TfL rules out Lewisham Way Bakerloo station

According to 853, TfL has ruled out the idea of incorporating a St John's or Lewisham Way station into the Bakerloo Line extension to Lewisham, which will open next decade.

I had no idea this was even thought a possibility, but now it isn't. Which makes more sense. However, 853 notes:

[TfL says] that existing plans to build stations at New Cross Gate and Lewisham will provide sufficient coverage for nearby areas of Deptford and Brockley.

But, according to its latest consultation documents, TfL is now considering building a station at Bricklayers Arms on the Tube extension, which would run from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham with two stops on the Old Kent Road and one at New Cross Gate. This follows two local petitions in the area.

TfL also says it is confident the existing bus interchange at Lewisham will be able to cope with the new route. TfL has been responding to issues raised in a consultation carried last year into the extension, which looked at station locations, sites where tunnelling shafts will be located, and plans to have the tracks run as far as the current Lewisham Council depot at Wearside Road.

Bricklayers Arms needs all the help it can get.

For the full details of what isn't happening, click here.

Thanks to JPM for the heads-up.

Soc seeks ten to tend St John's strip

Chairman of the St John's Society, Roger Lewis writes:

One of our Society's planned projects is to turn the unkept section of land on St. John’s vale, adjacent to the station car park and below Cliff Terrace, into a landscaped green area. 

We are now in a position to apply for a licence from Network Rail to care for the land, but before we can do this we need to be clear that we have a large working group of volunteers to sub-manage this on behalf of St. John’s Society. 

This may include residents in St John’s or in Brockley generally, and will include a small time commitment of a half-yearly meeting, working days to work away on the site and also planning, design and health and safety matters. 

If you have green fingers or organisational skills and wish to be involved, please reply to this email or email me directly (rogeroliverlewis@gmail.com). 

We can only move forward if can find ten volunteers to steward it through to completion, so please if you wish and have the time and resources to make a contribution, get in touch!

Ashmead School expansion plans revealed

A visualisation of the Lewisham Way elevation

The application for the expansion of Ashmead School is now available on the Lewisham Council website. The proposal is for:

"Construction of a three storey school building (use class D1) at Lewisham Way frontage of Ashmead Primary School, Ashmead Road SE8, to facilitate an increase from 1 to 2 forms of entry, together with removal of existing front boundary wall, creation of new entrance from Lewisham Way and associated landscaping and fencing and alterations to external play space."

The proposed building is big (doubling the school's capacity to help address the area's desperate need for more places) and the Lewisham Way access will mean the loss of the small area of green space on Lewisham Way. As a consequence of this incursion, The St John's Society is opposing the scheme in its current form. They say:

"As part of the plans to double the size of Ashmead School, the small public park on Lewisham Way shall be absorbed into the main school site and form part of the school’s new Main Entrance on Lewisham Way.

"Concerns about child safety aside, given Lewisham Way is one of the busiest and most polluted red routes in the Borough, should Ashmead become an academy then this land would be privatised and lost from public ownership forever (academy schools can become limited companies, and the Governing Body would then be free to sell this valuable land for any price it wished)."

Local residents have until January 3rd to comment on the plans. Click here to review the application.

Number 50 Friendly Street, Friendly Street

@BrockleyCentral a new shop serving coffee, treats and bites has opened in St Johns/South Deptford. Worth a mention! @no50friendly pic.twitter.com/fNln4oeszR

— Tom Forman (@TomFormanUK) November 1, 2017

Exit Swiftkill, enter Number 50 Friendly Street. Opening next week, the replacement for the pest control office promises to be a classic cafe, with plenty of tea and cake.

St John's is a relatively untapped market and this spot, overlooking a park and just up the road from a primary school, is a promising location, with little nearby competition for nice places to sit.

DfT muses on Cannon Street, Victoria or Charing X-only service for South Eastern trains

Joe writes:

The DfT has launched a consultation about South East London train services and seems to be suggesting that the routes through Lewisham and Deptford might in future only terminate at Cannon Street although very little detail is given. The document says:

"There would be a limit to the improvements that could be made to the timetable without also reducing the number of central London stations served from certain locations at particular times. An example might be for all Metro services on the north Kent (between Dartford and Charlton), Greenwich and Bexleyheath lines to terminate at Cannon Street only.

