The Charlton Champion

Meet Greenwich & Woolwich candidates at Charlton election hustings on 7 December

November 19, 2019Darryl Chamberlain

Charlton hustings 2015 — The last election hustings in Charlton were in 2015 (Photo: Ed Simmons)

As you’ll no doubt all be too painfully aware, there’ll be a general election on Thursday 12 December. Which means… hustings time!

Luckily, in Charlton, a coalition of community groups have worked hard to ensure that you can put your questions to the candidates, face to face, on Saturday 7 December.

Most of Charlton comes under Greenwich & Woolwich constituency (a small area south of Charlton Park comes under Eltham), and all the candidates have been invited.

They are Labour’s Matt Pennycook, first elected as the area’s MP in 2015; Thomas Turrell, the Conservative candidate; Rhian O’Connor, the Liberal Democrat; Victoria Rance of the Greens; the Brexit Party’s Kailash Trivedi; Eunice Odesanmi of the Christian Peoples’ Alliance; and Sushil Gaikwad, a pro-Brexit independent.

The event is being put on by the Charlton Society in partnership with the Charlton Central Residents Association, Charlton Parkside Community Hub, and Valley Hill Community Hub.

Organisers Andrew Donkin and Helen Jakeways said: “We believe the hustings are an important local event because they give the residents and voters of Charlton the chance to interact face to face with the candidates asking for their vote. With seven candidates standing this time around, it promises to be a wide-ranging and lively debate. Everyone is are welcome at these hustings and we hope the voters of Charlton will turn out en mass to question all the candidates standing for parliament in the Greenwich & Woolwich parliamentary constituency. We look forward to seeing you there.”

It all starts at 11am at The Assembly Rooms in Charlton Village.

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Invicta Primary School marks 79 years since wartime bombing

November 14, 2019Darryl Chamberlain

Fireman Harry Dixon’s family joined East Greenwich’s White Watch at the ceremony

Children at Invicta Primary School gathered this afternoon to remember the 15 people who died when the school was bombed during World War II.

Year 2 children joined White Watch from East Greenwich Fire Station for the short ceremony, 79 years to the day after the then Invicta Road School – which was being used as a fire station – was destroyed by a parachute mine which fell into trees opposite the school before exploding. Twelve firefighters and three others died.

Among those at today’s ceremony were members of the family of Harry Dixon, one of the firefighters who died that night.

Steve Hunnisett led the ceremony at Invicta Primary School

Local historian Steve Hunnisett led the ceremony, which came as the Year 2 children spent a day learning all about World War II. Steve was also on hand to talk to the children about the war, showing them shrapnel, an air-raid whistle, a gas mask and other items; while the firefighters also took questions from the children.

The plaque was installed at the school in 2017 by Firemen Remembered, an independent organisation devoted to raising awareness of the work of the fire services during World War II. It is on a Victorian wall at the back of the playground, the only remaining part of the original school. The replacement 1950s buildings were demolished in 2016 when the current school opened on the site of the old playground.

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Charlton Manor school opens Sweet Pickings café to the community

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019Darryl Chamberlain

Chef Flavio Hernandez and head Tim Baker are getting ready to welcome the community

You might have heard about the award-winning food on offer to pupils at Charlton Manor primary school – from this Saturday, you can sample it yourself. From 16 November, the school’s head Tim Baker and its chef Flavio Hernandez are opening the doors of their Sweet Pickings café for breakfast from 9am and lunch from 11am to 2.30pm. Breakfast is just £3 (£1 for children), lunch is £3.50 (£1.50 children).

Mr Baker has been running a healthy eating campaign at Charlton Manor since 2004, and has developed Sweet Pickings to get the word out into the wider community. Find out more on our sister site, 853, or follow @charlton_manor on Twitter for the latest.

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Made in Chelsea star visits Big Red Bus Club for BBC’s Children in Need

November 6, 2019November 7, 2019Darryl Chamberlain

Binky Felstead joined in storytelling activities

Made in Chelsea star Binky Felstead has visited The Big Red Bus Club in Charlton Park to launch a campaign ahead of the BBC’s annual Children In Need appeal.

Children In Need funds the club’s Play Plus project, which allows parents and children under five with special educational needs to take part in music and art activities.

Felstead joined in with storytelling and sensory play to launch the Power of Play campaign, which aims to help children in every community in the UK have somewhere safe to play so they can develop their skills.

She said: “I had such a fantastic time at the project. It was brilliant to meet with the project workers, the parents and their children and to see how much they enjoyed the play activities was incredibly special.”

The Power of Play campaign is being held with Asda, where customers will be able to pick up free “play passes” which children will be able to ‘’trade in” with an adult for 30 minutes of play. Each of the play passes offers a different play activity, and will help children to learn a variety of life skills, such as teamwork, patience and resilience, that will aid their development.

Steph Brett-Lee, Asda’s senior director of community and corporate affairs, said: “At Asda we are so pleased that our Power of Play campaign with BBC Children in Need will help to provide even more play opportunities, just like this one, across the UK.

“It’s fantastic to see how the money raised helps support groups like the Big Red Bus Club to fund their Play Plus project which gives children a place where they can enjoy inclusive play activities and make new friends. It’s clear to see how much that this is valued and enjoyed by the children and their parents.”

This year’s Children In Need appeal is on Friday 15 November; shoppers can find out more about Power of Play at asda.com/children-in-need.

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See Charlton-based author Andrew Donkin’s work in The Big Issue

November 5, 2019Darryl Chamberlain

There’s always a good reason to buy The Big Issue, but there’s a particularly good one this week as local author Andrew Donkin has helped produce a comic strip telling the story of one of the magazine’s vendors.

