Author: Darryl Chamberlain

Sparkle in the Park light trail comes to Maryon Park this December

Darryl Chamberlain
Sparkle in the Park 2020
Last year’s event was held in Avery Hill Park in Eltham

Greenwich Council is bringing its Sparkle in the Park Christmas light trail to Charlton this year, holding it in Maryon Park from 1-5 December.

The event is free and features music and performances as well as market stalls.

Last year’s event was held in Avery Hill Park, Eltham, but had capped visitor numbers and finished early because of the lockdown.

At present, there are no plans to ticket the Maryon Park event – visitors can just turn up.

Council leader Danny Thorpe said: “We’re very excited to be bringing a bigger and better Sparkle in the Park back to the borough this year. As well as the spectacular light trail, delicious food and fairground rides, visitors will be able to enjoy magical Christmas activities, live performances and seasonal market stalls.”

Adel Khaireh, the cabinet member for culture, said: “Sparkle in the Park gives all our communities a chance to come together and celebrate without hefty ticket prices to worry about. We’ll also be making sure our festive fun is open to everyone with a paved walkway to follow around the light trail and accessible facilities.”

Local performers, groups and choirs who are interested in performing at the event should contact events[at]royalgreenwich.gov.uk.

Local traders interested in having a stall at the event should contact events[at]cceventsuk.com.

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See great views of London from the tower of St Luke’s Church on Sunday

Darryl Chamberlain
St Luke with Holy Trinity, Charlton
St Luke with Holy Trinity is opening its doors to Horn Fair visitors

To coincide with the Horn Fair taking place across the road at Charlton House on Sunday, St Luke’s Church is offering a rare chance to climb its tower to take in the views across London.

The 17th-century building was traditionally a landmark for ships on the Thames – it still has the right to fly the Royal Ensign on two days a year in recognition of its former role.

It’s not the easiest of climbs for sufferers of vertigo, but we’re assured the views from the top are spectacular. And the church itself is worth a look if you’ve never been inside.

The church and tower will be open from noon to 4pm this Sunday, 17 October.

On Monday evening, the church is also hosting an information evening on for Safe Families, a charity working locally to provide support to isolated families.

At Safe Families we believe no one should be alone. Join us to find out how you can make this happen in Greenwich.

Join us where we will be sharing about who we are and the different ways you can support families in your community alongside Safe Families.

You can sign up for the event at eventbrite.co.uk.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

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Talk about Woolwich at the Charlton Society AGM this Saturday

Darryl Chamberlain
Powis Street
The Charlton Society AGM will include a talk on Woolwich

The Charlton Society, the local amenity society for the area, is having its annual general meeting on Saturday, with both members and non-members welcome to come along.

The society aims to “celebrate the past and protect the future of Charlton”, and new members can sign up at the meeting (download a form). It recently played a part in getting two new housing developments on the Charlton Riverside refused by Greenwich Council.

There’s a lot to discuss in Charlton right now, but the society has opted to have a talk about Woolwich in the second part of its AGM.

It says…

The layout of the room will be slightly different to allow for social distancing. Wearing masks is optional but we ask that you use the hand sanitiser provided.

We will ask you to sign in but, for this special meeting, we will not charge for refreshments. We will also be accepting annual subscriptions and this year should be able to offer contactless payment, although you might like to bring cash with you in case there is a technical glitch!

The Meeting will take place in two sections. The first section will deal with the business of the Annual General Meeting (at which non-members will not be able to vote) and the second part will be a talk presented by David Gardner who will outline the “Challenges Facing Woolwich”. As ward councillor for Woolwich Common David is well placed to bring us up to date with the multiple changes facing the Town and district.

The event begins at 2.30pm on Saturday in the Grand Salon at Charlton House.

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Help Charlton Manor school raise funds to replace stolen minibus

Darryl Chamberlain
Charlton Manor School
The minibus was stolen from the school in August and later found abandoned and stripped

Charlton Manor primary school has launched an appeal for £25,000 to replace a minibus that was stolen during the summer.

The bus was taken on August 5, and was found the next day abandoned and stripped of parts.

“On top of everything, we have just started to recover from the terrible year we experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and our children haven’t had any chance to travel for the last year,” the school says.

The school had raised just over £2,000 last night.

You can donate to the appeal on the school’s GoFundMe page.

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Green Goddess: Council planners recommend bar for Blackheath Standard bank

Darryl Chamberlain
Green Goddess render
Councillors will decide whether the bar should go ahead next Tuesday

(Update: The planning meeting was postponed to Tuesday 19 October)

Greenwich Council planners are recommending that councillors approve a planned bar in a former bank at Blackheath Standard – but two influential local groups want the idea thrown out.

In March, The Charlton Champion revealed that Plumstead-based Common Rioters brewery wanted to turn the former Barclays branch, which closed in January, into a “beer café”, which would brew much of its own beer.

