Charlton – Page 66 – The Charlton Champion

Want to a cook up a storm this new year? Join a free Charlton cookery club

January 6, 2019January 6, 2019Neil Clasper1 Comment

GCDA runs free cookery clubs across the Greenwich and Lewisham

Interested in learning to cook healthy, affordable meals with people from your local community? Christina Reynolds from GCDA (Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency) has been in touch with details of free cookery clubs running in the area:

COOK TOGETHER. EAT TOGETHER

There’s no better way of getting to know people than cooking and eating together. Food helps break down social barriers and combats loneliness, whilst a nutritious diet can be one of the main cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle alongside regular exercise. It’s for these reasons that GCDA (Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency) has been running free weekly Cookery Clubs across Greenwich and Lewisham boroughs for many years now, with the clubs in Greenwich funded by Greenwich Council’s public health team. The aims of the clubs are to increase participants’ awareness of healthy eating and to develop the skills required to prepare meals using affordable, easily accessible ingredients, without the need for a kitchen full of the latest gadgets!

GCDA is a not-for-profit organisation that’s been working in the local community for more than 30 years, sharing a passion for sustainable, well-made, nutritious food. Typically, its Cookery Clubs are run in community venues and are open to everyone, regardless of previous ability or experience.

You’ll find 60 clubs running across Greenwich borough per year, including in Charlton at Mascalls Meeting Room on Victoria Way, and they run in 5-week blocks, with up to 12 participants taking part each time. In addition, GCDA can also tailor an offer for individual groups and organisations – they’ve previously worked with Age Concern, Pause, Nepalese groups, army families and older residents in social housing and a charity for women who’ve experienced repeated pregnancies that result in children needing to be removed from their care.

All the tutors at GCDA’s cookery clubs are people from the local community. They’re all DBS checked and have been trained by the Open College Network, so you know that you’re learning from the best. Many started out attending Cookery Clubs themselves and loved the experience so much that they decided to specialise and train as tutors themselves!

And as for results? Well they speak for themselves, last year GCDA ran 72 Cookery Clubs and reached a total of 662 people. Nearly half said they’d increased the number of meals they cooked from scratch and when it came to eating more healthily, there were real improvements too: 55% of participants reported an increase in the amount of fruit and veg they eat, 43% had cut down on sugary drinks, 65% measured the oil they used in their food and 42% had started measuring salt when cooking.

But the best testimonials come from those who actually attend the clubs:

“The tutor is brilliant. She has given me confidence and is kind and really knowledgeable.” – John from Glyndon club

“I love the course! I’m getting loads of new knowledge and the social interaction is great; it’s wonderful meeting people from other cultures” – Mary from Trinity club

“I’m more confident in cooking, chopping and reading labels, thank you so much for this great course!” – Surjit from GCDA club

If you want to book on, call 0800 4704831 or if you’d like to commission a bespoke offering for your organisation please contact christina[at]gcda.org.uk.

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Can you help win cash to restore Rathmore Youth Club’s mosaic benches?

January 4, 2019June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Rathmore Youth Club benches — The benches have been in place since 1980, when a mural was also painted

Neighbours of Rathmore Youth Club’s distinctive mosaic benches can vote for them to get funding to be restored to their former glory under a Greenwich Council scheme.

The benches were installed in 1980 along with a mural along the Rathmore Road side of the building. The mural has long gone but the benches remain, albeit showing their age through wear, tear and vandalism.

Rathmore Road benches — Greenwich Mural Workshop wants to restore the benches to their former glory

Greenwich Mural Workshop, which created the benches, is hoping for £16,518 from the Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund, a scheme created from a levy placed on developers in the area.

The borough is divided up into four areas for the scheme – residents who live near the youth club in Peninsula ward, as well as across Blackheath and Greenwich, can vote for the benches to be restored. Other schemes in that area hoping for money include a summer fair in Greenwich Millennium Village, a drinking fountain in East Greenwich Pleasaunce and an autism support centre at the Montessori centre on Westcombe Hill. There is a total of £227,761 available.

Residents in the rest of Charlton (Charlton, Woolwich Riverside and Kidbrooke with Hornfair wards) are placed in the Charlton and Woolwich area and have a different choice of projects, with £109,029 available.

Champions 4 Change – the boxing project at St Thomas’ Church on Woodland Terrace – is looking for £13,858 to help young people at risk of joining gangs and young carers. The Charlton Champion featured its work last year.

The Friends of Maryon and Maryon Wilson Parks are looking for £17,350 to help improve facilities in the animal enclosures; while on the Cherry Orchard Estate the New Leaf Food Cabin is hoping for £7,500. Charlton Park rugby club, based on Broad Walk, Kidbrooke, is looking for £9,750 to improve its rugby training schemes for young people.

