Greenwich Foot Tunnel to get makeover

There is nary an indie band that hasn't had a moody group shot taken inside the Greenwich Foot Tunnel at some point in their career. Those who grew up in Greenwich in the early 90s will have done well not to see posters for aspiring local rock-Gods Syntax, striking a pose against the steam punk backdrop. We Googled in vain for that shot.

But now, Greenwich.co.uk reports that the tunnel is to receive an £11.5m face lift.

The story contains no details about why the work is being done, what the changes may be or what disruption it may cause (we have written many times about the lack of river crossings on this side of town) but if it is for purely cosmetic reasons, then this would be a mistake. This article that appears elsewhere on the site is encouraging in this respect.

It may look like it's about to spring a leak at any moment it may feel horribly claustrophobic at some points, but it is iconic, characterful and should be cherished. If work needs to be done, let it be restorative and honour the current look and feel of the tunnel.

If a benefit gig needs to be arranged, we are confident that Syntax will be available at short notice.

Poo under review

We know that the BC community is currently busy analysing Lewisham Councillors' outside interests for evidence of why Brockley doesn't get its "fair share" of Council money, so we apologise for dwelling on the dog-poo stencil issue, but this is the last time we'll write about it for a while.

Earlier in the week, the thrust of opinion seemed to be:

1. There are too many of the dog-poo stencils on our streets
2. The dog-poo prevention strategy ought to focus a little more on punishing offending owners and less on punishing our pavements
3. At the very least, the depiction of an actual steaming turd was an unnecessary debasement of the public realm

Cllr Sue Luxton took up these points with the Council officer responsible and got this response:

When we get the new stencils done we can look at getting the poo designed out. I'll have to contact the Safer Neighbourhood Teams as I wasn't aware that they were spraying any stencils for us. When people have been spraying them on our behalf we have had the graffiti team go out and talk to them about how and where, including sensitivities, the stencils should be placed. I will however, talk to the graffiti team and ask them to be mindful of how many they are putting down in the conservation areas.

With regards to the Dog Control Orders, we haven't as yet implemented them but they will be published soon.

So while cynicism rages on other threads, it's nice to see that the Council is prepared to listen and respond to community concerns and that our Councillors are working to raise these issues on our behalf.

New Cross campaigners launch "Stop the Strip" campaign

A new website www.stopthestrip.org has been produced by the local group campaign against the White Hart pub operating as a strip club.

The group plan a major demonstration planned for the Friday May 22nd (6-9pm) outside the pub.

The Max needs you!

BC was in attendance at the Brockley Max team meeting yesterday. We'll report on planned events in the near future, but much of the conversation last night revolved around rallying support.

The enthusiastic team of volunteers, headed by Moira Tait, need your help to make the festival a success. By this we mean not only coming to events, but helping to get the word out to people, and sparing your time to make it all happen.

The team need more volunteers in the form of:

• Flyer distributors - if only just to do your street


• Raffle ticket sellers


• First aiders and litter pickers, for the larger events


• Potential event sponsors - local businesses and organisations


• Generally anyone who thinks they can lend a hand!

One really easy starting point is to join the Facebook group and invite your friends to it.

If you fancy putting on an event, and have yet to email the team, you've only got a few days left - email details to gill@brockleymax.co.uk.

For other enquiries, email Moira, moira@brockleymax.co.uk, or check the website. The next meeting is on Wednesday 6th May, 8pm at Jam Circus.

Cycle hire sites proposed near London Bridge and Blackfriars

The Guardian features a map of the London sites earmarked for cycle docking stations when the city-centre cycle hire system is introduced by Transport for London next year.

The map is based on this list, which includes sites on Tooley Street and Borough High Street, which will be handy for those arriving at London Bridge station.

Commuters arriving at Blackfriars will find a dock at Queen Victoria Street.

The Daily Mail v Deptford

We've been trying to summon the energy to write about this piece by the Daily Mail (which also ran in the Metro today) but we'll stick to a few basic observations:

1. They discovered this story several weeks after it had been dissected on the blogosphere
2. The trivialisation of knife crime is an interesting approach from a paper that sensationalised the issue last year
3. They ventured away from Kensington just long enough to photograph the High Street after the market had taken place, not long enough to stick around for the regular clean-up that follows
4. Fair play to Cllr Heidi Alexander for managing a decent quote

Anyway, back to forecasting the swine apocalypse.

Terry's All Locks (and shoes), Crofton Park

379 Brockley Road
SE4 2PH
Tel: 020 8691 0596

If the measure of a shoe repair shop is whether your shoes come back well-repaired, then this is a good shop.

They may have looked at us like we were asking for a spare part for our DeLorean when we requested the shoes be re-soled in leather and been pretty abrupt when we rang to ask whether they were ready as promised, but our shoes are now not-only leak-free, they have been given a new lease of life.

They also do locks.