Charlton

Don’t dump your real Christmas tree – leave it out for the council

Darryl Chamberlain2 Comments

https://twitter.com/ed_neon/status/683964804051156992

Did you splash out on a real Christmas tree? Now the festivities are over, don’t forget one of Greenwich Council’s better, under-advertised services – it’ll pick your tree up for free, from your home. Just leave it out on bin day.

If you see flytipping (or graffiti or other problems) while out and about (including when the council sweeps the streets and then leaves the bags out mouldering over New Year…), then use Fix My Street (or its Apple and Android apps) to report it. Reports go straight to the council and you can monitor what’s being done – for example, we see the witty graffiti artist in the Bramshot Avenue subway has made a comeback….

Can you help? Lost dog found on Cemetery Lane, Charlton

Darryl Chamberlain21 Comments

Lost dog, Cemetery Lane

Have you or one of your neighbours lost a dog? Tim Donovan has been in touch to report finding this fine fellow, Winston, on Cemetery Lane. Tim can’t get in touch with his registered owner, who appears to live in Clapham – presumably he wa staying with friend. As nobody would take him, Tim has taken Winston back to his home in Essex.

Can you help? Get in touch with Tim if you can.

Charlton’s Thames Path set to have its ‘missing link’ plugged

Darryl Chamberlain4 Comments

missinglink640

It’s been a very long time in coming, but walkers and cyclists could soon be able to use the Thames Path uninterrupted between Charlton and Woolwich – with plans to build a new path over the riverfront.

Currently, the Thames Path from central London stops dead at the Thames Barrier, with anyone wanting to continue eastwards having to continue via the busy Woolwich Road before walking through the King Henry’s Wharf housing development.

Westminster Industrial Estate

During the week, walkers in the know can sneak through an unsigned shortcut through the Westminster Industrial Estate – but these barriers prevent cyclists from using it.

Plans to plug the gap were first revealed in September, at Greenwich Council’s first “cycling forum”, after negotiations with landowners. Now they’re slowly starting to become reality, with one phase having already received planning permission, and another currently in the planning process.

The TfL-funded scheme is particularly good news for the enormous creative arts hub Second Floor Arts, as the new route will run right past its entrance. Greenwich hopes it will be complete by April 2017.

Heading from east to west… (apologies for the duff photos, which are of a display board at the cycle forum event).

Warspite Road
king_henry500

Phase 1 is currently going through the planning process (see application 15/3519/F), and consists of a ramp from Warspite Road which will then sit on top of the riverfront, taking the route round to the existing Thames Path at King Henry’s Wharf. Or, strictly speaking: “Construction of combined footway / cycleway bridge, a 1.4m high pedestrian parapet with lighting incorporated into the parapet posts, erection of a wooden fender structure in the foreshore area.” Comments on this need to be with the council by 29 December.

unity_way500

Phase 2 already has planning permission (see application 15/2972/F). It consists of a ramp between Unity Way, the street that leads to the Thames Barrier visitor centre, and Bowater Road, inside the Westminster Industrial Estate. This means there’ll still be a diversion away from the river (and the deteriorating Mersey ferry Royal Iris, moored here) but nowhere near as long and inconvenient as the current scheme. Greenwich hopes to start work on this before April.

Greenwich has a newsletter for people interested in cycling infrastructure in the borough – email cycling-strategy[at]royalgreenwich.gov.uk and ask to be put on its list.

(This is a slightly shorter version of a post on 853.)

White Swan: Plans for new homes behind pub refused

Darryl Chamberlain4 Comments

Mendoza homes on White Swan land
Mendoza’s plans for homes behind the White Swan pub

Thanks to the Charlton Society for news that plans to build homes behind the White Swan pub in Charlton Village have been refused by Greenwich Council planners.

The freeholder of the land, property developer Mendoza, had wanted to build two three-bedroom houses on part of the beer garden and vacant land behind the pub, which has seen a remarkable revival since being reopened by the team behind Greenwich’s Pelton Arms in September.

Mendoza’s proposals were refused by the council’s planning department without going to a planning committee. It’s likely they’ll return with an altered plan, as the company specialises in taking pubs and converting some or all of the space into residential accommodation.

The White Swan isn’t the only Charlton pub in developers’ spotlight right now – an application to build 11 flats and a gym around the Antigallican on Woolwich Road is being consulted on by Greenwich Council (reference 15/2272/F). Comments need to be received by the council by Tuesday 8 December.

