Construction training centre opens at former college

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Construction Youth Trust, a charity helping young people to build better futures by giving them access to training, education and employment opportunities in the construction industry, has opened a new  training centre on Drummond Road

Grosvenor will host the new Construction Training Centre for the next two years on the former Lewisham and Southwark College site.

The Construction Training Centre enables young people from the area to access training, education and employment opportunities in the construction industry.

The training centre offers OCN accredited multi-skilled and trade-focused courses with Level 1 Health and Safety in Construction included in both.

Christine Townley, executive director of the Construction Youth Trust, said: “Construction Youth Trust is delighted to be opening this new training facility with the great support of Grosvenor.

“This is another step in our plans for expanding our support for young people in Southwark and across London. Partnerships with developers and contractors are a key plank in our strategy to ensure everything we do to support young people is demand-led.

“The UK has high skills shortages and high numbers of young people out of work; by working in partnership with Grosvenor and the local community we plan to change this. Together we can make a difference.”

Tony O’Reilly, director of construction and development for the Bermondsey project at Grosvenor, said: “We believe we can make a positive contribution to Bermondsey and to Southwark, and accommodating and supporting education provision alongside new homes is fundamental to our vision for this 12 acre site.

“By working with Construction Youth Trust we hope to support local people who wish to upskill, and benefit from the job opportunities that will result from the works on site in the years ahead.”

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The Construction Training Centre was formally opened on Friday 17 April. Guests explored the new training facilities and heard more about how Construction Youth Trust supports young people into the industry.

To find out more visit www.constructionyouth.org.uk/budding-builders  or call 020 7467 9540.

Construction Youth Trust is sharing the former Campus site with Compass School Southwark, a mixed 11-16 school which opened in September 2013, and Old Vic New Voices, which has recently established a creative community hub on the site.

Grosvenor Britain & Ireland owns the former college site as well as the neighbouring Biscuit Factory site and intends to hold a public consultation on the future of these two sites later this year.

Harris Academy Bermondsey judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted

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Harris Academy Bermondsey has been rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for the second time in a row.

The girls’ secondary academy in Southwark Park Road, which replaced Aylwin Girls’ School in 2006, first achieved the top grade six years ago.

Alan Dane, the principal of the academy who was praised for “working very successfully to drive up standards and improve students’ progress”, said of the report:

“We are delighted with this feedback from Ofsted and so very proud of our girls and our staff. They work incredibly hard to create an exceptionally happy, productive school. Together we will continue to build on the excellent progress here to maintain this high level of success for years to come.”

Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation, said: “Congratulations to all students and staff at the academy on this highly complimentary report.

“Sustaining the top Ofsted rating across a number of years is a significant achievement and the determination of everyone at the school, led by Alan Dane and his team, sets a great example.”

Read the full report on the Ofsted website.

Last month the academy gave its premises over to the emergency services to use as a coordination centre for the operation to deal with the unexploded bomb found in nearby Grange Walk.

Jamaica Road Scout House redevelopment: planning application submitted

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Plans to redevelop the headquarters of Southwark Scouts next to Southwark Park in Jamaica Road have been submitted to Southwark Council.

From the design & access statement prepared by Michael Trentham Architects:

The Scout House consists of 2 three storey 19th Century terraced houses with a scout hall behind. It has a street frontage onto Jamaica road and steps down to a long rear addition occupying the full footprint of the site, forming the boundary with the Grade 2 Listed Southwark Park. The rear addition is the main assembly and activity space for the Southwark Scouts and other local community groups. It is in a severe state of dilapidation with a series of leaks in the roof, which have proved impossible to seal and have resulted in a number of the activity spaces being unusable. Recently, the Southwark Scout indoor camping had to be cancelled as the roof was crumbling down.

The proposed development will include new facilities for the Scout movement and other community groups, funded by the sale of eight flats in the new six-storey building.

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See full details of planning application 15/AP/1074 on the Southwark Council website.