"We believe that the simplicity of a regular service to a single London terminal throughout the day would benefit both regular and occasional passengers. A simpler service can help deliver a step-change improvement in the punctuality of both Metro and Mainline services. We are aware that losing direct connections to particular central London stations has the potential to inconvenience a number of passengers, by requiring them to change their usual journey patterns."

This obviously has some major issues if you don’t pay for the tube. It could significantly add to journey times travelling from Cannon Street to Victoria and put a lot more pressure on TfL There is aconsultation Sat 1st April 10:00-13:00 Lewisham Glass Mill Leisure Centre.

Thameslink works cause St John's headache

Martin writes:

We are having a nightmare in St. Johns with the ongoing railway work. Network Rail have converted the woodland area opposite the station into a works depot for the broader Thameslink project. They have done this without planning permission and consultation.

For those of us living around it, it has become a noisy sometimes 24 hour nightmare. What’s more, they seem to now be extending their depot by constructing new permanent buildings.

This photo shows the currently muddy works deport, complete with the foundations for new buildings that do not have planning permission despite needing it as we are in a conservation area.

Living with the has been difficult over several years and they have partly destroyed the woodland area that makes Cliff Terrace such a special street. We understand that the work has to take place and that it will ultimately benefit everyone, but we are tired of the every expanding, unpermitted work they are doing on our street.

What makes it even more difficult is that our local labour councillors seem to completely indifferent to the difficulties we are experiencing. We are a small community have been imploring them for years to help us, but they just talk about the issue and deliver nothing. They have been aware of the work since before it has started, and have been involved, but have proved completely ineffective in dealing with network rail.

This is a plea to our local councillor Sophie McGeever and Lewisham planning department to help address these problems. We want the work to stop and we want the area to be properly replanted.

The Brookmill pub & kitchen, 65 Cranbrook Road

The Brookmill pub in St John's is now open. Looks great. Click here for details and let us know what you think in the comments below.

 Enjoying opening night at our new neighbourhood local, @thebrookmillpub pic.twitter.com/5jCzKgYqGL

— David Green (@itsdavegreen) August 30, 2016

Brookmill Pub reopens on August 30th

The Brookmill Pub on the St John's / Deptford border will open its doors on August 30th. They are planning to open to minimal fanfare, with a view to staging a proper launch in September.

The pub has undergone a major refurbishment from its new owners (who also run The Great North Wood in West Norwood). They promise it will be "a community hub offering gastro food and drink, served in a cosy environment." They say:

Chef Olly Marlowe previously of both Michelin-starred The Glasshouse and Chez Bruce, food will be the star of the show. The menu itself celebrates classic pub grub with The Brookmill’s signature twist. Expect dishes like ham hock and gruyere pie with onion purée and roasting juices and Roast cornish cod with ‘nduja risotto, salted almonds, aioli and pecorino.

Proudly served and supported are craft beers from neighbouring breweries such as Brockley Brewery, The Kernel Brewery and Brick Brewery. Natural and organic wines come a little further afield from Davenport Vineyards in East Sussex who pride themselves on a no nasties product. Coffee comes from local roastery, Volcano Coffee.

The pub will be dog-friendly and make the most of its garden, which will feature a mural displayed in partnership with Deptford Does Art. A small programme of events is to be announced after opening.

The Brookmill offers membership for locals looking for an extra bang for their buck. Claim redeemable points on every pound spent at the pub plus a free meal on your birthday.

Sign up via the landing page on the website.

The St John's Manifesto

Oliver Lewis writes:

'On Thursday 22nd September at 7.30pm the St. John's Society and Vicky Foxcroft MP are hosting a rail summit to tackle the Pandora's box of issues emanating from our rail service at present. Eg. the 8.03 service from St. John's was on time just 11% of time over the past three months; seldom a day goes by when there isn't something wrong.

All welcome - the venue is St. John's Church on St. John's Vale - and feel free to comment on our list of objectives below'

- Renewal of signage at the entrance to the station. This is within SouthEastern's powers to rectify.

- Installation of new and extra seating along the full length of the platform. This is within SouthEastern's powers to rectify.

- A revised time table that runs to schedule. This is unacceptable and we would like a public statement from the management of SouthEastern setting out their action plan, with SMART objectives, to address this performance and improve it by the end of the year. This is within SouthEastern's powers to rectify.

- Further information on the reasons why the station car park was closed abruptly and without consultation, and a guarantee from Network Rail that this asset will not be subject to sale or development. This is within NR's powers to rectify, but SouthEastern has been unimpressive in defending its passengers' interests.

