Southwark Council is consulting on proposals to build around 8 new homes – to be let at council rents – on the site of the old area housing office on Abbeyfield Road.
Initial proposals – by Bell Phillips Architects – were shown at an event in December.
The display boards are available to view online and the closing date for comments is 24 January
With a year to go until the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from Rotherhithe, a £140,000 fund has been launched to help local people to get involved with the commemorations.
The Mayflower set sail for America from Rotherhithe in July 1620. Captain Jones and many of his crew also lived there, making London central to the historic voyage.
A global programme of events is being organised for the lead up to the anniversary, this will run from November 2019 to November 2020 and include a programme of activities taking place across the UK, the Netherlands and America.
Southwark Council, United St Saviour’s Charity and British Land have worked together to establish a Southwark Mayflower 400 Grants Fund, making £140,000 available to local projects celebrating the themes of migration, tolerance, enterprise and community, for the international Mayflower commemoration event.
Cllr Rebecca Lury, Deputy Leader of Southwark Council, said: “I am delighted to open the first round of Mayflower 400 funding and welcome local people to join the global celebration of Southwark’s history with the Mayflower.
“I believe the pursuit of the universal concepts of freedom, liberty and justice are just as relevant now as they were when the ship’s Captain, Christopher Jones, sailed the Mayflower from his home in Rotherhithe, carrying people escaping persecution to America in 1620.
“We hope this funding will help bring the story of the Mayflower to generations to come and that the community connections established throughout Southwark’s celebrations, will form the foundation of many friendships and future activities.”
The council is inviting community groups, tenant and resident associations, faith based organisations, schools and arts, cultural and heritage organisations in SE16, to consider how they could use the Mayflower’s heritage to create meaningful and exciting projects that enhance and highlight its stories for a local and international audience. Projects from groups in SE1 and those based outside the immediate area may also be considered.
People working on smaller activities and events can bid for up to £1,000, while bigger projects and events will be eligible of over £1,000. All initiatives must include a live event or activity to take place in the lead up to the anniversary of the Mayflower sailing in November 2020. They should also take place within the SE16 area or areas of Mayflower significance in the wider SE1 area.
You can find the application criteria and apply for Mayflower 400 funding here: https://www.ustsc.org.uk/mayflower-400-grants-fund/
Plans to light up some of Rotherhithe’s landmark buildings to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower in 2020 have moved a step closer.
More than £30,000 has been raised to allow a feasibility study to be undertaken. £20,000 has been contributed by the Greater London Authority with the balance coming from local people, businesses and organisations.
WE HIT OUR TARGET TODAY – 3 DAYS BEFORE MONDAY’S DEADLINE – AND WE’VE EXCEEDED IT! We never believed for a moment that it would be possible to raise such a significant sum in such a relatively short space of time, but thanks to YOU and all the other 176 generous pledgers we have actually managed to achieve our goal.
We are now in overfunding mode! This is a wonderful – and very unexpected – position to be in. It will still be possible to make a pledge for the next couple of weeks, and as stated on our Spacehive project page all the additional funds will be held in reserve to put towards the cost of the installation of the lighting scheme later on, after the technical feasibility study has been completed.
It’s been suggested that there is potentially funding available in another mayoral funding pot to cover part of the cost of the installation, and last week I was given a promise of corporate financial support for the installation, which is very exciting! But there is lots more work to do.
We want to move the process forward as quickly as we can now, and we are still hoping that there might be time for this legacy lighting scheme to be installed by July 2020 when the Mayflower 400 celebrations/commemorations begin. We have already arranged to meet with the conservation architect and the lighting designer in January to discuss next steps. And if you would like to learn more about the proposed scheme, evening lighting demonstrations will be available for local friends and neighbours – and for anyone else who’s interested – before design development.
Please help us by sharing this good news with all your networks and your social media.
THANK YOU AGAIN for your support and for your enthusiasm and for making it possible for us to take our exciting vision forward to the next stage.
Festive greetings and very best wishes for 2019.
Clare and the Illuminate Rotherhithe! campaign team
Here’s the update that Clare Armstrong – who devised the project – shared with backers on the Spacehive crowdfunding site:
New plans to demolish the long-closed Albion pub at the corner of Albion Street and Neptune Street – and replace it with a four-storey block of flats – have been submitted to Southwark Council.
A planning application for the redevelopment of the pub was submitted in spring 2017 but was withdrawn before a decision was made.
Now revised plans have been submitted to the council under reference 18/AP/3984 by George Macari of the Albion Pub Co.
In 2016, Southwark planners had advised that “the existing building carries certain architectural qualities that offer visual interest to Albion Street therefore the building is considered a non-designated heritage asset”.
