Deptford Gardens Festival + Open House London at the Shipwrights' Palace

Two local events this Saturday 20th September:

Deptford Gardens Festival at Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden, 12-6pm
Celebrating all things green in Deptford, a day of music, games, performances and creative workshops. Assembly who run the garden are joined by urban fete & fun providers Madcap Coalition, plus gardeners from the Wonky Prong (Crossfields), Deptford High Street Community Garden (Coffey Street) and Sayes Court Garden CIC, the team hoping to build a Horticultural Centre of Excellence at Convoys Wharf. And...The Purple Ladies, Hula Hoop Workshops, Treehouse Art Lab Workshops, Ping Pong with Serve & Return, art installations, and pizza direct from the Assembly oven!
Entrance to the garden at Reginald Road

Open House London at The Master Shipwrights House, 10am-5pm
If you haven't yet taken advantage of the annual opportunity to have a look round this famous Deptford building, now's your chance. See this post from the Deptford Dame to give you an idea. The Lenox Project CIC put on quite a big show here last year with firing cannon, re-enactors and art stalls. This year they'll be exhibiting their restored cannon, providing tea and cakes and talking up their project – an added bonus for Open House visitors who will also be able to view plans and images of the Royal Dockyard in the riverside residence. Watergate St SE8 3JF. See the listing here.

Other Open House buildings in and around Deptford include Lewisham Arthouse, the Richard Hoggart Building at Goldsmiths College, The Seager Distillery Tower, the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, Deptford Green School, Deptford Lounge, and Fordham Park. 

Open House London gives public access to 800 fabulous buildings – both old and new – all over the city for one weekend only. Pick up a FREE brochure at Deptford Lounge.

FREE music and arts events this weekend

Fri 2 May 7.15pm O Brother, Where Art Thou? Old Police Station • 8pm Winged Migration Sanford Housing Co-op • 8pm The Naked City Gallop • Sat 3 May 10am Optical Adjustments St Nicholas Church • 1pm Ritual & Play Old Tidemill School • 8pm Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes Vinyl • 7.30pm Stray Dog Gallop • 8pm Grease Telegraph Hill Park • Sun 4 May 1pm Ping Pong Old Tidemill School • 8pm Owl & the Pussycat Montague Arms
freefilmfestivals.org/whats-on/new-cross.html

Friday 2nd May – Monday 5th May
Arthub presents 
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! 
Bank Holiday Charity Postcard Show, Silent Auction & Grand Raffle. Grand Opening Friday 2 May, 6-9pm
Silent auction continues Sat/Sun 12-5pm, Minimum bids of £20. Monday 5 May: one day sale 12-5pm, all available postcards £25. In aid of The Deborah Ubee Trust & The Ahoy Centre. Arthub Gallery, 5-9 Creekside SE8 arthubgallery.com

Saturday 3rd May, 1pm
'UTTER!' 
Misguided Tour of Deptford & New Cross with Richard Tyrone Jones
Award-winning poet and local resident Richard Tyrone Jones will mis-guide you through Deptford "in a fascinating FREE tour with some very quirky features. Myth or reality? Amazing tale or barefaced lie? Join him for a tour that will reveal Deptford in a totally new light..."
Meet at Sanford Housing Co-op, Cold Blow Lane, 1pm. Ends 3pm at the Albany, where Richard is taking part in the Crosswires Festival (see below). NB: Doesn't look like there's much Deptford in this piss-take walk?

Saturday 3rd May, all day
CROSSWIRES FESTIVAL
www.crosswires.org.uk/ 
A day of mostly FREE music at three Deptford & New Cross venues
12pm–3pm Deptford Lounge (FREE)
3pm–10pm The Albany (FREE all day)
3pm–3am Amersham Arms (FREE before 8.30pm)
An eclectic mix of the best in new and traditional music "in the tradition of the late John Peel's radio shows". Check out the great line ups at each venue on the Crosswires Festival website.

Saturday 3rd May, 9pm
KIMBER'S MEN
It's May Bank Holiday – traditionally time for South East Londoners to head to Rochester for the Sweeps Festival or Hastings Jack in the Green for a bit of paganism, folk music and morris dancing – and to celebrate the pride of the common working man. But the trains are all f**ked, so get a taste of these festivals on home turf with the best sea shanty crew in the UK.
Birds Nest pub

Monday 5th May, 12-5pm
GREENWICH FAIR
Locally organised bank holiday fair with a strong whiff of political activism from our posh friends across the Creek...
Greenwich Green ('by the Greenwich Tree of Life mural') aka Bardsley Green, 262-288 Creek Road SE10 9SW
keepthegreen.org.uk






NEXT WEEK...

