Charlton – Page 31 – The Charlton Champion

Charlton to appear on the Tube map for the first time

December 16, 2020December 17, 2020

Thameslink class 700 trains — Thameslink is back on the Tube map, bringing Charlton with it

Thameslink will be temporarily added to the Tube map to give customers more options during the pandemic – putting Charlton on the map for the first time.

Services within Zone 1 and Zone 6, as well as Dartford and Swanley, will be reintroduced to Tube maps from next month to aid social distancing on public transport and reduce the number of car journeys in the capital, Transport for London confirmed this morning.

The service will also provide alternatives during the planned closure of the Bank branch of the Northern Line during 2021 while upgrades are completed.

The two SE London Thameslink routes (to Rainham and Orpington/Sevenoaks) appear

Julie Dixon, Head of Customer Information and Partnerships at TfL, said: “In light of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, and next year’s Northern line closures required to complete the Bank Upgrade works, Thameslink services have been temporarily included on the Tube map to help customers move around the city.

“This has been a complicated addition to make to the map, but one that we feel will benefit Londoners as part of our work to promote safe, clean and reliable public transport use across the city.”

The temporary change is expected to be in place until December 2021, but there are already calls to make the change permanent given the step-free access availability at many stations on the service.

Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon said there would be “long term benefits” to showing Thameslink services on the Tube map.

Pidgeon said: “At peak times Thameslink’s frequency is set to reach 24 trains an hour, offering a similar service to most London Underground lines. The stations, with the exception of Elephant and Castle, are also fully accessible for disabled people throughout central London.”

See how Charlton looks on the full Tube map at IanVisits

Alison Moore, chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, echoed this sentiment, calling the change an “essential addition” to the Tube map.

Moore said: “The Transport Committee recommended that Thameslink be added to the Tube map to help Londoners with disabilities because these trains are designed for accessibility first and foremost. It is time for TfL to keep Thameslink on the map permanently for better accessibility across the city.”

Although the updated Tube map will provide more options for travelling around London, people are still being advised to only travel when necessary, given the rise in Covid-19 infections and London’s move into Tier 3 restrictions.

Both TfL and Thameslink are reminding customers to plan ahead and travel at quiet times when possible.

Central London Thameslink services appeared on the Tube map when they were introduced in 1988, but were taken off in 1999.

LDRS logo Joe Talora is the Local Democracy Reporter for City Hall. The Local Democracy Reporter Service is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media.
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Can you help the Old Cottage Coffee Shop’s 2020 Christmas appeal?

December 10, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Old Cottage Cafe — Can you help the Old Cottage Coffee Shop this Christmas?

The Old Cottage Coffee Shop in Charlton Park is one of the area’s local gems. Earlier this year, its owners Michael and Mimi were delivering food to the vulnerable during the spring lockdown. And every Christmas Day, it has hosted festive dinners for the elderly.

Things are different this year – so they are making 24 boxes to deliver to older people on Christmas Day. And Michael and Mimi are asking for your help.

Can you write a Christmas card for each person? Michael and Mimi will send you a name and you can write a personal message.

Can you donate presents and snacks for nine men and 15 women?

Can you help deliver on Christmas Day between 11am and noon?

…or could you donate cash to help the project?

If you can help, drop in at the cafe (open Wed-Sun, 9am-4pm), text 07737 922 792 or email m.speak9[at]icloud.co.uk.

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Talk to TfL and council officers about Charlton’s new cycleway and other Streetspace schemes

December 10, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Cycleway 4 extension end — This is where the cycleway ends…. for now

We’ve not been sent any information about this (engagement, eh?), all we’ve seen is a little-noticed tweet from Greenwich Council, but it’s worth flagging up – TfL is holding an online event on Monday 14 December to explain and discuss its plans to create a cycle route between Greenwich and Woolwich.

