Charlton

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.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

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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.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

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Can you help protect Charlton’s Assembly Rooms?

The Charlton Champion

Charlton Assembly Rooms

A few weeks back we mentioned this Sunday’s concert to raise money for roof repairs at Charlton House. The concert is actually being backed by a charity set up to save the nearby Charlton Assembly Rooms – GWEN ZAMMIT, the organiser, explains all, and outlines how you can get involved.

The concert is being organised with the backing of the Save Charlton Assembly Rooms Project (SCARP) to raise money for the roof repairs at Charlton House, which will benefit the whole community. SCARP was started in 1972 by Gwen and George Zammit and Laurie Cole, all members of St Luke’s Players. Laurie was their musician as well as played for St Mary’s, the daughter church of St Luke’s.

The Assembly Rooms had been St Luke’s church hall for decades but, in the end, the upkeep of the building became too much to handle and it was decided to return it to Lord Gough – a direct descendant of the Maryon-Wilson family – who had loaned it to the church for a peppercorn rent. Lord Gough then sold the rooms to Greenwich Council, who earmarked it for demolition to make way for a car park.

Up until then, the Assembly Rooms had been the HQ for St Luke’s Players, so that is why it was decided, with the backing of the whole community and the Charlton Society, to take it over. This was eventually allowed by Greenwich Council. To cut a long story short, the Assembly Rooms now comes under the umbrella of Charlton House, hence the support of SCARP, which is a registered charity.

SCARP is looking for new trustees, most of whom have been members of St Luke’s congregation. Gwen Zammit is the Chairman and only founder member left, however, she is still supported by Pat Wardale and Kitty Baden-Powell. If you are interested in joining the charity, you will not have much to do – really – but a charity needs Trustees to function, albeit not very often!

If you would like to be involved please contact Gwen on 020 8856 7373.

You can also buy tickets for the Music for an Autumnal Evening concert on the same number. Tickets are £15, and the concert is at the Old Library in Charlton House from 7pm this Sunday.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

We tell the SE7 stories you won’t read elsewhere. And we’ll do the others better than anyone else. We can’t do it without your help.
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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

We tell the SE7 stories you won’t read elsewhere. And we’ll do the others better than anyone else. We can’t do it without your help.
– Please tell us about your news and events
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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.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

We tell the SE7 stories you won’t read elsewhere. And we’ll do the others better than anyone else. We can’t do it without your help.
– Please tell us about your news and events
– Become a monthly supporter at presspatron.com/charltonchampion
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