Police after appealing for help after a 49-year-old man was left unconscious after being attacked outside Jennings bookmakers on Charlton Church Lane at 7pm on Saturday evening, a couple of hours after the Charlton v Preston match and before the Blackheath fireworks display.

He remains in a critical condition in hospital. The shop and pavement were still sealed off early this morning.

From the Metropolitan Police:

A 49 year old man had entered the bookmakers alone at 18.40hrs. He placed a few bets and watched the races.

Shortly afterwards others entered the bookies – a man [Suspect 1], and another man [Suspect 2] and a woman who appeared to be together.

Suspect 1 is white, and in his mid-20s, with short dark hair. He wore a dark coloured jacket, blue denim jeans, and brown coloured shoes.

Suspect 2 is white, thought to be aged mid to late 20s, and has short dark hair. He wore a distinctive red long sleeved top with leather looking patches to the elbows and shoulders, blue jeans and dark coloured shoes.

The woman is white, thought to be in her mid-20s, and of large build. She has shoulder length dark coloured hair, and wore a white cardigan (with a black top underneath) and black leggings, and had a white handbag worn over her shoulder.

These three people subsequently left and waited outside, and were seen talking to each other.

The victim then left shortly after 19.00hrs and immediately Suspect 1 set upon him. He head-butted the victim, apparently knocking him unconscious.

Suspect 1 then punched and kicked the victim repeatedly. Suspect 2 also joined in the attack.

The woman watched the assault and then ran off down Charlton Church Lane.

The suspects then also ran off in the same direction at the woman, towards Charlton rail station.

The victim was left unconscious on the ground. He was taken by ambulance to a south London hospital where he is in a critical condition.

DS Mick Smith of Greenwich CID said: “This was a brutal and cowardly attack. The victim apparently fell unconscious after he was head-butted, and he was left completely defenceless as the suspects continued their assault.

“He suffered serious head injuries, and remains in a critical condition at hospital.

“The motive for the attack remains unknown at present, and nothing was taken from the victim.

“We need any witnesses who saw the attack, or the suspects or the woman making off, to come forward.”

There were other customers in the bookies at the time – if they have not yet come forward we would ask them to do so.

Anyone with information on the incident should call Greenwich CID on 020 8284 9430; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Wednesday 12:30pm update: Police have arrested four people in connection with the case. Three – a 24-year-old man, a 28-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman – are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder, while a 52-year-old woman is being questioned on conspiracy to attempt murder. Anyone with information is still asked to call the police.

Wednesday 2pm update: Charges have now been brought.

Supermarket wars could be about to break out in Charlton as it emerged Asda is hoping to expand its Bugsbys Way store and use it as a base for its home delivery service.

The shopping giant’s plans sound spookily like those for Sainsburys, which is planning to move from Greenwich to a nearby site in 2014 as part of a wider redevelopment of Charlton’s retail parks. Tesco is also building a giant store in Woolwich.

No further details were available, although it seems Asda’s plans are at an earlier stage to those of Sainsburys, which is also planning a store with space for home delivery vans.

Asda’s plans were revealed by store representative Hope Augustus – who also took on board gripes about abandoned shopping trolleys – at last night’s Charlton Riverside Action Group meeting, which pulled in a healthy crowd, including a raft of Greenwich councillors and local MP Nick Raynsford.

