Our Future's Orange: Forest Hill

This is part five of our regular series looking at stops along the new East London Line. Sure, Forest Hill was never difficult to get to from Brockley pre-ELL, but it's a good excuse to do a round-up of what's going on just down the track.

Forest Hill was originally the name given to an area of forest on top of Sydenham Hill, part of the Great North Woods. Initial development took place in the early to mid 1800s, close to the railway station (originally named Dartmouth Arms after the pub there, still open today). Over the years it has sprawled, merging with East Dulwich to the west, Honor Oak Park to the north, and Sydenham & Catford to the south east. Politically, Forest Hill ward is exclusively Lib Dem, and the Perry Vale ward to the south east side of the station is Labour.

Transport-wise, the station is served by the same trains as Brockley, but also hosts the odd fast train into London Bridge, and has the distinct advantage that being two stops further out in the morning rush hour can sometimes secure you a seat. Yes, a seat.

Improvements under Transport For London have included the obligatory plastic hanging baskets, but also a brand new footbridge - the structure for which appeared almost overnight sometime last year, but was only completed last week.

The area boasts a well developed 'high street', even if it does quite literally revolve around the ever-busy A205 South Circular. The shops include chains such as Boots, WH Smith and of course Sainsbury's, plus a couple of independent places like popular gift shop & boutique Bunka. There are several restaurants, and a couple of key pubs help to provide more decent eateries, the Dartmouth Arms and the All Inn One Foresters. The Dartmouth Arms is the more adventurous of the two for food, but both serve as greet gastro boozers in their own right.

The Hob pub, opposite the station, is probably the closest thing to an evening 'destination', regularly hosting music and comedy nights, along with a well-organised 'celebrity' pub quiz every week. That's not a quiz about celebs, but rather a quiz hosted by one!

The recession has taken its toll on Forest Hill, and sadly a number of shops and restaurants have closed in the last year or so. Lewisham Council have recognised something needs to be done to encourage new businesses, and have negotiated longer free parking in the car park to the back of Sainsbury's (from half an hour to two hours). They are also working closely with shop-keepers to enhance the appearance of the shopping parades, with one idea being to install artwork in empty shop windows suggestive of what the shop might become.

There are already two glimmers of hope. An old shop opposite the station recently re-opened as From The Forest, a small but stylish cafe. We spoke to the owner, Kollier, about his plans. He was inspired by the 'cooler' coffee houses in East London, and wanted to create a place where people would feel comfortable spending time. Hence, coffee is only a small part of Kollier's plan. He's already serving fresh breads and pastries from Flour Power at Borough Market, along with locally supplied cakes. There are plans to stock other ranges in the future, and he's hinted at organic wines and beers.


Kollier, manager of From The Forest, with his preferred method of transport, a 3G Stepper

From The Forest will soon have a new competitor on London Road. Called The Teapot, the poster in the window promises a cafe and, you guessed it, deli - something curiously lacking in Forest Hill, considering Brockley's relative abundance of them. We wish them good luck.

Up the hill, towards East Dulwich, sits the Horniman Museum, tea merchant Frederick John Horniman's gift to the area in 1901, built on the plot where his own house once stood. Aside from operating as a brilliant museum, it plays a key role in the community, hosting regular public events in the gardens, school holiday activities for the kids and evening classes for adults.

The Horniman collection is soon to be commemorated in a wall mural by Artmongers (they of Feed the Cows and Brockley Key fame). Funded by Sainsbury's, as agreed with the council as part of their planning consent, it will celebrate the Horniman's cultural artifacts collection and should cheer up a pretty dreary alleyway between the supermarket car park and London Road.

Not far from the Horniman sits a plot that we can't talk about Forest Hill without mentioning. Two once stunning and now derelict houses at 15 & 17A Tyson Road provide the gateway to a largely untouched meadow which developer Loromah Estate propose to turn into 9 blocks of luxury flats. It's an ongoing saga, and the results of an appeal are due any time now. The brilliant Forest Hill Society blog has all the recent news, and you can read more on the inquiry at the Lib Dem blog Up In Forest Hill.

