Charlton

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

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion

Parkrun comes to Charlton Park: Now’s the the time to sign up and get your barcode

Darryl Chamberlain
Charlton Park
Fancy doing 5k in Charlton Park? Your time has come…

Charlton Parkrun is coming very soon – if you want to take part, now’s the time to sign up.

Parkrun is a simple idea – you simply sign up, print off a barcode, then turn up at 9am on a Saturday morning to run or walk 5k around an open space with others in your local community.

Each event is volunteer-run – and the Charlton team have been steadily building up a list of volunteers. More volunteers are always needed – it’s a great way to meet people and doesn’t take up more than about 90 minutes of your time.

If you want to take part and you’re not already signed up with Parkrun, the website is now live at www.parkrun.org.uk/charlton – that’s where you can sign up and find out when the first run is.

Already signed up with Parkrun and registered elsewhere? You can sign in on the website to change your preferences so you can keep up to date with the Charlton run.

Parkrun began as a time trial for runners in Bushy Park. southwest London, in 2004, and there are now about 700 events across the UK, all taking place at 9am on Saturday mornings. A new run began in Sutcliffe Park, Eltham earlier this month.

In Charlton, the run will start and finish next to the skate park, and will comprise three laps of the park.

While Parkrun is a favourite with fast runners, plenty of people come to take it more slowly with the aim of improving their fitness and wellbeing. At last weekend’s event in Sutcliffe Park, 240 people finished the 5k course in times ranging from 16 to 64 minutes – with a tail walker in place to ensure nobody finishes last.

The event’s start-up costs have been funded by Greenwich Council and Charlton Triangle Homes.

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion

Trinity Park: 766 homes on site of Morris Walk Estate get final council backing

Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment
Lovell Trinity Park render
Lovell’s proposed view from Maryon Park – where Denmark House stood until recently

Greenwich councillors have approved detailed plans for 766 new homes on the site of the Morris Walk Estate on the Charlton/Woolwich border.

Developer Lovell already had outline permission to build on the site, but last night’s planning board meeting rubber-stamped its plans.

Residents and the media – including The Charlton Champion – were unable to watch the meeting remotely because of technical problems which prevented the meeting being webcast. Physical attendance at meetings is restricted so only a handful of people saw councillors unanimously approve the scheme.

Demolition work on the Morris Walk Estate, built as 562 council homes between 1964 and 1966, has progressed throughout the year, with the last blocks to go on the northern edge of the site.

Trinity Park
The plans envisage taller blocks to the north of the site

Of the 766 homes promised in the Trinity Park development, 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.

There will be taller blocks – of up to 13 storeys – to the north of the site near Woolwich Church Street, with more low-rise housing to the south near Maryon Park.

The Charlton Champion reported on the plans last November, as well as an earlier consultation into the scheme.

The development is part of a 12-year deal with Greenwich Council signed in 2012, which has already resulted in Woolwich’s notorious Connaught estate becoming a new development called Trinity Walk.

Lovell also plans to redevelop the crumbling Maryon Road and Maryon Grove estates under the agreement, with a planning application expected in 2023.

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion

Help us keep saved Angerstein Wharf crossing safe, Network Rail asks neighbours

Darryl Chamberlain
Angerstein crossing
Gates have since been installed at the Angerstein crossing

Network Rail bosses have asked neighbours and passers-by to watch out for misuse and vandalism at the Angerstein Wharf railway crossing, which has been saved from closure this week.

The track company had threatened to close the historic footpath across the single-track freight branch line, which links streets around Fairthorn Road and Gurdon Road to Westcombe Park station, but reversed the decision on Wednesday after a campaign by local residents.

Safety issues were cited as the reason for closing the crossing, but Network Rail said that an independent review by its head of passenger safety, Allan Spence, found that safety measures in place were sufficient to make the Angerstein path an exception to its normal rules on crossings.

Network Rail now plans to straighten out rights-of-way issues at the crossing

Network Rail now plans to upgrade the footsteps to the crossing, installing a new surface on the crossing itself, and is considering installing CCTV to watch the area.

“I am counting on cooperation of people who use the crossing and would be grateful for misuse and vandalism – anything that takes place that is unsafe – is challenged and reported,” Fiona Taylor, Network Rail’s route director for Kent, told a Zoom call for neighbours of the crossing on Wednesday evening.

The crossing would remain open so long as there were no incidents which called its safety into question, Taylor said.

