The Talbot: Breaking News

The Honor Oak pub's James Heaton has posted a comment on Brockley Central to update us on the veritable soap-opera that is the story of The Talbot pub, on Tyrwhitt Road. Brockley Nick is on the case as ever, hoping to bring you an exclusive interview, but until then, here's what James has told us:

Dear all,

I am posting to advise you that the arrangement detailed regarding The Talbot's redevelopment, has, as rumoured, in fact fallen through.

I am one of the owners of The Honor Oak on Brockley Rise, and we were first approached by Punch Taverns to take on The Talbot around six months ago.

Despite having had numerous meetings with Punch about the site, when The Talbot was advertised on the open market the owners of The Palmerston then put in a proposal which effectively outbid ours in terms of the returns to the landlords and we therefore lost it at the last hurdle, so to speak.

However my understanding is that this deal was then deemed unworkable to the owners of The Palmerston and they therefore pulled out at the last minute.

Punch then returned to us and asked if we were still interested in proceding with our original proposal. We were, and I am pleased to say that we yesterday signed the initial agreements relating to our lease and the investment / refurbishment works.

I will post more details of our plans for the site after Christmas, but in the meantime if any of you have any pressing queries please feel free to contact me via email to james@thehonoroak.com.

We are very excited about The Talbot and always have been. We very much hope that the re-invented pub will meet with your approval, and look forward to receiving your input into its future.

With best wishes,

James Heaton

Follow the money

A few days ago, we reported on the meeting to allocated Brockley's £10,000 locality fund, but we were a little hazy on the details of how the cash got divided. With thanks to Cllr Walton, here are the full details:

(1) Christmas lighting - Brockley Cross Action Group £250

(2) Benches outside Pitman House - Picnic benches where young people can socialise £1000

(3) Digicams project - Camera phones for young people to report graffiti etc to Love Lewisham, with monthly prize and end-of-year exhibition £1000

(4) Contribution to Brockley Fun Run - £1000

(5) Planting flower beds at Veronica House – project through Brockley Cross Action Group - £1000

(6) St Johns After School Club – contribution to storage facilities £1,000

(7) Contribution to Brockley weekend arts festival - Brockley Max (towards funding of children’s activities) £500

(8) Security light to illuminate the area adjacent to 1 Upper Brockley Road and thereby discourage antisocial activities £150

(9) Street trees at various locations around the ward £4,100

Which by our calculations, adds up to £10,000.

Now it's just a question of actually spending it properly...

Brockley Bites - housekeeping

Brockley Central - latest upgrade

The site's latest iteration is now live, with a dedicated place for reviews (all one and a half of them) and a permanent home for the map.

Internet cafes in Brockley?

We recently received an email from someone in the US, planning on visiting SE4 for a while. She needed somewhere she could work during the day, locally, which offered internet access. Aside from Cafe Neu, which is another place which rarely gets a mention on these pages, are there any other options? And can anyone used the service in Cafe Neu?

Hillaballoo 2

Hillaballoo, the Telegraph Hill summer festival, has been given the go-ahead for 2008. Hopefully, they can build on the good ideas they had last time around, to create an event which will draw the wider audience it needs to have a long-term future.

The Shop on the Hill opens

The Shop on the Hill (next door to Ecosium on Harefield Road) opened on Saturday. We've not-yet had a chance to check it out, but if you have, please let us know what you thought.

TfL plans to swap Victoria service for Phase 2 of East London Line

Yesterday, Transport for London released this media briefing:

TfL examines Thameslink East London Line 2 plan

Phase two of the East London Line extension could be built and financed as part of the Thameslink Programme, according to minutes from a recent Transport for London board meeting.

Senior figures from the Department of Transport and TfL are discussing the possibility of funding ELL phase two as enabling works for the Thameslink scheme in order to mitigate against service difficulties posed by the remodelling of London Bridge station. The situation has arisen following the disclosure by Network Rail that capacity for the current half-hourly stopping service between London Bridge and London Victoria will no longer be available once London Bridge station has been remodelled to provide additional through platforms for Thameslink services. Network Rail has proposed that the current trains could be replaced by a half-hourly Victoria to Bellingham service but this would mean stations between Wandsworth Road and Peckham Rye would lose their rail connection to the City while Queen's Road Peckham and South Bermondsey stations would see a reduction of two trains an hour, directly conflicting with the Mayor of London's aspiration to increase metro service frequencies.