Saturday 10th May, 10am-10pm
LEWISHAM ARTHOUSE OPEN STUDIOS
Over 30 artists studios (close at 8pm) • in the gallery: Painting, Smoking, Eating (group show) • café by GCDA • Cardboard Jungle workshop for kids • bar, drinks & DJ in the evening.
lewishamarthouse.org.uk 

Saturday 10th May, 7.30pm
EUROVISION PARTY
Hosted by drag queen Mrs Jonjo
Cry with laughter on the greatest night in European music (not!)
Tickets £5 (includes a drink) 18+ only, last entry 9pm
The Albany, Douglas Way SE8 4AG
www.thealbany.org.uk/event_detail/1203/Music/Eurovision-Party

Chinese New Year – The Year of the Horse

Deptford will be celebrating Chinese New Year this Saturday 1st February. We're told that from 12-1pm there will be Dragon Dancing outside the many oriental shops in the high street, organised by the shops themselves. Head for the north end of the street.

There'll also be a traditional Chinese Lion Dance in Giffin Square from 2.10pm. The dancers will then process with live music to arrive at the Albany at 2.30pm.

This short spectacle will end an extended lunchtime period of events in and around the Albany and Deptford Lounge (from 11am to 3pm), with Eastern cookery demonstrations, arts workshops and more. All part of the Albany's Yam Yam Festival – more details on the Albany's website.

Meanwhile, Chinese New Year festivities will take place in Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and Shaftesbury Avenue on Sunday 2nd February, 10am-6pm. See www.chinatownlondon.org

Thanks to blog.deparz.com for the illustration!

Local Christmas markets, Friday 6th – Saturday 8th

Art Hub Studios Art & Design Fair

Friday 6th December, 4-9pm

Saturday & Sunday 7th & 8th December, 12-5pm

Art Hub Gallery, 5-9 Creekside, SE8 4SA

Buy direct from the artists and designers: Textiles, Jewellery, Glassware, Furniture, Art, Ceramics, Prints, Hand-crafted gifts, T-shirts – plus mulled wine and music! 

FREE ENTRY

If, on a Winter's Day – Deptford Society Christmas Market

Saturday 7th December, 10am-4.30pm

Deptford Lounge, Giffin Square, Deptford High Street

The recently formed Deptford Society (sign up to their mailing list here) hosts its first event in collaboration with The Albany and Deptford Lounge. Featuring the monthly Giffin Square Food Fair, live music from Heart of Steel and Tidemill Academy school choir, performance art from Something Human, cooking demos outside Codfathers (11am-2pm) and interactive art installations along the high street.  

Plus local heritage project Build The Lenox will be showing off their restored 17th century ship's cannon, along with displays about Deptford's Royal Dockyard, 

the Deptford Shanty Crew will sing bawdy songs at 2pm, 

followed by talks about Deptford Dockyard from maritime historian  

Richard Endsor and children's novelist and black history expert S I Martin.

Also pick up a free glass of mulled wine when you join the Deptford Society!

Cockpit Arts Christmas Open Studios

Friday 6th December, 11am-9pm (FREE ENTRY), 

Saturday & Sunday 7th & 8th December, 11-6pm (£3 entry)

Cockpit Arts, 18-22 Creekside SE8 3DZ

165+ designer-makers, gifts, kids workshops, demonstrations, 

live music, mulled wine & festive fare.

More details at www.cockpitarts.com/shopping-events

APT Christmas Parlour

Friday 6th December, 6-8pm

Saturday & Sunday 7th & 8th December, 1-5pm

APT Gallery, 6 Creekside SE8 4SA

Drawings, paintings, prints & sculptures by APT artists + cards and jewellery

Little Nan's Christmas Market with Cocktails

Saturday 7th December, 12-6pm

Little Nan's Bar, Deptford Broadway

Featuring gifts, textiles, home objects, bags, clothes, vintage garb, hoodies & Ts, 

Little Nan's Hampers, plus cocktails & treats in the bar.

Coming up...

Deptford Wives Vintage Christmas & Craft Market

Saturday & Sunday 14th & 15th December, 10.30am-4pm

Albany, Douglas Way SE8 4AG

Ceramics, classy vintage items, jewellery, decorations, arts & crafts, leatherwork, T-shirts

Xmas Extravganza at New Cross Learning
Sunday 15th December, 1–7.30pm
Puppets, stories, Santa, jazz + surprise guests...and the NXL AGM somewhere in it all...