Possibly the second most talked about development in the area is London's oldest swimming pool, Forest Hill Pools, a grand Victorian bath that for years has had an uncertain future, not unlike Ladywell Pools. Happily, plans to renovate and extend the pools have been preliminarily approved and are under public consultation. The plans keep the grand exterior, with a large modern extension to the right-hand side. We'll bring you updates on this project, and other changes happening in Forest Hill, as and when we hear about them.


More East London Line destinations:

Crystal Palace
Dalston
Rotherhithe, Canada Water, Surrey Quays
Shoreditch High Street

Ladywell hustings, April 21st

The Ladywell Village Improvement Group is hosting a political hustings on Wednesday. Pete writes:

The Conservative, 'Community Need before Private Greed', Green, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties will be quizzed by Ladywell's residents. The event is open to all and will begin at 7.30pm on Wednesday 21 April at the St.Mary's Centre on Ladywell Road, SE13.

Please note - if you are attending and have a question you'd like to ask, please register it by midday on Tuesday 20 April, along with your full name and address, by e-mailing ladywellfields@yahoo.co.uk

Priority will be given, on the night, to questions submitted in advance and we will try to fit as many questions in as time allows.

BrocSoc backs mews action

The Brockley Society has joined the Brockley Cross Action Group in calling for the role of Brockley's many mews to be reimagined.

They are organising a Brockley Society Open Meeting on Tuesday, 20 April at 8pm to discuss the issue at the Brockley Social Club, 240 Brockley Road, SE4 2SU.

No-one has ever accused the Brockley Society of being idle dreamers - these are hard-headed defenders of the fabric of Brockley, for whom no change is acceptable if it risks damaging local quality of life. However, they recognise that the current approach to managing the mews is failing miserably.

Clare Cowen of the Brockley Society says:

"Brockley has a unique range of mews dotted round the conservation area. They can be an attractive and special feature, with artisan workshops, creative studios and social enterprises. Often they are a festering problem: nasty, scary dog walks amid noxious enterprises. Lewisham does not seem to have an overall view of how to manage them other than occasional fire-fighting (literally). A vision for their future needs to come from local residents and users who are familiar with the opportunities and problems they present. Tuesday's meeting aims to begin this."

Brockley Central believes that the mews represent an opportunity to address two of Brockley's biggest structural problems - a lack of public green space and a shortage of studio space for artists. An imaginative approach (perhaps learning from the successful precedent of the Coin Street community builders), bringing together local community groups, Lewisham Council and perhaps other local players such as Goldsmiths, Creative Lewisham and local enterprise networks could create something genuinely innovative that enriches the area's economy and quality of life. Or we could do nothing.

The Old Nun's Head, Nunhead

The Old Nun’s Head
15 Nunhead Green
SE15 3QQ
0207 639 4007

The Old Nun's Head pub in Nunhead has new owners. We asked Daniel Rowntree to tell us about what he has in store for it.

Please tell us about the pub as it is today and your plans for it in the future?

Our company is called As It Should Be Ltd, and we have vision for how a local pub really should be that takes old fashioned community values combined with a healthy slice of marketing, and a huge slice of customer service. We like to think of our pub as an inclusive member, every time you come and see us we give you another reason to come back.

For the first couple of months we have focused on getting the basics, so the food the decor and the service. The second stage is events, the garden and opening in the day which we will be doing from Monday 19th April.

I am from Lincolnshire where pubs play a very different part in the community, they really are a home from home and we have brought that feel to the Nun’s. There are 4 distinct areas, the lounge, the dining room, the bar and the library which is a perfect place for home workers to take a break with free WIFI a specialist lunch menu, tea, cakes and coffee.

What will the balance between booze and food be like?

Our head chef Gary Smith is also the head chef at The Flask in Highgate he has brought a rustic, wholesome, and predominantly English menu to The Nun’s. Where possible our suppliers are local: Sopers fish, Ayres bread and William Rose butchers and of course sausages from Lincolnshire supplied by an old school friend that now has a stall at Borough Market, The Boston Sausage.

The kitchen is not yet at capacity so the aim is become slightly more food led than we are at the moment, rotating dishes on a regular basis. Special mention should go to our Toad in the Hold which is fast becoming our signature dish. We are in the process of choosing the house sausage we have another tasting 26.04.10 with the final being held 11.06.10. To have your say, book a table!