However, TfL argues that bringing forward ELL phase two would provide a better solution. This would see the current London Bridge to Victoria service replaced by four trains an hour running from Clapham Junction and the core ELL route with its connection to the City and Docklands, via stations between Wandsworth Town and Queen's Road Peckham. It also provides an opportunity for TfL to secure the cash it needs for the currently unfunded ELL phase two project. Construction powers have already been secured under the ELL phase one scheme, which is scheduled for completion in June 2010. London Bridge station is due to be rebuilt with additional through platforms by 2015.

So, a direct swap - Victoria service for East London Line 2, which will run from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction, serving the likes of Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill, but not Victoria itself.

Our understanding of this issue is that the extension would cost only £75 million, which is a relative pittance in rail infrastructure terms and it would form the final part of the London Overground loop around London, so it's almost certain to go ahead, one way or another.

2015 is a long way away, but how do you feel about this? If anyone from Forest Hill is reading this - what's your reaction?

The Rivoli Ballroom timeline

November 1st, 2007

Brockley Central reports that the Rivoli Ballroom is up for sale at £10m

November 11th, 2007

Transpontine reports that the Rivoli ad has mysteriously disappeared.

November 12th, 2007

Brockley Central rings the estate agents and asks what's happened to the ad. We are told that the ad was withdrawn from the site at the request of the Rivoli's owners, but that it is still on the market, just "in a more low-key way."

November 13th, 2007 (ish)

Brockley Central rings the owners of the Rivoli, to seek clarification.

Rivoli: "Oh, you wrote that. It should never have been leaked!"

BC: "It wasn't leaked, it was advertised."

Rivoli: "Yes, but the ad should never have been published it's not really up for sale, we're still considering our options."

BC: "OK, so do you want us to publish a clarification?"

Rivoli: "No, it's OK thanks."

December 7th, 2007

The Independent: "Is it the last dance for London's Rivoli Ballroom?"

Bill Mannix told local newspaper, The Mercury, "We love this place and Jeanie is so passionate about it. For us it is all about glamour, sophistication, etiquette and beautiful dancing. But ballroom dancing is dying out. The Rivoli was really well used but times and cultures have changed and now we have to import an audience to fill the place."

Mr Mannix added: "It is really my health that is moving me on. The long hours become antisocial. You are working and worrying while people are having fun all around you. I am always running out of money for repairs and always praying for a good function. We have to do maintenance all the time. We have two offers of £10m for the place. I'm sad about the whole situation. Jeannie will shed a tear when we leave and we will both miss all the stars.

What should the map be for?

Behind the scenes, Brockley Central's Jon and Nick have been discussing what the interactive map should be for. Should it be a Yellow Pages of Brockley, documenting every place of interest in the area, or should it only feature places that meet our impeccable standards? If we're selective, what should the criteria be and should it be based on our recommendations or yours?

What do you think?

Diplomacy brings peace to SE4

We think it is now safe to let you know who won the battle of the Brockley millions.

After the great trees v digicams debate of November, we are happy to report that skilful diplomacy by Brockley's councillors found a way through that impasse. Everyone must have prizes. There will be trees and mobile phones for all!

At the meeting itself, the attendees were predominantly - blissfully - ignorant of the furore that had preceded it. A slightly defensive presentation about the digicams idea by Jackie Millar and a nervous smile from Cllr Walton, who stressed to the room a number of times that the poll had been an interesting experiment, were the only clues.

Approximately 30 people attended the meeting (significantly more than the previous year, we are told) and it was a great opportunity to hear about some of the other projects, which had got lost among the blood and thunder of the online debate. The fun run sounds as though it will become a really exciting part of the Brockley calendar and some of the projects for local estates will make a big difference for a relatively small investment.

It has to be said, despite our enduring reservations about the 'digicams' programme, that Jackie Millar's passion and direct experience convinced those in attendance of the project's merits and there was an overwhelming vote in favour of supporting the project, together with money to buy trees for the streets most in need of some love and attention.

The back-of-an-envelope calculation done on the night, suggested that as many as 60 trees could be planted, using the money allocated, although a number of people with experience in this area, warned that the logistics of siting that many trees would not be straightforward. It was also agreed that, where planters were used, they should not be so ugly that they would negate the beauty of the trees themselves - exhibit a) the horrible railings surrounding the base of Brockley's communal Christmas Tree. One guy in the room suggested Brockley should set itself the long-term goal of becoming Lewisham's 'Garden Ward', which we thought was a lovely idea.

We've asked Cllr Walton for a precise breakdown of how the money has been allocated, which we will publish on the site.