Zheng He-re
Honor Oak Sainsbury's approved
A planning application to allow Sainsbury's to open a "Local" format branch in Honor Oak has been approved.
The development will replace three individual units on the Honor Oak Park parade.
Minutes from the relevant Council meeting can be found here. Thanks to the good people of the Honor Oak forum for keeping us posted.
[Usual full disclosure: Brockley Nick works for a PR agency that does some (unrelated) work for Sainsbury's]
ParaLewisham
Dani sent us this and says:
"Shout going out!! Here's a photo backstage after members of the Lewisham Choral Society performed at last night's Opening Ceremony."
Happily, no-one from Lewisham has yet claimed any connection with the Olympic Closing Ceremony.
NEW-X-ING
Arts group NEW-X-ING writes:
NEW-X-ING is an ambitious independent programme aiming to integrate New Cross’s Community and Institutions. One of the first ideas of a street amphitheatre is being implemented with two weeks of performances coming up at the end of the summer.
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Share the excitement of a street-stage offering free public performances from Sept 21 to Oct 6 2012.
Contributors range from Blue Grass to Experimental Sound-bending, Trinity Laban choreographic Interventions to children’s street-dance, from spoken poetry to political debate.
The area outside Goldsmiths Library (on Lewisham Way just by the main Goldsmiths building) is a natural gathering point which is easily visible to bus passengers, car drivers, pedestrians and students. For 16 days this autumn there will be the perfect excuse to sit on the steps and enjoy some local culture.
New X-ING Relay has been developed by Artmongers and funded by Awards for All (part of the Big Lottery fund). The program is in partnership with Goldsmiths College and the London Borough of Lewisham as well as numerous community individuals and organisations.
The Relay is part of New X-ING - a program of creative interventions to shake new life into
New Cross led by local artists and community activists Artmongers. See http://newxing.wordpress.com/ for program information.
Breakspears Mews developers appeal failed bid to build new units
Developers whose plans to knock down and redevelop garages on Breakspears Mews (which runs between Wickham and Breakspears Roads) were rejected have launched an appeal against the decision. The scheme is for:
The demolition of the garage building and shed at Ashby Garages, Breakspears Mews SE4 and the construction of a single storey building comprising 5 work units and a block of 7 garages, together with the provision of a bicycle store and bin storage.
The developers argue that they are doing nothing more than replacing old garages with new ones and that the site has always been used for workshops and storage. The Council refused the plans in May on the basis that they would increase traffic on an unpaved road and intensify commercial activity on site, to the detriment of local residents.
Local residents who want to register their opinion about the plans should contact Vicky Williams in Lewisham Council.
Walkabout
Marge: We have those in America. They're called bull frogs.
Australian: That's weird! I'd have called them chuzzwazzers!
- The Simpsons, Bart vs Australia
We met Richard at the first full-scale BC Drinks, back in the days when Jam Circus was practically the only show in town, we knew most of our regular readers by name and people would see fit to moan about a pint costing a whopping £3.20 (the price points change, but the gripes stay the same). So his departure shortly afterwards felt like a bitter betrayal - we take it personally when any of you leave. Happily, four years later, he's back. Since he was around when Brockley was invented in 2007 we asked him to reflect on how the place had changed in his absence. Here's what he says:
When I left for Australia Brockley felt like an area with potential, a burst of exciting developments tantalisingly on the horizon. Returning to Brockley it feels like an area that has started to deliver on its potential and excitingly a momentum has developed that will hopefully mean we don't have to wait so long for more improvements to come!
The first thing I noticed on my return was Brockley Common, the area outside the station looks fantastic. The removal of barriers on Brockley Road and the remodelling of the pavements around Brockley Cross to get rid of all the double parked vans has really improved the area around the station.
The second thing I noticed was how Brockley's shops and restaurants have improved. Old favourites (e.g. Meze Mangal, Barbur, Broca, Jam Circus) have been retained. While places that I remember have disappeared - Toads Mouth Too, Dandelion Blue, Moonbow Jakes - happily their sites have all be taken over by new ventures which appear to be drawing in the crowds. Finally are new ventures that have opened up which I'm keen to check out including El's Kitchen, Brockley's Rock and Coopers Bakehouse.
I've been to the fantastic Brockley Market twice. Sydney has some amazing farmers markets and I'm pleased that I have somewhere similar to shop from in SE4.
Our areas green spaces have also been improved while I've been away. Perhaps I didn't notice before, but we seem to have a lot of them too! The Green Chain and Waterlink Way link up some great parks that have had their facilities improved. I'm sure we didn't have as many children's playgrounds, sporting facilities and picnic benches when I left. It really isn't very hard to escape from the traffic enjoy some time, or in my case a run, in a long chain of parks.
Has the demographic in Brockley subtly shifted? It feels like there are more young professionals and new families in the area. Dinner in the Orchard, the patrons at Browns of Brockley and shops like Gently Elephant make me think the area is becoming younger and more affluent?
Finally our neighbours seem to be changing too. Development from Greenwich has extended along the High Road and connects almost seamlessly with Deptford which is undergoing an enormous transformation. New Cross seems to be moving up too, I've been particularly enjoying the London Particular café.
I'm very pleased to be back in Brockley. Living closer to Lewisham Way than Brockley station I'm hoping some of the regeneration will rub off on us too. One day the shipping container will go. One day!
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