180 Brockley Road approved

Cllr Mike Harris reports on Twitter that Lewisham Council has approved the redevelopment of the MOT garage at 180 Brockley Road.

The original scheme was sent back for further work as the Council wanted to drive a harder bargain for affordable homes. The developers have now agreed that any "excessive profit" of more than 20% will be diverted to fund affordable housing schemes.

The ground floor will feature flexible space for approximately four commercial units.

Brockley Welsh church for sale

Another local oddity looks like it will bite the dust. The Presbyterian Church of Wales on Lewisham Way is up for sale for £1.5 million.

The advert notes that:

A pre-application submission has been lodged for a change of use to Residential based upon a scheme comprising five no. 4-storey, 4-bedroom houses arranged in a terrace. Each house is allocated 2 parking spaces and has a rear garden of approximately 8m in length. The total estimated Gross Internal Area of the scheme is 9,600 sq feet.

With thanks to Pam.

Lewisham votes for legal action on A&E and rate hikes

Catford blogger Clare reports that Lewisham Council last night gave the go-ahead to take legal action to prevent the downgrade of Lewisham A&E. She also notes:

The vote came at a full council meeting which also discussed the budget for 2013-14 and recommended a 1.5% rise in council tax and accompanying budget cuts to meet the required savings of £21.3 million based on the budget given to the council from central government.

The Muppets take Brockley

Kermit us to indulge ourselves with some of our favourite Muppet moments

Time for some Gonzo journalism: The new Muppet movie is being filmed at the Rivoli Ballroom today. Details are Fozzie at this stage, but BCer Scott reports that he has seen director James Bobbit walking the streets of Crofton Park today. If you get a Beaker any of the stars, let us know.

ELL tell all

With thanks to Fintan for the photo.

Bye: The Last Man

The Labour Party has announced that its candidate for Lewisham Deptford (which covers Brockley) in the next election will be drawn from an all-woman shortlist. This is a very safe Labour seat, meaning that Lewisham Deptford is effectively guaranteed another female MP once Dame Joan Ruddock steps down.

Lewisham Deptford is one of five London seats which will be subject to all-female Labour shortlists. Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, said: “I am calling on women to put themselves forward for the All Women Shortlists announced in London."

All-women shortlists are probably the least-worst solution to the challenge of creating a more representative House of Commons.

Conway bites dog

When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if Conway finishes a job satisfactorily, however small, that is news.

Still no sign of the new zebra crossings in Brockley Cross, but by god, that is a tree - and Conway has successfully planted it. Unless someone else did - and they probably did, but Conway dug the bloody hole, you can't take that away from them! And there's another one next to it too. Two trees in only two years.

Also on the subject of street trees, local group Brockley Street Trees reports that "thirteen new trees will be planted in the conservation area to replace many street trees removed last summer due to disease. These have all been match-funded with local residents contributing 50% of the cost, and Lewisham Council the other 50%."

In March, the group is also planting 70 metres of fruit hedge in Hilly Fields. If you'd like to join them, full details here. With thanks to Monkeyboy for the photo.