Charlton – Page 86 – The Charlton Champion

New development by Thames Barrier: Public exhibition at The Valley

September 8, 2017June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Riverside development flyer

Developers behind plans for up to 500 new homes by the Thames Barrier at Charlton will be showing off their proposals at two public consultation events.

Komoto Group wants to build “affordable and family housing alongside new business, retail and community space” at Herringham Road, on land which is currently home to the Raceway go-kart track, Bunker 51 laser-tag centre, a church, and other firms. Komoto also promises “significant public realm improvement”.

Tall Ships, April 2017 — Crowds watching April’s Tall Ships Regatta from in front of the development site

Earlier this year the firm submitted early proposals for a 25-storey tower and 570 homes – the new Charlton Riverside Masterplan, which was confirmed in the summer, envisages mostly low to medium-rise developments of up to 10 storeys, except where there is “adequate public transport”.

The consultation events are in the Keith Peacock Suite at The Valley on Thursday 14 September (4pm-8pm) and Saturday 16 September (10am-2pm) – enter through the main reception off Floyd Road.

For more information, call the project team on 020 3176 4161, or email info[at]herringhamroad.co.uk. A website has now been set up: herringhamroad.co.uk.

In December 2016, another developer, Rockwell, submitted plans to build towers of up to 28 storeys off Anchor and Hope Lane. No decision has yet been made on this scheme.

Anti-cold calling campaign gets council ward budget funding

September 1, 2017June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Inverine Road is one of the streets covered by the scheme

A Charlton residents’ group is to launch an anti-cold calling campaign in its area after getting £740 from Greenwich Council’s ward budget scheme.

The Charlton Central Neighbourhood Watch plans to turn its area – 10 streets between Victoria Way and Charlton Church Lane, south of Charlton station – into a “no cold caller/rogue trader zone”, raising awareness among the 800 households who live in those roads.

“Every household will receive a door sticker to ward off unwelcome callers and signage will be put in the area to promote the campaign and to deter cold caller and rogue traders from operating in the area,” the council document outlining the scheme says.

Cold callers and scammers have long been a problem across the Charlton area. One Charlton Champion reader told us she was approached on her doorstep last week by a man falsely implying he was from consumer journalist Martin Lewis’s MoneySavingExpert.com – a website which never employs people to go door-knocking.

Other irritants have included charity cold callers, burglar alarm salespeople and scammers with sob stories about getting locked out of their homes.

You can download your own signs telling cold callers to clear off and get useful tips about dealing with all kinds of unsolicited sales calls at MoneySavingExpert.com.

The money for the campaign comes from the Charlton ward budget fund – get in touch with local councillors if you have an idea for a community scheme. (If you don’t know which ward you are in, check on the council website.)

The Charlton Society has also been given money from the fund – £1,620 to support its events programme. The society says it is hoping to attract more families to events and is “considering events which could increase the range of age within the membership”.

The Charlton Champion joins the Independent Community News Network

August 31, 2017June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

ICNN logo

We’re proud to announce that The Charlton Champion has joined the new Independent Community News Network, which represents community news operators across the UK.

The Charlton Champion is one of over 400 community news operations in the UK, which range from printed newspapers to small-scale websites like this one. The ICNN, which is based at Cardiff University, aims to champion and support journalism at the local and hyperlocal level, where news coverage is most at risk of dying out.

This website first appeared nearly seven years ago. Since then, we’ve seen deep cuts and a lack of investment cause serious harm to traditional local news coverage not just in Charlton, but across Greenwich borough and south-east London in general.
It’s a story that’s being repeated across the country as news organisations grapple with a bust business model – or simply keep squeezing titles for profit.

Our membership of ICNN gives us access to the expertise built up by Cardiff’s Centre for Community Journalism as well as the experiences of our fellow members. It also enables us to feed into their discussions about how the sector should grow.

The ICNN opened for business in July with just one member – West Leeds Dispatch. Now there are 30, including Love Wapping and Inside Croydon, two sites which have done brilliant work in informing readers and holding their local representatives to account, and the excellent Walthamstow-based Waltham Forest Echo.

Without exception, all members of ICNN are committed to working within and adhering strictly to the guidelines of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

We recently gave the site its first revamp since 2010 – it should now be a lot easier to read on mobiles and tablets (and see how many places in the header you can recognise!). But we’ll keep on doing what we’ve always done – bringing you updates from community groups across Charlton, and keeping a watch on how council and planning decisions will affect SE7. The site is run in our spare time so we aren’t able to cover everything, but we’ll give it a good go. Got a story? Get in touch.

(And we’ve a new email address – charltonchampion.se7[at]gmail.com.)