Also discussed…

• Construction of the new Travelodge at the foot of Victoria Way is not due to begin until the New Year, and is due to take 12 months – meaning it will miss the Olympics.
• There was some heated discussion about the section 106 agreements (cash given by developers to councils for community benefit) on the Travelodge scheme and (potentially, if approved) the Sainsburys/M&S scheme, where it is not certain any of the benefits will be immediately obvious in the Charlton area. For example, while we might expect cash to go to, say, a new building at Charlton station, it might just disappear into the council’s education budget. If you have any suggestions on what Travelodge should be doing in the area, get in touch with your local councillor.
• Much discussion about the awful road junction at Charlton Church Lane, the “dance of death“, and steering traffic away from the A206 between there and the Woolwich Road flyover in Greenwich. Suggestions included a left-filter traffic light for westbound traffic entering Charlton Church Lane, and better signage at the Blackwall Tunnel exit to steer traffic towards Bugsbys Way and not Woolwich Road.
• The shoddy state of the Asda footpath was also discussed, with Hope Augustus revealing two of her colleagues had been mugged in the dark there. It is due for partial redevelopment as part of the Travelodge scheme.
• Two left-field proposals for Maryon Park – a “green bridge” to the Thames Barrier was mentioned by Nick Raynsford, while there’s also an idea to construct a skate park there (although the Greenwich Skate Park group would prefer to go to the peninsula).
• There was also talk of the problems with graffiti on the Thames Path (cruder than this), and on the decline of the Thames Barrier Visitor Centre.

There was plenty more, but I hope that gives you a flavour. The CRAG will next meet early in the new year, but if you can’t wait until then for some community discussion, the Charlton Rail Users Group next meets on 23 November at the Liberal Club.

Sarah has been in touch to tell you about this Thursday’s Christmas craft market at Thorntree School…

We will have 25 stalls selling lovely Xmas gifts and most of the stallholders will be local craftspeople, such as Redurchin children’s clothing, Fiona Bell-Currie cards (featuring lovely scenes of Greenwich & Blackheath) and Sweet William Ceramics, plus more well-known brands like the Pampered Chef, Virgin Vie & Phoenix Cards.

There will be homemade refreshments on sale – mulled wine, cakes etc. Entry is £1 for adults, which includes a raffle ticket with prizes donated by stallholders.

Children go free, and it runs from 7pm-9.30pm. There’s more details on the Friends of Thorntree Association Facebook page.

Last summer, developers Galliard Homes won an appeal against Greenwich Council refusing it planning permission for over 200 flats and office space on a site catchily called “land to the rear of 40 Victoria Way” – the long-disused Thorn Lighting plant which sits behind Gurdon Road.

Councillors had thrown out the “Constellation” scheme in November 2009, largely because of pollution and noise levels around the land, adjacent to the A102 Blackwall Tunnel approach road – although Galliard had already pre-sold plots to homebuyers.

One of the biggest worries was that the main entry/exit to the site would be through sleepy Fairthorn Road. When the Thorn plant was up and running, traffic for that was routed via Victoria Way. But the adjacent industrial units on the rest of the 40 Victoria Way site were still due to stay in place – meaning a big change for Fairthorn Road.

Now there are changes to the plan, with Fairview New Homes taking the site on, and seeking to “update and enhance” the scheme – whatever that means.

There’s a public exhibition taking place from 3pm-8pm this Thursday at the Grand Salon in Charlton House (through the foyer, turn left, and up the stairs). It’s the first this website has heard of the event, so it might be worth asking just how seriously Fairview is taking this “consultation”.

It should also give the Charlton Riverside Action Group something to get their teeth into this Wednesday…

Did you get along to the exhibition about the plans for a new Sainsbury’s and M&S? Reservations about inviting even more traffic to the area aside, it all looks fine to me, and I like the developers’ ambitions to try to open up new routes to the riverside.

I do know one senior figure on Greenwich Council – Woolwich Riverside councillor John Fahy – has voiced reservations that further developing Charlton’s retail offerings could damage Woolwich town centre. He’s got a point, but that’s not stopped Greenwich Council before. Bearing in mind the first retail barns opened 30 years ago, and Asda was unveiled in 1984, that ship seems to have sailed away a long time ago.

But I do have one quibble. The name. Currently, the development has the working title of The Meridian Centre. But the meridian is in Greenwich, and this is in Charlton. So surely it should have a name which celebrates SE7, rather than clinging to the skirt of SE10? It’s bad enough having the “Greenwich Shopping Park” sat down the road.

