Convoys Wharf update – sign the petition!

Last week the decision on planning permission for Convoys Wharf was taken out of Lewisham's control when the Mayor of London stepped in at the developer's request.

Now that locals can no longer make their objections to the application, local campaigners Deptford Is have set up a petition to give a voice to the community so that we can let Boris know that we don't want this. 

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND SHARE THE LINK WITH FRIENDS.

See Deptford Is... and local papers. Also read this week's Private Eye (click on the image below).

BACKGROUND INFO

Heritage versus housing

Deptford's MP Joan Ruddock, in response to the Boris decision to "call in" the application, has described the site as "a heritage jewel in London's crown". The site is also of international significance, which is why the World Heritage Fund saw fit to include it on their Watch List for 2014-2016.

Boris's glib soundbite to news reporters was that "London needs more housing". Don't be fooled by the notion that London's housing crisis can be solved by the building of 3000 more luxury flats.

Originally, the percentage of "affordable housing" in new developments was set at 50% by Ken Livingstone. But most developers now claim that their sites are not "viable" (= massive profits) unless they deliver affordable housing at below 15%. In the Convoys application it is 14% – an extra 500 units at 80% market rent (still not affordable to the people who keep this city running), bringing the total to an impossibly dense 3,500 units.

It is also feared that, like other major new housing developments, the units will be sold off-plan to foreign investors before going on the market in the UK. Overseas investors currently earn enough from the rise in property values they needn't even bother renting their units out to those who can afford the high rents.   

The developers and Boris

It's feared Boris will look favourably on this application, despite the GLA's own reservations to it in their report to Lewisham Planning (in particular from Transport For London).

The developer is Chinese conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, one of many holding companies owned by the 8th richest man in the world, Li Ka Shing. He also owns major utilities in water and power (ie, UK Power Assets who run much of the National Grid and London's power), fracking (via Husky, causing community uproar in Canada) and telecoms (3G and others – and they're currently being 'investigated' by the EU on their recent purchases of telecoms in Ireland and Italy), as well as major British container ports (see June 2013 post).

Boris Johnson has recently been courting Chinese trade. David Cameron is due to visit China next month "on a trade mission" and Li Ka Shing has been spotted in and out of No.10.  Boris is also mates with Rupert Murdoch. (Thanks, Transpontine). Having sold the site to Hutchison Whampoa, News International has a profit share in the sale of the 3000 luxury flats planned for the site.

And this week the PM launched the Regeneration Investment Organisation Advisory Board (RIO), "an inward investment body" with the aim of raising billions of pounds from overseas trading partners to "fund urban regeneration projects". Sky News reports, "Its remit has been borne out of a frustration expressed by many major overseas investors about the bureaucracy and complexity of finalising major deals in the UK". Like Hutchison Whampoa, for instance, who accused Lewisham Planning of making "unrealistic demands" and "unreasonable and unwarranted requests" that would damage their profit margins.

Lungs for the City
 
The application proposes to build over almost every inch of the historic site, which was founded in 1513 by Henry VIII as the home of shipbuilding for the Royal Navy (the Royal Dockyard that, along with Woolwich dockyard, preceded the grandeur at Greenwich).

To get an idea of the density, have a look round the development at New Capital Quay. That's 1000 flats with a ground space a third of the Convoys site. Imagine that x3. To get an idea of heights, look at the tallest tower at the new Renaissance development in Loampit Vale – that's 24 storeys, half the height of the 48 storey tower proposed at Convoys (the other two being 38).

Convoys also contains the remains of Sayes Court Garden, where John Evelyn's innovative horticultural theories were developed and  which led to the founding of the National Trust. It was his theory that trees are the lungs of a city.

Considering the latest reports by the No To Silvertown Tunnel campaign, in which it was revealed that pollution levels at the end of Deptford Church Street on Creek Road have been breaching European limits for nitrogen dioxide for more than eight years, his advice is worth remembering more than ever. (Thanks, Deptford Dame).

Especially since Hutchison's plans include parking provision for 2000 cars (all housed in the giant blocks of housing units) that will cause ever greater pollution and congestion on Evelyn Street. The only public transport will be a diversion of the 199 bus and a Thames clipper, putting greater strain on existing services. And don't forget the ten years of construction traffic.