We have also underestimated the demand for vegetarian food so will be addressing the balance in the menu to be closer to 50/50, so watch this space.

Will you offer drinkers any particular specialities?

We want to keep people interested and also offer variety. We have 4 cask ale pumps are a member of the finest cask scheme, up next is Frosty Piddle! Our house ales at the moment rotate between Adnams, Batemans XB, Timothy Taylor and Deuchars IPA. We have 9 lagers and a healthy wine list, we are holding a wine tasting this Thursday 22.04.10 so again if you want your say pop down.

I plan to use our suppliers productively so holding rum, gin, vodka, brandy, whisky and cocktail sessions to educate locals and encourage them to try different things with confidence.

We also have a free drink offer on at the moment all you have to do is go to our website http://www.theoldnunshead.co.uk/ and join The Habit, this is our members database which I will email once a week.

How big a part will live events play in the pub's life?

Eventually a huge part, we have an awesome function room upstairs with its own bar, pa system and toilets, capacity for 90 standing and roughly 50 seated. It really annoys me when it is not being used!

From April 27th, we have salsa on a Tuesday night every Wednesday we have the extremely popular Easycome acoustic folk night hosted by local legend Andy Hank Dog, from Thursday April 29th we start our comedy club Gut Rocking which we have poached from the EDT, Friday will be live music and Saturdays are for private hire. Watch this space for Jive classes, Northern Soul nights and Spoken Word events. Oh and I forgot to mention our quiz that is held the first Sunday of every month!

On the 24th, we have Alex Cornish playing his new album live and on the 30th we see Maverick Sabre take to the stage supported by Aloosh a rare treat from this spectacular young talent currently supporting Plan B on his latest UK tour check ticket web for availability they are selling out fast.

Is it tough having the pubs of East Dulwich on your doorstep as competition?

Not the way that I see it. We are Nunhead and offer something completely different we are a local pub in what genuinely feels like a village environment, there is not one chain (apart from the inevitable bookies!) on Nunhead High Street. We also feel our sphere of influence is really the other side - so Queens Road Peckham, Brockley, Telegraph Hill and New Cross.

It seems like a lot of pubs in the area are raising their game - what do you think is prompting this?

The usual government legislation, people becoming for drink aware, prices in the supermarket, television and home entertainment. Gone are the days of opening the doors and hoping people will come in, consumers are fickle and the choice especially in London is vast you really have to work hard to attract and then keep customers. We aim to involve locals in their local pub, we welcome feedback and are fully aware we can’t keep everyone 100% happy 100% of the time.

For some people in West Brockley, Nunhead is their local drinking option. Do you have a sense of how many of your customers come from over the border?

I have been talking to a lot people over the past couple of months and to be honest a lot more than I thought. I used to live on Wavaney Av just off Peckham Rye Park and work on Brockley Road so I know how close it is, my aim is to tease a few more people over the bridge to sample the delights of the Old Nun’s Head. So watch out for posters, flyers through your door and always check facebook because that gives the most up to date info.

There's been a lot of discussion of whether Brockley is "on the up" as a result of the East London Line. Do you think Nunhead is changing?

South East London is on the up, Nunhead is somewhere people turn to when they sell their one bed in SE22 or Clapham, I have lived in the area for the last 4 years and have noticed a small change but to be honest we just need to focus on getting our product right and hopefully people will travel, there is no doubt we are a destination venue.

Click here for an interview with the manager of the Royal Albert.

With thanks to Moira for the prompt.

A second shooter of the grassy knolls

Hilly Fields' new playground has progressed rapidly since our last update, with lovely grassy lumps replacing muddy patches.

BC reader Blue Sky has photographed the green grass for us, so we don't have to.

Lewisham Council responds to recent Brockley Cross incidents

Following the recent shootings, we contacted Lewisham Council to ask them if they had any response. Clearly, the relevant investigations are the responsibility of the police, but we felt it was important to know whether the incidents had registered with the Council and what they were doing to try to prevent similar incidents in future.

They responded with the statement below, which is relatively anodyne, but in the circumstances, it would be unreasonable to expect them to say much more at this point. We can at least be reassured that the Council is working with the police in light of recent events.