Peninsula ward councillor Chris Lloyd, who also attended the meeting, backed Taylor’s call for help. “An interface between people in the railway isn’t what we would do today,” he said. “We don’t want to be here again should we find out that the crossing as been abused and it’s up for closure once again.”

Questions of rights of way around the land also needed to be sorted out with landowners and Greenwich Council, Taylor added.

The crossing was originally built for farm workers in the 1850s when the privately-built Angerstein Wharf line was built to link the new North Kent line to the Thames. It has grown in importance in recent years with the building of new housing on the former Thorn Lighting site off Victoria Way and Fairthorn Road, with 675 people recorded as using the crossing each day.

The meeting was told that rerouting the footpath under the railway line would cost £3 million, although these costs were challenged. Lloyd suggested that funding from developers could be used to help pay for any path under the line.

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion

Parkrun comes to Charlton Park next month – can you help put it on?

Darryl Chamberlain
Parkrun will be taking place here every Saturday morning

Parkrun will be coming to Charlton Park next month, its organisers have revealed – giving locals the chance to gather and run, walk or wheel 5k every Saturday morning.

The event was given funding by Greenwich Council in April after the Community Voting Day event, staged by the town hall’s public health department to help ideas to boost community wellbeing in the wake of the pandemic. Charlton Triangle Homes also helped fund the start-up costs.

Now organisers have confirmed that they have the go-ahead to start in October. The exact date is under wraps at present to prevent it being swamped on its first day – some more dedicated Parkrun fans have been known to travel far and wide to inaugural events.

Nearly 200 runners and walkers took part in the first Sutcliffe parkrun in Eltham last Saturday (see photos) and the event is long-established at Hilly Fields in Brockley, Avery Hill Park in Eltham, Mountsfield Park in Catford and Southwark Park. Closest of all to Charlton is across the river at Victoria Dock.

All runners and walkers need to do is register on the Parkrun website and print off a barcode, and then turn up for 9am.

However, the team are still looking for volunteers to help put the first events on – if you can stand in the park and marshal, help time the event, scan barcodes or tail walk to make sure nobody gets left behind. If you can help, email charlton[at]parkrun.com.

Updated on Friday to include new email address and to mention Charlton Triangle Homes.

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion

Charlton’s Horn Fair returns with pandemic photography competition

Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Blackheath Newbridge club - keep washing your hands, stay safe signs
The Blackheath Newbridge club on Charlton Road last April
The Horn Fair will return to Charlton House next month after a year away – with its organisers promising that it “will celebrate life across Greenwich after a considerable time apart”.

Residents are being asked to submit photos of life during the pandemic to the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust so that a selection can be displayed at the fair. “Whether it’s a photo of a family at home, a street scene clapping carers, or a local market standing empty, the primary requirement is that photos represent the pandemic as it was from the perspective of the photographer, amateur or professional,” the trust says.

Photos can be submitted by anyone, whether or not they live in the area, but must have been taken in the borough of Greenwich from March 2020 to the present day. The deadline for submissions is this Sunday at 11.59pm. Images may also be added to the borough archive, entrants can also win an afternoon tea for two.

The Green Goddess pop-up pub will also be open, while the Collectors dance trio will also be performing their Picture Me There show inspired by life in Charlton. There will also be “musicians and artisan creators from across the borough”,

The free event will run from 11am to 4pm on Sunday 17 October. For more information and to enter the photography competition, visit the trust’s website.

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion

Picture Me There: Charlton-inspired dance performance comes to Severndroog Castle

The Charlton Champion

Picture Me There rehearsal shot

A couple of months ago, a dance trio, THE COLLECTORS, appealed for readers’ help in creating a Charlton-themed dance piece, Picture Me There. Now it’s about it get its first two performances. They tell us…

This site specific work is devised and shaped from pictures and photos of people in Charlton both historic and present. With references to the lido, Charlton House and the football club, expect a quirky and playful montage.

Performance days and times:

Sunday 26th September
11am, 12 pm & 1pm (roughly 20 mins)
Severndroog Castle, SE18 3RT
Suitable for all ages
Reserve free tickets <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-collectors-dance-performance-in-castle-courtyard-tickets-169508052147&quot; rel="noopener" target="_blank">at Eventbrite

Sunday 17th October
From 2pm (roughly 20 mins)
Horn Fair, Charlton House & Gardens, SE7 8RE
Suitable for all ages

You can follow The Collectors as they rehearse and perform on Instagram: @thecollectorsprojects

This event has been made possible through funding from Greenwich Council.

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
– Donate to our running costs at paypal.me/charltonchampion