In an ideal world, the entire Convoys site should be planted with trees just to make up for the new IKEA being planned to go on the site the award-winning Sainsbury's eco-building at Greenwich peninsula, which will draw in traffic from miles around to unprecedented levels. (Thanks, 853 blog).

But Hutchisons were arguing over the necessity of widening New King Street to accommodate the bus making a two-way journey.

A people's history

The history of this site is amazing – it features loads of important historical figures (Drake, Raleigh etc), was the launch pad for some fantastic scientific discoveries (Cook, among others), and was built and designed by many celebrated pioneers in engineering and shipbuilding (Rennie, Penn etc), as well as being a place where ordinary people who worked in and around the dockyard have fantastic stories to tell (female shipwrights, black and Asian sailors), that were never recorded by Samuel Pepys who ran the yard for Charles II.

So much of Deptford's history has been buried and ignored (perhaps because of the shame of slavery), it is bursting to come through and speak to us. The site is monumentally multi-cultural – with links all over the world – as much as Deptford is now.

The archaeology

Many of the site's surviving below-ground structures (docks) will be buried under dense 12 storey blocks and 38-48 storey towers. The one remaining above ground structure, the Olympia Shed, will be overshadowed and hidden from view by the buildings closely surrounding it. You'll only be able to glimpse a small part of it from the river. Hutchisons were rejecting English Heritage's demands to open the view up.

The plans have been opposed by English Heritage, the Council for British Archaeology, the Naval Dockyard Society and other heritage bodies – not forgetting, of course, the local people who will have to live with ten years or more of building works and construction traffic.

The public space provision in the present application is laughable – a thin strip on the riverside and two strips on the sites of an historic dock and slipway, which are only not being built on because they're "protected". They could actually be listed by English Heritage, but not until the full archaeology report made by a commercial arm of the Museum of London which (had to be) commissioned by the developer has been published. It hasn't been published yet, despite the archaeology work being long completed – although not as thoroughly as it could have been (there is, according to Deptford Is, areas of the site yet to be uncovered).

English Heritage have recently listed the remaining walls on the site (including the river walls), which must make it the longest length of listed Thames wall in London. Meanwhile, with no full report, the archaeology of the site is not "fully understood". It would therefore be premature for the Mayor of London to make a decision until this report is published.

Local campaigners have emphasised the heritage of the site and how it can open up a tourism strategy for Lewisham, bringing in visitors from Royal Maritime Greenwich. Unfortunately, the owner of the site is so fixated on the simple formula of selling luxury waterfront residential units that it cannot envision the advantages of owning a site of world heritage – and the capital value that would add to a smaller number of units.  

Deptford Is are also advocating that an area on the site designated by the Greater London Authority (GLA) as a "protected wharf" (to be used for river business, very often simply cargo) should be developed as a Maritime Enterprise Zone incorporating boat building and repairs and other associated marine business that is presently lacking in this part of the Thames and which would bring great employment opportunities.

But this is strongly opposed by the developer, who will more than likely lobby the GLA, with Cameron, Osbourne and Johnson's help, to change the designation so that it can build even more luxury flats.

If you care about Deptford, you must sign the petition! This application must be opposed so that a better proposal can come forward – one that combines housing with a full appreciation of the site's heritage.

Update 18 Nov:  also see the Deptford Dame's take on the Mayor of London's new role in the process.

 

Loving the river...

Last chance to see Estuary, an exhibition at the Docklands Museum (or Museum of London, Docklands), just a hop away on the DLR (West India Quay) or an easy walk or cycle ride via the Greenwich foot tunnel.

If you love the River Thames, this is for you. It's an art exhibition about the Thames from London to the sea, and there are paintings and photographs, but actually, it's the films that make the entry price  (NONE! It's FREE!) alone worth going. The most engaging films are on the 3rd floor away from the main exhibition. Called "Portrait of a River" you'll find a series of short films all made by Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen, which bring contemporary life on the Thames into sharp focus, in contrast to a more historical but also engaging film downstairs by William Raban.

Larsen's series of films are unpretentious and not at all "arty" and Deptford gets a mention with a little film about the Ahoy Centre's activities, but don't expect much about south of the river. Our time is coming (or at least it's nearer than it ever was).

The Museum is also housed in a restored warehouse, and worth the visit alone. Around and about, you'll see construction in the area continues unabated, with more towers going up (and luxury flats sold off-plan before a single piece of concrete has been laid).

