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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

Tree planting in Horniman Gardens to celebrate Jewish New Year for Trees

On Sunday 30th January, Bromley Synagogue is planting a tree in Horniman Gardens to celebrate the Jewish New Year for Trees (Tu b’Shavat) and to remember Janusz Korczak.  This year is the 100th anniversary of the visit to Forest Hill of Janusz Korczak who, together with the children in his care, perished in the Holocaust. More details of Korczak visit to Forest Hill can be found at http://sydenhamforesthillhistory.blogspot.com/2009/08/who-was-janusz-korczak.html

Bromley Synagogue would like to welcome the local community to join us for a short ceremony planting the tree at 2pm on Sunday 30th January in Horniman Gardens (close to the Sunken Garden – see map).

For further details please contact Michael Abrahams 07740-449234

The photograph above shows Rabbi Tony Hammond and Hilary Jarrett, Chair of Friends of Mayow Park planting a tree in Mayow Park in 2010

Events for adults and kids at Mayow Park Community Garden

The attractive community garden at the rear of the pavilion in Mayow Park is running a number of events for adults who want get their hands dirty and for children to learn about gardening and nature:

KIDS NATURE WATCH CLUB Theme: Make winter bird feedersEvery first Sunday of the month – Starts Sunday 6 February 2011
10am – 12pm
Sessions cost £1 per session.
Kids ages 3 to 12
Parents and grandparents join free

  
PROJECT GROW: CHILDREN’S PERMACULTURE CLUB  

Every last Sunday of the month – Starts Sunday 27 February
Time 11 -1pm
£ 3 p child/ £2 consessions
children ages 8 to 12

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

Tuesdays & Thursdays – Volunteer workdays 9-3pm

Just turn up and we will show you around, take your details and get you gardening!

Please wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear. Refreshments & protective gloves will be provided.

Celebrate Burns Night – All In One 7.30pm Tuesday 25 January

The Forest Hill Society are helping to organise this always popular annual event and will provide an authentic Forest Hill Scot to address the haggis.  If you’d like to wear a kilt or recite some Burns poetry, then that would be great.

Book directly with the pub on 020-8699-3311. £14.95 per person   All Inn One (The Foresters)

Here’s the menu:

Cock – a – Leekie Soup orVegetarian Scotch Broth  

****

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

(Traditional or Vegetarian Haggis)

****

Cranachan

****Complimentary nip of scotch whisky to toast the bard

Willow Lodge, 11 Westwood Hill, to be refurbished for housing

Willow Lodge on Westwood Hill which has lain redundant since 2008, is to be brought back into use for housing. Owners of the site, London and Quadrant, plan to reconstruct and refurbish the existing building to provide a one bedroom and 9, two bedroom self-contained flats. The rear of the existing building will be  demolished and  a new three storey “villa block” constructed which will provide 3, two bedroom self-contained flats and 3, three bedroom houses.

Frontage main block
Main block from communal garden
Villa block from communal garden

For full details of the planning application see:

http://acolnet.lewisham.gov.uk/LEWIS-XSLPagesDC/acolnetcgi.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=61765

Sydenham Assembly – 7pm Naborhood Centre, Thursday 13 January

The Sydenham Assembly is an opportunity to make your voice heard and find out what is going on in the area. Topics to be discussed include the ‘Our Lewisham, Our Say’ consultation; the Wells Park youth centre and Sydenham Library (the decision on closure has been deferred by the Mayor for two months to allow community groups to develop an alternative solution).

 The following four projects will be bidding for a share of the £25,000 Mayor’s Fund: 

 Project 1 – Sydenham Arts Festival £10,000

 This project addresses the assembly priorities of a vibrant high street and more activities for children and young people. 

 Description – The third annual Sydenham Arts Festival will run from 1 July to 17 July and is currently being planned. In 2011 we intend to provide live performances in the High Street including theatrical performances and exhibitions in “pop-up” shops, a Family Picnic in the (Home) Park with live entertainment and children’s activities working with Friends of Home Park, an open-air Free Film Show in Mayow Park, a Visual Arts Trail and performance workshops.  We are currently in discussions with the Sydenham and Forest Hill Youth Forum, local musicians and performers and many other event organisers about approximately fifty other arts events taking place during the Festival.

 The Sydenham Arts Festival is already established as a major community event and we want to build on this to improve community cohesion and a sense of place. This year we are planning to encourage young people to take part in activities and to put on performances organised by them during the Festival period.  This will not only involve activities and performances during the Festival but will involve planning these events in the months leading up to the Festival. 

 Project 2 – Sydenham Community Radio £5,000 

 This project addresses the assembly priorities of a vibrant high street and more activities for children and young people. 

 Description – The intergenerational project involves teaching young people between the ages of 14 and 18 how to use recording equipment, as well as teaching interviewing skills. Young people will then be taught how to edit pre-recorded material and how to produce and present live programmes.

 Older people will be interviewed on a number of subjects, with a emphasis on how different generations can learn from each other, and programmes will be developed for both online transmission and for on air broadcasts during the summer one month FM license period in 2011. 

