You can help the area bounce back from the pandemic
Want to have your say in who gets grants for projects to help people in Charlton? Sign up for Community Voting Day and you can do just that.
Last month, we reported how community groups and individuals could apply for grants of up to £2,000 each for projects to help Charlton bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now you can sign up to help decide who gets the money in a 90-minute online meeting to be held at 10.45am on Saturday 27 March.
The details of the groups and people involved are a tightly-guarded secret – you’ll have to sign up to find out who they are – but they’ll all relate in some way to health and wellbeing. The scheme is being run for Greenwich Council’s public health team.
You’ll be able to watch the groups pitch for your vote – think of it as like Dragon’s Den, only it’ll be full of your neighbours rather than irritating bigheads. In fact, if you can spare a chunk of your Saturday morning, you’ll be guaranteed to find out a lot more about your local area and the people who live in it. You might even find a project you want to help yourself.
Good luck to all those taking part – we’ll bring you news of the winners after the event.
(Declaration of interest: We’re not affiliated with anyone taking part in the event, but we have had a small hand in discussions about making it happen.)
Up to 1,400 homes could be built in a proposal that would link Greenwich Millennium Village and existing communities in east Greenwich after nearly a quarter of a century. Details are sketchy, but London Square promises to “transform the existing site and create a new neighbourhood that will deliver new homes, cafés, shops and new pedestrian-friendly spaces, including a new public square at the heart of the site”.
Most buildings would be around seven or eight storeys, but some could be up to 20 storeys tall. Car parking for Ikea and the Odeon would be below the development, potentially on the ground floor. The development site does not include the Sainsbury’s petrol station left over from when the supermarket moved to Gallions Road in 2015.
The site is currently a 1,000-space car park
“We are working to agree a temporary parking solution with Ikea for the construction period,” the developer says. Work on the scheme could begin in spring 2023.
Nearly a quarter of the homes – 24.5 per cent – would be for London Affordable Rent, about half market rent, with 10.5 per cent being for shared ownership. Like most major new developments in the area, it would be car-free, with residents banned from obtaining parking permits.
B&Q last spring: the DIY chain’s lease is running out
The developer plans a “green shield” to protect the development from the adjacent A102, which is likely to be also carrying Silvertown Tunnel traffic when the development is finished. It says it will “comprise a mix of trees, planting, a living wall and building massing adjoining the Blackwall Tunnel approach, that will protect the site to the north from the pollution and noise created by this busy route”.
“The development will serve as an ecological bridge between the suburban gardens of Westcombe Park and the green spaces within the Greenwich Millennium Village Ecological Park,” the developer adds in the consultation.
A similar principle is used nearby where blocks in Greenwich Millennium Village are designed to shield residents from the aggregate works at Angerstein Wharf.
The site has been a retail park since 1999, when Sainsbury’s opened its ill-fated “eco-store” on the site, with the cinema and other retail following after that. Ikea replaced Sainsbury’s two years ago. Before the site became a retail park, it served as a sports club for the nearby gasworks, before the Metrogas club moved to Avery Hill in 1989.
Two months ago, Greenwich councillors approved detailed plans for the final phase of Greenwich Millennium Village, backing plans for 489 homes on a site across Bugsby’s Way from B&Q and Ikea.
The developers promise new retail space in the scheme
The scheme could potentially form a template for redeveloping the Charlton retail parks to the east of the site. None are currently in line for development, although a recent council planning document suggested the Makro site off Anchor and Hope Lane “should accommodate a mix of small and medium sized commercial, retail, leisure and community uses and flexible SME space”.
Swimmers have just two weeks to wait until they can take their first dip at Charlton Lido after coronavirus restrictions are eased.
Better, which runs the pool and gym, will reopen the lido and outdoor fitness classes on Monday 29 March, along with other outdoor facilities in Greenwich borough.
The lido has seen a surge in custom during the pandemic, but was forced to close on 5 January when the national lockdown was introduced.
Swimmers will need to download the Better app to book sessions and are being asked to arrive ‘beach ready’ with their costume on under their clothes. Fitness class customers are encouraged to shower and change at home.
Outdoor adventure playgrounds are also reopening, as are outdoor athletics and fitness classes at Sutcliffe Park Sports Centre. Further afield, outdoor facilities at Thamesmere Leisure Centre and outdoor football at Coldharbour Leisure Centre will also resume. There is also a Better at Home digital membership with online exercise classes, which are free to Greenwich residents.
Richard Gallagher, Better’s partnership manager in Greenwich said: “We can’t wait to welcome customers back to our outdoor facilities again. With swimming, fitness classes, football, athletics and adventure play all available at various locations across the borough, there will be plenty of options available for residents to begin getting active again after lockdown.”
Adel Khaireh, Greenwich Council’s cabinet member for culture, communities and equalities, said: “Our leisure centres are valuable community assets and play a central role in supporting the wellbeing of our residents, and they’re more important than ever after a prolonged period at home.”