Charlton ward report from Cllr Gary Parker: Planning issues, Charlton House, community engagement

Neil Clasper9 Comments

 Our thanks to Cllr Gary Parker, who represents Charlton ward on Greenwich Council,   for this report on what he’s been up to for residents.

We hope this will become a regular feature.

Councillor Gary Parker Report to Charlton Ward Residents

This report details some of the activities I have been involved in as a councillor in the Charlton area. It does not include surgeries or case work, which is significant.

Below is a round-up of some key issues. The council is considering new forms of engagement including area-based panels, which I hope to report to in future, if they are introduced. Otherwise I will continue to report to residents in this form as appropriate.

Planning issues

At the council meeting in July I presented two petitions to the council, one regarding the Our Lady of Grace School planning application, expressing concerns about the application – 100 people signed it. This application was passed by the planning board in September. I opposed the application and am still raising issues related to it.

The other raised concerns about the proposed Skateboard Park in Charlton Park and was signed by 735 local residents. I also spoke at the full council meeting regarding this on 28th October. While I am not opposed to a Skateboard Park in principle, there are still many unanswered questions about its proposed siting in Charlton Park. I will finally decide my position on this, once the planning application is published. The planning application is likely to go to the Planning Board in January 2016.

I have been working with the CCRA, and other local groups and individuals regarding a range of planning issues, calling in several planning applications. One in the Victoria Way area has been rejected by officers.

I called in 3 planning applications in the central Charlton area, including one for the former Conservative Club in Charlton Church Lane. It was deferred at the last area planning committee meeting in September for a site visit.

I put in a written submission opposing the Valley House planning application – a significant development which would have impacted on Charlton. This application was rejected by the Planning Board in September.

Charlton Village

I have attended the last area planning committee and spoke in favour of the planning application by the Baguette Café in Charlton Village, which was accepted by the committee.

I have also been raising issues regarding the two pubs in Charlton Village, the White Swan and the Bugle and liaising with Charlton Society and sought assurances from council officers that the council has powers to intervene, if necessary regarding any potential redevelopment of these facilities.

I also intervened to have some concrete pillars removed outside the White Swan earlier in the summer. I am pleased to see the White Swan is now thriving again under new management.

Charlton House

I am a member of the Board of the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust and have been working with other trustees to secure the long term future of Charlton House and the other heritage assets in the Trust, which include the Heritage Centre in Woolwich and the Tudor Barn in Eltham.

We are seeking to secure funding for the upkeep of Charlton House and are committed to working with local community organisations. To that end the Chair, Len Duvall and myself attended the AGM of the Friends of Charlton House, earlier in the year and Len and other RGHT staff have been liaising with the Charlton Society and others. I strongly advocated that members of local societies should be on the board of RGHT, to that end, Roden Richardson of the Charlton Society has been appointed.

Other Recent Community Engagements/ Work

Charlton Central Residents Association – I have met regularly with CCRA members on planning and other associated issues

Charlton Society AGM – I attended the recent AGM of the Charlton Society and spoke on some planning issues

Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust – I attended the last two board meetings of RGHT

Greenwich Carers Centre – I attended the official opening of the centre in June, which is now an excellent facility for carers and their families in the borough

Divestment Greenwich – I attended a meeting in July which was focused on encouraging local authorities, colleges churches and other public bodies not to invest their pension funds in fossil fuels, which exacerbate climate change. I support this campaign and have corresponded with local residents on this

Armed Forces Day- I attended this excellent event in June, which was supported by the council. It also featured the Great Get Together and associated community events.

Cleansweep Scrutiny Panel Meeting – I chaired a very successful meeting of the Community Safety & Environment Scrutiny Panel to review the Cleansweep service on 29/10/15 at which a range of community organisations in Greenwich, including some Charlton/Woolwich organisations – Charlton & Carnbrooke housing panel, CCRA and Wonderful Woolwich and other local residents and former Cleansweep staff who made individual submissions.

Panel members and officers viewed this as a great success, these organisations were given free rein to raise any issues they liked regarding the service. They received as many instant responses as possible on the night and other responses will be provided in due course – issues raised included, litter, fixed penalty notices, fly tipping, street cleaning, dog fouling and many other issues.

Happening Soon

The main Overview and Scrutiny Panel of which I am a member have produced a detailed report on community engagement, which will go to the next Cabinet Meeting for consideration and further action if approved.

There are new recommendations for community engagement, including area based panels and other new forms of engagement, which I have been lobbying for.

The Skateboard Park planning application will be presented to the Planning Board in January 2016 as detailed above.