Herbal remedies from Sue Godfrey Nature Park at Deptford Lounge

The Bureau of Urban Wilds is an art project by Rebecca Beinart that was launched by Up Projects in July as part of their Secret Garden Project.

Rebecca held workshops that included making herbal remedies from the wild plants and flowers growing in the Sue Godfrey Nature Park right next to Crossfields Estate. Although we unfortunately missed the workshops, we caught up with her over the weekend in the Nature Park, and her "bureau" is now on show in the Deptford Lounge till the end of this week (Sunday).

The bureau is the culmination of the work she did in the park and at Creekside Centre, and you can find pots of remedies made in the workshops, along with a map of a walk she led around Deptford's green spaces, and other informative bits and pieces. Rebecca will be producing a recipe book of remedies gathered from Deptford residents and is inviting people to contribute via the bureau. If you have some favourite recipes (perhaps passed down through your family) why not pass them on?

When we found her in the park on Sunday, we learned how to make a remedy from the Hawthorn berry (good for regulating the heart) and Rosehips (a great source of Vitamin C), both of which are growing in abundance in the park right now. We tasted a lovely relish made of hawthorn berries, a gorgeous tasting Rosehip syrup, and had a tot of elderberry vodka (good for warding off colds) from elderberries harvested in the park over summer.

All you need is a little knowledge on how to recognise the edible (and free) seasonal ingredients that can be found in the nature park (it's berry time), plus some recipes and some patience, a mesh strainer, and honey, vinegar, water or alcohol to make either teas or delicious syrups and foodstuffs. Perfect for these austere times – and all on your doorstep.

Assembly Vote at Deptford Lounge TODAY!

Tuesday 13 November 

6.45-9pm Deptford Lounge

ARRIVE BY 7.45pm TO VOTE!

Update 10pm: 19 great projects were in the mix, and 180 people came to vote – by awarding each project a score on a scale of 0-5. Voting closed at 8pm, votes were counted and the results were announced just before 9pm. Nine projects were awarded funding. Unfortunately Crossfields was unsuccessful this time, although TRA Chair Tim had brought along a table-top ping pong table which kept some of the children at the assembly happily occupied for the last hour of the meeting whilst the votes were added up.

The top scorers were Deptford & New Cross Free Film Festival. They hope to stage their next festival in April 2013 and would like to stage an outdoor screening on Crossfields. We'd have to organise it but they would help with equipment and film licensing...So ideas for your favourite film, please!

Anyone for Table Tennis?

You'll have received a leaflet (we got two) about the New Cross Local Assembly Fund. Local projects and organisations can apply for funding. The funding applications are then voted on at an Assembly meeting.

Crossfields TRA has put in a bid to buy an outdoor Table Tennis table and needs your support. To be successful in getting the cash, they need the Local Assembly to vote in favour of the project – that means you! The more people who go along to vote, the more likely Crossfields can get its own outdoor table.

Please come along on:
Tuesday 13 November, 6.45-9pm at Deptford Lounge
Refreshments provided. Arrive by 7.45pm to vote (voters must be over 14).

If successful, the table would be situated between the ballcourt and the railway arches. The idea grew out of this year's Crossfields Festival where an indoor table was wheeled out to the Farrer lawn, and proved to be a huge success.

The outdoor table Crossfields is bidding for is made of reinforced concrete, built to withstand extreme weather conditions, constant use – and vandalism. Therefore it's a pricey £2,200!

Here's a mock-up of the table in the place it would be by the ballcourt...



There's more information about the New Cross Assembly here and you can see what projects have been previously funded here.

Win £100 worth of high street vouchers
There's also the opportunity to win £100 worth of high street vouchers by filling in the online questionnaire about local assemblies (you don't have to have attended previously but you'll have to give your name and address).

Deptford High Street improvements

We've been meaning to write about this for ages, but never got round to it: how Lewisham Council intends to spend the £1.5m awarded by the Mayor of London's Outer London Fund to make improvements to the southern end of Deptford High Street.

Now there's a drop-in event at Deptford Lounge on Wednesday 17 October (4-7pm) for you to find out for yourselves.

You can read more on Lewisham's website. Also see Deptford Dame and Brockley Central. On the council website you can also fill in a survey that asks "What would encourage you to shop more often at Deptford High Street and Deptford Market?" and, having declared that the anchor is to be moved from its present position, ends with the question "Where do you think it should go?"

