Prendergast Hilly Fields - drop in session to view designs for rebuild/refurb, Monday 29th March

Gordonbrock Primary isn't the only school in Ladywell earmarked for rebuild/refurb plans - Prendergast Hilly Fields is also due to have millions of pounds spent on it, under the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme. The plans involve demolishing and rebuilding the existing buildings at the lower site on Adelaide Avenue, and refurbing the existing listed building on Hilly Fields "in line with English Heritage guidelines".

A drop in session has been arranged for local residents to see the designs and meet the project team on Monday 29th March, from 5-8pm, in the hall on the Adelaide Avenue site.

I would urge people to go along and have their say. Let's see if this can be third time lucky, after the problems with both the Lewisham Bridge and Gordonbrock school projects. Done properly, Lewisham could make this an exemplar of how to refurbish a historical building to high modern standards of energy efficiency. As with the other BSF projects, the funding is PFI, so as we'll be paying through the nose for it for the next 25 years, let's at least make sure it's good.

Friends of Hilly Fields - record turnout for meeting

There was a record turnout of around 40 people for last night's meeting of Friends of Hilly Fields, with standing room only in the park keeper's office. Normally between 5 and 10 people show up. The reason that so many people came last night was due to concern over the wording of an article on the Friends of Hilly Fields' website, which was rather anti-dog and threatening to try and ban dogs from Hilly Fields.

The post wasn't written by the chair, or the other active members of the group, didn't represent their views, and has since been removed, but had clearly caused distress to a number of responsible dog owners who had read it. Once this was clarified, a very productive meeting ensued, with lots of dog walkers hopefully leaving with an appreciation of the hard work that a relatively small number of committed friends of Hilly Fields have been carrying out on a voluntary basis for a number of years.

Among the items discussed, some of which Rachel, the chair of the group will be following up on directly, and others which I will follow up on, were:

• The failure of Glendale to clear away the Autumn leaves in a timely fashion. The park keeper Keith had done his bit, and collected all the leaves in one area, but they were only removed in January/February, by which time, the Spring bulbs were already coming up and the eventual removal of the leaves from the shaded garden area caused damage to the usually impressive display of crocuses and snowdrops in that part of the park. Glendale have apologised, but the Friends are keen to make sure we don't see a similar occurence next year. This has something that had already been flagged up to me and I have followed up on via the casework system.
  
• The spraying of fungicide on the tennis courts - a gentleman present wanted to know what was sprayed, whether this was within guidelines and whether there was any risk to children on the adjacent play area. (Mike knows a lot more about this kind of thing than I do, and chatted to the resident concerned afterwards).
• The poor state of the steps to the park from Vicar's Hill, and the fact that the corpse of a dead fox had been near the Vicar's Hill entrance since the beginning of February and not removed despite being reported.
• The perceived increase in vehicle usage in the park, on paths rather than just on the roads around, and the damage this was doing both to paths and the grass alongside them, with muddy ruts appearing. This is something I've noticed more of recently too, and think Glendale need to make clear to their staff that they should only be driving their trucks on the park when they need to move equipment, not everytime they want to get from A to B rather than walking.
• The proposals for a mini-orchard of 8 apple trees between the stone circle and the nature reserve.
• The fact that Friends of Hilly Fields have affiliated to the Octavia Hill society and are looking to commemorate the centenary of her birth with a project in the shaded garden area in her honour. Octavia Hill was a leading social reformer and one of the founders of the National Trust. She lived locally (on Elswick Road I believe) and was instrumental in raising subscriptions to save Hilly Fields from being built over. More info on the history section of the Friends of Hilly Fields website.
• Keith, the Hilly Fields bird champion, (who has a blog too), reported that 18 species were spotted during the Hilly Fields Big Bird Watch at the end of January.
• The state of the footpaths in the park and concern over safety at the Tyrwhitt Road/Hilly Fields Crescent junction (I'll blog about this separately as I asked questions at the recent Council meeting on this subject).
• The gate to the shaded garden area still not having been fixed, which means that dogs off leads wander in, when it is supposed to be a dog free area (I've reported this twice now via the casework system, and been told it's on the list, but why it takes so long to repair a gate I don't know).
• The possibility of organising another Dawn Chorus (for those who like to get up and listen to birdsong at 6am). Apparently the beginning of April is the best time to do this.
• Josh from Lewisham Community Sports was there to answer questions about his organisation's work in the park. Some concern was expressed that the grass by the stone circle has still not recovered from the lengthy period the marquee was up last year, and there was some discussion as to whether Glendale should have done remedial work out of the license fees paid by Lewisham Community Sports and Brockley Max to hold their events in the park.
• Peter Rankin from Envirowork Lewisham spoke about their proposals for the cricket pitch (see previous post), which were broadly welcomed.
• The gates on Eastern Road - discussion over the fact that there are lovely gates, a previous successful Friends of Hilly Fields project, but that they are rarely locked by Glendale due to issues over who has keys, Prendergast needing access etc. In addition the 'no unauthorised vehicles' sign is too small and too far up the road, so people don't notice it or ignore it. As a consequence, lots of vehicles that ought not to are getting on to the park and it also leads to other problems such as fly-tippping.
• Dog-fouling: those present at the meeting suggested it was time for some concerted action on this, not just by Council officers, but more of a community effort, and maybe to have another day of putting flags next to all the dog muck, so dog owners (the irresponsible minority of them, that is) could appreciate the cumulatie effect of not clearing up after their mutt.
  