Justifying their proposal to demolish the pub, Michael Trentham Architects argue that “the Neo Tudor style is a pastiche design and out of keeping with the overall character of the area”.
“The current public house was built in 1928 and is a typical plain example of the interwar Neo-Tudor public house design that was very common. It lacks the simple integrity of the surrounding buildings.”
Southwark’s cabinet this week approved the Canada Water Regeneration Charter, the first in a series of document setting out how the council will work with partners on measures to improve residents’ health and economic wellbeing in parallel with the major physical development schemes.
“It is important when regeneration and change comes to our borough that key strategic partners are aligned with the priorities of the council and the community, and setting their sights high in realising a wide range of tangible benefits for existing communities,” sais Cllr Leo Pollak, cabinet Member for social regeneration, Great Estates and new homes.
“The Canada Water Social Regeneration Charter, developed with British Land, presents the results of a series of intensive consultation exercises reaching thousands of local people, and identifies a number of emerging priorities for the redevelopment – among them supporting new enterprise and skills development initiatives, creating new opportunities for young people, and spreading the benefits of new investment to neighbouring estates.”
You can watch the cabinet discussion on this page, and all the documents are available on the council website.
Plans to revitalise the Blue have received a £2.3 million boost from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund.
The funds will help Southwark Council, the Blue Bermondsey Business Improvement District and Community Opportunity continue their work to enhance the market and cluster of shops at the heart of South Bermondsey.
City Hall says that the grant will support efforts to “turn Bermondsey’s historic town centre and street market into a thriving area, building on the Blue’s identity as the ‘Larder of London’”.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “These projects aim to give Londoners of all backgrounds the opportunity to be actively involved in shaping how their city grows and delivering more places to live, learn, work and play.
“I’m so impressed by the range of bids we received – this is testament to the creativity and ingenuity in London’s diverse communities.
“I’m committed to supporting ‘good growth’ by building a city where all Londoners have access to the same opportunities and I look forward to seeing all the positive impacts these projects will have in the future.”
British Land says that occupiers from “a range of sectors” are showing interest in moving to the firm’s massive Canada Water development. Building work could start in the second half of 2019 once planning permission is granted.
The developer’s half-year results – published on Wednesday – included a lengthy section on Canada Water which is reproduced below.
Canada Water: A unique redevelopment opportunity in London
Highlights
• 5m sq ft mixed use development scheme
• Master development agreement signed with Southwark Council in May 2018
• Planning application including detailed planning submission on the first three buildings and outline
planning for the whole scheme submitted May 2018
• Valuation up 0.3% to £293m
At Canada Water, we are working with the London Borough of Southwark to deliver a 5m sq ft mixed use scheme,
including 3,000 new homes alongside a mix of commercial, retail and community space. The site benefits from
excellent transport connectivity with Canary Wharf and the West End two and twelve minutes respectively on the
Jubilee line and Shoreditch just ten minutes away by Overground. It covers 53 acres including the dock area,
providing 48 acres of developable land.
We started engaging on our masterplan proposals in 2014 and since then have held over 120 public consultation
and local outreach events. These have attracted over 11,000 people who provided 12,000 comments on our
plans, enabling us to shape a design with strong local appeal. Together with Southwark Council, we have now
committed to a Social Regeneration Charter which will ensure that residents in the borough benefit from the
development.
In May, we submitted our planning application, which included a detailed application on the project’s first three
buildings together covering nearly 580,000 sq ft. Our plans include 265 homes of which 35% will be affordable.
Building A1 will provide both residential and workspace and building A2 will be focused on workspace and a new
leisure centre, with both providing a small amount of retail at ground floor. K1, the third building will be wholly
residential. These buildings are part of a major first phase covering 1.9m sq ft of mixed use space.
The development agreement which we signed in May 2018 sets out the terms of a new headlease, which
consolidates our holdings into a single 500 year headlease with Southwark Council as the Lessor. This structure
effectively aligns the ownership of these assets, with British Land owning 80% and Southwark Council owning
the remaining 20%. Southwark Council will have the opportunity to participate in the development of the
individual plots, up to a maximum of 20% and returns will be pro-rated accordingly. This headlease becomes
effective on the fulfilment of a number of conditions, most importantly achieving outline planning consent for the
whole masterplan and detailed planning consent for the first three buildings.
Subject to planning approvals, construction of the first detailed plots could begin in the second half of 2019.
Potential funding structures will be explored when we have greater visibility on timing, ahead of which, we are
already seeing interest in the space from a range of sectors and discussions are underway on several buildings.
In the meantime, the Printworks has become an established live and electronic music venue, frequently hosting
crowds of up to 5,000. Ticket sales and visitors are now up to 300,000 with 31 shows scheduled for the Autumn
season.