The first section, which begins at Old Woolwich Road and stops at Farmdale Road, right where Greenwich becomes Charlton, is due to be finished by next week after being delayed for about two months. A second section, through Charlton to Anchor & Hope Lane, is due to follow soon after. A third section, to the Woolwich Ferry roundabout, is currently being covered by wider bus lanes until funding can be found for cycle lanes – which have led to some traffic problems as drivers adjust to only having one lane rather than two.

The cycle route is part of a wider plan to create a continuous cycle route between Tower Bridge and Woolwich.

TfL analysis showed that Charlton and Woolwich would benefit most from low-traffic neighbourhoods (darker scores are higher, see the full details)

The wider Streetspace scheme also includes the blocks on through traffic in west Greenwich and new proposals for streets around Maze Hill. There is nothing for side streets in Charlton, despite rat-running problems here, and TfL advice that suggests that streets between the A102 and Woolwich town centre would benefit most from measures to to block rat-running – advice based on factors including traffic and casualty levels, cycling potential, schools, population density, deprivation and low car ownership.

Here’s chuck-out time at Fossdene school – hardly a conducive and friendly environment for walking and cycling, with pedestrians penned in and cars dominating what should be a residential road.

Plenty, then, to discuss. You can sign up using this form for the meeting, which runs from 6pm to 7.30pm.

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Controversial ‘compact flats’ plan for The Heights recommended for approval

December 8, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Pocket Living render — The flats would overlook The Valley

Update: A decision on this was postponed so councillors could visit the site.

Controversial plans for 48 “pocket homes” on The Heights will go before Greenwich councillors next week – with planning officers recommending they allow the development on an estate car park.

Developer Pocket Living plans to build 45 one-bedroom flats and 3 two-bedroom flats on the contaminated plot overlooking The Valley. It plans to sell them all for 80 per cent of market value to people earning under £71,000 within the borough of Greenwich – meaning they tick the official definition of “affordable”, if not the dictionary definition.

The company specialises in “compact flats” – its one-bedroom flats are little bigger than a studio flat. After six months, Pocket will be allowed to market them across London at limits set by City Hall, which has been giving funding to the company under both the Johnson and Khan mayoralties. Former Greenwich & Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford is among its directors.

As well as the funding it has received from City Hall over the years, Pocket is asking to be excused from paying the Community Infrastructure Levy – a charge on property developers which is reinvested in local facilities.

Two linked blocks of four and five storeys are planned for the site, with two car parking spaces for residents – 21 spaces for existing residents will be retained and relocated. The blocks will be next to the two-storey homes of The Heights estate.

Greenwich Council initially planned to sell land at three sites to Pocket, but plans to build off Lewisham Road and Kidbrooke Park Road were dropped after a revolt among Labour councillors. Of 41 Labour councillors in post at the time, 12 attended a protest meeting at Charlton House. More recently, the council planned to sell green space on Tunnel Avenue, east Greenwich, to the company.

However, despite the controversy surrounding the Heights development, only three objections were received by the council. Four people wrote in favour.

Documents submitted as part of the planning application indicate that no community groups in Charlton were consulted by Pocket, who instead contacted the East Greenwich Residents Association and Greenwich Society, which do not cover the area.

The Charlton Society has lambasted the scheme. It said: “The proposal would harm and block views across London. The land stability issues are unresolved and the ground is unstable.

“The massing does not respect the local context. Worse, in our view: it actively insults it. The proposal is best regarded as a case of over-development, given its context.”
It added that the land should be used for green space instead.

The Heights development — The blocks would sit behind two-storey homes on The Heights

Transport for London has objected to the scheme, saying there are too many car parking spaces as the existing facilities are underused.

However, Greenwich’s planning officers say they are happy with the decontamination plans and the stability of the site. Officers quote a report from Pocket which says: “The homes will meet an affordability gap by providing options for those who would not be able to afford a Shared Ownership / Private Sale home.