The brewery’s application to open The Green Goddess will go before the council’s Greenwich area planning committee next Tuesday. Council officers say that the plan “would bring a vacant commercial building back into use and for a purpose, which is appropriate for a designated retail area”.

Common Rioters’ founders Stephen and Maryann O’Connor have been testing out their ideas with a weekend pop-up pub with the same name at Charlton House. Their brewery’s name comes from the Plumstead Common rioters, whose revolt in 1876 saved the open space from being destroyed by a developer.

While 42 messages of support were received, there were 16 objections, including from the Westcombe Society and Blackheath Society amenity groups.

The Westcombe Society said a bar with no kitchen “may lead to an increase in anti- social behaviour outside residential properties” while there would be “smell and waste from the brewing process”.

Meanwhile, the Blackheath Society said “a ‘wet led’ pub without food seems to be designed to encourage pub crawls and potentially excessive alcohol consumption”.

The group also claimed that the bar would “encourage driving to the site, but as there is no car parking proposed this will lead to more congestion and nuisance in neighbouring streets”.

Another objection from a member of the public claimed that there was “no need for additional commercial activity at the Standard”.

There were also concerns about plans to allow tables outside, but a large fence would be put in place to protect the bar’s next-door neighbour on Vanbrugh Park. Outdoor drinking would not be permitted after 9pm.

Two cycle parking racks would be provided for staff. Transport for London had asked for two racks to be provided for customers, but Greenwich planning officers refused, saying “the provision of cycle spaces for customers (short stay) is not, as ‘drinking and driving’, whether it is in a car or a bicycle is not safe”.

The proposed opening hours would be 10am to 11pm seven days a week, with a midnight closedown on Fridays and Saturdays in December.

Work is already under way on the building to convert the bank’s offices into a two-bedroom flat; there is already a flat on the upper floor.

A final decision is due to be made at Woolwich Town Hall on Tuesday.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

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Charlton Parkrun is here – 331 people take part in first event

Darryl Chamberlain
More than 300 people ran and walked around Charlton Park this morning

Parkrun made its debut in Charlton Park this morning – with 331 people running or walking for five kilometres around the open space.

Runners taking part in tomorrow’s London Marathon helped lift numbers for the inaugural event, with Charlton now the closest run to the start line at Greenwich Park.

Charlton parkrun
Event director Linda Boscic rallies the crowd

But 35 people who had never taken part in a parkrun before also joined in for the first time, along with regulars from other nearby events.

Parkrun will now take place every Saturday – all abilities are welcome, just sign up and print off a barcode, and be by the table tennis tables at 9am. Today’s finish times ranged from 16 minutes to 57 minutes.

Charlton parkrun
It’s a squeeze: the gate to the cricket field needs widening

One small issue with the course is the narrow gate to the cricket field – hopefully with the millions in the kitty from developers for one-off local improvements, and a leader who is competing in the London Marathon tomorrow after doing the Berlin race last week, Greenwich Council will be able to fix this sooner rather than later. This website will be watching.

Parkrun won’t be able to take place without volunteers – so if you can spare 90 minutes on a Saturday morning to help out, get in touch at charlton[at]parkrun.com.

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Trinity Rise: Work on new housing to replace Morris Walk Estate to begin in new year

Darryl Chamberlain
Trinity Rise, Charlton/Woolwich
A Lovell image of some of the new homes

Work is due to start early next year on 766 new homes on the site of the old Morris Walk Estate, its developer announced this week after being given final planning permission for the scheme.

Demolition work on the old estate, which was built as 562 council homes between 1964 and 1966, began last summer and has continued throughout the year.

The former Morris Walk South estate – including streets close to Maryon Park in Charlton – will be renamed Trinity Rise and feature more low-rise homes and family housing. The northern side will be known as Trinity Park, and feature more high-rise towers of up to 13 storeys.

Of the 766 new homes, 177 will be for London Affordable Rent (about half market rent – the same rent being used for new Greenwich Council homes) with 76 available for shared ownership.

Lovell was appointed to develop the estate by Greenwich Council in 2013 under a deal which also includes the Connaught Estate in Woolwich and the crumbling Maryon Road and Maryon Grove estates in Charlton. The proportion of “affordable” homes was agreed when outline planning permission was given two years later.

Stuart Gibbons, Lovell’s regional managing director for London, said the scheme would “deliver hundreds of energy efficient new homes to the borough whilst also driving job creation, apprenticeships and economic growth over the next six years”.

“There aren’t many new schemes in London which are building this many family homes,” he added. “The Lovell vision is to create high-quality schemes with a strong sense of place and community. Our approach will ensure the new homes enhance existing connections to local communities, shared facilities, health, transport links and other infrastructure.

“Lovell was chosen for its flexibility and collaborative approach to long term partnership. We are proud of what we have achieved so far with our partnership with Royal Borough of Greenwich at Trinity Walk in Woolwich. These fantastic new homes will provide further opportunity for people living and working locally to live in these homes at accessible prices.”

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

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