The Deptford Dame says there is a very obvious place to put the anchor – in the new skate park at Giffin Square (the kids can skate around it). She also points out that the plans show some nice new low-level seating, so the drinking community will still have a spot to perch.

Whilst new lighting, better electrical connections, more trees and new drainage are all improvements to be welcomed, other plans may be less so. New paving will obviously improve the look of the place, but how many times must we get new paving, for it only to look dirty and terrible within a few weeks? Just look at Douglas Way now, it's absolutely filthy. The new paving in Giffin Square is already stained and never cleaned. And within days of being laid, new paving by the main road was being dug up by utilities whose obligation to return it as found was not enforced by the council with any vigour. Not to mention the paving already in the high street which has been filled in for years with tarmac by Lewisham themselves (as is most of the paving elsewhere in the borough).

And what is the point of new paving when there is no proper cleaning up (ie jet washing) after the three-day-a-week market? What is the point of new lighting when the lighting is never properly maintained? What is the point of new trees when they are left to die? (see Frankham Street).

Ongoing maintenance of the high street is sadly lacking. Fancy new stall canopies and outdoor art exhibitions are not going to hide the fact.

Another fine example of how all this new stuff just goes to wrack and ruin within months is Deptford Station, which some have said is "approaching dereliction before it is even fully finished". The spanking new surfaces are showing the results of six months of neglect, with dirt, dust and pigeon droppings, staining from spillages on flooring and glass, leaks in the roof, dead pigeon feathers, a shattered glass panel (due to steel tension rather than vandalism), a smell of fish, and the lifts stinking of urine (no toilets, alas!).

The rapidly declining state of the new station is thanks to Network Rail or South Eastern's neglect, rather than Lewisham Council's, but goes to show that without cleaning and maintenance, there's not much chance of new public spaces looking – and feeling – good for long.

Update 17/10/12 (edited 18/10/12):

From the mini exhibition this evening we gather that the team working on the Deptford High Street Improvement Scheme have given a lot of consideration to the issues raised above and in our comments section.

Some points to note are:

• The anchor will be moved from the top of the high street, but Giffin and Douglas Squares are not considered appropriate new homes for it since both are used (or will be) for the market and as event spaces. Due to popular demand, however, the "cherished landmark" will not be returned to Chatham Dockyard (from whence it came 20 years ago), but kept in storage until it can be accommodated somewhere. We forgot to ask where the "storage" is – it could well be Chatham. Not a very satisfactory solution for those who have come to regard the anchor as the only visible sign of Deptford's maritime heritage.

• The low seating featured in the architectural drawings will not go ahead. There will be no fixed seating since this attracts street drinkers. Never mind that the late night betting community are not worried about sitting down. The team are considering the idea of having a kiosk (or sort of pop-up cafe) that might sell hot drinks etc and which will have non-fixed seating that will be put away at night. Quite why anyone would want to sit outside by the busy A2 for a coffee is beyond this author. And where are they going to store the furniture? The bloke who runs the Wimpy wasn't too happy about the idea either.

• Some shop keepers who were concerned about losing much of their shop frontage as the market space is widened will be variously appeased. Some of the more historic shopfronts have been identified to receive improvements, though we're not sure what this means.

• The council have entered into a joint PFI (Private Finance Initiative) with Croydon Council which will involve the renewal of all street lighting in the borough and the long term maintenance of its lighting stock for 25 years.

• In a time of cost cutting, the chances of ongoing maintenance of new paving etc is too much to hope for. Since there is no money to maintain what is already in place, it is felt that this opportunity to renew the dilapidated street is better than nothing.

Other issues dealt with include business waste, parking, traffic flow, the market's future storage needs, and ideas for pulling in shoppers. A forum will be set up consisting of various stakeholders and residents.

The team are also working with the police, local organisations and charities to address the issues of street drinking, antisocial behaviour, betting shops, drug dealing and the alarming increase in rough sleeping and homelessness.

 

Paralympic Torch Relay comes to Deptford

On Wednesday 29 August, Paralympic Torchbearers will be coming through Deptford on their way to the Olympic Stadium.

The convoy is expected to arrive in Deptford at approximately 3.15pm. It will travel down Evelyn Street, turn right into Deptford High Street, left into Giffin Street passing Deptford Lounge and Wavelengths Leisure Centre. From there it will turn left into Deptford Church Street and will be handed to Greenwich at the junction with Creek Road.

