Greenland Dock: council to consider extra water safety measures

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Greenland Dock, Rotherhithe - London.

This question was tabled by Cllr Dan Whitehead (Lib Dem, Surrey Docks) at council assembly this week:

Can the Leader confirm whether the council will install more prominent warning signs
along Greenland Dock, including details of the depth of the water and danger to life, in
response to the tragic death of a young man there on 17 June 2017?

Council leader Peter John replied:

This is an awful loss and our thoughts are with the family of the young man at this
painful time. The council supported the police in their search, and has offered support
to the family.

This tragedy is a stark reminder of why the waters around the marina are not suitable
for swimming, and as this warm weather continues we would urge all residents to stay
out of the water, tempting as it may be.

A number of safety measures are in place; the docks are surrounded by a pole and
chain fence with poles 1 metre high joined by two rows of chains. Refuge chains are
looped around the dock at water level that can be used by a person in the water to
support themselves. Life buoy holders are provided at average intervals of 55 metres
and on the back of each lifebuoy holder is a no swimming sign. Ladders are fixed to
the walls at approximately 55 metre intervals to climb out of the dock and there are
some existing stairs in various locations. Lifebuoys are checked daily.

However, as with any serious incident, the council instigates a serious incident panel
with immediate effect to review what further measures, if any, could be implemented to
reduce the likelihood of such tragic incidents happening in the future. As part of this
review the panel will consider the benefit of installing more prominent warning signs
along Greenland Dock.

Old Justice (Winnicott) pub could be turned into flats

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Another View of the old justice

Two planning applications have been submitted relating to the former Old Justice pub (latterly the Winnicott) on Bermondsey Wall East:

The applicant has submitted a viability assessment claiming that the pub is no longer viable due to the rise of social media and a lack of passing trade, despite the venue’s position on the Thames Path.

New look for The Brunel

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A Rotherhithe pub has re-opened with a fresh new look following a major refurbishment project.

Around £100,000 has been invested in The Brunel on the corner of Brunel Road Swan Road as part of a joint venture between  pub company Punch and new publicans Ed Clifton and Lukasz Adamczyk.

Lukasz is no stranger to the hospitality trade having worked in restaurants for the past 15 years. He moved to England from Poland five years ago and during that time has worked in high profile restaurants including Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus and the  Bel and the Dragon, Windsor.

Ed, who worked as a sound engineer in the TV industry prior to taking over at The Brunel, said: “This is an exciting new venture for us. Every time Lukasz and I visit a pub we talk about what we would change and do differently if we were running it and so we decided it was high time to practise what we preach.

“As soon as we saw The Brunel we knew it had great potential. It’s an attractive river-side pub in a great location and this investment has given it a stunning new look. We’re really looking forward to welcoming customers and showing them the improvements that have been made.”

Ed and Lukasz have ambitious plans for The Brunel and will be offering a range of activities from book lovers’ mornings through to chess clubs, comedy nights, quizzes, live music and even English classes.

 

Overnight Overground services coming to Canada Water, Rotherhithe & Surrey Quays

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Val Shawcross, deputy mayor for transport

London Overground night services will start operating from December on Fridays and Saturdays along the East London route between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction via Surrey Quays, Canada Water and Rotherhithe.

At Canada Water the Night Overground will connect with the Night Tube service on the Jubilee line.

The night service will be extended to Highbury & Islington next year.

Jonathan Fox, TfL’s Director of London Rail, said: “The East London route is one of the most popular parts of the London Overground network, particularly late in the evening. Expanding night services to this key part of London Overground will make it easier for customers to enjoy the vibrant night time culture that East London has to offer, supporting the economy in this much-loved area of the capital. The Night Tube has already provided a boost to our economy and supported thousands of permanent jobs. We hope the Night Overground will build on this success even further.”

SE16 broadband: audio of Southwark cabinet discussion

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The BroadbandSE16 campaign took a deputation to Southwark’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday to keep up the pressure on politicians to seek solutions to Rotherhithe’s slow broadband crisis which means that for many it’s quicker to take a laptop to Canada Water tube station and download large files using the public wifi than to rely on flaky home connections.

Listen to the full audio of the session here:

SE16.com is back

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Last September we announced that the SE16.com website and email newsletter project was on hold.

We’re delighted to announce that funding to enable at least half a day’s work per week on the project has been assembled by the What’s on in Rotherhithe Group (WORG).

In turn, WORG has been supported by the United St Saviour’s Charity, British Land, Sellar and others to enable a regular service of website updates and weekly email bulletins to resume.

SE16.com continues to be produced by Bankside Press Ltd, the family-run Southwark-based enterprise that also runs the London SE1 community website.

We’re delighted to resume our service of local information to people who live and work in SE16.

We’re suspending publication of the SE16.com website

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Dear all,

After six years, I’ve taken the decision to put SE16.com on hold for the time being.

As many of you know, this has always been a side project to our much more comprehensive website for the SE1 area.

Both the SE1 and SE16 sites are published by a small family-run Southwark-based business.

Funding and sustaining local web publishing is hard work. And many of you have high expectations that I have struggled to meet.

Those of you who follow our SE1 site may be aware that we have recently launched a membership scheme in order to secure the future of our local reporting in that area.

The response so far has been heartening and I am hopeful that with the help of local people we can keep the SE1 site going.

At the moment I need to do fewer things, and do them better, so for the time being SE16.com needs to go on the back burner.

In the meantime I commend WISE16 and The Quay Point to you as sources of local information. Sadly the I Live in SE16 website also recently announced its closure.

I’ll continue to tweet bits and pieces about SE16 on the @SE16 Twitter account.

Hopefully there will come a time when we’ll be able to resume our events listings and other coverage of SE16 life.

With very many thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged me in the SE16 area – especially to the What’s on in Rotherhithe Group who originally asked us to consider setting up a website for SE16.

James Hatts

Night Tube coming to Bermondsey and Canada Water in October

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The Night Tube service will come to Bermondsey and Canada Water when a 24-hour weekend service is introduced on the Jubilee line from 7 October.

Sadiq Khan
All-night Tube services on the Central and Victoria lines started on 19 August.

“I was determined to get the Night Tube up and running as soon as possible, and I’m delighted the Jubilee Line will now begin on 7 October,” said Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.

“There was huge excitement at the launch of the Central and Victoria Lines last Friday, and it’s already having a beneficial impact on our Night Time economy.

“Over 100,000 people used the Night Tube last weekend to get around London more quickly and safely.

“The launch of the Jubilee line will support thousands more workers like nurses, cleaners, and people who work in our bars and restaurants – many of whom currently take two night buses to get home. It will also serve some of our city’s key venues, with The O2, Wembley Stadium and Stratford on route.

“I will continue to work closely with British Transport Police, TfL staff and Londoners across our city to ensure the roll-out of the Night Tube continues to be a success, and we unlock the full potential of London’s exciting night time economy.”

The Night Tube operates on Friday and Saturday nights.

Bermondsey & Rotherhithe Community Council recently approved the launch of a statutory consultation on plans for a taxi rank  at Canada Water to operate when the Night Tube service is running.