This show finishes next weekend (27th October), so don't miss!

Meanwhile, a new show opens at the National Maritime Museum on Monday: Nelson, Navy, Nation  The Story of the Royal Navy and the British People, 1688–1815. It's the 18th Century, and the exhibition explores "how the Royal Navy shaped everyday lives as it became a central part of society and turned sea-faring heroes into national celebrities."

The Fall of Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Denis Dighton circa 1825 © NMM

It opens on Monday 21st because that's apparently Trafalgar Day. Obviously we'll reserve judgement having not been privileged to preview the show, but on the main webpage for the exhibit, there's a link to "bustling dockyards" and it doesn't go to Deptford, but to a picture of Plymouth. Doh! What is wrong with these people? Oh well, Deptford wasn't the only Royal dockyard, of course. It's just simply the most forgotten. What a scoop they missed! Still, if they've managed to conjure up any atmosphere regarding dockyard life, you can apply it to Deptford.

The good news is this is also FREE! And on Monday, if you're about, there's a Sea Shanty crew The Scorpian Band promenading around 11am, 2pm and 3pm. There are also a host of other free activities going on for the duration of the exhibition (no idea when it ends) and of course there's lots more exhibitions and events going on at the Museum other than this one – for instance, the now permanent show Traders: the East India Company and Asia which, in our interpretation, shows us how capitalism took root after the state sponsored piracy of earlier years, and whose practices are easily recognisable in 21st capitalism, proving history repeats itself to our detriment...

To get a flavour of the Nelson, Navy, Nation exhibition check out the video at the BBC News Magazine. The video ends with Cleverley's painting of Deptford Dockyard (the one that is pictured in the mural at the top of Frankham Street) and the words: "in order to understand where we are now and the particularities of our relationship with the maritime world – and with national identity – you cannot ignore what was happening then".

Deptford on telly!

We just got a ''newsflash'' from Deptfordis about the Convoys development's appearance on BBC television news.  Apparently it's only available to see before 6:59pm this evening (Sat, 19 10 13) so if you can, have a look here.  I'm sure it will find its way onto Youtube but for now....

Two new musical projects to get involved with...

First up, it's the FEMALE UKULELE CLUB (or FUC for short!). Meeting next Tuesday 5-7pm in The Bird's Nest for some informal uke practice. No experience required – except you'll need to be female and own a ukulele!

Meanwhile, a DEPTFORD SHANTY CREW has just been formed, aiming to be "salty sea-farin', knees-up East Endin', all inclusive, non-exclusive, homespun, raucous fun". If you're into singing, especially folk tunes about Deptford, get in touch with the Crew via DeptfordShanty@gmail.com.

Deptford Anchor spotted, among other things...

This is where the Deptford Anchor is, and where it will probably stay.

It's in the Oympia Shed at Convoys Wharf, courtesy of Hutchison Whampoa. Covered in cobwebs and pigeon shit. Why?

The council officer in charge of regeneration of the high street told us over a month ago that it will probably end up being 'part of a new development' – so here it is, in the hands of the least likely people to care about the history and heritage of Deptford, but who have probably got the best security.

The anchor's safe here, that's for certain. This place is so secure that visitors to London Open House at Convoys Wharf on Saturday had to SIGN IN with an exact time, and stay within the bollards and not stray off-piste or else they'd get a severe telling off, and then SIGN OUT with an exact time when they left.

That was apparently due to Health & Safety, yet not every visitor was given the flyer that carried the disclaimer that Convoys Wharf Properties and Hutchison Whampoa had absolutely nothing to do with you breaking your leg crossing the massive blue electrical cable that crossed the bridge to the pier where you could buy coffee and tea (and not much else) off a sole trader for £2 a hit and imagine what it would all be like when built.

Probably not very nice, since the imaginary tall buildings behind you might triple the wind factor on the pier. Oddly, we tripped ungainly on the electrical cable cover, which was exactly where the outgoing and incoming Directors of Hutchison Whampoa Properties European Division (Messrs Benyon and Hayden) spent most of their time on site....both armed with cameras, taking pictures of each other to pass the time on their trip hazard watch.