There will be entertainment at Deptford Lounge throughout the afternoon. Full details of the Paralympic Torch Relay are being updated regularly on the London 2012 website.

Deptford Lounge Launch Week 1st–10th March

The Deptford Lounge has just announced a short season of FREE events in celebration of their official opening.

Describing the Lounge as "the new place to do more, think more and be more in SE8", The Albany (who are in charge of the Lounge) have programmed various dates that should appeal to a large range of tastes (mostly of a literary bent).

They are also inviting people to get involved by hosting a stall at one of the open days (notably, the Recognition Festival on 10th March). Contact Senay Gaul (the Albany's Administrative Director or Jackie Miller (from the Lounge) to find out more.

We're particularly excited that comedian and activist Mark Thomas will be reading from his new book Extreme Rambling on Thursday 1st March – entry is free but booking is essential. And on Friday 2nd March, for retro-pop fans, Deptford Film Club are staging a sing-along to the film Purple Rain which features Prince performing all his 1984 hits (again, booking essential).

There's also an event to mark International Women's Day on Thursday 8th March – The Deadly Dames Rewrite – with readings from Short Stack, a collection of new pulp fiction featuring heroines hell-bent on vengeance. Grrr...

The first event in the afternoon of March 1st marks World Book Day, with kids invited to meet best-selling children's author Steve Cole (3.30-4.15pm). On 2nd March, you can get a guided tour of the building, and on Sunday 4th March there's a Family Fun Day with crafts, poetry, storytelling and the chance to try out the fab software on the Mac computers. The last event on Saturday 10th is the Recognition Festival aimed at young people where they can find out about and try out the variety of activites on offer from local youth-orientated organisations.

For more info, download the e-flyer, or check out the launch events on the Albany website. The Lounge is also on Facebook and Twitter. Note that if you want to book online for Mark Thomas, Purple Rain, or Deadly Dames, you'll need to do a quick registration with The Albany first (otherwise call them on 020 8692 4446).

High Street Lament

One of our readers has been emailing us (and other bloggers) for a while about certain developments on Deptford High Street, which is, if you didn't know, a Conservation Zone. Listed below are some of the issues he has raised that counteract and negate all the efforts being made to rejuvenate our high street or honour the designation "Conservation Zone". Included at the end of the post is New Cross (also a Conservation Zone). The Queen of Shops, Mary Portas, could make a whole telly series out of it...


124 Deptford High Street (the old Job Centre)

Our reader's latest lament is over the plan for a massive Poundland at the old Job Centre site, which is currently being built by McDonald Egan. We first reported on the job centre redevelopment in August 2010 and later in July 2011, and the arrival of Poundland was confirmed in August 2011. It appears McDonald Egan could not find tenants for the two previously planned restaurant/bars and this was the best they could do. They always had the option for retail, covering themselves, since it was hard to imagine two restaurant bars competing with each other (though this is an ideal business model apparently – the more the merrier, competition and all that)...

Talking of which, with six or seven pound shops already this side of the railway, one would have thought greater efforts might have been made to attract a less downbeat retail tenant to greet visitors as they emerge from the brand new station in the not so distant future. As the Deptford Dame points out in her latest post, McDonald Egan threw in the towel before any of the new improvements (Douglas Way, the Deptford Lounge, Giffin Square and a brand new station) had begun construction – not to mention the potential Richard Rogers development at the Deptford Project... Read more in the Dame's post 'The Future of the High Street?' here.

Perhaps the developers think Poundland will trump all the other pound shops and run them out of business, leaving the way clear for some bright entrepreneurs to start new and interesting enterprises in their place. Joking (it is unlikely that McDonald Egan think beyond their bank balance)! But already, Seneer, who runs Danny's Pound Land further down the street, told the South London Press before Christmas that he was approached by Poundland to change the name of his shop – with a threat of trademark infringement!

Meanwhile our reader would like everyone to object to the nasty generic shopfront design proposed by Poundland which, if you've a mind to (as Dame Joan Ruddock would say) you can do here (application DC/12/79286/FT – deadline 20th March).

104 Deptford High Street / Giffin Square

Another proposal that has our reader in fits of despair has also been covered by the Deptford Dame recently. In this case a previously submitted and fairly attractive building design has been replaced by one of unutterable blandness, made more horrible by the inclusion of yet another mural by the awful Artmongers, who seem able to do no wrong with Lewisham despite their ghastly mural on Deptford Broadway. The development will back onto the fish shop on the corner of the job centre parade and face onto Giffin Square – so it will be quite a main feature in our enjoyment of the (yet to be finished) square.

