The Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival held their first meeting in the reborn White Swan in Charlton Village on Wednesday 24th February. An excellent turnout with lots of enthusiasm and imagination in the room put us firmly on the road to make the festival a reality. Films and venues were suggested and we now have a number of venues keen to host a film screening including St Georges Garrison Church, Charlton Park Academy and Shrewsbury House.
Greenwich Council have offered the big screen in General Gordon Square and have arranged a meeting to discuss how they can help further. We are looking for all interested members of the Charlton and Woolwich communities to take part in what we intend will become an annual event.
If you are a film buff, a film maker, interested in community cohesion and celebration or would like to volunteer in an interesting venture then please come to the second meeting of the Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival at the Woolwich Equitable pub, General Gordon Square, Woolwich on Wednesday 16th March at 7:30pm
We went to the last meeting and were very impressed by the turnout, ideas and enthusiasm on display. This could be a great event for Charlton and Woolwich: we hope more local venues, groups and businesses get on board.
It’s Charlton Toy Library’s Easter Party on Saturday 19th March, 10-12am to 12 noon at Charlton Assembly Rooms. Tickets are £5 for children, with free admission to adults and children under 12 months. Tickets are available from the Toy Library, and will help to fund the Toy Library and their outreach programme.
Residents of the Valley Grove Estate are working on plans to create a new community garden on the disused land above, and are asking for your help to secure funding from the Tesco Bags of Help scheme.
Organiser Karin Tucker tells us: “It is a project aimed at improving social involvement by growing our own vegetables, herbs and flowers. We have been successful in our application and now need people to vote for us in order to get either £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000!”. Voting is from 27 February until 6th March at local branches of Tesco, including Woolwich, Greenwich, Plumstead, Eltham, Deptford and Thamesmead.
Karin explains: “When you make a purchase you will be given a token at the till and there will be three projects to vote for. Ours is called ‘Valley Grove’.
You can find the Valley Grove Estate Residents Group on Twitter: @ValleyGroveRes1.
Our thanks again to Cllr Gary Parker, who represents Charlton ward on Greenwich Council, for this report on what he’s been up to for residents. You can read his previous report here.
Street Surgery –I took part in the Charlton ward street surgery on 22 November 2015 on the Springfield estate, a monthly event at which we target a part of the ward and go door-to- door to meet local residents and try to address any issues they may have or forward them to the local MP as appropriate.
I also attended another such surgery in the Wellington Gardens area recently. This is in addition to our scheduled surgery at Charlton House from 7.00-8.00 pm every Friday (no appointment is needed, just turn up)
Planning – I have been working with the Charlton Central Residents Association, and other local groups and individuals regarding a range of planning issues. I have raised a wide range of planning issues again on behalf of local residents.
Wyndcliff Residents Association – I attended a meeting with them and council officers to discuss their concerns about local traffic in January 2016.
Rectory Field Residents Association – I met with them to discuss related traffic issues to WRA in January 2016. I am monitoring the situation in relation to the Our Lady of Grace school development and the impact of contractors on parking, noise and general development issues.
Blackheath Rugby Club – I have dealt with representations over concerns at the impact of the move of the first team to Well Hall after over 130 years at the current location off Charlton Road, at the end of this season. I am awaiting a full report from officers.
Friends Of Charlton Park – I met with them in November 2015 to discuss the Skateboard Park and their concerns.
Leader Of The Council – I met with the leader of the council in late November to discuss the Charlton Skateboard Park, community engagement and environmental issues.
Charlton/ Charlton Village/Charlton Park – I dealt with an inquiry from Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust members, regarding a rumoured planning application to build flats on top of the club shop. There is concern again that the new owners of CAFC may be decanting to a site at Morden Wharf. I raised this, there has been no planning application lodged with regard to this after follow up from my last report in November.
Cleansweep Issues – I recently chaired a very successful meeting of the Community Safety & Environment Scrutiny Panel to review the Cleansweep service recently at which a range of community organisations including some Charlton/Woolwich organisations – Charlton & Carnbrook housing panel, CCRA and Wonderful Woolwich. A write up on this was featured in the 8 December edition of Greenwich Time, with excellent feedback from local residents and tenants reps who attended the meeting. As a result of this meeting a new environmental task force has been launched in Charlton, in the Floyd Road area, to provide more intensive street cleaning and to work with local residents to improve the environment and address some enforcement issues.
Playing Out Scheme – I advised CCRA on the drafting of the Playing Out Scheme funding application to Greenwich Action For Voluntary Service and reviewed the application. All your local councillors are supporting the Playing Out programme in Greenwich, which we are hoping to develop in the Charlton area to allow children and their parents/ carers to use the streets more for play and community events.
Social Enterprise Event – I attended the council supported social enterprise market event on 18th November.
I met with my co-councillors at the end of January to discuss the implementation of ward budgets and designed a draft application form. Once we have clarified some administrative and management issues, we will be launching the scheme locally – more details soon. I also met with CCRA officers to brief them on the scheme.
Council & Other
I attended the full council meeting on 16 December and spoke against the Tory motion on libraries. I also attended the January 2016 council meeting.
I attended the Greenwich Action For Voluntary Service AGM in November.
I met with Volunteer Centre Greenwich on December 21st.
I attended the Federation Of Small Businesses regional dinner on 3rd December at which Sadiq Khan was the guest speaker. I also met Zac Goldsmith.
I attended the overview and scrutiny panel on 26/1/ children’s services scrutiny 13/1 and chaired Community Safety and Environment Scrutiny Panel 14/1.
The Alexandra Players, Charlton’s amateur theatre group have a new production coming up in February:
Set in an old coaching-house in a remote English Village, CAT’S CRADLE concerns an almost forgotten kidnapping, and perhaps murder, which was never resolved. As the play opens, the original inspector returns to reopen the investigation. However, his efforts are hindered as it becomes increasingly clear that he is facing a conspiracy of silence from the local townspeople and a past which is shrouded in mystery. The final denouement provides a completely unexpected twist to this intriguing and disturbing mystery.
It runs from February 17th to 20th at the Alexandra Hall on Bramshot Ave, and you can book tickets here. Find out more about the Alexandra Players.
WW1 History of Greenwich Borough uncovered as Charlton House’s Locked Vault is opened for the first time in memory.
Staff and volunteers at Charlton House in London have made an extraordinary discovery, in the cellar of the historic building.
Charlton House, part of the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust, has ‘rediscovered’ historical records and leather bound documents relating to the local area, and dating back more than 150 years.
Hidden deep in the basement of Charlton House, the vault containing the records has been locked since before the building was handed over to the Trust 8 years ago. Amongst the items discovered inside is the First World War Memorial Book for the Borough, containing the names of local men who served during the 1914-1918 war and a 100 year old log book for the local church – St Luke’s, which details all services and is annotated with significant events such as the Silvertown Explosion.
Tracy Stringfellow, Chief Executive of Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust explained: “We don’t know exactly how long it is since the vault was last opened, but the documents inside are very exciting and likely to be of significant interest to local historians and genealogists”
The Trust plans to display the discoveries at their forthcoming Great War exhibition, which takes place at the Greenwich Heritage Centre in February.
The documents and books will now be examined by preservation experts to ensure that their condition does not deteriorate.
There’s not been much information available on progress with Charlton House since it was quietly transferred to Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust in 2014, so we’re glad to hear that things are happening, and hope to see more video updates from the Heritage Trust. A shame, though, that their latest finds aren’t going on display in Charlton House itself.
The Charlton Champion 