telephone contact details
  • email contact details, if available.

Entrants will be provided with a numbered entry pack and detailed instructions. A maximum of three entries will be permitted per entrant or group. Schools may submit up to 10 entries. Participation as an individual does not disqualify you from also entering as part of a team or school entry.

There is no prize but the winner will have the honour of their design being enjoyed by the public for many years to come.

Planning revolution – now you decide what’s built in your neighbourhood

The government’s new Localism Bill  giving planning powers to new neighborhood councils is about to be published. Here Civic Voice explains what this new radical measure means:

Radical new planning reforms were announced today to hand powers down from Whitehall bureaucrats and down from Town Hall officials to communities so local people shape the character of the neighbourhood in which they live.

In what are being labelled the building blocks of the Big Society, bold changes are being revealed to galvanise local democracy and help build new homes and plan new development with local support, and reward – not punish – those who want to grow and enhance their neighbourhood.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Planning Minister Greg Clark today outlined proposals to decentralise and streamline the planning system, ahead of the publication of the Localism Bill.

  •                 Neighbourhood groups to shape where they live: Communities will be able to come together to decide what their area should look like, where new shops, offices or homes should go and what green spaces should be protected. Parish councils and new neighbourhood forums of local people – rather than town hall officials – will lead the way in shaping their community. If local people then vote in favour of new ‘Neighbourhood Plans’ in local referendums, councils will have to adopt them.

 

  •                 Direct democracy: This new stimulus will be one of the greatest incentives to get people and communities to come together to take control of planning. The new powers will also allow communities to give planning approval to chosen sites on local land. This will mean that urgent development can go ahead quickly once the plan is adopted, short-circuiting lengthy planning applications and making the system more democratic and efficient.

 

  •                 Local benefits from local development: At the heart of the new approach will be a package of powerful incentives, such as the New Homes Bonus, that will encourage the right kind of local development and financially reward those councils and communities that deliver new homes and businesses to their area. Reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy will also see a meaningful proportion of the levy handed over to the local neighbourhoods where the development takes place.

 

  •                 Vanguards to lead the way: Ministers are calling on communities to get involved now. The Government would like to see about a dozen local areas come forward to act as vanguards that will trial Neighbourhood Plans in their area. This step will help ensure the experience of these ‘Neighbourhood Vanguards’ is taken into account before the legislation comes into force.

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:

“For far too long local people have had too little say over a planning system that has imposed bureaucratic decisions by distant officials in Whitehall and the town hall. We need to change things so there is more people-planning and less politician-planning, so there is more direct democracy and less bureaucracy in the system. These reforms will become the building blocks of the Big Society.”

Greg Clark, Minister for Planning and Decentralisation, added:

“Most people love where they live, yet the planning system has given them almost no say on how their neighbourhood develops. The Coalition Government will revolutionise the planning process by taking power away from officials and putting it into the hands of those who know most about their neighbourhood – local people themselves. This will be a huge opportunity for communities to exercise genuine influence over what their home town should look like in the future. It will create the freedom and the incentives for those places that want to grow, to do so, and to reap the benefits. It’s a reason to say yes.”

Tony Burton, Director of Civic Voice, said:

“Local communities care deeply about where they live and know it better than anyone. Neighbourhood plans will allow civic societies and other community groups to take the lead in setting out what people value, what development is needed and what can change for the better in their area. With the right support, and safeguards to ensure the community voice cannot be ignored, a new era of neighbourhood plans spreading rapidly across the country could transform the ability of people to shape their local area.”

Notes

Vanguards
1. Councils for Eden in Cumbria, Sutton in Surrey, West Dorset District Council, Bristol and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have already shown an interest in working their communities. Ministers will consider proposals to become Neighbourhood Vanguards as they come forward.

Neighbourhood planning
2. As well as streamlining existing processes, the Government will introduce a new right for communities to shape their local areas by creating neighbourhood plans, and introduce powerful new incentives to encourage local communities to approve sustainable development. The new neighbourhood plans will be flexible so communities will be able to determine the issues or areas to cover and what level of detail they want to go into. Importantly it will enable communities (through a new Neighbourhood Development Order) to define specific developments or types of development which will have automatic planning permission without the need for any application to the local authority. For more complex cases they will be able to grant outline permission so that the right to develop would be established and only the details would need to be approved. This provides certainty which is vital for investment and giving communities confidence in the system. Neighbourhoods can also establish general policies that will steer decisions on traditional planning applications.

Defining neighbourhoods
3. Communities will be able to propose the boundaries of their neighbourhood. Neighbourhoods will generally be based on existing parishes and towns but the local council will have a role in mediating and consulting where there are conflicts or no established boundaries. This will provide a stable basis for neighbourhood planning, with local authorities approving appropriate boundaries.

Process for developing neighbourhood plans
4. Plans will be taken forward by Parishes or ‘Neighbourhood Forums’ in places without Parishes. The local council would have a duty to provide support and to ensure compliance with other legal requirements. There will be a light touch examination of the plan by an independent assessor to ensure that it complies with legal requirements and national policy, and is aligned with neighbouring plans and the strategic elements of the council’s plan. A referendum (with a simple majority in favour) would ensure that the final plan had public support.