Incidentally, the square itself was extremely compromised from its original design – an ampitheatre was envisaged but someone forgot to look into the major drainage problems, and even now, a BT phone box cannot be removed from the resulting compromise (sorry no drawings). We have never seen anyone in the BT phonebox (unlike the one down near Tescos which is used for smoking crack). Anyway, here is what was previously proposed for the new development overlooking the square:

Again, read more details in the Deptford Dame's post 'Giffin Square/104 Deptford High Street'. If you're in the mood to object, the planning application and drawings can be found here (application DC/11/78353/X).


Paving and shopfronts in the Conservation Zone

The main issue that drives our reader to the point of madness is what is allowed to happen to already existing structures in the high street – a Conservation Zone, remember.

For instance, street paving is dug up by utility companies and not reinstated properly (which they are obliged to do within six months but often do not). Soon after the York paving was laid at the corner of Douglas Way, Southern Gas had dug it up and filled it in with tarmac. OK, they've got time to sort it out, but other places such as on Tanners Hill have been unresolved for three years. There appears to be no enforcement and our pavements everywhere are a patchwork of tarmac where paving stones were once laid. Lewisham's reaction to uneven paving is TARMAC before any citizen falls over and litigation can be brought (see our recent post Filling A Hole).

Meanwhile, shopfronts are altered without permission, and guidelines drawn up to maintain the character of the high street are ignored by unscrupulous and uncaring businesses. The more often owners are allowed to get away with unauthorised alterations, says our reader, the more it will happen – making a mockery of the Conservation Area status.

The planning department have stated that "Taking enforcement action can be a long drawn out process and cannot produce ‘quick fixes’...It is not an offence to carry out development without first obtaining planning permission for it. In line with Central Government guidance – PPG18 entitled ‘Enforcing Planning Control’ and Circular 10/97... states that the Local Planning Authority should first attempt to resolve breaches of planning control informally through negotiation with the land owner or developer... The land owner or developer has the right to apply for retrospective planning permission. It would be considered ‘unreasonable’ to issue an enforcement notice (unless the development was about to become ’time barred’) whilst a planning application was in the process of being considered..."

It seems that enforcement might result in appeal with the possibility that costs may be awarded against the council for 'unreasonable' behaviour. There are loopholes in our planning laws that cash-strapped councils are unable to plug.

Paddy Power's alterations to the Deptford Arms is just one of many flagrant abuses of Conservation Area guidelines. In this case, "authorisation for the service of an enforcement notice is being sought". In the case of 37 Deptford High Street, which Abermarle & Bond altered before planning consent was granted, we are told that "informal negotiations are underway to resolve the issue" – in actuality, a "retrospective" planning application was submitted and approved after the alterations took place and before that statement was offered.

You may wonder in some cases, do our public servants have no backbone?  Our reader suggests there should be an "at risk" register for Conservation Areas like Deptford High Street, which, he says, faces a "slow and painful death" (presently, there is only an "at risk" register for specific buildings).

He would also like to see an "amenity group" made up of local people, who could contribute as a panel (expert or not) to advise against the sort of poor design that is proposed for Giffin Square and lobby on all sorts of fronts for a better environment. Perhaps it is only locals who understand the "essence" of what makes the area special, who "get" the gritty grunginess, yet still demand some standards to be met.

A difficult call. Why, for instance, insist on paving to be properly replaced when it is already stained to beyond buggery within a couple of weeks of installation by daily life and commerce and local business tenants and street traders who don't live here, who don't understand nor give a shit what mess happens outside their shop or after they have put away their stall. Go on, replace the paving and see how filthy the rest of the paving is in comparison and expose how it is NEVER CLEANED by the local authority, who will simply replace it all in ten years time when the big funding comes round again.

Rumour has it the lovely paving we were given for the south of the high street, what, 10 years ago (?), now pockmarked with tarmac and filthy as hell, is to be replaced by new paving, courtesy of a big grant from Boris (watch this space or the Deptford Dame for news), and rumour also has it the rest of the high street may get paved with money coming from a Convoys Wharf deal (no way!).