You can support The Charlton Champion by following us on Twitter and Facebook and sharing our stories with friends and neighbours. For those who want to back the site with something more tangible, we’re looking at options for how readers can do that and we’ll hopefully have something for you soon.

We’re also always on the lookout for new contributors – drop us a line if you fancy joining the team and writing something.

Or you can support us simply by keep on reading. Thank you for clicking on The Charlton Champion. We hope to keep on doing this for a good few years to come.

Do you have a project that needs funding or an idea to improve your area? The Charlton ward budget can help…

August 29, 2017August 29, 2017Neil Clasper1 Comment

Could Charlton’s ward budget fund better signage? Councillors need your ideas and input.

A message from Cllr Miranda Williams:

As you may know Greenwich Council launched a ward budget scheme in 2015. It gave each ward £30,000 to spend on projects that would be of benefit to residents.

The original Cabinet report from October 2015 detailing the purpose of the ward budget can be found here.

In Charlton, we wanted local groups and organisations to be able to apply for small grants that would really make a difference to their projects, as well as us as ward councillors identifying areas that we wanted to impact.

So far, grants have been made to the Big Red Bus Club, Charlton Toy Library and the Charlton Central Residents Association for a community green spaces project to name just three, with further applications for green space projects at the enquiry stage and a grant to a local Guide Group for camping projects having just been paid. We also contributed £400 to the fund for the new Greenwich Food Bank Van when their van was stolen last year. However we still have around £20,000 left to spend.

We have various ideas as to what that could be spent on, and having looked at the comments on a previous blog post, signage is just one of the ideas that came to the fore. I have recently facilitated a meeting with officers and colleagues to discuss what might be possible so please watch this space. But we would really welcome further ideas as to where this money could be spent. These can be submitted as ideas to your three councillors or as an application from an organisation or group via the form attached here.

We have been advised by officers that in order to ensure that any proposals put forward are processed in the proper manner they need to be submitted by the end of January 2018. So please do get in touch either with direct applications or ideas that you wish to be looked at.

Miranda

Miranda.williams [@] royalgreenwich.gov.uk

Cllr Gary Parker’s Charlton Ward Report: Summer 2017

August 28, 2017August 27, 2017Darryl Chamberlain

Charlton ward councillor Gary Parker brings us up to date with what he’s been doing in the local area and at the town hall.

As a Charlton ward councillor I have dealt with over 2,500 personal cases both at my surgery and on an informal basis, with many positive results. I have significant knowledge, skills and experience on many issues including, housing, noise and nuisance, employment, benefits, anti-social behaviour, education, air quality, council services and social care. Since I have been a councillor I have conducted over 400 surgeries at Charlton House and other locations. Myself and my co-councillors conduct a surgery every Friday on a rota basis at Charlton House, 7.00-8.00pm, no appointment is needed. Or you can email, call or tweet us.

CHARLTON/COMMUNITY

Community & Environment – I have met local residents with regard to street
cleaning, environmental issues and anti-social behaviour in the Wellington Gardens/
Charlton Church Lane/ Floyd Road/ Victoria Way areas. I am continuing to monitor this
situation.

Air Pollution – I have been approached by local residents regarding a number of
issues related to air pollution and planning, I am currently researching these issues and will raise them at the appropriate level. I also asked a question on this issue at the last Regeneration Scrutiny panel in July. I continue to be concerned about the high levels of pollution in our area and I am working hard to raise these issues when I can and will continue to work with local groups and individuals.

Planning – I have been working with the Charlton Society, Charlton Central Residents Association and Wyndcliff Residents Association, and other local groups and individuals regarding a range of planning issues. I have raised a wide range of planning issues again on behalf of local residents. I have objected to a planning application in the Victoria Way area, which will now go to the planning board. I also attended the July meeting of the planning board.

I have also meet local residents regarding planning applications related to Fred Styles House and issues related to The Heights in the post-Grenfell environment. I am closely reviewing planning applications with regard to health and safety and air pollution issues.

Raised some issues about the impact of revalued business rates at the Labour Group [of Greenwich councillors]. This will also have an impact on small businesses/ retailers in Charlton. I am very concerned about the impact on local businesses. I am still following these up and will report on this at a future date.

Ward Budgets – Submitted a further ward budget project to officers for consideration and I am now pleased to say that the ward budget request from the Charlton Society for their events programme has now been agreed by myself and my co-councillors. I also gave advice to other groups wishing to apply – please contact myself or my co-councillors for advice on this.

Raised some issues about the impact of revalued business rates, at the Labour Group this will also impact on small businesses/ retailers in Charlton. I am very concerned about the impact on local businesses.