All in all, a very useful meeting, with lots of things to follow up on.

Open Gym wins social enterprise competition!

Congratulations to local resident and founder of Open Gym, Jo Hill, who is one of three winners of a competition organised by Cancer Research UK. The Open Gym concept, which is currently operating in Hilly Fields, Telegraph Hill Park and two parks in north London, will now be rolled out nationwide, along with two other projects, as part of a plan to raise £10m for Cancer Research UK*.

It's a great concept - get people out doing exercise, which in itself reduces the risk of people getting cancer, and at the same time raise money for a cancer charity. I've recently started going to Open Gym, and find it more motivating than being stuck in a gym or going to an indoor fitness class. Too many hours spent in front of this computer or in council meetings mean that I'm currently the undisputed least fit participant in the Hilly Fields Open Gym (to the extent that the instructor has to give me easier variations on some of the exercises!), but I'm hoping to persevere!

So once again congratulations Jo!

*I have long had mixed feelings about Cancer Research UK - on the one hand they clearly do a lot of good work, and as someone who watched their father die an unpleasant death due to cancer, I'm as keen as anyone to find a cure. However, I don't agree with their ongoing funding of tests on animals, and prefer to donate to other cancer charities, such as Marie Curie or the Lavender Trust.

Hilly Fields Users' Group Meetings

Hilly Fields Users Group have a meeting this coming Wednesday (21st) at 8pm in the Old Bothy (near the bowling green on Hilly Fields). Their AGM will be held in the same place at 8pm on Wednesday 10th June. If you wish anything to be discussed about the park, but can't make meeting, please forward comments to the chair. Take a look also at their great new website.

Hilly Fields: Tree Work Planned

Fairly extensive tree works are planned over the next few days in Hilly Fields. The Council's tree officer has identified a number of trees that are potentially dangerous and either need to be pruned right back, or felled. Replacements will be planted for any trees that are removed, with the species agreed in discussion with Hilly Fields Users Group. Some of the logs will be left on site to make benches and/or as wildlife habitat (stag beetles etc).

For info, the works planned are outlined below, with maps that illustrates the approximate locations of the trees.

(by junction of Montague Ave with Adelaide Ave)
T138 - London plane: Crown lift tree to clear lamp post.
T139 - Sugar maple: Pollard: this pruning will be sever due to the presence of a root decaying fungus. A Sweet chestnut tree has already been planted adjacent to this tree to mitigate the future loss of the tree. It is likely that the maple will need to be removed in 5 to 10 years time, once the Chestnut is well established.

T140 - Ash: Fell. This is due to a trunk cavity and split in the trunk.
T141 - Ash: Reduce heavily - This work is necessary due to the presence of a root and trunk decaying fungus. The borough's tree officer will increase the frequency of inspection for this Ash.
T142, T143 and T144 - Hawthorn: All three trees are in very poor heath and require felling.
T145 - Spp?: Hanging branch is to be removed
T146 - Sycamore: Fell as it is dead.
T147 - Poplar: Fell - There is a large cavity at base that has compromised the structural integrity of the tree.
T148 - Sycamore: Fell. It is in very poor heath and structurally unstable.
T149 - Ash: Fell. Very poor condition
T150 - Sycamore: Fell. Very poor condition
T151 - Poplar: Pollard. Tree has been pollarded in the past and the branches that have developed from the old pollard need to be cut back.

Nature's Gym: January Events

I just wanted to give a quick plug to Nature's Gym, the volunteer conservation workdays in various parks and open spaces in the borough that are run by the Council. It's a great way to keep fit and do something to improve the local environment too.

The January events can be viewed online here, and include a number of workdays locally. I'm really pleased that for the first time, we've managed to get a day in Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries in the schedule. A few of the local events planned:

Sunday 18th Jan: Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries workday (organised by FOBLC). Meet by the old chapel in Ladywell Cemetery at 10am. See FOBLC website for further details.

Thursday 22 Jan: Nature’s Gym in Ladywell Fields, 11.00am-2.00pm. Various nature conservation activities in the park, anything from river clean-up to shrub clearance. Meet at the environmental classroom just off Ladywell Road.