The signing in and out for visitors was probably very useful for Hutchison & Whampoa to claim they had completed yet another public consultation and be able to give figures, whilst manipulating all the actual consultation they did.

For instance, they asked visitors what we would like to happen in the Olympia Shed as though they had no ideas of their own. They did have some ideas, but as we understand it, English Heritage have firmly suggested the fabric of the building cannot be interfered with too much, although this wasn't fully explained. This is almost the only bit of the site they are not allowed to build on (so far), but now they've been told they can't turn it into the glass palace they envisaged last time round.

They intend to make a profit out of it somehow, so God knows why they were asking Open House visitors, who may be less likely to offer up the sort of ideas that could come from others less interested in architecture, such as a duplication of the Millennium Dome (cinemas, music venues, restaurants). Open House visitors might have chosen more heritage-related ideas, but we shall never know, since even when you put your name down just to be updated, you never are.

Here's a grumpy Henry VIII looking to get arrested...

 

Bill came over from London Open House at the Master Shipwright's House to have a gander and frighten the developers. (For a report on Open House at the Master Shipwright's go to Deptford Is...). Bill was part of the original campaign against excessive redevelopment at Convoys that began as soon as the previous owner Rupert Murdoch began putting in plans, that culminated in 2005/6 with Murdoch selling the site to Hutchisons. Deptford Is... are continuing Bill's and others' work through the Build The Lenox and Sayes Court Garden projects.

Here's a NEW misleading model of Terry Farrell's masterplan for the redevelopment of the Royal Dockyard of Henry VIII that was on show at Convoys Wharf. Note the weird disappearing 48 storey building which for some reason is totally see-thru and almost invisible. Do they imagine we will not note its presence when it is built? 

The other two 38-storey buildings are about seven times the height of Crossfields. This is not about providing more much needed housing for London. These are luxury homes. Are there not plenty of them already?

Deptford's FUTURE gets a preview at London Open House weekend at TWO venues

At the Waiting Room coffee house this afternoon some contractors acting as representatives of Convoys Wharf S.A.R.L. (a company registered offshore to avoid tax and legislation) AKA Hutchison Whampoa, popped by to put up a poster about their London Open House day.

After they'd gone, the cafe's lovely proprietors added their own hand-written flash "Check out the development that will affect your area".

It's very kind of Hard Hat to tell us about this, after all, they didn't have to. Surely they don't really want us locals to come to their open day anyway cos otherwise they'd have done a bit more than put up  a poster up in a coffee house.Why not leaflet our doors, surely they could afford that, what with their owner, Li Ka Shing, being the 8th richest billionaire in the world.

Take heed. This may be the last chance you, Deptford citizens, will get to physically view the models that accompany the proposals for Convoys Wharf which currently reside with Lewisham Planning and are due to be decided by the end of this year. (There is still time, then, to add your comments, despite the premature deadline given earlier this year). Please do! Tell them how deceptive their models are! Tell them what you feel!

There will be an Open Day at Convoys Wharf this Saturday 21st September, 11am-5pm. You can go onto the actual site (something you're never allowed to do at any other time) and view the plans concocted by the architects Farrells (the same Terry Farrell who created the MI6 building at Vauxhall, aha). The plans have not changed much since the last exhibition which we reported on in March (see bottom of this post for more Convoys related posts), and you can still view the plans in the Deptford Lounge or online.

But this is an opportunity to get on the site and IMAGINE the 12-18 storey buildings, topped by the 48-storey tower that is accompanied by two 38-storey towers. For reference, the nearest tall building is the new one at Paynes & Borthwick Wharf right next door. That's 18 storeys. If that's not tall enough for you, there's Aragon Tower further down at Pepys Estate, that's 28 storeys (whilst Eddystone & Daubeney are 24). So! twice the height! IMAGINE!

Imagine being surrounded by buildings like we are on Crossfields but with every building being two to three times as tall and then also, nine to ten times as tall. And only 14% of them being "affordable".

Find it on the Open House website here. It seems to have disappeared from the 'Lewisham' listings (which includes Lewisham Arthouse, Glass Mill Leisure Centre and 8 more), so don't search for it by borough! Find it in our own special section: Deptford.