Attended a meeting with other councillors regarding the possibility of supporting a Charlton sign post in the Village.

I attended the July meeting of the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust of which I am a
member.

I attended the 95 th birthday party of Jean Crocombe, local resident, former teacher in
the area and Labour Party member – my best wishes to you Jean! and also engaged
with local residents present about issues of interest and listened to their views.

SURGERIES/CASEWORK

Still dealing with a large amount of planning and housing related casework. Raised a very large amount of planning related casework, which is ongoing. Attended all relevant surgeries and did some home visits too.

COUNCIL

Attended main council meeting in July

Chaired Community Safety & Environment Scrutiny (CSE) Panel and attended Regeneration Scrutiny panel.

I also convened a meeting with council officers regarding the special meeting of the
CSE panel on anti-social behaviour in February 2018, more on this in the autumn.

Thanks to Gary for his report. If you’ve an issue to raise with him, please drop him a line via the council website: royalgreenwich.gov.uk/garyparker. He’s also on Twitter: @CllrG2013.

The Lewisham Natureman comes to Charlton

August 21, 2017Darryl Chamberlain

One of south London’s most distinctive – and best-loved – graffiti artists has left his latest calling card in a overlooked corner of Charlton.

The Lewisham Natureman’s white stags – often adorned with that borough’s crown logo – have been spotted in locations including the River Quaggy in Lee, wasteland in New Cross, the old Catford dog track and underneath a railway bridge in Lewisham.

Possibly the most visible one is on a gate at Greyladies Gardens, a block of flats on the Lewisham flank of Blackheath.

From the Wildcornerz website:

The Lewisham Natureman is a legend thought to have its roots in South East London’s local graffiti scene. He has never been seen and is only represented by a small carving, that can be found [normally hidden] in the wastelands, train sidings and rivers of the borough. This has given way to the belief that this character is not human at all but actually a spirit of the wild; an urban incarnation of the Green Man or Cernunnos; the stag lord.

He also takes the form of a small white deer that can be seen wandering the desolate places of Lewisham, grazing on wild vegetation and drinking from the boroughs three rivers. The creature is also known as the ‘Wild Walker.’

It’s been a while since one of the stags have appeared – but now one has emerged in Bramshot Avenue, Charlton, on a wall next to land which until recently hosted a large advertising hoarding.

It’s not the Lewisham Natureman’s first appearance in Greenwich borough – one was spotted outside the former Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke two years ago.

Long-standing residents may remember horses grazing on this land until the 1980s – the Natureman’s reappearance may help jog some memories, as well as giving travellers stuck on the Blackwall Tunnel approach something to gaze at.

Councillors back plan to add flats and gym to Antigallican pub

August 16, 2017August 16, 2017Darryl Chamberlain

The Antigallican

A Greenwich Council planning committee has backed plans to build eight flats, a gym and a retail unit in an extension to the Antigallican pub at the foot of Charlton Church Lane.

The pub would stay in operation under the proposals, which include having a three-storey extension built facing Woolwich Road to help accommodate the new homes and retail unit. But it would lose its function room, which would be turned into a gym for the new residents, while its 23 hotel rooms would also go.

Six councillors on the Greenwich area planning committee backed the scheme unanimously, saying it would help protect the future of the pub, which is believed to date back to the 1870s.

Both the Charlton Society and the Charlton Central Residents’ Association had objected to the proposal, claiming it was an inappropriate location to build housing.

However, the council’s environmental health team had backed a condition that the flats be fitted with mechanical ventilation to mitigate the air pollution problem at the junction.

Owner and licensee Sean Murphy told the committee that the hotel rooms above the pub had been unable to compete with new hotels opening in nearby Woolwich.

“The hotel rooms used to be 80% full, now it’s down to 50%,” he said, adding that the only boosts to trade came from events at the O2.

Councillors were told by planning officers that the current hotel rooms – 10 of which have shared toilet and and bathroom facilities – “were not high quality for servicing tourists’ needs” while the new flats would provide a “high quality living environment”. Residents of the new blocks would be barred from obtaining parking permits.

Murphy agreed to a condition that the flats should have sprinklers, saying to install them would be “no problem”. “After Grenfell and so on, it’s in everybody’s interests.”

Committee chair Mark James (Middle Park & Sutcliffe, Labour) praised what he called “an innovative scheme”, while Peninsula councillor Chris Lloyd (Labour) noted the loss of other pubs on the Woolwich Road in recent years.

Greenwich West councillor Mehboob Khan (Labour) said the proposal was “in keeping with the character of the area” and would support a “struggling local business”.

“It would be a shame to lose the pub after 150 years – long may it continue.”