Saturday 24 Jan: Bird Watching Event at Hilly Fields, time TBC. Take part in the RSPB Garden Birdwatch by surveying the various bird species in Hilly Fields. Meet by the park keepers office.

Saturday 31st Jan: 11am-2pm, Nature's Gym, Blythe Hill Fields: Planting a native hedge around the perimeter of the field.

Thursday 26th Feb: Nature’s Gym in Hilly Fields, 11am-2pm, . Meet on Eastern Road off Adelaide Avenue. Look out for the white van.

Saturday 28th Feb: Natures Gym in Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries, 11am-2pm.

For further details on any of the Nature's Gym events, contact Jess Rushton(020 8314 2119) or Lara Al Jabi (020 83183986).

Next Meeting of Hilly Fields Users' Group: 2nd December, 7.30pm

Rachel from Hilly Fields Park Users Group has sent the agenda for their next meeting. Unfortunately it clashes both with Ladywell Society and a Council overview & scrutiny meeting, so not sure if I will make it, but they would welcome a few more people getting involved:

Tuesday 2nd December 2008
7.30pm, in the Park Keeper’s Offi ce by toilet block at top of the hill

1. Introduction
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of last meeting
4. Maintenance and Repairs

• Tennis Courts
• Playground
• Park furniture/Notice boards
• Footpaths
• Trees
• Grass/meadow
• Boundary Planting/Hedging

5. Bird Champion
6. Development Issues

• Management Plan
• Kyrle Memorial Garden
• Playground update
• Changing Places Grant: incl requirements for group
• Bowling Green

7. Envirowork/Bothy Update
8. Lewisham Community Sports
9. Website Progress
10. Cafe
11. Dogs
12. Eastern Road Gate
13. Any Other Business
14. Date of next meeting
EMAIL

ALL WELCOME come and get involved

Hilly Fields Fayre - Today!

Haven't had chance to blog much recently, but will try to catch up over the next few days.

Hilly Fields Fayre is of course today, 12-5pm - we will have a stall - hope to see you there!

Catching up

Lots to catch up on from the past week or so. It already seems ages since I was in Cornwall over the bank holiday weekend!

Shop Local Bags now on sale
The 'Shop Local in Ladywell' bags are now on sale in lots of the shops in Ladywell. They cost £3.50 and seem to be selling well. Em from the drycleaners (pictured) sold her first 20 within a few days and is now on her second batch. There are only 300, so buy now while stocks last!

Good news for Gordonbrock?
Hopefully a rebuild or refurbishment of the school is now back on the cards, following earlier delays. A paper called "Primary Strategy for Change and Primary Capital Programme" went to Mayor & Cabinet last week and the proposals within in it include a new build (or refurbishment) of Gordonbrock Primary School and to expand it from two and a half form entry to 3-form entry. A rebuild of Brockley Primary School and to expand it from one-form entry to two is also planned. Basically, having got money for the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme for secondary schools, the Council is now hoping to get a second tranche of government funding bidding for primary schools.

Ladywell Leisure Centre Closed due to discovery of Legionnella Bacteria
You may have read elsewhere that Ladywell Leisure Centre has been temporarily closed due to the discovery of Legionnella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease, being found in the showers. The discovery was made during regular checks and the pool closed as a precautionary measure. Ladywell ward councillors will be watching developments closely and hope that the pool will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. I would hope that there will be a full investigation into why this has happened and what measures can be taken to prevent it from happening again.

New Playground for Foxborough Gardens?
On Tuesday I met with residents from Foxborough Gardens and representatives from Pinnacle, to discuss building a playground on the estate. Residents have organised a petition and collected 120 signatures calling for a playground. Many of the signatures were collected by the children themselves, and a number of them came along to the meeting. Their request seems perfectly reasonable to me, as there is no playground on the estate at the moment, but a grassy area that could be a suitable location for one. The timing for this may well be fortuitous as Lewisham has recently been awarded £1m to develop play areas. Hopefully a Foxborough Gardens TRA (tenants and residents association) is going to be formed which can then work with Pinnacle to look at ways of taking things forward.

Parking Problems on Marsala Road
On Wednesday I helped residents in Marsala Road collect signatures for a petition calling for a controlled parking zone in the area. There was a consultation on this back in 2005, but at the time there was a very low response rate from the road, and the Council decided not to proceed. The Council's position is that it will only introduce a CPZ where there is a clear demand for it from residents.

Since that time, the parking problems along the street have got progressively worse. Commuters park at one end for Ladywell Station and at the other end for Lewisham Town Centre and station. The introduction of the CPZ on Bertrand, Branscombe and the top part of Algernon Road has increased commuter parking on Marsala and Ellerdale Roads, and as Pinnacle are now cracking now on commuter parking on Viney Road, at residents' request, there is even more competition for spaces on Marsala and Ellerdale Roads. Some residents are putting out cones to reserve a space, which in turn irritates their neighbours.