The other projects hoping for money from the Charlton & Woolwich pot are the creche at the Clock House community centre on the Woolwich Dockyard Estate and a community hub at the Stir Cafe in Woolwich.

Read the full shortlist before voting on the Greenwich Council website (you may need to register first).

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A New Year story from Charlton Cemetery

December 31, 2018June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Charlton Cemetery (photo by Leslie Archard used under Creative Commons)

On the last day of 2018 – an email from Ann Olson…

On Sunday 7th October my husband and I visited the McIntosh family grave at Charlton Cemetery after having flown in from Sweden the previous day. We had no flowers with us but after a while we spotted a middle-aged couple and I went over to ask if there was a flower shop in the area. The lady said that October 7th would have been her mother’s birthday and they immediately offered to share their flowers with me!

I was quite overcome – this act of kindness could only happen in England I thought to myself…

I would truly like to thank this lovely couple once again and wish them all the very best as we enter the New Year 2019. I would be so grateful if you could find a space to put this in a paper covering the Woolwich/Charlton area.

My maiden name was McIntosh and my great-grandfather started a watch repair business on Thomas Street, Woolwich which passed to my paternal grandfather Robert McIntosh who lived in Heathwood Gardens. I used to stay with them during school holidays.

Later my father, Douglas Robert McIntosh took over the business which had expanded to jewellery, rings, silverware, etc as well as watch repairs. After my father’s retirement, the old shops were taken down and a small community park now stands on the very spot.

If you helped Ann in the cemetery that day, drop us a line and we’ll put you in touch.

On that note, thank you for your support of The Charlton Champion in 2018 – have a happy new year.

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Go for a Boxing Day dip at Charlton Lido

December 21, 2018December 21, 2018Neil Clasper

Fancy a Christmas dip? Charlton Lido will be open to swimmers looking to get some post-Christmas Day exercise – or just a splash around and some fresh air – this Boxing Day morning. The heated pool will be open 9-11am, and tickets can be booked in advance here (and are cheaper than paying on the door).

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Greenwich Ikea opening date revealed: Store faces Addicks test on its debut weekend

December 18, 2018June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain7 Comments

The first weekend of trading at east Greenwich’s new Ikea store will coincide with a big match at Charlton Athletic’s ground, threatening serious traffic issues across the area.

Yesterday the Swedish flat-pack furniture giant confirmed it would open its doors on Thursday 7 February. Signage appeared on the building, on the site of the former “eco” Sainsbury’s supermarket, two weeks ago and stock is already being taken into the giant blue store.

Past openings have led to chaotic scenes – most notoriously in Edmonton, north London, where five people were taken to hospital in 2005 after a midnight opening went wrong.

The Charlton Champion understands both Ikea and Greenwich Council – which has wrapped itself in the store’s yellow and blue colours, allowing it to sponsor a sustainability prize at its business awards and run a promotional stand at a recent festival in Woolwich – are keen to avoid such scenes, with rumours of a “soft” opening ahead of the advertised date.

However, the first Saturday – always due to be a concern – coincides with a home match at The Valley, raising concerns that nearly five years after giving it planning permission in the face of opposition from local residents’ groups, neither the council nor Ikea have got to grips with the potential for the store to bring the area to a halt.

Charlton Athletic will play Southend United that day, a match which usually sees the away side bring a large number of supporters to The Valley, whose proximity to the Blackwall Tunnel and the A13 to the Essex coast usually make it an easy trip. The Shrimpers are managed by former Addicks favourite Chris Powell, a factor which could also bump up the home crowd.

There are mitigating factors – Southend fans could be routed via the tolled Dartford crossing, while attendances at The Valley have dropped significantly in recent years with fans alienated by Roland Duchatelet’s ownership. But matches still cause short-term traffic congestion, and the curiosity factor around the wildly popular furniture retailer’s debut in SE10 is likely to make 9 February a difficult day to get around the local area.

Rail services are due to run as normal on the Greenwich line ~~that weekend~~ on Saturday, but the line is closed by engineering works on Sunday.

Other shopping centres are available: Greenwich Shopping Park last Sunday

Even after the opening weekend, there will still be fears about the potential for gridlock – withincidents of drivers being trapped in the car park of the chain’s Reading store. Issues have also been reported at its Exeter store.

Indeed, closer to home, long tailbacks regularly form inside the Bugsbys Way shopping parks as drivers queue to get out.

To mitigate this, Ikea has signed a legal agreement pledging to direct drivers to the west of the site “to address network capacity constraints on Peartree Way and Woolwich Road roundabout”, with £50,000 for new signage. (See the full legal agreement and travel plan.)