Boris dampens hopes of cycle hire in SE16

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Boris Johnson says there are “no plans” to extend the cycle hire scheme – despite recent comments by his cycling commissioner who said he had been holding discussions with Southwark Council about bringing bike hire to more of the borough,

The Mayor’s remarks – in a written answer to a question tabled by Labour’s Val Shawcross AM – will come as a disappointment to those hoping to see red bikes on the Rotherhithe peninsula in the near future.

Cycle Hire in Rotherhithe

Question No: 2015/1057

Valerie Shawcross

I have been contacted by residents in Rotherhithe who are keen to see the cycle hire scheme expanded on Rotherhithe peninsula particularly near the riverfront as there currently are no cycle hire facilities in this vicinity. Please can this be considered?

Written response from the Mayor

As explained in MQ 2014 /3442, there are no plans to expand the scheme outside of the current footprint at this time.

The main focus for the Cycle Hire scheme, at present, is to identify locations for more ‘intensification’ sites with our borough partners within the existing footprint of the scheme. By increasing the density of docking points, particularly in Central London, users will have greater opportunity to hire and dock bikes and the redistribution operation will be more efficient.

This said, I view the scheme as an expanding programme and TfL is more than happy to look at suggested sites and areas, subject to a range of criteria that must be met for docking station installation. These include topography, operational considerations and future funding.

Both boroughs and private landowners who are interested in Santander Cycle docking stations are encouraged to contact TfL.  Duncan Robertson, Business Development Manager, is the first point of contact and can provide assistance on issues of funding, site locations, and other ways TfL can help.

TfL remains engaged with all London boroughs regarding intensification and any possible future expansion.

‘Wonder Woman’ Cllr Lisa Rajan to run London Marathon (again)

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Surrey Docks councillor Lisa Rajan will join thousands of other runners in the London Marathon this Sunday.

The marathon route passes through the borough starting at Lower Road and works its way around the Rotherhithe peninsula and Bermondsey before heading over Tower Bridge into the City.

But not content with completing the course in regular sports gear, Cllr Rajan has chosen to run the 26-mile course dressed as super-hero Wonder Woman.

The Liberal Democrat councillor is raising money for the Reverse Rett charity, which funds research into the devastating rare condition Rett Syndrome, and has already raised over £1,250 for the cause. Further donations are still welcome and can be made online at: https://www.justgiving.com/lisarajan4/

“For the second year running, I am dusting off my favourite Wonder Woman outfit and embarrassing myself in front of Southwark residents,” said Cllr Rajan.

“I’m not looking to break any speed records but I do hope at least to make it to the finish line ahead of any rhinos or bananas!

“This year I’m running it for a brilliant charity called ReverseRett.

“They fund research into the devastating rare condition Rett Syndrome, which causes severe mental and physical disability in young girls around their first birthday.

“I’m hoping to raise as much as I can to make a small difference to families living with Rett.”

Councillors to consider Clipper pub redevelopment as CAMRA objects

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Next Tuesday (28 April) is decision day for the future of The Clipper pub on Rotherhithe Street.

Councillors are likely to approve plans to knock down the 1934 pub and replace it with a four-storey block of flats.

Objectors to the proposal include the South East London Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) who say:

We strongly oppose the above application as many pubs have already been lost in the area. In fact, according to our records only fifteen now remain open out of forty three that we have listed for Rotherhithe. Four of these closures including the Clipper have been in the last four years.

The applicant claims that because there are other pubs nearby, including the Ship York, the Orange Bull, and the Blacksmiths Arms, the loss of the Clipper will not adversely affect community facilities in the area. Yet, the Ship York has already closed (November 2014) and the Orange Bull is subject to a planning application to demolish it. The applicant’s argument, therefore, holds little weight, and, in fact, the loss of Ship York and the threat to the Orange Bull makes it all the more important that the Council recognises the importance of retaining the Clipper.