With Eoin Colfer and Giovanni Rigano, Andrew created the award-winning graphic novel, Illegal, about a boy’s epic journey to Europe.

Now the trio have produced a special strip for The Big Issue. Andrew says: “I often buy The Big Issue and living in London unless you walk around with your eyes wide shut, you can’t help but notice the huge increase in people sleeping rough in the last few years. It’s gone right back to the bad old days of long ago.

“We had a piece of comics journalism at the back of Illegal and we wanted to do more. Comics are such a brilliant medium and they are, in my view, underused in this genre. We were delighted that The Big Issue features editor, Steven, invited us to tell one of their vendor’s stories as a comic. When I say ‘invited’, I mean we twisted his arm. With the strip we wanted to put a human face on a vendor and help Rae tell her own story. We wanted to show how The Big Issue really does help people and Rae is a brilliant example of that.

“One of the biggest challenges in dealing with real world stuff is of course taking care to be as sensitive as you can with the material. Our five page strip, Rae’s Story, tells the story of a real person who’s going to read the issue – as are her friends and family. It was great to speak to Rae as we wrote the strip and she was very supportive and very helpful.”

The Big Issue is available now for £2.50 – often outside Charlton Sainsbury’s and Blackheath M&S.

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Herringham Quarter: Plans for 1,300 Charlton Riverside homes go to council

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019Darryl Chamberlain

Is this the future of the Charlton Riverside?

Hyde housing association has formally submitted its plans to build nearly 1,300 new homes on the Charlton riverside, making it the third major scheme to enter the planning process.

It has put in a detailed planning application to Greenwich Council to build 762 homes on two plots either side of Herringham Road, close to the Thames Barrier, with blocks of up to 10 storeys. It is calling the site Herringham Quarter.

One set of blocks would replace Maybank Wharf, the current Westminster Waste recycling yard. Of the 524 flats planned for the riverside site, 21.5% would be for shared ownership, 21% would be for London Affordable Rent, a form of social rent.

Phase 1 is where 762 homes are planned. Phases 2 and 3 are not expected until after 2024

The other set of blocks, to the south, would offer 238 flats, all for London Affordable Rent. It says it plans to take vacant possession of both sites in March. Retail and workshops are also in the plans along with open spaces and a new flood defence wall.

Hyde also plans to build 530 homes on two adjoining sites closer to the Thames Barrier. However, it has only asked for outline permission for these sites; it does not expect to take possession of the land until 2024. One set of blocks would be of 203 flats for private sale, the other would be of 285 flats with 9% London Affordable Rent and 48% shared ownership.

Don’t ask why some people are dressed for summer and others winter…

Access to the new homes, however, could be a challenge for the first residents – with the sole route in and out of the site being via the industrial yards of Eastmoor Street. Hyde says it has agreed with Transport for London for a bus route to serve the site – but oddly, it would be an extension of the 301 route to Woolwich, rather than a route to North Greenwich or Charlton station. While this would be cheap to provide, it would be lumbering residents with the cost of commuting from zone 4 even though they would be living in zone 3.

The riverside development will also have to contend with Riverside Wharf – the Tarmac yard – as a neighbour. As at Greenwich Millennium Village, one block will be built to shield the development from the industrial use.

Much of what is in the planned development has already been trailed at public exhibitions. But the application submitted to Greenwich Council does provide some very useful context as to the wider Charlton Riverside project and its neighbour at Greenwich Peninsula.

Who owns what and what’s planned on the riverside – note the amount of land owned by Greenwich Council

The other four schemes, from west to east, are:

The infamous Rockwell development off Anchor and Hope Lane, promising 771 homes but hated by its neighbours and refused by both Greenwich Council and, surprisingly, London mayor Sadiq Khan, who said he did not want “growth at any cost”. Rather than negotiate with the neighbours, Rockwell has gone to the planning inspectors – a public inquiry begins on 19 November at The Valley.
1,500 homes from developer Montreaux on the industrial estate containing the Stone Foundries plant behind the Stone Lake retail park. The land has just been sold and the scheme has not yet entered planning.
500 homes are planned by developer Komoto at what it calls Flint Glass Wharf, the former Johnsen and Jorgensen glassworks which closed in 1981, between the Tarmac works and the Thames Barrier;
U+I plans 500 homes on the old Siemens glassworks site on the Charlton/Woolwich border, along with a co-working hub for local businesses and space for light industry. A planning application for Faraday Works is expected imminently.

Want to see what the riverside could look like in a decade?

Hyde’s map of future riverside developments (click to expand)

You can find the full planning documents – and send your thoughts to the council – on its planning website (reference 19/3456/F). If you read nothing else, have a look at the first volume of its transport and access statement, which is where we’ve lifted the images from.

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Charlton remembers: Royal British Legion wreath-laying ceremonies

October 29, 2019June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Charlton Village War Memorial

The Charlton and Blackheath branch of the Royal British Legion will be holding its annual wreath-laying ceremonies on Saturday morning, 9 November, with two in Blackheath and two in Charlton. They will be at…

10.50am – Greenwich borough war memorial at Maze Hill, at the south-eastern corner of Greenwich Park facing Blackheath
approximately 11:15am – St. John’s Church, Stratheden Road, Blackheath
approximately 11:30am – Charlton Village war memorial
approximately 11:50am – Charlton Cemetery memorial, Cemetery Lane

For Remembrance Sunday, there will be a parade of war veterans in Eltham High Street at 10.45am, while the mayor of Greenwich will hold a two-minute silence to mark the armistice at 11am on Monday 11 November.