Ward budgets for councillors are being introduced shortly, which will provide a small budget to which local organisations can apply for – more details soon.

The council’s budget will be clarified after the autumn statement by George Osborne which is due soon and the related local government funding settlement. Since 2010 the council has had 25% of its budget cut.

The community consultation process regarding the Charlton Riverside Masterplan will resume in early 2016 – more details soon.

Get in touch with Cllr Parker via the council website.

Silvertown Tunnel consultation comes to Charlton House: Six reasons why the toxic tunnel’s a rotten idea

Darryl Chamberlain

A102 jam
Just another soutbound jam on the A102 past Eastcombe Avenue. The Silvertown Tunnel will make this worse

The Silvertown Tunnel – the planned £1bn new road between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks – hasn’t been mentioned much on here, because this site’s main writer has banged on about it a lot over there and also helped found the No to Silvertown Tunnel campaign. I’d be boring myself, not just you, if I banged on about here too.

But with the “final” consultation into the scheme in full swing, TfL is taking its promotional roadshow to Charlton House on Saturday, between 12noon and 5pm. (It’ll also be there between 12noon-7pm on Thursday 26 November.) It’s fortunate TfL is coming to Charlton at all – documents released to this website under the Freedom of Information Act show that it wanted to go to Mycenae House, Blackheath, while Greenwich Council tried to suggest The Woolwich Centre. Charlton seems to have been a happy compromise.

This isn’t going to be even an attempt at fence-sitting. Whether you’re a resident who’s sick of fumes and jams, or a driver who just wants to get from A to B – or both, as about half of us are – then the Silvertown Tunnel is a dreadful idea. This toxic tunnel is the biggest threat to the area’s environment in many years.

You might believe that public transport is the area’s biggest priority, or you might want to see a new road built elsewhere (be careful what you wish for). But the Silvertown Tunnel is a failure from both a tree-hugging and a petrolhead point of view. Here’s why.

1. It’ll make our roads busier. It’s a well-known fact, and one that TfL concedes, that new roadbuilding has an unfortunate habit of generating new traffic. It suddenly becomes a bit easier to drive to Stratford Westfield than shop more locally, then lots of people do it too, then… you’re back at square one. TfL seeks to deter new traffic (and pay off that billion quid) by slapping a toll on not just the new tunnel, but that Blackwall Tunnel it sits next to. This is a) spending £1bn and causing an awful lot of disruption, then crossing your fingers and hoping you don’t screw it up, and b) not very fair on anyone who really does have to drive through the pipe, charging them for a journey that others in London get to do for free. Previously, TfL has admitted to a 20% increase in traffic on the approach roads – all that’s got to come from somewhere. A suppressed Greenwich Council report admitted the tunnel would overwhelm local roads.

2. It depends too heavily on the A102. The Silvertown Tunnel is aimed at curing jams approaching the northbound Blackwall Tunnel, which have blighted the area for at least the past 35 years. But it doesn’t consider the effect heading southbound, where queues through the Sun-in-the-Sands roundabout are commonplace. Last Thursday, a burst watermain at Falconwood caused congestion back through Eltham, back through Kidbrooke, and over the Woolwich Road flyover. Extra traffic generated by a Silvertown crossing would make these queues far worse. (And we’ll still get it in the neck whenever the Dartford Crossing has problems, as is happening right now.)

3. Air quality in Charlton is already foul. Studies from both the No to Silvertown Tunnel campaign and the Charlton Central Residents Association have already made clear that we’re breathing illegally polluted air. At Bramshot Avenue in January 2014, NtST measured 104 microgrammes of nitrogren dioxide per cubic metre, next to a subway used by scores of children to get to school. The EU legal limit is 40µg/m³. On Woolwich Road, close to where M&S has since been built, the level was 76µg/m³. Even in residential areas, quality is bad – CCRA recorded 54µg/m³ outside Fossdene school in February 2015, along with 38µg/m³ in sleepy Elliscombe Road. Some of Greenwich Council’s offical statistics (up to 2013) are also available. Tunnel backers will tell you that it’s about cleaning up the air by getting traffic moving – but by increasing traffic on local roads, this aim is likely to backfire.

Charlton Central Residents' Association's figures over a limited area from February 2015. The EU limit is 40, although anything in the 30s isn't great either, frankly.
Charlton Central Residents’ Association’s figures over a limited area from February 2015. The EU limit is 40, although anything in the 30s isn’t great either, frankly.
The No to Silvertown Tunnel results from January 2014.
The No to Silvertown Tunnel results from January 2014.