Charlton station’s community garden will benefit from money from a fund set up after Thameslink made a poor start to its rail services through the new London Bridge station three years ago.
Thameslink took over what used to be the Charing Cross to Gillingham service in May 2018, converting it to a Luton to Rainham service.
In 2019 the company was told to set up a £15 million Passenger Benefit Fund to improve stations and facilities Initially, Charlton and other Greenwich line stations were left out of the fund, but were included after lobbying from local MP Matt Pennycook. Even then, the fund’s existence was poorly publicised and had to be reopened after a government minister stepped in.
Having lobbied hard back in 2019 for @TLRailUK's Passenger Benefit Fund to be opened to bids for specific proposals on Southeastern-managed stations on the Greenwich Line, I'm pleased we’ve secured £220k for a range of improvements across six stations. pic.twitter.com/66ppd8KST0
Yesterday, it emerged that the £30,000 allocated to Charlton will be spent on the community garden, a new waiting shelter on platform 2 and waiting shelter improvements on platform 1. Work should be completed by September.
The news was broken on social media by Pennycook, who said: “I’m pleased we’ve secured £220k for a range of improvements across six stations.” Other work to be carried out locally includes landscaping at Westcombe Park and passenger information systems at Maze Hill. Woolwich Dockyard is not served by Thameslink trains so is not included in the fund.
The Old Pond Garden volunteer scheme will re-open from Tuesday March 9th, all gardening levels are welcome. Sessions will be Tuesdays 1.30-3.30 and Thursdays 10-12, as before lockdown. We are lobbying hard for a Sunday session in the near future.
The garden is looking good, please come along to see progress and pull a weed (or three), and check out the latest planting plans.
We also hope to start dealing with the Long Borders, so we need all the help we can get!
We can always do with donations of primroses (native, yellow) and any snowdrops in the green.
CHRISTINE ANTHONY from the Friends of Maryon Parks has been in touch – can you help solve a sporting mystery?
In the middle of December last year, The Friends of Maryon Parks were contacted by Victoria White, a metal detectorist, who had been working in a field near Buxton, Derbyshire when she found a silver Albert or watch chain.
Attached to the chain was a silver medal, inscribed on the front with the monogram “AH” and the reverse with “Maryon Park Gymnasium, 1st Prize Juniors, won by A. Harvey 1910”.
The front of the medal
We were able to tell Victoria that the Maryon Park playground had opened in 1895 when “the Maryon-Wilson Estates gave one third of an acre more land for the formation of an open air children’s gymnasium with an additional entrance in the Lower Woolwich Road” and to provide a picture via the Charlton Parks Reminiscence website at . It is thought the photo was taken about 1910 and appears to show parallel bars and other gymnastic equipment in the upper playground.
Victoria has been unable to make a link with a Harvey family in Buxton but we wondered if there is one with GA Harvey metal works of Charlton. Unfortunately to date we’ve not been able to find out much about the family so would love to hear from someone who knows something about them.
If you can help solve the mystery, drop Christine a line at friendsofmaryonparks[at]gmail.com.
A Plumstead-based brewery is hoping to turn the former Barclays branch at the Royal Standard into a “beer café” – just weeks after the bank closed its doors for the final time.
Common Rioters has submitted a planning application to Greenwich Council to change the building’s use – the first stage in a journey it hopes will end with its own bar and place to brew its beers.
The three-year-old brewery, run by Stephen and Maryann O’Connor, takes its name from the Plumstead Common rioters, whose revolt in 1876 saved the open space from being destroyed by a developer.
They had originally hoped to take on a unit at the Jack’s Acre development on Rochester Way in Eltham, but when that fell through, Stephen told The Charlton Champion that he spotted the Blackheath bank building was being let.
“We’re into learning about historical and modern styles of brewing coupled with peoples’ history,” he said. “Not yet having a commercial brew kit or place to brew means that until now we’ve relied on friends in the industry to brew our beers with. Our beers have been available at a select few pubs in the area and at our Plumsteadshire stall, which pops up in various locations as well as online. Following the theme of our stall somewhat we intend to have guest brewery appearances at our pub alongside many other non-beer items for enjoyment.
“The opportunity to bring The Green Goddess to Blackheath in an iconic building was too good to miss.”
Common Rioters’ interest in the bank comes less than two months after it closed. Barclays announced it was shutting the branch – the last bank at the Royal Standard – in October, and it closed its doors on 15 January. Nearby, the former NatWest branch has not yet found a tenant nearly three years after the state-owned bank pulled out of the area.
The brewery is currently selling beers from other suppliers though its online shop, with free delivery in SE7 and other Greenwich borough addresses every Friday.
While all pubs are closed because of the lockdown, there have been hopeful signs for SE7 drinkers looking for a decent pint once the restrictions have passed, despite the loss of the White Swan a year ago.
The Charlton Champion 