A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said:

“Recent incidents in the Brockley/Brockley Cross are, understandably, concerning to residents and businesses in the area. We would reassure residents that we are working closely with the police on a daily basis, sharing information and discussing various steps that we can both take to try to minimise crime, such as these shootings, in the local area. We know that the Brockley Safer Neighbourhood Team are keen to engage with local people and are walking the beat, providing a visible and reassuring presence on a daily basis for local people. We would encourage residents and businesses to talk to them about any concerns. They are there to listen to you."

BXAG calls for more trains, family homes, studios, shops and green spaces

The Brockley Cross Action Group (BXAG) has responded to Lewisham Council's core strategy consultation, arguing that it demonstrates a need to reinstate the Upper Level train station at Brockley Station, connecting Brockley directly with Lewisham and Victoria:

The Lewisham Borough Wide Transport Study (2010) shows that for Brockley to New Cross Gate the expected increase in passenger numbers is 24.6% by 2026 with a total of 19,620 travelling in the AM Peak. Morning volumes and increases further down the slow up-line (Honour Oak and Forest Hill to Brockley stretch) are much bigger. Table 7.6 shows crush capacity compared with 2006 level (at 159%) back up to 118% by 2016 and 125% by 2026. However this is based on 18 trains per hour in the AM peak period. We understand this isn’t correct and the actual planned figure is 14 trains per hour. This is 22% less capacity at morning peak than stated in the evidence – even though the study rather depressingly concludes:

(In Lewisham), “Brockley station will continue to have the highest volume over capacity proportion, whilst services from New Cross and New Cross Gate towards London Bridge will remain overcrowded in 2026.”

There remains a significant demand within Brockley and beyond for a direct train link to Victoria.

They have also made a range of other recommendations with which Brockley Central heartily agrees. These include:

- Tighter restrictions on family homes being converted in to flats, to allow for more young families to remain in the area:

The evidence base shows that 41.5% of all market households (in Lewisham) are families (one or more child) and 30% are unsuitably housed and most of these are concentrated in north of borough. In addition 36% of people in Lewisham want to move compared with 27% in the rest of south east London and nearly a half of these want to move because they want/need more space.

Given that there are so few sites where 10 or more homes can be built, we feel both the evidence base and the Core Strategy itself is not ‘Sound’ in this respect and we would like to see stronger policies to address this within district and local hubs which are under particular pressure from market trends like this including Brockley Cross.

- More emphasis on the development of shopping streets like Lewisham Way and Brockley Road, to anticipate lower reliance on car-trips to supermarkets and a greater demand for local highstreet facitilities. They argue that Lewisham Council's view of the shops and services these high-streets need is too narrow. The Council's emphasis on shops for 'everday use' dooms us to more newsagents and takeaways:

We would like to see the evidence base for essential community infrastructure applied more dynamically to the hubs, for example identifying the importance of having a community centre, doctors surgery, post office and fitness suite as well as, “an adequate range of shops to meet everyday needs”... and would argue here that retail provision at local hubs should be allowed to develop more flexibly than policy 2D suggests to allow, e.g. clothing, consumer electronics, banking and jewellery to flourish in such locations if there is market interest.

We would also like to see more support for traders and more links with strategies such as the Shop Front Improvement Pot which could be linked to Brockley station approach improvements as suggested in the current Town Centre Management strategy.

- The development of Brockley's Mews as creative industry hubs, using them to provide more studio space, which is hard to find in the area:

Given the apparent density of artists and artisans living in Brockley Cross and the wider Brockley, we would like to see the emergence of a mews development framework which could provide the focus for an exciting new ‘cultural clusters’ in these areas of the borough.

- The conversion of more small areas of unused land in to green spaces, to address the shortage of green space in the area:

We note that Brockley Cross continues to be in an area of Local Park Deficiency. The Action Group, with support from the Council has worked hard to transform Network Rail wasteland into accessible public open space (Brockley Common). There is a similar, large empty (for several decades) Network Rail site on the corner of Endwell Road and Mantle Road which might also help to meet this policy, but which isn’t identified in the open space study.

The reinstatement of the Upper Level link is one of the BXAG's long-standing aims.