The valuation of Canada Water increased to £293m benefitting from progress made with our planning application
although we continue to incur feasibility costs in relation to the Masterplan.
Southwark Council says that around 20,000 people attended this year’s Southwark Park fireworks display.
The council says that 96 per cent of visitors were Southwark residents who’d claimed their free tickets to the show, and 40 per cent of people came from the neighbourhoods immediately surrounding Southwark Park.
Cllr Rebecca Lury, cabinet member for culture, leisure, equalities and communities, said: “Fireworks night is my favourite night of the year so I am delighted that we were able to, once again, provide a free fireworks event for the people of Southwark.
“The fireworks this year were absolutely stunning and it was lovely to see so many local people and families enjoying the show.”
Pupils at Redriff Primary City of London Academy have been taking part in activities to mark 100 years since the end of World War One.
Children from nursery age to Year 6 have been involved in a wide range of activities, building up to the school’s Remembrance Assembly today and finally culminating in the unveiling of the school’s memorial garden.
The memorial garden has a steel solider inscribed with the words ‘Redriff Remembers 1918-2018’ including crosses, placed by the children, bearing the names of the 600 soldiers from Rotherhithe who were killed in the war.
Also featuring in the garden is a silhouette, which has been supplied by the charity Remembered as part of its 2018 Armistice project –There But Not There.
The children have also constructed a poppy made from stones on which they have written the names of each solider.
The poppy will remain as a permanent feature in the school’s playground.
The garden will be completed on Friday during the Remembrance Assembly when the final crosses will be planted.
Mickey Kelly, executive headteacher of Redriff Primary, said:
“This week has been a moving experience for all the students and staff at the school.
“The children have really grasped the importance of Armistice Day and World War One.
“Teachers have held workshops for the children on what life was like in the trenches and the different aspects of the War, from roles animals played to the impact of the War on women’s lives.”
Today’s assembly saw staff and children observe a two-minute silence.
Environmental expert and bee-keeping specialist Clare Street has won the TCV Star of the Future Award at Year at TCV, the community volunteering charity’s, Annual Awards.
Clare, who shares her time between working as a Volunteer Officer at Stave Hill in Rotherhithe, Dulwich Upper Woods and Railway Fields in Haringey, received her award in a celebration of TCV Heroes at the Barbican on Tuesday .
The Star of the Future Award recognises the achievements and future potential of TCV projects and staff, who have helped other people improve their confidence, skills, and prospects, through learning inspired by the outdoors.
During her time as a Volunteer Officer at Stave Hill Ecology Park, Clare has trained as a beekeeper and raised funds for an observational beehive to teach all she’s learned to the next generation of apian enthusiasts. Claire has also revamped the centre’s ‘bee classroom’, decorating it with her very own bee-themed artwork.
When she’s not helping to care for some of the planet’s most prolific pollinators, Claire works hard to engage young minds through the environment. She has designed and built two Vegetable Teepees for children to play and grow food in, one at Stave Hill and the other at St John’s Primary School in Rotherhithe. St John’s Primary School now has an extensive food growing site and hosts regular vegetable club get-togethers, where pupils can enjoy the fruits of their labour.
TCV teams across London love working with Clare and have been impressed by the substantial improvements she has brought to every site she’s worked at – she’s even earned the nickname of “Super Clare” amongst her fellow environmentalists.
TCV has received £400,000 from players of People’s Postcode Lottery as part of their Postcode Green Trust. With this money, TCV will be able to extend their work connecting people and green spaces to benefit both the environment and the health and wellbeing of the local community.
Rebeka Clark, Site Manager at Stave Hill Ecology Park said:
“I can’t think of anybody better suited to this work than Clare – you need to be precise, calm, and orderly, and that’s her all over. She goes about her work beautifully, and no little detail is ever missed. Working with Clare, nothing is ever about her, but instead it’s all about the project itself and how she can move things forward.”
Clare Street, TCV Star of the Future Award Winner, said:
“People need their green spaces. It’s really important to me that children are getting out and involved in looking after the natural world around them, and reaping both the physical and mental rewards.”
Professor Tony Crook CBE, Chair of the Conservation Volunteers, said:
“These awards reflect the core of what TCV does. Our staff and volunteers not only help create and enhance green spaces but through this work help to build more human and social capital, thus supporting the communities involved in looking after these spaces. The need to improve spaces and enhance communities is immense which is why I and my fellow Trustees are keen to engage with more partners to work together on these challenges.”
Darren York, Chief Executive of TCV, said:
“At TCV we’re passionate about creating healthier and happier communities for everyone and we’re immensely grateful to our stars of the future like Clare for their hard work and creativity.”