“The Friends of Charlton Park invite you, your family and friends to come and enjoy a celebration of our community at the second Parksfest event in Charlton Park. Bring a picnic, enjoy live music and fun activities, as well as the opportunity to purchase fabulous cakes produced for our Bake Off competition.We hope you will all join us for a fun filled day!”
The Charlton Society has been in touch with news of its Golden Jubilee celebrations being held this weekend at St. George’s Garrison Church, Woolwich this weekend:
The Charlton Society would like to invite you to attend their Garden Party at St. George’s Royal Garrison Church on Saturday 15th June. See further details on the flyer above and RSVP as requested.
There is a small entrance charge (cash only) and as the garden is in full sunshine we suggest you bring a sun hat and umbrella or parasol with you.
We would strongly recommend that you reach the Garrison Church by public transport – there are numerous bus services – as parking in the area is limited. Download a map here
Summer is upon us and it’s time for the annual Open Studios weekend at the largest artists’ studio complex in Europe, Thames-Side Studios. Charlton-based author ANDREW DONKIN reports…
YOU’RE INVITED! OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND AT THAMES-SIDE STUDIOS
Still one of Charlton’s best kept secrets, Thames-Side Studios is home to over 500 artists, carpenters, print makers, jewellery makers, sculptors, leather workers, stained glass workers, landscape designers, photographers, wood workers, book binders, picture framers, clock makers and one graphic novelist. The list is almost as endless as Brexit.
Over the weekend of Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June from noon to 6pm each day, all sorts of creative types will be throwing open their doors to welcome you into their studios. It’s an opportunity to meet them, talk about what they do, and buy some fantastic pieces of art direct from their creator.
Thames-Side Studios is located next to the river, off from Warspite Road which is the road that runs towards the river from the Woolwich Road roundabout with the McDonald’s on it. The event is really family friendly with loads for kids to see and do.
There’s an exciting programme of events, demonstrations and activities taking place across the whole site including:
Hundreds of artists and creators studios open to the public.
Creative family workshops in the Education Space.
Print demonstrations and workshops in Thames-Side Print Studios
Chance to get your hands dirty with The London Sculpture Workshop.
Circus skills workshops from the fantastic Aircraft Circus Academy (2-6pm.)
Art on display in the Gallery and The Viewing Room.
Free screenings of Ray Richardson’s award-winning film “Our Side of the Water”.
Craft beer from Off-The-Wagon’s mobile beer factory.
Loads of grub options including vegetarian and vegan.
As if all that wasn’t enough (and I’m suggesting to you that it very much is
enough), street artist Rosie Woods will be painting a huge scale mural live during
the weekend.
The Charlton Champion understands that a number of issues were found with the site. Many site readers have been in touch to say the land is contaminated as it used to be used as a dump for the Harvey engineering works, once a major employer in the area and formerly based where the Asda store is now.
The site sat behind an old 1970s council block, Coutts House, which was demolished in the early 2000s for new homes run by Charlton Triangle Housing. The overgrown site contains closed-off pathways which would have linked it to Coutts House.
Greenwich’s Council’s cabinet member for housing, Chris Kirby, announced the news on Twitter this afternoon, and said a letter would be sent to local residents confirming the decision.
Having carried out further investigations at Warren Court (nr Nadine Street), I can confirm that we will not be proceeding with our proposal to build new homes on the site for the foreseeable future. A letter confirming this decision will be delivered to local residents.
The academy, in Charlton Park Road, has had its plans for a revamp approved by the local authority at a planning meeting on Tuesday. The school, which looks after kids with special educational needs, was given the greenlight to bulldoze the existing school building in place of new modern features.
Charlton Park Academy teaches students with complex, low incidence special educational needs.
Councillors signed off on the plans at a meeting on June 5 following officer’s recommendations.