This catastrophic loss of both community facilities and heritage buildings has been recognised Nationally in paragraph 70 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), regionally in the Mayor of London’s draft London Plan paragraph 4.48A and now locally in Policy DM27 of the draft New Southwark Plan.

The CAMRA letter continues:

It is time to say no to further pub closures in this area to ensure that facilities are protected for both current and future residents . The Clipper is a purpose built public house from the interwar period which adds both variety and interest to the streetscape and while not listed could still reasonable be considered to be a non-designated heritage asset. We feel that its closure and demolition would go against current planning policies as it results in both the loss of a valued community facility and heritage asset.

However, in their report to councillors, Southwark planning officers say:

In the view of Officers, there is little evidence that this public house has recently served as a valued community facility. Whilst several letters have been received from local residents, very few of these object in principle to the loss of the public house itself. CAMRA have objected to its loss but there is no evidence provided with its objection that the public house has served as a valued facility in this case. There have been no attempts to secure the premises as an Asset of Community Value. Coupled with these factors, an existing public house (the Blacksmith Arms) is conveniently located very close to the site providing a similar use for the community. Whilst needing to guard against the loss of public houses where it is clear they offer a valued facility, this does not appear to be the case in this instance. The replacement retail class facility will also provide an, albeit different, local service for the surrounding area. Taking all these factors into consideration, it is concluded on this issue, that the loss of the public house will not result in any significant harm to the overall provision of local facilities and services in this area.

There’s more on the history of The Clipper on Andie Byrnes’s blog.

The final decision will be made by Southwark’s planning sub-committee B on Tuesday 28 April at 7pm at 160 Tooley Street SE1.

Southwark Park Station: more pictures

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Greg Thornett inspects tiles from the old Southwark Park Railway Station
Greg Thornett inspects tiles from the old Southwark Park Railway Station

Last month we linked to IanVisits’s blog post about Southwark Park Railway Station in Rotherhithe New Road, remains of which have been uncovered during works on the Thameslink Programme to upgrade the lines into London Bridge.

Now Network Rail has released more images and maps relating to the station.

Southwark Park station, perched on a viaduct above Rotherhithe New Road, only served passengers from 1902 to 1915 before it closed for good.

Project manager Greg Thornett said: “The Bermondsey Dive Under is a key part of the Thameslink Programme, creating the railway necessary to provide a frequent and reliable service through London Bridge and make a huge difference to passengers’ journeys , cutting journey times and making the services more reliable.

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Footings of the old platforms

 

“We uncovered the footings for the former platforms while we were preparing the top of the viaduct for new track and we are now working up in the roof space of the former ticket hall to fill in the old sky lights, ready to carry the final track alignment.

“Much of the existing stretch of viaduct will be replaced by the ramps into and out of the new dive under, but the arch that used to house the old booking hall will remain.”

The Bermondsey Dive Under will see two Victorian viaducts partially-demolished and rebuilt to allow Charing Cross trains from South East London and Kent to pass underneath the trains carrying Thameslink services from Croydon before returning to tracks on the same level.

In addition the same team, from Network Rail and contractor Skanska, are rebuilding 20 bridges between New Cross and Waterloo East to increase their strength.

Greg Thornett added: “Although the old viaducts will be replaced by modern structures, they are designed to remain in keeping with the older architecture. It’s exciting to see this transformation and it will be a real sense of achievement to see trains running on it.”

Southwark Park station was one of several in the area, including Spa Road, closed as a result of competition from trams and buses and the coming of the First World War.

1908 map showing the railway network in Bermondsey, including Southwark Park Station.

 

The Bermondsey Dive Under is situated where the former Bricklayers Arms branch left the main line and a new access road follows the former trackbed under the remaining viaducts.

The site offices sit on the stub end of the trackbed leading towards the former locomotive shed.

Network Rail says that he 20 bridges being replaced are of an old design where the rails are carried on timber baulks. These need replacing every 5-10 years so the newer structures will be stronger and last longer between maintenance.