What's the bloody point of all this new paving when utilities dig it up and aren't fined, and traders don't clean up after themselves, and the local authority NEVER washes it. How do we compare to most European cities? Surely we can find a solution (including a cleaning solution that works on York stone) that allows real life to take place and makes housekeeping easy? Despite this local authority neglect, can the problem be solved with Pride?

Back to that picture of the tarmac outside the new barbers (above) – look at the walls, the shop keeper can't even be arsed to finish the paintwork they started, but the inside sure looks nice. Perhaps, with many of the high street's shops being run by people from places like war-torn Afghanistan among other life experiences, this is not surprising. In this case it was quite amusing to see the outside being painted in darkness (with no street light – there has been no proper lighting here since the square renovations started two or three months ago) in order that they could open on the day they'd chosen at the beginning of December – much like the much wealthier Abermarle & Bond (who met their own target a month before they had official permission to).

Can Pride can be tackled at all, as long as south of the railway Deptford High Street is part of New Cross Ward, and the north is part of Evelyn Ward? Presently there is a Divide and Rule democratic status in Deptford and this cannot help it help itself. How can the street have a strong identity when it is administered in this way, in two halves? And where is our Town Manager? (Answer: Cut, a year before The Cuts).

The areas mentioned above are in New Cross Ward, and with its local police stationed in New Cross Gate (as rarely seen as the cops in the north of the street who are based in Surrey Quays), it seems pertinent to mention another area that is sadly lacking in charm, despite the efforts of quite a few individual businesses to breathe life into the area...

Finally, New Cross Road...

In addition to the issues raised by our reader, we were drawn to Brockley Central's recent post regarding the pitiful state of much of the property on New Cross Road. The culprit here is not a faceless anonymous owner but possibly the single largest owner of property in SE14 – Goldsmiths College, who are failing miserably to maintain the many empty buildings they own on the main A2 road and roads off it. The entire area along the main road is a Conservation Zone.

Says Brockley Central guest poster, Isobel, "all the efforts made by the Council, local businesses and community groups to regenerate New Cross are effectively being undermined by this neglect". She's started an e-petition to pressurise Goldsmiths to do something about it. Sign the petition here.

Perhaps "our reader" needs to do the same – start a petition to save our high street?

Soft launch for Deptford Lounge

The Deptford Lounge opened its doors to the public today and Tidemill Primary school began a new term in brand new facilities. The excited screams of the children could be heard two streets away as they explored their fantastic new playground, whilst students of further education settled down to study quietly in the new library.

The two computer suites (including Apples Macs) were also almost fully occupied and coffee and snacks were being served from a kiosk in the main area. The children's library area is substantial (we wonder how noise will be kept to a minimum when that is fully utilised since it does not appear to be screened off).

Public access to much of the building is restricted. We joined founding members of the New Cross People's Library on a tour upstairs with Lounge staff, where we saw spacious meeting rooms and got a glimpse of the top floor open air ballcourt. We were unable to see the new hall (with its large picture window opening out onto Giffin Square) and the studio space on the first floor since these areas are to be used by the school until 4.30pm every weekday.

A view of the old Tidemill School from one of the meeting rooms. With the prison-like outer-casing of the building blocking some daylight, the room was illuminated by sensor operated indoor lighting.

A Lounge staff member shows ex-Crossfields residents and founding members of New Cross People's Library, Kath Dunbar and Jill Hart, a quick view of the ballcourt on the top floor.

The hall, studio space and meeting rooms are for hire at times when the school is not using them, as are the ballcourt, a jamming suite, a food technology suite, and a dining hall and kitchen (that lead out onto a generous roof terrace). Meeting room hire fees start from £18 an hour, whilst the main hall has a capacity of 190 people and costs £60 per hour. 320 people can be accommodated in the hall and studio combined at a fee of £100. Other hire fees can be obtained by emailing thedeptfordlounge@lewisham.gov.uk or pick up a leaflet at the library.

The school, we are assured, is being charged a "fair rent" for its use of this brand new community facility, now that it is an Academy. The kitchen appeared to be not up and running today however – we spied the children being served sandwiches and fruit.

The Deptford Lounge is expected to be officially opened in February by which time it is hoped that the new Giffin Square will be completed (along with a levelling of the tarmac on the road that surrounds it).

Meanwhile, the Lounge will now be open every day except bank holidays from 7am-10pm Monday to Friday and 7am-7pm on Saturdays & Sundays.