- The reopening and restoration of the waiting room. This would require the enclosure of Network Rail equipment stored in the waiting room, and support and funding from SouthEastern. With consent from NR this is within both bodies' powers to rectify.

- Painting of both sides of the rail bridge above St. John's Vale. This is a Network Rail asset and is owned by them. Two years ago the then community affairs manager for NR advised the bridge was added to an asset repainting register. We have since learnt it has been removed from this. We would like to know why it was removed, when it will be put back, and have a binding pledge that the bridge will be repainted on both sides within 12 months. This is within NR's powers to rectify.

- Community adoption of land adjacent to station car park. This small patch of land is a terrific eyesore lining the main road through the conservation area; its fence is damaged, the land is used for fly-tipping and is overgrown with brambles. We would like to explore adopting the land, turning it into a shared space cared for and used by the community. This is within the powers of NR to rectify.

- Disabled access. This is a long term objective but we would expect a feasibility study to be undertaken at the earliest opportunity given the enormous increase in passengers using the station since 2010. This is within NR's powers to rectify.

Brockley CPZ plan rejected but go-ahead for St Johns

Last November, the Council launched a large consultation, covering multiple areas of the borough, proposing Controlled Parking Zones, including one that would have radiated out from Brockley Station and another to cover the whole of St Johns.

The Brockley consultation produced an 80% "against" result, and the official report comments that:

"The only streets in favour were Coulgate Street, Jeavon Mews and Meadows Way; however, these results each represent only one or two responses from each of these streets. Jeavons Mews does have a response rate greater than 10%, which would normally meet the criteria for a CPZ, but, given that this is based on only one response, no CPZ option is presented for this street.

"A high number of responses (361) were received from outside the study area. The majority of these were from streets adjoining the study area expressing concern that, should a new CPZ be installed, they would be impacted by any displacement of parking."

Although there are some real issues with parking in streets around the station, a CPZ always looked like a sledgehammer to crack a nut and, given the problems that the Council's other CPZs have created, this result is thoroughly unsurprising.

However, the Deptford South (St Johns) consultation, which produced a response rate about half that of Brockley's, came down in favour of a CPZ, with 53% of respondents supporting one. An overall majority is enough for the Council to trigger a CPZ.

As a result of these votes, the Council decided on April 25th that no CPZ would be implemented in Brockley, while a new CPZ will be introduced in the whole of the Deptford South Study Area and be extended to include Somerset Gardens.

Thank you to Rhymer for the prod.

Two new hangouts on the horizon

Brockley's bumper year of new openings looks set to continue. Gerri writes:

"The cafe on the corner of Tyrwhitt Road and Lewisham Way [which enjoyed a brief life as a pop-up furniture shop that never opened] is tantalisingly close to being finished. Builders say two to three weeks 'or maybe four'. [Typical] Decor is top notch, beyond what is required/expected to make it pleasant. Was trying to take a sneaky pic but got busted."

Meanwhile, I've just been invited to a hard hat tour of The Brookmill in St John's (65 Cranbrook Road), ahead of its opening later this month. Owned by the same pub group as The Great North Wood in West Norwood, the team have got ambitious plans to turn it into something very cool.

Coming soon: The Brookmill

Via the Deptford Forum, the new team in charge of Deptford boozer The Cranbrook reveal themselves. They say:

We’re super excited to announce that The Cranbrook is under new management. Undergoing a complete refurbishment and re-brand it will re-open as The Brookmill pub and kitchen in Spring 2016!

The plan is to create a relaxed, family and dog friendly pub serving great beer and classic pub dishes. At the weekends we’ll be doing brunch, Bloody Mary’s and Berocca (to nurse any foggy heads). And on Sunday’s, the roasts will be our pride and joy and take over the menu – we can’t wait for you to try them. Live entertainment, film nights and supper clubs are also in our plans.

The menu will feature the classics; braised beef & ale pie, beer battered haddock & chips and sticky toffee pudding (To. Die. For). However, with a team of chefs who’ve worked at some of London’s finest restaurants, including Terroirs and Racines, the menu wont be restricted to classic pub fayre. It’ll be free to roam in whichever direction, creating an exciting, and ever changing menu!

When it comes to the bar, sourcing the best local ales and supporting craft breweries is our mission and our passion – the stock will rotate with the best of what’s on offer. The wine racks will be full of delicious, natural and organic wines from our favourite supplier, Les Caves de Pyrene.

