Thanks to East London Lines for their research on this. We had done quite a bit ourselves, but were stumped by being unable to come up with hardly any information on two of the candidates, Florence Noesesbe and Mendora Ogbogbo, whilst the other contenders hit the ground running with websites specifically devoted to their candidature. So we held back and hoped some other proper (albeit equally unpaid) journalists would do their job.
Twitter followers will know the results later today of whom among this all-women shortlist will be chosen to stand for Deptford when Dame Joan Ruddock stands down at the next general election in May 2015 (if the present government doesn't collapse before that).
Meanwhile, you can check out the East London Lines' round up to read the biographies, and if you're signed up to SoundCloud you can listen to them speak as well.
We hear that Vicky Foxcroft (top right) is favourite, but have very little evidence to go by except that she's made a good stand for Lewisham Hospital. Janet Darby's experience is in families and children, and she (top left) seems equally worth a vote if we had one, which we don't. These two are already Lewisham Councillors.
Catherine McDonald (bottom right) is a Southwark councillor with experience covering many issues. Florence Nosegbe (bottom middle) is a Lambeth councillor with experience in tackling youth crime. Mendora Ogbogbo's business is training people in how to do politics and influence policy at Westminster (top, middle).
We've recently been impressed by Paula Hirst (bottom left) whose experience is in regeneration and is the only candidate to respond to the news about Convoys Wharf, the largest ever private development to impact on Deptford. Not that an MP-in-waiting can influence how Lewisham Council allows 'regeneration' in Deptford to develop when decisions must be made this year, but at least she shows some recognition of the damage that can be done.
Update 4.45pm
Vicky Foxcroft selected next Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Lewisham/Deptford.
As part of the Love Your Local Markets Fortnight (and the Deptford 'regeneration' programme) Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency have been training up new street food traders, and they will all be trading on Douglas Square every Saturday (9am-3pm) starting on 18th May. The idea is to get a regular food court in the square, with somewhere to sit and eat, and make Deptford a food destination. (Click on the image to see the range of food stalls).
There will also be a live cooking demonstration by Nioamh Convery every Saturday at around midday (usually by or near Codfathers).
Closures planned across the capital include nine A&Es, a number of maternity units and thousands of hospital beds that will put lives at risk. Hospitals and community services are also threatened with take-over by multi-national private companies.
Join the demonstration! Saturday 18th May: assemble 12 noon Jubilee Gardens, Waterloo (Belvedere Road SE1) March to the Department of Health and Parliament
Organised by Keep Our NHS Public (KONP)
SAVE LEWISHAM HOSPITAL LEGAL CHALLENGE
The Save Lewisham Hospital campaign URGENTLY need to raise £20,000 to support their legal challenge to the government. Their judicial review will take place on 2 July. The legal action claims that the decision to downgrade and close
services at the hospital is unlawful as the Administrator’s powers (and
therefore the Secretary of State’s too) related to South London
Healthcare NHS Trust only and did not extend to the Lewisham Trust.
Their judicial review is complementary to the Council's judicial review.
Account name: Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign Legal Fund
Sort code: 089299 Account number: 65646357 Or send cheques to the following address:
Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign
Lewisham Pensioners Forum Office
The Saville Centre
436 Lewisham High St
Lewisham SE13 6LJ
Convoys Wharf has been in the news this past week as developers Hutchison Whampoa and architect Terry Farrell announced the submission of their masterplan to Lewisham Planning. Thanks to East London Lines who also covered the story for the pictures above and below from Farrells.
A puff piece in the Evening Standard's property pages failed to refer to a wholly critical Evening Standard article written by architecture journalist Kieran Long back in 2011. As campaign group Deptford Is... point out, much of the coverage was regurgitated from a press release. They highlighted Building Design's criticism that the development gives little back to the community.
Meanwhile, Paula Hirst, a regeneration expert who is one of the candidates selected by the Labour Party to take over from Joan Ruddock (results to be announced next week) wrote in Estates Gazette that "in developing a scheme that faces Canary Wharf rather than its hinterland, Farrell appears to be giving local people a clear sign that this is not for them...this is pure real estate development and represents everything that is wrong with our property industry...what Deptford needs is not more high-density housing in an area of existing high density, putting more pressure on existing infrastructure. What's needed is more open space, free to enjoy access to the river, and new employment opportunities that go way beyond construction." Read Hirst's article in full(or see Deptford Is... who have now republished the article).
The Grade II listed Olympia Shed is dwarfed at the centre of the development and is vaguely intended for retail use. When the site was the Royal Naval Dockyard (1513-1869), ships were built under its canopy (as well as in other docks on the waterfront) and floated out into the Great Basin in front of it and then into the river. In the new masterplan, the Great Basin will be a shallow water feature over half its original size.