MEANWHILE...RIGHT NEXT DOOR...ALSO PART OF LONDON OPEN HOUSE

Master Shipwright's House

Find it here (listed under Greenwich and Deptford). Sat & Sun, 10am – 4pm
NB: Access may be restricted at Watergate Street by gas works being done for Paynes & Borthwick Wharf. Access also possible via Deptford Green. All complaints:
United Construction.

Next door to the Convoys Wharf site is the 16th century building (later modified in 1708) that was once part of the King's Yard and overlooked the Double Dry Dock. Both were built in 1513 on the orders of King Henry VIII to create the Royal Naval Dockyard which went on to build ships for war and empire (and empire-related piracy), as well as science and exploration, that made Deptford an amazing hub of industry and technology, of making and manufacturing, for four hundred years.

The Master Shipwright oversaw the ships being built in the Double Dry Dock. If you want to know why the building was separated from the yard, come and visit. There'll be plans and photos on show, plus some extras – because this year is the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's founding of the Royal Dockyard. 

On Saturday at the Master Shipwright's House, there will be cannon fire on the hour and costumes in the morning, historians and artists who love Deptford, the actors from Horrible Histories will be on call – and to complement the masterplan delivered by Convoys Wharf next door on the site of the King's Yard, there'll be presentations by the locally grown projects that have found a way to bring Deptford's heritage into the 21st century, namely Build The Lenox and Sayes Court Garden, both of which look to the future whilst taking inspiration from the past, and which, they believe, have a road map that the developers and council should start taking seriously as an alternative to the profit motivated luxury flats plan.

The problem is that Hutchisons (for short) want to sell off individual parcels of land and these home grown projects (Lenox and Sayes Court) really don't fit with that, especially since they need to be situated on the tiny and only bits of open public space left that won't be built on. Both projects have the blessing of English Heritage and the National Trust, but are Hutchison's listening?

If you believe in history that lives in the present, rather than in road names and the names of luxury towers, come and visit the Master Shipwright's House. If you visit the Convoys Wharf exhibition first, why not go on to the Master Shipwright's House and tell them what you thought. And vice versa.

See the Deptford Dame for a review of the last time this building was part of Open House (2010).

Here is a great resource for the government's Made In England campaign durind the Olympics, and number one is Heritage. King Henry VIII. How on earth can Deptford Dockyard be left out of this?

Also see:

June 20: crossfields.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/convoys-wharf-update-planning.html
June 23: crossfields.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/convoys-wharf-update-is-hong-kong-model.html

Thames Festival kicks off with the Great River Race, Saturday 7th September

If you're up in time, jump on the DLR to Island Gardens and walk or cycle along Westferry Road to the Docklands Sailing & Watersports Centre and Millwall Slipway to catch the start of the Great River Race. Mudchute & Crossharbour DLR are also nearby. Participants will be gathering from 9am, and the 21-mile race upstream to Ham starts at around midday.

Alternatively, nip down to the riverside at Pepys Estate and Greenland Dock or head up to Tower Bridge. You'll also be able to see the race from any of the bridges along the Thames.

www.greatriverrace.co.uk
www.thamesfestival.org

Tall ships at Greenwich

If you were wondering what all those fireworks in Greenwich were in aid of last night, rest or not assured you can hear and see them again tonight and tomorrow at 9.15pm down at the Old Royal Naval College.

They're part of the 'celebrations' for the "Return of the Tall Ships".

More fireworks will be staged in Woolwich over the weekend. Check the Greenwich Council website for details of day and evening entertainment (+ grand finale on Sunday eve) and the opportunity to tour the boats for free.

The main website for the ships is Sail Royal Greenwich which gives the impression it's a corporate jamboree. Tickets are available to the public as well – at 60 quid per adult (there are concessions) for a two and a half hour cruise, but there's a £20 surcharge to take the VIP evening cruise with the fireworks which includes a buffet dinner.

The corporate sell on Sail Royal Greenwich makes you wonder where all the money is going... Perhaps to pay for the preservation of these wonderful old ships? A clue comes in the hard-to-find sister website Sail Training International, a registered charity that aims to aid the development and education of young people through the sail training experience, regardless of nationality, culture, religion, gender or social background.

Meanwhile, enjoy the tall ships! And the fireworks!

Update 30th August:
We took a rather more cynical stance when we first posted about the fireworks (we wondered who was paying for them), but then decided to delete our negative comments and leave it to 853blog to dig the dirt. Sure enough, both 853 and Greenwich Phantom have questioned and commented on the role of Greenwich Council in this event. The Phantom also advises a better view of the fireworks from Island Gardens.