Neighbourhood plans must work inside some limits. It will not be a means for saying no to important growth. If major infrastructure is needed at a national level, such as a high-speed rail line, or if the strategic local plan calls for a certain number of homes to be built. They would still be required to be consistent with national planning policy and to conform to the strategic elements of local authority plans. The Localism Bill will have safeguards to ensure neighbourhood plans do not override these wider ranging plans. The National Planning Policy Framework will be vital in this respect.

Adoption
5. The council will have a duty to adopt a legally compliant neighbourhood plan that had been successfully passed by a referendum, giving real power to communities to determine if the plan is acceptable.

http://www.civicvoice.org.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/

Safer neighbourhoods. Meet your local police team.

Sydenham and Belllingham Safer Neighbourhood Team are working with the public, neighbourhood groups and Lewisham council to find lasting solutions to local crime problems.

The team prioritise areas of local concern with a neighbourhood panel and then to work to eradicate or minimise those problems. The three areas which the panel have prioritised are:

  • Burglary
  • Anti-social behaviour
  • Motor vehicle crime

How you can get involved?

  • Meet your neighbourhood team:  

15 December – Street briefing 1900-20.00 Junction of Tannsfeld Road and Girton Road

21 December – Steet briefing 19.00-20.00 Outside Sydenham Railway Station, Sydenham Approach

22 December – Drop in surgery 13.00-14.00 Outside Post Office, Sydenham Road  

  • Become a neighbourhood panel member
  • Sign up to become a special police constable

For further details contact www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods

£1/3m Sydenham Park rail footbridge repairs given go-ahead

The footbridge over the railway between Dacres Road and Sydenham Park (close to the Dietrich Bonhoeffer German church) is to be given a major make-over in 2011.

Lewisham’s Mayor and Cabinet meeting on the 17 November approved a report of recommendations for schemes for inclusion in the 2011-2014 Local Implementation Plan.

 The report included a sum of £330,000 to be spent in 2011-12 on repairing the Sydenham Park rail footbridge.

Thinking about Christmas? A weekend of Sydenham Yuletide events.

Not getting into the Christmas spirit yet? This weekend sees a flurry of Christmas events in SE26 to get you in the mood to welcome Father Christmas with open arms. 

 

Late night Christmas Shopping Friday 3 December

http://www.sydenhamsociety.com/2010/12/thinking-about-christmas-a-weekend-of-sydenham-yuletide-events/

A Celebration of Friendship – a Christmas concert by the Elm Singers
Friday 3 December, 7.30pm, St Bartholomew’s Church, 2 Westwood Hill SE26 4NP
The Elm Singers invite you to an evening of beautiful music in support of Sydenham Garden with pieces by Tchaikovsky and Lauridsen, solos, duets, readings and traditional Advent carols. Entry is free but there will be a fund-raising collection in support of the garden.  

Christmas Festival at St Christopher’s Hospice Saturday 4 December, 11am-2pm, St Christopher’s Hospice, 51-59 Lawrie Park Road, SE26 6DZ; adults £1, children free
With Santa’s grotto, a children’s fancy dress competition, a raffle to win a car – plus festive food and drink – there is something for all the family at St Christopher’s Christmas Festival! For more information go to www.stchristophers.org.uk

Glistening Glass at 30 Kingsthorpe Road

 Saturday 4 December, 6pm-8pm For details: www.sydenhamsociety.com/2010/12/glistening-glass-a-christmas-open-house-4-5-december/

Annual Advent Concert by the Bonhoeffer Recorder Consort
Saturday 4 December, 3pm at the German Church, 50 Dacres Road SE23; admission £3; all proceeds to Lewisham Voluntary Care Centre
Formerly known as the Horniman Recorders, the Bonhoeffer Recorder Consort give a concert annually around Advent. The programme will include music by: Holborne, Telemann, Bariola, Monteverdi, Weelkes, and Bach, plus a collection of medieval music arranged for recorders and various Christmas favourites. There will be a raffle for a handmade patchwork quilt and other prizes. Refreshments are donated and organised by the church members and include Gluwein and – possibly! – Black Forest cake.

Mayow Park Christmas Fair
Sunday 5 December, 12-4pm, Mayow Park community garden, Mayow Road entrance to the park; admission free
Come and visit the community garden for stalls, food, gifts and wonderful crafts including Chrismas wreaths.

Glistening Glass at 30 Kingsthorpe Road

Sunday 5 December, 11am-4pm. For details see www.sydenhamsociety.com/2010/12/glistening-glass-a-christmas-open-house-4-5-december/

Medieval Christmas at the Dolphin with Joglaresa
Sunday 5 December, 7.30pm; tickets £36 from the Kirkdale Bookshop and the Dolphin
Don’t miss the chance to celebrate a medieval Christmas with Sydenham Music at The Dolphin. The evening combines a three-course dinner, Christmas carols and seasonal music from Joglaresa, a dynamic ensemble who combine intoxicating elements of medieval, Middle Eastern, Flamenco and Celtic music. To sample their sound, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iaIrLAJ9HI
Full details and menu: www.thedolphinsydenham.com/sydmusic.html
More about Sydenham Music: www.violinplaying.com/sydenhammusic/index.html