Ikea Croydon checkout — Coming soon: Meatballs to the right, bargain corner to the left

However, there are no signs yet of promised “improvements to pedestrian and cycling access links to the development from Westcombe Park and Charlton railway stations”, due to come from £750,000 to promote “travel by sustainable modes”. Work to widen Peartree Lane to create a southbound bus lane has started, though, and extra pedestrian/cycle crossings are being installed on Bugsby’s Way, which could address a promise to improve links from North Greenwich station. The store also pledged to pay £500,000 for extra bus services.

In a press release not sent to this website, Ikea promises to be “being a good neighbour and a true partner in the local community”, offering “a wide choice of affordable delivery services will be available, from 24-hour delivery for those living within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, to a Zedify bike courier service, competitively priced mini cabs and Hertz EV [electric] van hire”.

For the first 10 weeks the store is open, it will also have a special offer on home delivery for those who live within 40 minutes on public transport – although if pessimists’ predictions are true, that could be a very small area indeed on the opening weekend.

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Plans to demolish the Pickwick pub for ‘poor quality’ housing thrown out

December 14, 2018June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Pickwicks pub on Woolwich Road — The Pickwick pub on Woolwich Road. Photo by Neil Clasper

Planning officers at Greenwich Council have refused permission for the Pickwick pub on Woolwich Road to be demolished.

An East Ham-based developer, Pure Let Greenwich Ltd, had applied to knock down the building and build 14 serviced apartments, six terraced homes and a replacement pub on the site.

But officers said the plan would “result in the loss of an existing pub that has a community role in the borough” and that Pure Let Greenwich had not submitted adequate evidence that it was no longer economically viable.

They called its planned replacement “a poor quality building” and added: “The existing building is considered to be a landmark building on Woolwich Road which makes a positive contribution to the surrounding area in general.

“Its demolition is therefore considered to be inappropriate and would lead to less than substantial harm, namely to the character and appearance of Woolwich Road. The proposed building by reason of its height, scale and appearance is unduly dominant and inappropriate within the street and fails therefore to act as a suitably high quality replacement for the existing public house. The poor quality replacement building coupled with the limited public benefits do not outweigh the harm.”

Plans to build six terraced homes on the site of the beer garden were “an inappropriate form of backland development that would be out of keeping and detrimental to the character of the surrounding area”, intruding on neighbours in Woolwich Road and Dupree Road, the officers added.

Only one letter of support was sent for the plan, with 23 objections submitted to the council after a campaign led by a neighbour. (Read the planners’ full verdict here.)

The pub, known as the Roupell Arms until the 1970s, has been closed for the past two years.

(Thanks to Becky Holmes for letting us know.)

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Charlton Riverside: Revised Rockwell plans released – tell City Hall what you think

December 4, 2018June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain5 Comments

Rockwell revised scheme — Rockwell’s new plan includes an “active frontage” along the new east-west road

London mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a new public consultation into the developer Rockwell’s controversial plans to build 771 new homes off Anchor & Hope Lane.

Khan took control of the planning application in August, weeks after Greenwich Council’s main planning committee threw out the proposed development.

The amended scheme, created after discussions with Khan’s officers at City Hall, sees two storeys lopped off a block that overlooked homes in Derrick Gardens, meaning the historic cottages of Atlas and Derrick Gardens will now have a four-storey block behind them.

Another block, to the south of Atlas Gardens, has also had two storeys removed, cutting it down to five. Other blocks around the site have been increased in height to compensate.

Rockwell plan

The number of homes – 771 – remains the same, but with the possibility of 165 homes (21.4%) for “affordable rent” and 127 (16.4%) for shared ownership with a City Hall grant. (See more details in the design and access statement.)

Rockwell scheme — Rockwell’s revised scheme, with Atlas Gardens at the centre

Rockwell’s new scheme is unlikely to satisfy critics, who say the developer’s plans go against the recently-adopted Charlton Riverside masterplan, which sets out a vision for lower-rise developments aimed at families in Charlton to sit in between the towers of Greenwich Peninsula and Woolwich.

All 11 councillors on Greenwich’s planning board rejected the scheme, with chair Sarah Merrill declaring: “This application in no way resembles the spirit of the Charlton Riverside masterplan, in terms of height, massing and design. It’s reminiscent of Stalingrad.”

But Rockwell – which has retained former Greenwich Council leader Chris Roberts’ company Cratus Communications as lobbyists – insisted it was “fantastic opportunity to kick-start the regeneration of this area”.

The public now has until 11 January to comment on the scheme, before a public hearing is held at City Hall. Revised documents can be seen on the GLA website (the design and access statement is probably the best place to start) together with a summary of the scheme and the mayor’s reasons for calling it in.

Comments and requests for information can be sent to VIPtradingestate[at]london.gov.uk.