“It is noted that based on previous schemes, Pocket Living have detailed that typical purchasers are likely to be 50% key workers, 69% earning less than £46,000 and had rented within the private sector for 8 years prior to buying.”

The officers add: “The design quality of the proposal is of an appropriate standard that works well with the existing building as well as the wider character, form and scale of the surrounding area and the visual amenity of the street scene.

“The impacts of the proposed development upon the amenity of neighbouring occupants have been assessed and have been found to be acceptable.

“Overall, the proposal is considered to be an acceptable redevelopment of an underutilised site.”

Councillors will discuss the development at the planning board meeting next Tuesday.

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‘The angry past has moved out’: Charlton’s White Horse pub rides again

December 5, 2020June 19, 2023paulbreen

White Horse Charlton — The White Horse has cast off its old reputation

It’s a brave time to open a new pub, but the once-infamous White Horse on Woolwich Road has been reopened with a new look and a new menu. PAUL BREEN popped in for a pint.

Having taught briefly at the old Holborn College (now Windrush Primary School) over the road, I knew the reputation of The White Horse. Passing it a few weeks ago, I realised that something about it seemed very different from the past associations of the place. However, I didn’t enter because like with most people, the act of going out is now a rarity.

But after seeing the lounge empty one early evening, with sensible precautions in place for social distancing, I went in and ordered a pint, where I experienced something new, positive and unexpected.

Under the radar, Charlton seems to have acquired a decent new pub to go along with the others that we already have. The angry past has moved out and there’s a new rider on the saddle of The White Horse. Though I never ventured into the previous shaven-headed incarnation, everything’s most definitely changed beyond recognition, from décor to drinks. I could feel echoes of The White Swan’s early days in a lot of what I saw, from the friendliness of staff to the general ambience of the place.

Speaking to the owner, I get a sense that he’s got a vision for the place and for being a part of the Charlton community. That seems timely when the football club has just acquired a new owner too; Thomas Sandgaard. There’s something about new ownership that fills people’s hearts and minds with a sense of hope, a sense of better times on the road ahead. That’s as true of a local pub as it is of a football club. Something in the human spirit feeds so strongly off fragments of an imagined future. Here, the promise of Sunday roasts (including a veggie option) brought back those lost moments of in-law lunches as a group at the same table.

Possibly even better than that (sorry in-laws) was the promise of forthcoming craft lagers and theme nights that used to be such a feature of The White Swan from dodgy DJs to quizzes and folk sessions. I wanted to scream out “my God, there is a future!” but present regulations dictate that shouting ecstatically is very definitely not allowed in public. I do though want to shout about this place because in my head I’m already there on that sunny May day when Thomas Sandgaard shocks us all by reaching this stage of his title-winning pub crawl around Charlton.

Though I only got a snapshot of one brief evening here, this discovery gives me a sense of hope, a light in the darkness of this lingering winter. Going to our other locals, of course, does the same I should add but there’s something beautiful, something restorative in finding newness right now. There’s a kindling of hope that the good old days can come back to us, that they’re not just moments lost in time in these days of living in fear.

The White Horse is somewhere I’m hoping to visit on one of those rainy Saturdays, in a time when we’ll joke darkly of days when we could cough suddenly and clear the bar to get a round.

There is hope out there and there is healing in the sight of old places staying open and new ones springing to life, even in this darkest of winters. We do need to support them though so that they’ll be there for us on rainy evenings, match days, film festival nights and the like. Nobody knows what the future holds or even how this virus is going to play out, but we’ve got to keep believing and to keep looking ahead. Thanks to the White Horse and Hachi Sushi Grill for their tastes of the past and the future. Thinking about it almost brings tears to my eyes, though it could just be the wasabi from last night in the Japanese café!

Read Paul’s review of Hachi Sushi Grill.