Officers said in a report before the meeting: “Charlton Park Academy, as a SEN school, provides a valuable service for the local community by providing education for vulnerable children and young adults who cannot be accommodated in conventional or unspecialised schools, with a focus on complex, low incidence disabilities.
They added: “The proposed development is considered to be acceptable in land use terms, and the redevelopment of Rainbow House would enhance the educational offer within the borough, by providing modern learning facilities and enhanced sleeping facilities for children with special educational needs.”
The existing buildings were originally parts of the 1967 school that have since been encased in temporary structures. In their planning statement, submitted last year, the school said: “The key benefits of the scheme include the demolition of tired and not-fit-for-purpose education building and an important upgrade in the provision of a much-needed Special Education Needs and Disability facility with all modern facilities.”
The plans will have the existing school building demolished and a two-storey replacement with sleeping accommodation for staff and students, along with kitchen and living areas.
Tom Bull is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich. The Local Democracy Reporter Service is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media. See more about how The Charlton Champion uses LDRS content.
The Thames Barrier Bridge could be positioned either side of the barrier
A firm of architects has unveiled a proposal to build a cycling and pedestrian bridge next to the Thames Barrier, with lifting spans to allow shipping to pass through.
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ suggestion of a Thames Barrier Bridge would connect the Charlton Riverside with the Royal Docks, two areas undergoing huge redevelopment schemes. It would put many Charlton residents within walking distance of the Docklands Light Railway and, slightly further away, the Crossrail station at Custom House.
It would feature four lifting sections with each 61m span capable of being individually opened or closed to allow river traffic to pass. It is anticipated the bridge would have to open and close 10 times a day.
A proposal was submitted to Transport for London in late 2017 and both practices are currently engaged in “exploratory conversations” with a number of “relevant stakeholders”, according to Architects Journal.
The bridge would have to open and close 10 times per day
Alex Lifschutz, founding director of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, told Architects Journal: “There is really only one location in east London for a relatively low bridge suitable for cycles and pedestrians.
“Construction would take about 18 months and phasing would mean that at least two of the barrier openings are always open for navigation, so no river traffic would be stopped. And because the majority of the construction can be done from the river, it will minimise disturbance to residents.”
The Hyde scheme would see plots A and C built first, followed by D and E. The rejected Rockwell scheme is to the left, the Flint Glass Wharf proposal is the other riverside project
The housing association plans to build blocks on the river on the site of the existing Westminster Waste works at Maybank Wharf as well as blocks further back on other industrial sites on New Lyndenburg Street.
Hyde says in documents filed to Greenwich Council’s planning team that the blocks will be between one and 10 storeys tall, and that it hopes to begin eight years of construction next year, starting from the river and moving inland. The documents filed are for a scoping opinion – a request for early feedback from Greenwich planners ahead of a full planning application.
Plans for a new river wall are included in the scheme, along with open space and 7,000 square metres of business and retail space.
One site not included in the proposal is the Tarmac aggregate plant – while Hyde has bought the land, the application says the site, which is on a protected wharf, will continue to operate, leading to the possibility of some of the new blocks having to be screened off from the site, just as has happened in the newer phase of Greenwich Millennium Village, which is next to Angerstein Wharf.
Hyde promises a “cycle friendly” layout, although just how “cycle friendly” a development next to a site which uses HGVs can be is open to debate. It also proposes an extension to the new Bexleyheath to Woolwich 301 bus service, which starts on 15 June, to serve the new development, which would link the scheme to the Crossrail station at Woolwich – although nudging commuters to use a zone 4 station merely underlines how cut off some of the early Charlton riverside developments could be.
Two of the other three Charlton riverside schemes have not yet gone to planning, while one has already been rejected by both Greenwich Council and City Hall.
They are:
the Rockwell scheme for 771 homes at Anchor & Hope Lane was refused first by Greenwich Council last summer, then by the Mayor of London in January;
Tom Bull is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich. The Local Democracy Reporter Service is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media.
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