Drawing by PTE Architects

Delays in Lounge and Tidemill School openings

The Deptford Dame reports delays in the opening of the library in the new Deptford Lounge building. Originally it was due to re-open tomorrow. Staff at Wavelengths told us this is due to a problem with the under-floor heating, which had to be re-dug up...You can still use Lewisham Library or renew online at www.lewisham.gov.uk/libraries, or phone 0208 314 6399.

In a great example of Localism – getting information from the horse's mouth, in the total absence of any news from the council itself – staff also say there is a delay in the refurbishment of the old library which is to become a massive gym, and confirm that there will be no cafe facilities (so no Starbucks). The good news is that for those who don't qualify for a Lewisham Plus Card, membership will now be more flexible (not tied to a 12-month contract), and will give access to other facilities in the borough.

The Dame also reports the delay in the opening of Tidemill School as an Academy, resulting in a scandalous alternative for parents, who will be asked to pay £100 a week to place their kids on a playscheme whilst the school closes early for Christmas to facilitate the move to the new building. The story was reported in the Evening Standard, the South London Press and by local campaign academies.sayingno.org. Parents believe that if the school were still under local authority control, free child-care would have been provided. A bullish chairman of governors, Keith Geary, said "there's no obligation for us to provide this service."

This is typical of the attitude of the Tidemill Academy governors, some of whom have no links with education at all. Crosswhatfields recently caught a glimpse of the new facilities at the new site, which look fantastic. Geary and his like would have us think these facilities are part of their Academy vision, but in fact they are intrinsic to Lewisham's vision for the area that involve the old school site being redeveloped, with the building of 400 flats due to start in 2012 (bringing the total number of new homes planned for Deptford to around 6,500).

Wavelengths Library closure

Those who use the library regularly will know already, but those who pop in occasionally may not...Wavelengths Library will be closed from 5pm tomorrow for five weeks, whilst it moves to the Deptford Lounge to become a "new state-of-the-art district library providing a whole range of community facilities".

We have no news of the official launch of the Deptford Lounge, but library staff told us they plan to re-open on 31st October and if you borrow anything today or tomorrow it will be stamped 31st October (although you may return it to any other Lewisham library before then).

The Leisure Pool is also due to close at some point, but we are assured the Training Pool will remain open throughout these changes.

Deptford Church Street accident zone

Marmoset reported on 28 April about a van running off the southbound carriageway, damaging the pedestrian railings and the wall in front of Castell. Since then Castell House residents have witnessed two more accidents, one again on the southbound road involving a car and motorcyclist, the other on Saturday being a collision of two cars on the northbound road that ended up with one car stuck in the middle of the two carriageways.

It appears that none of these accidents have been caused by what one might consider to be the main hazard presenting drivers at the present time, which is the closure of Giffin Street. Drivers coming from Deptford High Street heading for Lewisham would normally drive down Giffin Street and turn right at Church Street. Now they are forced to turn into Frankham Street, whereupon they must turn left into Church Street. They are then doing a U-turn at the T-junction to get into the southbound lane. If it is not causing accidents, it is certainly causing hold-ups.

The following pix show two vehicles doing U-turns, the first of which doesn't quite make the turn and holds up southbound traffic while he backs up, straightens up and speeds off. The white van makes a tighter turn. Northbound traffic behind them in the farside lane would normally have to watch out for the nearside lane drivers who, if not turning left into Giffin Street will often try to undercut them to avoid the bus lane ahead of them. Now the farside lane are pulling out to undertake the U-turners.

What a flippin' mess. And all in aid of that nasty nickle-plated cheap-looking blinging blot on the landscape, the monstrous Deptford Lounge...(see Deptford Dame's latest post on that horrible building here).

 

We recently saw Lewisham's plans for the area in an architect's model on display at the Deptford station public consultation exhibition. It showed Giffin Square paved over across the high street end of Giffin Street, traffic presumably re-directed via Frankham Street, but er...no change to the junction arrangements at Deptford Church Street...

Paving stretches across the entrance to Giffin Street.

In this plan, the square closes off the road.

In this one, the central reservation of Deptford Church Street has been altered 

so that the junction is now at Frankham Street. 

It would appear then, that the newly paved Frankham Street is to become a busy main access route to Deptford High Street, not a quiet parking zone. (Note in the above plan the route of the bike path (green line), coming down Giffin Street and diverting north along Church Street and then east via Bronze Street – not then, running down through Crossfields, as has been proposed).

These plans have all come from the "Deptford Town Centre" page on Lewisham's website, where you can download the displays from their February 2010 exhibition. If anyone knows what's going to happen that actually makes any sense, please do tell.