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Restaurant review: Hello to Hachi Sushi Grill in Frances Street

December 4, 2020June 19, 2023paulbreen

With the second lockdown at an end, local restaurants are looking to fill their tables once again. PAUL BREEN wandered over the border into SE18 to welcome a newcomer…

I have seen light at the end of this tunnel of whatever way we wish to describe it, crudely or otherwise. I discovered two new places within one evening that remind me this will be over one day in the future and when it is, maybe we’ll come out of it all the stronger.

The two new venues that I’m talking about are Hachi Sushi Grill up in Frances Street between Woolwich and Charlton and the revamped White Horse Bar and Bistro on the main road between the same two places. Each of these are new in their own way and deserving of local support. That’s not singling them out for special praise. They’re just two examples of the many businesses that are struggling through these crazy times.

Inconsistently we’ve got a system that lets people fly on planes with a hundred strangers, but not eat out with half-a-dozen friends. Neither’s ideal in the midst of a pandemic, but the inconsistency’s stomach-churning. That’s why we need to support such places to help them survive.

Okay mini-rant over. Let’s get down to the meat and veg – metaphorically since I’m a pescatarian. Probably just as well too, since the first stop on my tour of local eateries is the new sushi restaurant on Frances Street, just around the corner from where the King’s Arms used to be. That appears to have been eaten up by yet another apartment block in a city that’s hungering to look like parts of Tokyo. Maybe that’s a good omen for the little business taking up residence in what seems an unlikely place.

Hachi Sushi Grill is a new venture that is run by people from the Philippines who have a real passion for Japanese cuisine. Being nosey, I fished for this information and also got told that the chefs have worked for the more famous Sticks’ N’ Sushi chain. Having lived in Japan and then Korea for a few years, I’ve high standards when it comes to Asian restaurants. Generally speaking, the real gems are most often not found in the high streets but slightly off the beaten track like the amazing Seoul Bakery in Bloomsbury or Sensaru, closer to home in east Greenwich.

Hachi is a lot closer to Seoul Bakery than Sensaru in spirit, if not in geography. It’s a small place that offers both take-away and sit-in options. It’s not licensed though seems open to the BYB idea. On the menu there’s a good selection of sushi, sashimi and other more substantial, hot meals. Though basic in furnishings and appearance, the authenticity of the food is what made this place a real gem for me. In Japanese cooking, every meal’s treated as a work of art. Each piece of sushi should have the aesthetics of sea and mountain, fish and rice. There’s no throwing things onto the plate, as if appearance is secondary to taste.

The guys at Hachi seem to get that. They wanted us to like our food – their food – laid out on the plate as if inviting us to pause for a moment and upload it onto Instagram. Better than that, they gave us free bowls of miso soup to accompany it. The price was reasonable too and the place safe as possible in these times, with customers being sensible around each other. If it hadn’t been that way, I wouldn’t have eaten in.

It took me the best part of this year to make a tentative return to eating out, rarely. Probably from now on, I’ll mostly get takeaways from this place until such times as it’s a more normal sit-in experience – but, I will support them. Places like this need our support for having the courage to start out on a new venture in these times when so many are fighting to stay in existence. And both new and old need to survive so that when things do normalise, there’s a world and a locality worth going back to.

Hachi Sushi Grill is also on Just Eat. Tomorrow: Paul visits the revamped White Horse on Woolwich Road.

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Join a Christmas treasure hunt for children at Charlton Toy Library

December 4, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Got small children to entertain next weekend? Charlton Toy Library, which is based at Charlton House, is putting on a treasure hunt in Charlton Park next Saturday. In their own words…

Charlton Toy Library is putting on a Christmas Treasure Hunt, on Saturday 12 December between 10.30 – 12.30.

There will be two trails for little hunters. One easier one for kids up to 3 years and one advanced one for kids over 3 years. Starting point is at the Charlton Toy Library to collect the treasure map.

The event is free to attend and participants will receive a treat at the end. All social distancing measures and government guidelines are being followed for this event.

It follows a pumpkin hunt held at Halloween, which we’re told was a roaring success. To sign up, visit eventbrite.co.uk.