 The project aims to promote social cohesion by enabling young and older people to talk and work with each other. Facilitating a community dialogue is central to this project in that both groups will be given a voice through access to a new platform. 

 Project 3 – Sydenham Film Club £4,500 

 This project addresses the assembly priorities of a vibrant high street and more activities for children and young people. 

 Description – This project will deliver on an active inclusive community which is part of the priority for a vibrant high street.  It is hoped to work with young people through the Sydenham and Forest Hill Youth Forum. 

The project will involve residents of the local community as films attract a diverse audience.  It is hoped to build up numbers attending the film club by starting with a regular monthly film show.  Existing networks will be used to promote the film club and attract more volunteers as well as researching what types of film residents would want to see screened eg promoting the film club through the Sydenham Society and Sydenham Arts Festival.  

 Project 4 – Switch It £4,000 

 This project addresses the assembly priorities of a tackling ant-social behaviour and more activities for children and young people. 

 Description – Run by FA trained coach, Jeremy Zulu, and supported by other volunteers in the community, the project delivers the positive activity of football, enhancing health and fitness. It also provides coaching to develop skills, and it provides the environment to discuss issues relevant to young people, encouraging them to receive mentoring, make positive life choices, to turn away from crime and anti-social behaviour and to stay in education and succeed in life. 

 Up to 50 young people a week will attend, engaging in healthy physical activities, enhancing skills, and discussing issues and learning skills for living well. 

 The coaches and mentors enable young people to discuss issues of concern to them, and where necessary receive help with anger management. They are encouraged to do well at sport, avoid exclusion from school, and to aspire to becoming coaches themselves in the future 

 For more information, go to: www.lewisham.gov.uk/localassemblies/sydenhamassembly

FULL AGENDA

7.00       1.      Introduction and welcome                                                 Cllr Chris Best (Chair) 

 7.05       2.        Feedback from last Sydenham Assembly on 11 September

  • Response to Our Lewisham Our Say
  • Station Approach and public conveniences
  • Myplace funding for the Youth Centre

  7.15       3.      Feedback on the previous £50,000 Mayor’s Fund project

  • Sydenham Arts Festival 2009 – £10,000  
  • Silverdale Hall play area – £10,000 
  • Sydenham Mosaic – £10,000  
  • Young People’s Forum residential weekend – £3,700 
  • Forest Hill and Sydenham Youth Forum – £3,000 
  • Switch It! Football and life skills activities project – £3,000 
  • Sydenham Community Radio – £3,000 
  • Small grants programme to support activities in school holidays – £2,000 
  • Greening Sydenham new planting and maintaining green spaces – £2,000 
  • 15th Sydenham Scouts Group – contribution to scouting activities – £1,700 
  • Sydenham Music – outreach work £1,600   

7.25       4.      Feedback on the Locality Fund for 2010/11 

  • Children’s play area for Brasted Close/Peak Hill blocks – £2,500 
  • Prevention of flytipping behind Sydenham Road – £2,500 
  • Promotion of Sydenham Arts Festival 2010 – £2,000 
  • The Three Musketeers including concession ticket prices – £500 
  • Sydenham Music outreach for older people and children – £2,500 

     7.30       5.      Mayor’s Fund 2010/11 £25,000                                     

                        Recommendations by the Coordinating Group

  • Sydenham Arts Festival 2011- £10,000                  Pat Trembath
  • Sydenham Community Radio – £5,000                   Simon Banks
  • Sydenham Film Club – £4,500                                   Joyce Treasure
  • Switch It! Football and life – £4,000                          Jeremy Zulu                                    

                        Paper voting on the proposals                                       Everyone                  Groups must receive over 51%  

                        Total bid is £23,500 leaving £1,500  

8.10       6.      Future Sydenham – vibrant high street                       Tim Lund

8.30       7.      Information, Open questions and answers 

  • Sydenham Library

Closing date for submissions of interest 20 January 

8.55       8.     Date for the next Assembly meeting      

  • Thursday 3 March 2011 

Any volunteers want to join the Coordinating Group?

 9.00       9.      Close

Application to open Money Shop at 59 Sydenham Road refused

LBL planning have refused permission to turn 59 Sydenham Road –  the former curtain shop at the corner of Sydenham and Queensthorpe Roads – into a Money Shop.  

The refusal is on the grounds that “The proposed change of use to Financial and Professional Services (Use Class A2) would result in the loss of retail floorspace within a designated core shopping frontage, detracting from the range of retail services available within the defined district centre, which would have an adverse impact upon the vitality and viability of the area, contrary to Policy STC 4 Major and District Centres – Core Shopping Areas in the adopted Unitary Development Plan (July 2004).”
 

For more information go to:

http://www.acolnet.lewisham.gov.uk/LEWIS-XSLPagesDC/acolnetcgi.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=59868

http://www.moneyshop.tv/

The Money Shop describe themselves as ” the UK’s No.1 for Cheque Cashing, Payday Loans (Cash ’til Payday) and Cash Loans. We have over 350 Stores across the UK.”