Paper Dots, Ladywell

The PaperDots Pop Up store in PLACE Ladywell is selling upholstery, art and vintage stuff throughout August, Thursdays - Saturdays (12-6pm).

Click here fore details of PLACE.

Campaigners aim to protect Lewisham's health visitors

A petition has been launched, urging Lewisham Council not to enact cuts to health visitor services. Iain writes:

The council has just started consulting on plans to cut health visiting and school nursing services, and many other community services. The consultation finishes 14 August and you can click here to participate.

Here in Lewisham, we almost lost our hospital. We know how important the NHS is to all of us. And because we saved our hospital, we know that if we had never asked, never resisted, never come together and demanded to save Lewisham hospital, that we might not have it now.

What some of us might not know (or have forgotten) is just how essential children's community nurses and health visitors are. The council have had a £4.7 million reduction to the public health budget by central government. This will mean massive reductions to the local health services that help to keep us all healthy and prevent illness.  It will especially affect children.

Children's services are not some non-essential, 'cuttable' part of the local health service. They are central to protecting our most vulnerable children from disease and neglect. They provide the bulk of our safeguarding and public health commitments, from cradle to adulthood. It is not the place of Lewisham Council to take these services away from the next generation, it is their duty to demand they are adequately funded.

Please, for the skilled staff, vulnerable children and community, sign this petition, and once again demand we Save NHS Services in Lewisham.  Keep your eyes peeled for any actions or demonstrations we may organise.

To sign the petition, click here.

Lewisham Gateway aims to get taller

Lewisham Gateway is the mixed-use development currently remodelling the area of Lewisham between the station and the shopping centre.

Phase one consists of the two towers and accompanying public spaces immediately south of the station, which are nearing completion. Phase two will be built on top of the space bounded by the road network.

With work underway, developers have announced a public consultation regarding:

• Alterations to the size of the buildings
• Changes to the approved uses
• Changes to the public space
• Providing a greater number of new homes

This clearly means that they want the towers to be taller. If this is accompanied by bigger and better public spaces in between taller buildings, that could be welcome, especially given that the tall buildings built and approved are all roughly the same height - a bit of variation would be aesthetically pleasing. 

If, on the other hand, they want to squeeze out the green space already approved or reduce the commercial space, then it could be a set-back for the development of Lewisham as a place to visit.

We'll find out on August 11th, when the first consultation takes place, 4-8pm Methodist Church Hall, Albion Way. Full details here. Thanks to Joseph for the heads-up.

Rice Paper Tales at The Deptford Lounge

Georgie writes:

Rice Paper Tales is inspired by Tiet Van Nguyen, a Vietnamese story teller of some of the most beautiful, funny and captivating Vietnamese folk tales.

Trikhon is looking to provide a uniquely Vietnamese alternative to all-time favorite British Fairy Tales with some classic Vietnamese folk tales. A fantastic way to introduce children to tales from a different culture and a great experience for the summer holidays- we would like as many children from the local area to be able to come and see it.

We're also trying something new for tickets: a Pay-What-You-Decide basis, so you book as normal but don’t need to pay until after you see the show. Pay what you can afford, based on whether you enjoyed the show!

Rice Paper Tales is supported by Arts Council England and will be showing at the Deptford Lounge on Sat 10 + 17 Sept at 12:00, 13:30 + 15:00.

Endwell Road launderette to close

Transpontine has spotted that the Endwell Road launderette, sandwiched between Dragonfly Place and the Business Centre, will be closing on September 18th, leaving only the Brockley Road launderette as a local option.

TfL reiterates support for Bakerloo extension in Khan era

Sadiq Khan has signalled that his mayoralty remains committed to the Bakerloo Line extension through New Cross and Lewisham. In TfL's recently-published annual report, the project gets its own double page spread, which says:

Work has started on building a case to extend the Bakerloo line into southeast London. If the Government gives the project the green light, we expect to begin construction in 2024. 

In 2015, we assessed possible routes. This meant taking into account how each option could improve connectivity and housing, the engineering feasibility (for example, tunnelling, which is complex and expensive, must be kept to a minimum), how swiftly the project can be completed, and the likelihood that it could be paid for. 

Our assessment showed that a route from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, via Old Kent Road, would offer significant development opportunities, including up to 30,000 new homes. This could, in turn, help with the costs of building the extension, by securing contributions from new residential and commercial developments along the line. 

Ending the route at Lewisham means we can build the extension quickly and cost effectively, hopefully completing the project by 2030. And this doesn’t rule out extending the line even further in the future.

The Bakerloo extension was one of Khan's election commitments and this is simply more fine words, rather than action, but thanks to Monkeyboy for sharing this red meat nonetheless.

Matalan Masterplan

Legal & General has submitted a planning application for the:

"Demolition of the existing buildings at Lewisham Retail Park and Nos. 66 – 76 Loampit Vale and construction of buildings 7 – 24 storeys in height comprising 4,343sqm commercial floorspace (Use Classes A1, A2, A3, B1, D1 & D2) and 536 residential units with on-site energy centre, car parking, cycle parking, and associated landscaping."

The site is currently occupied by four large-format stores, including Mothercare, Matalan, Sports Direct and Family Bargains.

The development in context (when Lewisham Gateway is completed)

The seven replacement towers will form a perimeter around a large communal garden on the second floor while the pavements on Jerrard Street, Thurston Road and Loampit Vale will be repaved "to create boulevards."

One of the new 'boulevards'

The developers have also proposed a new public 'Station Square’, which would form a link with the neighbouring development planned to replace Carpetright.

The new retail space on Loampit Vale

The current site is soul-crushingly ugly, both in terms of the buildings that occupy it and the roads that circle it. This proposal would add density and continue to drag the centre of Lewisham further towards Brockley, creating new retail space that will have a chance of attracting some decent brands.

This development would transform one of the borough's most desolate spots at a time when many London developers are getting cold feet, but it would be good to see the Council drive the best possible deal for the public realm. Given the scale and density of the development, those boulevards better be paved with gold.

Thanks to Marc for the heads-up.