Photos by PaulHP and Damien Burke

The story of the clocktower

Removal of the Deptford Dockyard clocktower to Woolwich for repair in 1983, 

later given to Thamesmead town centre in 1986 © Deptford Forum Publishing

Since the recent removal of the Deptford Anchor was met by cries of dismay by some Deptford citizens, we resorted to Jess Steele's Turning The Tide for historical account. Alas, no mention of the anchor, but something as, or perhaps more, relevant...

"From a window of Daubeney Tower on Pepys Estate in 1981 you could see Rupert Murdoch's empire expanding in old Deptford. The 18th century storehouse, built around the original storehouse of Henry VIII's Deptford Dockyard, was being demolished to make way for more low-rise warehousing for Convoy's newsprint importers.

In a glorious position on the old building, looking outwards to the river and inwards towards Deptford, was a clocktower. Known locally as Nelson's Clock, it had survived all the upheavals of the 19th century, remained a landmark of the Foreign Cattle Market, and even graced the road transport depot which had replaced the market by 1931.

The clock cupola was saved from being pulverised, in the general demolition, by the GLC who had it removed first to Woolwich for repair, and then in September 1985 to the Ranger's House on Blackheath for £60,000-worth of restoration.

Just a few weeks before the abolition of the GLC in April 1986, Deptford's clocktower was donated to what the Mercury optimistically labelled the "exciting town centre at the vibrant focal point of Thamesmead".

The clock was described by a GLC spokesman as "a landmark for the people of Thamesmead to remember us by". He did not list the landmarks by which the people of Deptford would remember the GLC: Pepys, Trinity and Sayes Court Estates, the decaying Crossfield and the stolen Albury St cherubs. Instead, in response to the campaign by Rev Graham Corneck of St Nicholas' Church, and Deirdre Wood, GLC councillor for Greenwich, County Hall said: "Our plans to give the clock to Thamesmead went through several committee meetings and we heard of no objections. The people of Deptford did have their chance."

If the people of Deptford were used to dealing with committee meetings and massive bureaucracies, we would have caused havoc in the planners' offices long ago.

The clocktower in its Thamesmead location looks like any other shopping centre feature. It has no plaque saying where it comes from, no date to give shoppers an idea of their privilege; if asked most would probably say it was a reproduction. Deirdre Wood asked Ken Livingstone for an agreement that "if Deptford were in a position to put the clock back on one of its buildings, we would be able to have it back". Are we ready yet?"

This was written in 1993. Twenty years later, on April 16th 2013, the "Deptford Anchor" went to Convoys Wharf to be stored. No one seems to know if it was ever part of Deptford, but a great many acknowledge its powerful symbolism. Will it stay there?

If we got the clocktower returned from Thamesmead, shouldn't it go to back to its original place in the Dockyard? Or perhaps both historic items could grace the brand new development at Convoys Wharf, to be dwarfed by 3,500 (mostly) luxury flats and three tower blocks (up to 42 storeys), in a "new town centre"?

Or perhaps the clocktower could come back and be repositioned in place of the anchor, in the present town centre (actually not the original high street, which was in Church Street, how far do you want to go back in Deptford's staggered history?), and be guarded in the same way the clocktower in Lewisham town centre is.

If you were to open a can of beer at Lewisham clocktower right now, a neighbourhood constable would quickly appear to stop you and take your drink from you. It is one of those zones where you're not allowed to drink on the street. As is the designated zone in Deptford High Street where the anchor used to stand...

Extract from pp 222 & 223 of Turning The Tide, A History of Everyday Deptford by Jess Steele, published by Deptford  Forum Publishing, 1993.

The clocktower at Thamesmead (Wikicommons)

http://crossfields.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/goodbye-to-anchor.html 

The anchor's temporary home...

Thanks to a tip-off from a local who watched the 'Deptford Anchor' being transported away from its mooring in the high street, another local tracked it down this morning to its temporary resting place – in a newly erected compound behind the high street. (Thanks to David for the pic)

Update: We visited the compound this afternoon and found the anchor locked into a digger. A site foreman from Maylim (the contractor working on the high street) told us it will be moved to Convoys as soon as possible since although it is worth very little as scrap, they are concerned for its safety and the security of their compound.

