Thanks to Alison Clayburn for these pictures of Sunday’s Southwark Park 150 event.
This Wednesday there’s a Bat Walk in the park.
William Gaitskell House to be turned into luxury flats
A 200-year-old building in Paradise Street, Rotherhithe, is to be converted into luxury flats.
Last year Andie Byrnes wrote an excellent piece about the fascinating history of William Gaitskell House which was the home of surgeon ‘Sir’ William Gaitskell and later became a police station .
The building is presently used as offices but now developer Hollybrook Homes wants to convert it into seven flats and build two more flats facing Cathay Street.
Full details are in planning application 14/AP/2332.
Chambers Wharf asbestos fears
At last month’s council assembly meeting Riverside ward councillor Eliza Mann tabled the following question:
Is the leader aware of concerns about potential asbestos exposure from the Thames Tunnel site at Chambers Wharf, which is due to rubble from a demolished cold storage building remaining on-site for more than a year? Will he order Thames Water to clean up the site immediately?
Southwark Council leader Cllr Peter John replied:
We are aware of this situation and have been in discussion with Thames Water, to mitigate any risks in relation to this issue. As a result, Thames Water has reduced the risk to health through the clearing of the loose asbestos debris on the site and by the covering of the stockpile on site to prevent ‘wind whip’ of any dust and fibres from it and the site is not causing any statutory nuisance.
Control of asbestos on construction sites is enforced by the Health & Safety Executive, not the council. We are in dialogue with the Health and Safety Executive in terms of any enforcement action that they are undertaking, in relation to Chambers Wharf.
It is disappointing that Riverside Ward councillors have not raised this with officers given their concerns about the situation.
Duke of Westminster asks Boris to make Bermondsey a high-density development zone
Been meaning to write about this for a while, but better late than never.
The Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate property firm wrote to Mayor of London Boris Johnson asking him to designate the area around Bermondsey Tube Station as an ‘area for intensification’ in the revised London Plan policy document.
Grosvenor owns a large chunk of the Biscuit Factory site as well as the former Scott Lidgett/Southwark College/LeSoCo campus.
You can read Grosvenor’s letter in full on the GLA website.
The GLA website describes intensification areas as follows:
Intensification Areas are built up with good existing or potential public transport links and can support redevelopment at higher densities. They have significant capacity for new jobs and homes but at a level below that which can be achieved in the Opportunity Areas.
Crowding expected at Canada Water and Surrey Quays during London Bridge shutdown
Passengers using London Overground trains at Canada Water and Surrey Quays have been warned to expect crowds and queues during next week’s nine-day part-closure of London Bridge station.
From Transport for London:
Passengers who travel via London Bridge mainline rail station, which is being rebuilt by Network Rail while remaining open, are being urged to plan ahead for the last nine days of August. This is because no First Capital Connect or Southern services will call at London Bridge mainline rail station and there will be no direct trains to Gatwick or Luton Airport stations.
London Bridge Underground station will remain open.
London Overground services will not operate to and from New Cross from Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 August. A replacement bus service will run between New Cross, Surrey Quays and Canada Water. There will be four buses per hour all day during the closure. An enhanced London Overground service will operate between Crystal Palace and Canada Water during the peaks. There will be an additional 4 trains per hour at peak times, meaning that the average waiting time between trains is 5 minutes instead of 7- 8 minutes. An enhanced service will operate between Crystal Palace and Dalston Junction at all other times.
From Network Rail:
Crowding and queuing on platforms is expected at Sydenham, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Brockley, New Cross Gate and Surrey Quays. Canada Water station is likely to be busier than usual on the southbound platform throughout peak periods.
800 DVD box sets seized in SE16
From the latest Southwark trading standards bulletin:
Following a complaint about inferior DVD box sets being sold via eBay a warrant was obtained for a flat in SE16.
Approximately 800 box sets of various types were found at the address.
These were seized as it was believed they were counterfeit and an investigation is ongoing.
Ofsted publishes damning report on Bermondsey nursery
Ofsted has published a highly critical report on the Strawberry Babybubs Nursery in Bermondsey.
Inspectors visited the nursery, which is situated near St James’s Church, in July and awarded it the lowest possible rating of 4 which means ‘inadequate’.
Most significantly, the inspectors found that the nursery’s management had not obtained criminal record checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service for all members of staff.
The report said:
Management has not obtained necessary checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service for some members of staff. This is a breach of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, which places children at risk. It means the requirements of the Childcare Register are not met either. Management does not routinely obtain written references for staff as part of background checks about their suitability to work with children.
Six year old girl borrows one millionth item from ‘amazing’ Canada Water Library
This weekend Canada Water Library celebrated its one millionth loan since the library opened in November 2011.
The library awarded a prize to the member taking out the millionth loan – six year old Chinedum Odunze, when she borrowed Heart Magazine: A dream come true by Cindy Jefferies on Friday 27 July– one of five books she borrowed that day. She was presented with a £100 boo
k token, free DVD and CD rentals for a year, two tickets for a Canada Water Culture Space event and lots more.
Chinedum Odunze said: “I think Canada Water Library is an amazing place. When I’m there, I usually leave with 8-10 books. When I read, every page of a book makes me feel like I am floating away to the place in the story. Sometimes…I like to write my own stories. I just love reading books especially when there’s an adventure!”
Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle, cabinet member for adult care, arts and culture, said: “Canada Water Library’s one millionth loan is another great milestone for us that shows how well the library is used by the community and has been supporting literacy since opening in 2011.
“I am delighted that the one millionth loan was by one of our youngest residents and I hope her obvious love of books and reading will continue to grow as she uses the service.”
Salter statues could be unveiled this year as appeal reaches £50k target
Exciting news from the Salter Statues Campaign
This month we can announce great news for all those who have spent the last three years campaigning to restore the memory of Ada and Alfred.
The Salter Statues Campaign has at last achieved its target of £50,000. The statues of Ada, Alfred and their daughter, Joyce, can now go ahead and be installed.
There may even be an unveiling before the end of this year of the beautiful ensemble designed by artist, Diane Gorvin. Not only has justice been done to Alfred Salter, whose statue was stolen by metal-thieves in 2011, but the addition of Ada is historic for all of London, where currently there are only 14 public statues of women compared to hundreds of men.
Amazingly, Ada’s statue will be the first public statue of a woman environmentalist, the first of a woman peace campaigner, the first of a woman trade unionist, the first of a woman politician and the first of a Quaker woman.
Congratulations to all who campaigned, and all who donated.
Cycle superhighway along Jamaica Road delayed till 2016
Changes to the road layout on Jamaica Road are still a couple of years away.
Cllr Hamish McCallum (Lib Dem, Riverside Ward) What discussions have been had between Southwark council and Transport for London relating to congestion issues on Jamaica Road and, in particular, relating to the provision of a ‘box junction’ at the junction with Bevington Street?
Cllr Mark Williams (Labour cabinet member for transport) We have been working closely with Transport for London (TfL) in order to identify and promote improvements to Jamaica Road. Cycle Superhighway Route 4 (CS4) will run along this route and presents an opportunity to address a number of concerns as well as to provide a safer environment for cyclists. CS4 will result in a complete redesign of the Bevington Street junction. Changes at the Rotherhithe roundabout are also covered by CS4 and this is key to reducing congestion on Jamaica Road and adjacent local streets. We are disappointed that TfL have recently deferred delivery of CS4 until 2016 and will continue to press for these improvements to be brought forwards as soon as possible.