In time for summer, we’ll re-open the secret beer garden (a total suntrap!) for BBQ’s, beers on ice and table tennis.

We’re determined to create the ‘local’ you want, so to help us do that, we’ll be seeking your feedback, thoughts and opinions. Look out for tasting events, hardhat tours and lots more on our Twitter feed @thebrookmillpub or ‘like’ our Facebook page @thebrookmill.

To get an idea of what The Brookmill might be like, you can take a look at the Great Northwood (thegreatnorthwood.co.uk) in West Norwood. Nick Willoughby and his team refurbished The Great North Wood in 2013 and it’s now time for project No 2, which is really exciting!

St John's reborn

The gentle folk of St John's have a new champion. Roger Lewis from the reborn St John's Society writes:

At an AGM held last Wednesday, a new committee of eleven was elected to lead a revived St. John's Society for the next year. Several members of the original Society - established back in 1997 to fight a plan by Lewisham Council to concrete-over the local duck pond - continue on the new committee and provide much-needed historical knowledge. The longest serving resident at the AGM had lived in St. John's for 57 years, the shortest just three months!

The main emphasis for 2013-14 will be on tackling fly-tipping, campaigning for improved roads and pavements, and various community activities - carol singing, 'picnics in the park' and any other bright idea that's suggested. A flier will be distributed to every household in September giving further details for the Society's growth - in the mean time, and if anyone wants to get involved as an active member, please email the new Chairman, Roger Lewis (rogeroliverlewis@gmail.com).

A website and St. John's Directory will be created in due course; as well as a welcome for new residents in its geographic focus: inclusive of all households between Brookmill Road and Lewisham Way, the railway embankment at the far end of Albyn Road, and Lucas Street.

'Play While You Wait' at St John's Medical Centre

St John's Medical Centre has launched a ‘Play While You Wait’ programme, which will help kids waiting with their families at the doctor to take their minds off things with a series of activities, led by the team from Tea Dance for Little People.

The programme was piloted in November and is funded by the Lewisham Central Ward Community First panel. It began in the February half term and will continue every Tuesday until the end of March.

Colin Stears, the Management Partner at St Johns Medical Centre said of the project:

"Visiting the GP can be quite daunting for children.  By working in conjunction with Tea Dance for Little People, we are trying to put them at ease whilst educating them at the same time. We hope all our patients will appreciate a brighter waiting room and the opportunity for our young patients to have specific activities to occupy their time whilst at St Johns"

The programme will be expanded to other surgeries in the Lewisham Ward, pending a successful second grant from the Community First panel.

Thameslink builders are noisy neighbours for St John's residents

Network Rail is currently reconfiguring the rail and making changes to the bridge around St John’s railway station, in order to include an additional line to increase train capacity on the Thameslink network.

As a result of the construction work, many residents have been affected by noise and vibration.

Lewisham Council reports:

Public meetings were held on 18 October 2012 and 29 November 2012 chaired by Councillor Vicky Foxcroft, where Network Rail and representatives from their contractors, Joan Ruddock MP, Lewisham Council and Lewisham Homes met to listen to and discuss resident concerns. A number of issues were raised by residents, including:

- predicted noise levels over the rest of the works programme (which is taking place up to June 2013),
- removal of plants/trees along the rail banks
- the impact of a new permanent equipment and signalling building not previously detailed
- lack of communication/engagement by Network Rail with residents.

Network Rail undertook to ensure that where enhanced glazing has been offered, to the worse affected properties, that they would facilitate the installation to be in place by Christmas. Some residents that have been affected severely by noise have been offered a temporary relocation package over the Christmas period by Network Rail. Lewisham Homes undertook to carry out a structural survey of the homes it manages in the affected area and this is now underway.

Noise and Vibration monitoring on and off-site is being increased and improved. The vibration monitoring report based on the Contractors recordings taken on the night of 16/17 August 2012 is also in the documents section below.

For more details about the issue, including how to submit feedback if you have been affected, please visit the relevant section of the Lewisham Council website.

The Cranbrook

The Cranbrook
65 Cranbrook Road
SE8 4EJ

Please post your reviews of this St Johns pub here.

Read the News Shopper's purple prose-laden review here.