See our previous story on its removal.
Also see the Deptford Dame.
Plus, the Newshopper has a quote from a spokesman – "While a decision is made about the long-term location of the anchor, arrangements have been made for temporary storage at Convoys Wharf, this being one of the few places it can be stored due to its size and weight." Not so heavy that it couldn't be lifted by an ordinary JCB telehandler though!

Meanwhile, see this post from Old Deptford History to see what used to be at the southern end of the high street...the remains of which are probably still there underground.

Goodbye to the anchor!

Apart from a blown up photo of a 1757 painting by John Cleverley the Elder on a wall behind the high street, only seen by those using Frankham Street carpark, the anchor at the top of Deptford High Street has been for the past 23 years the ONLY visible reminder in the town centre of Deptford's immensely rich maritime history. Originally located in Chatham Historic Dockyard, it was installed in 1990 when the high street was last given a makeover, and has become a famous and much loved symbolic landmark for many Deptford people.

There would be no World Heritage site at Greenwich to speak of if it weren't for the shipbuilding and its attendant business that went on at Deptford since King Henry VIII established the King's Yard (now Convoys Wharf) exactly 500 years ago. In fact this year Deptford should be celebrating this history, not demolishing the last visible reminder of it – but it would seem Lewishame couldn't care less. Even the National Maritime Museum cannot bear to acknowledge Deptford as its precurser.

Unfortunately, the anchor has also been linked to the street drinkers who have long been drawn to it as a gathering place. It's not the anchor itself that drew the drinkers (not that they didn't love it as much as the rest of us), but the low wall the anchor was placed on – not only a convenient seating area within spitting distance of the shop selling 80p cans of Tenants Super but also in full view of drivers traversing the A2. A natural theatre for the dispossessed that perhaps made them feel real and visible (all too visible for residents and businesses next to the anchor), this was also the site of a public convenience many years ago that attracted a similar clientele.

In the new £1.5m refurbishment that is taking place in the high street, the anchor was somehow considered part of a problem that perhaps has more to do with the proliferation of betting shops and the above mentioned historical precedent. Why not just get rid of the seating area if you want to make these people invisible? Lewisham did their usual sham consultation back in October, announcing they were moving the anchor, and asking locals "Where do you think it should go?"

Lots of excuses have been made for why the anchor could not be situated elsewhere in the environs of the high street (apparently it's too heavy!), and now it will go into "storage". Firstly we were told it would go back to Chatham Dockyard, but now we hear it will be stored at Convoys Wharf. Fencing went up around the anchor at the beginning of this week, and then today it was unceremoniously removed, leaving a pile of rubble and cobblestones.

There was lots of talk among locals about saving the anchor, but it seems no one managed to get a campaign off the ground that might convince Lewisham to keep it. Not that they would have listened. Local photographer Ben Graville snapped the anchor's removal and has an album of photos of the goings on at the anchor on Facebook. We've also rounded up a couple of anchor memories...

© Ben Graville

© Andy Worthington

Christmas 2012 at the anchor (one of many). See the story on East London Lines  
© Lene Wold

Deptford Anchor Yarn Bombed by Knitzy, September 2010 © Jay Dee. See knitzy.blogspot.co.uk

Katie Gilman's Pink Anchor, a big favourite at Deptford X 2007 © Katie Gilman

Simon Bee's design for the Deptford Bags Company which emerged last summer. The bags are still available at Deli X for £5. ©Deptford Bags 

Of course, it'll be a while before Google update their Street View, so if you miss the anchor you can always find it on Google Maps (along with the less missed Peacocks!). And here's the only town centre reminder left of Deptford's maritime past...(see our post from March 2010).

Of course there are subtle reminders of Deptford's history everywhere in the form of place names and the like, if you choose to seek them out. Actually, there is one other historical seafaring reminder in the form of Mickhael Chemiakin's bizarre sculpture of Peter the Great that can be found down by the river at Millennium Quay.

© CarolineLD 

Perhaps the anchor may be seen again, with a similar backdrop of luxury housing, at Convoys Wharf? See Caroline's Miscellany for her post on Peter the Great – and also her post about the anchor and its symbolic connection to Deptford's links with industry and slavery.

Update 15th April: The anchor moves round the corner...