Rockwell’s revised scheme will be examined by City Hall, not Greenwich Council
The developer behind controversial plans to build 771 new homes off Anchor & Hope Lane is to hold two short consultation sessions this weekend to explain their proposals to residents.
London mayor Sadiq Khan took control of the planning application in August, weeks after Greenwich Council’s main planning committee threw out the proposed development, and a public hearing at City Hall is likely to come in a few weeks. (Update:The Charlton Champion understands this is likely to be on Tuesday 29 January.)
Neighbours in Atlas and Derrick Gardens had complained that the development – likely to be the first development on the Charlton Riverside to get planning approval, albeit from Khan rather than the council – would loom over their homes, while Greenwich’s planning chair Sarah Merrill called it “reminiscent of Stalingrad”.
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.
Rockwell is now holding a last-minute public exhibition about the proposals – however, it will only run from 9am to 11am on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 January, at the Anchor & Hope pub.
The City Hall consultation on the scheme has been extended until the following Monday to take account of the brief opportunity for neighbours to talk to Rockwell about the proposals.
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.
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.
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 Peninsula ward can vote for them to be restored
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.
The Charlton Champion visited Champions 4 Change last year (photo: Neil Clasper)
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.
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.
Ann Olson at the McIntosh family grave
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.
Charlton Athletic players helping at Greenwich Foodbank with Fans Supporting Foodbanks organiser Samuel Spong.
Charlton Athletic has joined forces with Fans Supporting Foodbanks to help locals in need over Christmas. Supporters will again be able to donate non-perishable food at The Valley before Charlton’s home game against Gillingham this Saturday, after a successful collection event before the game against AFC Wimbledon last weekend.
The items collected by Fans Supporting Foodbanks will be given to Greenwich Foodbank, which operates eight foodbanks in the borough, and is in desperate need during the busy Christmas period.
Last year, Greenwich Foodbank fed 7,505 people. This year it looks like numbers could be as much as 20 per cent higher, meaning a constant supply of food is crucial.
Charlton fan Samuel Spong created Fans Supporting Foodbanks after being inspired by a similar initiative in Liverpool. He said: “The aim is to utilise the collective power of football fans to help vulnerable local residents get through Christmas. This is the first time we have done something like this and Charlton, given its long-standing commitment to community work, seemed like a natural partner.”
Alan Robinson of Greenwich Foodbank said: “We are very excited by this initiative. We know that Charlton Athletic and their fans care deeply about our community and to partner with them to explore a new source of food at a time when demand is increasing gives us confidence for the future.”
Fans Supporting Foodbanks will be collecting outside The Valley before the game against Gillingham on Saturday 22nd December.
What is a non-perishable food?
Non-perishable foods have a long shelf life and don’t require refrigeration. Examples include cereals, rice, long life milk or canned meat or fish. The current urgent needs are shown on the website https://greenwich.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/.
There are widespread fears Ikea will bring traffic gridlock to Greenwich and Charlton
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.
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
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.)
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.
The Charlton Champion 