Offal by name, awful by nature
From 1871 till 1914 the Olympia Shed was used as a Foreign Cattle Market, where over 4 million head of live cattle and sheep were landed and traded. A glimpse into that period can be had in Sarah Daniel's play The Gut Girls, presently being performed at The Space in Westferry Road E14 (a short hop on the DLR to Mudchute station).
The show runs till 25th May and revolves around five feisty Deptford women working in the gutting sheds of the Foreign Cattle Market. It was first performed at the Albany Empire in 1988, and has since been seen all over the world. In 2002, local theatre group Freakshow performed the play at Convoys Wharf itself.
The Foreign Cattle Market, 1872 (Illustrated London News)
Another local link...
This video promoting the British Lions 2013 rugby tour to Australia (that keeps popping up on the telly) features the team pretending to be the crew of the Endeavour on Cook's first expedition to the south Pacific ocean in search of 'unknown southern land' to echo the sporting challenge they are about to embark on. In reality, the ship in the trailer is most likely to be the Rose, a replica ship which was used in the film Master and Commander, which the advert also parodies. The replica ship is American-built and Russell Crowe tried to buy it after filming finished!
HMS Bark Endeavour was fitted out at Deptford in 1768. Cook's third voyage (1776-1779) was on HMS Resolution, which was also fitted out at Deptford, along with the most advanced navigational aids of the day. The dockyard was the epicentre of technological advance at this time.
Just a small part of the enormous heritage of shipbuilding at Deptford Dockyard that is being totally ignored by the proposed development at Convoys Wharf.
Local project Build The Lenox hopes to celebrate this history by building a replica ship in the place it was originally built – in a restored dock on the site. The dock in question cannot be built on so is presently included in the masterplan as a flattened park area. The Lenox has been chosen by the shipbuilding project because it is one of the few ships of this time for which all the plans and details needed to build it are available. It was also the first in a massive naval shipbuilding programme begun in 1677 which was managed for Charles II by Samuel Pepys.
The project wants to partner with other organisations involved in training and education, and also plans an interpretation centre that could become Deptford Dockyard Museum, as an annexe to Museum of London Docklands and Greenwich Maritime Museum, kick-starting Lewisham's tourism strategy for the only bit of Thames waterfront it has. Part of the Lenox vision also includes lobbying for the establishing of a Marine Enterprise Zone on the protected wharf on the westerly part of the site, which could provide further jobs and training.
Proper and full commitment from the developer to the Lenox Project and to the other local project, Sayes Court Gardens (which aims to create a public garden and research centre on the site of John Evelyn's 17th Century garden) to allow the projects in the places on the site where they are most assured of success is still waiting to be negotiated. Both projects offer extraordinary opportunities in modern and transferable skills training that go far beyond the developer's offer of jobs in retail and construction.
These projects need your support if you want to stop Deptford's "incredible history" (Sir Terry Farrell) being buried in a "millionaire's waterfront playground" (Joan Ruddock). Farrell said "we feel we have a scheme that strikes the right balance between respecting and celebrating the cultural heritage", but it would appear his only method for achieving this is by naming a 46-storey tower after Sir Walter Raleigh.
The Harp of Erin has seen better times. Full of history, it is now a pub that beer snobs Fancy A Pint and Beer in the Evening wistfully regard as one of the last pubs in Deptford High Street not worth going in (there is only one other, The Swan, whose Vietnamese owners don't have real ale on their agenda). The Deptford Dame, in her post Deptford pubs added to local listing shows "The Harp" appearing as one of many pubs the Council has identified to be added to a list of heritage assets to be protected.
It recently appeared on the market as a lease worth £24,000 pa with estate agents Cannon Kallar, but has been removed. It may be sold, under offer or temporarily withdrawn. A notice seen in a window of the pub suggests the game is on privately.
Since there would be no need to change the planning class of this premises to turn it into a BETTING SHOP, we think Lewisham Council and EVERYONE should keep a careful eye on this. Betfred is still waiting for an 'in' to the Deptford High St gambling enclave, and Paddy Power's recent takeover of McDonnell Racing is hardly making an impact (they can't be much pleased with looking like a likkle sweet shop opposite the church).
We'd like to point Lewisham towards the progress of Newham Council's present battle with Paddy Power. Newham refused Paddy Paddle'o'Shite a license on the grounds that the operator was making more money out of gaming machines than ordinary betting (which they are). But as usual, the £multi-billion gambling operator has appealed, so Newham is now facing a test case in the high court, the sort of case that Lewisham have hitherto avoided.
Crosswhatfields campaigned tirelessly against Betfred being the 8th bookies to enter Deptford High Street all through from Jan 2011 till June 2012, but the only thing that saved us was someone clever (but rather slow-acting) in Lewisham Council who came up with an old planning clause about the use of the premises. Let's hope The Harp is now equally protected.
Please read this timely article in The Independent by Mathew Norman which neatly sums up all we have fought over and written about over the last two years...(search 'Betfred' on this blog).
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