4. The tolling really hasn’t been thought through properly. We don’t have much experience of toll roads in this country. And judging by some of TfL’s background documents, it doesn’t have much of an idea of who uses Blackwall to go where and why. Put these two together, and you’ve got a problem. The only comparable case to compare with is Dartford, which is also heavily congested. It also appears tolling won’t be taking place at weekends – leaving Greenwich Ikea and Stratford Westfield to generate even more queues.

5. More HGVs on our roads. Sick of heavy lorries thundering through our streets? The Silvertown Tunnel will have a special HGV (and bus) lane so it can attract the lorries that can’t use the Blackwall Tunnel, before depositing them on the north side where they’ll have to find their way through several sets of traffic lights to find the A12 again. A new tunnel means more lorries at a time when we need less. (Hackney Council is objecting to the scheme on these grounds.)

6. If the tunnel is a disaster, we’re stuck with it – and its jams. Because the tunnel’s dressed up as a common-sense scheme – and what monster is against a scheme to remove traffic jams? – there’s a likelihood that many people and some politicians are sleepwalking into this. Even if Blackwall Tunnel jams are freed up for a few years, all that traffic’s got to go somewhere, and some other places will be jammed up instead. It could be Woolwich Road, it could be Greenwich town centre. TfL plans to build its way out of trouble by building new crossings at Gallions Reach and Belvedere – but what happens if they get cancelled? Curing jams is difficult. There’s no easy answer to the Blackwall queues. But just jumping for the first thing someone offers you is deeply irresponsible – and could have irrevocable consequences for this area’s future.

Want more arguments? Here’s a Silvertown Tunnel mythbusting guide.

So, it’s worth you signing up to the consultation and saying no. Contrary to what some might tell you, the tunnel isn’t a done deal – the next mayor can cancel it as soon as he or she takes office. You might like to tell Sadiq Khan and/or Zac Goldsmith you’re opposed. And tell your local councillors, MP and assembly members too. (Matt Pennycook wrote about his scepticism last year.)

Finally, there’s also a public meeting in Greenwich on 12 November, where you can find out more about the scheme and why it’s a dreadful idea. It’s at the Forum, and starts at 7.30pm.

No to Silvertown Tunnel poster

White Swan freeholder Mendoza plans two houses at back of revived pub

Darryl Chamberlain27 Comments
Mendoza homes on White Swan land
The new homes are set back from Torrance Close, overlooking the pub’s beer garden

The company that owns the freehold to revamped Charlton pub the White Swan has applied for planning permission to build two 3-bedroom houses on part of its beer garden.

Isle of Man-based Mendoza Ltd, which makes its money buying pubs and bars and putting residential developments on the sites, plans to build the homes at the back of the garden and on disused land facing onto Torrance Close, the access road at the rear of The Village.

The strikingly-designed homes would be set back from Torrance Close, overlooking the rest of the pub’s garden.

Mendoza’s application comes just seven weeks after the once-troubled pub was reopened by the team behind the Pelton Arms, who have taken on a new lease on the bar and the accommodation upstairs.

Without the rooms upstairs, it was always likely Mendoza would have its eye on the garden and the disused space at the rear. Documents submitted with the planning application state the company was in discussion with Greenwich Council about work on both the rear of the site and the pub’s upstairs floors, including a new roof.

“The applicant believes that as the public house is in the process of being considered to be added to the list of locally listed buildings and is a much beloved part of the current street scene, it is more beneficial to the local architectural and community’s character to allow more time and consideration before a planning submission is made for the White Swan,” a letter from Bermondsey-based architects Milan Babic says. Milan Babic’s website showcases how it converted the upstairs rooms of the former Brixton pub Brady’s – now a branch of Wahaca – into residential accomodation.

While approving the development would hopefully provide some financial security over the pub’s future, the proximity of the homes to the pub’s beer garden, and even the pub itself, is likely to be of concern. Mendoza has gained a reputation for squeezing out pub operators by placing homes in close proximity to their businesses. The homes are set well back from Torrance Close, even though the development has been designated “car free” and the street sees very little traffic and even fewer pedestrians.

The modern design of the buildings – the homes are in the Charlton Village conservation area – is also likely to ruffle feathers. That said, though, they are of a similar design to homes in Blackheath streets such as Langton Way and Heathway, which are also in a conservation area.

Mendoza’s application can be found on Greenwich Council’s planning website by searching for application 15/2968/F. Comments or objections can be left with the council until 24 November – use the links to comment on the council website, or for longer observations, email planningapps[at]royalgreenwich.gov.uk.