St Johns Nearly New Sale

Cynthia writes:

The St John's Baby and Toddler Group, a playgroup run entirely by volunteers twice a week at St John's Church on Lewisham Way, is holding a nearly new sale on Thursday 12 July between 9.30am and 11am. As well as the Sale there will be a play area with toys and play equipment to keep the children entertained and a cafe with tea, coffee and cake for sale to keep the parents refreshed!

Anyone wishing to sell can purchase a pack of seller tickets, price up their items and bring them along to St John's Hall where they will be displayed together with other items for sale.

For full information and details of how to get hold of tickets, please email: saintjohnsplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Parents can drop off the items the day before at the Wednesday playgroup session.

St John's Baby and Toddler Group, Lewisham Way

Cynthia, Chair of St John's Baby and Toddler Group on Lewisham Way, wants to give us due notice of their nearly new sale on Thursday 22 March between 9.30am and 11am.


As well as the Sale there will be a play area with toys and play equipment to keep the children entertained and a cafe with tea, coffee and cake for sale.

She says:

We are always keen to see new families and carers bring their children along to the Wednesday or Thursday playgroup sessions. It's a relaxed, friendly atmosphere with plenty of dads as well as mums; we start at 10am and have free tea and coffee, with singing and fruit for the children. It's very hands on with parents and carers helping out to make tea, arrange craft activities and tidy up at the end of the session.

If BC readers are having a Spring clean and want to clear out clothes, clean and safe toys, books, coats, jackets, nursery and baby equipment or maternity wear they no longer need why not come and make some money by selling them at our sale - we are opening up our 'sale by ticket' system to non-playgroup members.

There are no tables for hire. Instead anyone wishing to sell can purchase a pack of price tickets, price up their items and bring them along to St John's Hall where they will be displayed together with other items for sale. Tickets are removed at point of sale. Once the Sale is over all the tickets are carefully sorted by seller and totted up. Monies due will then be paid to each seller. Each seller needs to buy a sheet of tickets, which costs £2.50 for 20; you then fill in the tickets and securely attach one to each item. In addition to the £2.50 cost of the tickets, the Playgroup will keep 20% of the amount of takings over £20 for each seller.

Proceeds go to the running of the playgroup.

 For full information and details of how to get hold of tickets, please email: saintjohnsplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk

St Johns Station car park closures

Thanks to Cllr Foxcroft, for sharing this news from Southeastern Trains with us. The closures should have some knock-on effects on parking in surrounding streets:


As part of the Thameslink Programme, Network Rail is carrying out essential engineering work in the vicinity of St Johns Station between March 2012 and June 2013. At certain times it will be necessary to close this car park to allow works to be undertaken.

Closure of the car park will take place between the following dates

-  00:01hrs on 13th January 2012 to 11:59hrs on 29th January 2012
-  00:01hrs on 9th March 2012 to 11:59hrs on 11th March 2012
-  00:01hrs on 30th March 2012 to 11:59hrs on 6th July 2012

Southeastern and Network Rail apologises to local residents and rail users for the inconvenience this may cause and would appreciate their assistance by ensuring their vehicles are not parked in this car park during above dates. Should it become necessary to remove your vehicle, this will be carried out at the owners risk and cost.

If you would like to know more about our work and how you might be affected we will be holding a residents’information drop in session.  The team of experts who are working in this area will be available to answer any questions you may have.

The event will take place on Thursday 5 January from 3pm to 7pm, at St Johns Church, St Johns Vale, London SE8 4EA on the corner of St. John's Vale and Lewisham Way– see map below).

In the meantime if you have any queries about the Thameslink programme, please don't hesitate to contact the Network Rail 24 hour National Helpline on 08457 11 41 41.  Alternatively please email us at thameslink@networkrail.co.uk.

Google recognises the eXistenZ of St Johns and Honor Oak Park

Brian O'Blivion: The television screen is the retina of the mind's eye. Therefore, the television screen is part of the physical structure of the brain. Therefore, whatever appears on the television screen emerges as raw experience for those who watch it. Therefore, television is reality, and reality is less than television.
- Videodrome

With over 90% share of the UK search market, Google dominates the way in which people learn about you. So it has irked many that Google Maps has for years been telling everyone that Honor Oak Park was where St Johns should be.

Well the team behind Brockley Market weren't going to stand for it any more and employed some dark arts (they asked Google nicely) to have that wrong, righted. Here's the new map. We're going to ask them if they'll consider throwing a border around Greater Brockley.