But what, though? Most of the street names in the area have connections with the river – Gallions Road, Bugsbys Way, Derrick Gardens, Anchor & Hope Lane. Actually, the Anchor & Hope Centre could be nice, even if it sounds like the pub’s gained a huge extension. Or what about one of the big, long-gone riverside industries?

Maybe a celebration of the football club? Bartram Parade? The Valley Centre? The Sir Chris Powell Shopping Park?

I’m flailing around a bit here, but The Meridian Centre just doesn’t cut it for me. If you have any suggestions, share them here. This could be your chance to leave your mark.

Charlton should be reunited under one parliamentary constituency, Greenwich & Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford told a public hearing into proposed boundary changes on Monday.

The area has been split between Mr Raynsford’s seat and Clive Efford’s Eltham constituency since the last election, but proposed changes provided an opportunity to bring Charlton back under one MP, he said.

A Boundary Commission report suggests splitting the Greenwich & Woolwich seat as part of nationwide changes designed to cut the number of MPs – leaving Charlton divided between a new Woolwich seat and an Eltham constituency that would stretch as far as Sidcup and Blackfen.

But Mr Raynsford told the hearing at Lewisham Town Hall he endorses an alternative proposal put forward by the London Labour Party, which would see Greenwich and Woolwich retained, gaining Lewisham borough’s Blackheath ward and the Kidbrooke with Hornfair ward which takes in the southern part of Charlton.

This, he said, would mean both Greenwich and Blackheath would both be represented by one MP (current plans would split Greenwich) and, Charlton, “a community with a historic core”, would also be reunited he said.

Referring to Charlton House’s position “at the heart” of the area, he said the boundary between the Greenwich & Woolwich and Eltham seats “comes almost to the southern edge of Charlton House”.

Current arrangements do not “comfortably represent Charlton as a community”, he added. At present the border between the two seats runs along Indus Road and Canberra Road.

Labour’s proposals for south-east London seats also include the creation of a new Eltham & Plumstead constituency and retaining the Erith & Thamesmead seat currently represented by Teresa Pearce. While the Boundary Commission suggests a new Deptford & Greenwich seat, Labour suggests a Deptford & Nunhead seat as well as retaining an expanded Greenwich & Woolwich.

The hearing continues tomorrow, with Clive Efford and representatives of Greenwich borough’s Conservatives and Liberal Democrats due to speak.

Wednesday update: Here’s the local Conservatives’ take on the boundary issues. Local Liberal Democrats also support the Boundary Commissions proposed changes.

Remember these? In 1999, a controlled parking zone was introduced across parts of Charlton, Blackheath and Greenwich because of fears the area would be overrun by Millennium Dome visitors sneakily avoiding the “no-car zone” around the peninsula.

As everyone knows, visitor numbers for the Dome were wildly overestimated, and if I remember correctly, the restrictions were lifted with a month or two to go. The parking bays stayed, though, and some controlled parking zones were created – in Charlton, one was created around the station. In other areas, parking remained – and remains – free in the spaces.

But the permits could return for the Olympics. It’s already been confirmed that the Charlton controlled parking zone will run from 0830-2100 seven days a week between 28 July and 6 August, and 30 August and 6 September 2012 to stop people parking up to visit the North Greenwich Arena (Dome/ O2).

But residents and visitors outside the zone could have to use Olympic permits under plans to ensure that visitors to the Dome, Greenwich Park and the Royal Artillery Barracks don’t park in back streets and take the train instead, according to plans revealed by LOCOG today.

(Longer term, it’s likely those streets could become part of parking zones as part of Greenwich Council spending cuts. But that’s another story.)

I’ve written more about the plans on 853, but you can find out more on Friday between 9am-6pm, and Saturday between 9am-5pm, at an exhibition at Devonport House, King William Walk, Greenwich. It’s worth a look – even if you don’t drive or have a car – because life around here is going to be very different for a few weeks next summer, and forewarned is forearmed…