I've been told a further consultation on CPZs will be carried out in Ladywell in January 2009, but I was also told it would happen last year and it didn't, so the residents' petition may serve as a timely reminder for the Deputy Mayor of the strength of residents' feelings on this issue. The consultation is likely to cover a number of streets, including Chudleigh Road, Malyons Road, Gillian Street as well as Marsala Road and Ellerdale Street. I don't have strong feelings either way about CPZs, and am happy to support whatever the outcome of the consultation is. There appears to be a majority of residents along Marsala Road in favour of a CPZ, but there would also need to be a majority in neighbouring streets in favour in order to proceed.

Ladywell Road to be part of new commercial recycling trial
The recycling team at the Council has successfully applied for funding to set up a pilot commercial recycling scheme using bags instead of bins in Ladywell and Blackheath. They hope to be able to start the scheme in August and will be promoting it in the next couple of weeks. Businesses will still need to pay for collections, but this will be at a rate that is 30% lower than refuse (as with the recycling bin scheme). One of the current barriers to businesses along Ladywell Road recycling, is that not all of them have outside space to store recycling bins. This scheme will enable businesses to use bags rather than bins, and will allows them to pay only for the waste that they produce, as opposed to paying for a standard sized bin each week.

I had a walkabout with officers from the recycling team last year, to discuss recycling with businesses along Ladywell Road. Although businesses were keen to recycle, the cost and bin storage space came up as issues at the time, so I'm delighted that the recycling team are trying to solve this with the pilot scheme. It is also now cheaper for businesses to recycle as one of the Green Group budget amendments from last year was to reduce the cost of commercial recycling (by raising the cost of general waste collection). Hopefully the combination of these two things (bags and lower cost) will enable many more businesses along Ladywell Road to start recycling their cardboard etc.

Ladywell Tavern re-opening soon
I bumped into one of the guys running Ladywell Tavern the other day and he told me that they will be opening very soon, following a few last minute hitches. They are still promising real ales, fine wine and good food, and the chef apparently used to work with Marco Pierre White, so fingers crossed.

New Cafe coming soon on Ladywell Road
Planning permission was granted last week for a new cafe at 48 Ladywell Road (what was the fruit & veg shop). If al goes to plan, the new cafe, which will be called Oscars and will specialise in ice-cream and home-made cakes, will open in about 4 weeks' time. It is being run by a local couple who want their cafe to have a community feel to it.

Ladywell Village Improvement Group AGM
LVIG's AGM is taking place at St Mary's Centre this Thursday (5th June) at 7.30pm. The agenda includes, among other things, the election of officers for the new group, ratification of the constitution, review of the survey results, feedback from Ladywell Fields Fun Day and the formation of working groups. All are welcome.

New Gates for Francis Drake Bowling Club
Brockley Central have beaten me to it on this one, but Francis Drake Bowling Club have got a lovely new gate, which I believe was designed by local artist Heather Burrell, who did the gates at the entrance to Hilly Fields from Eastern Road.

Finally, for those interested, Lewisham Green Drinks is taking place tomorrow (Monday), at Mr Lawrence Wine Bar, 389 Brockley Road, from 7pm onwards.

Full Council: Hilly Fields Footpaths Petition, London Living Wage and Affordable Housing

Fun and games as always at Full Council tonight, with the usual hefty dose of political point scoring despite a fair degree of consensus on the issues being discussed. In brief:

1. Mike (pictured) presented a petition signed by 272 local residents and park users concerned at the poor state of the footpaths in Hilly Fields. The resurfacing of the cycle path across Hilly Fields recently is welcome, but it throws into even sharper relief the sorry state of the other paths in the park, which are in places treacherous for cyclists, wheelchair users and walkers alike. Well done to Hilly Fields Users Group who organised the petition.

2. I asked a number of questions to Mayor and Cabinet on planning enforcement, community composting schemes, air quality monitoring and the possibility of a safety audit to look at the implications of removing the railings on Ladywell Road. The full questions and answers can be viewed here.

3. Ute proposed a motion calling on the Council to ensure it paid all its staff at least London Living Wage (£7.20/hour) and to ensure that its contractors (eg cleaners, catering staff) did likewise. This is less of an issue for those directly employed by the Council, who currently all receive at least this rate (only just in some cases), but more so for those employed by contractors. The motion received cross-party support, and the Mayor indicated that as contracts come up for renewal, it would be stipulated going forward that staff should be paid at least London Living Wage.

There was a bit of argy bargy over whether it was Ken or the Greens who were responsible for the London Living Wage Unit at City Hall (I think it was a Green budget amendment supported by Ken in order to get Green support for his budget), plus a funny moment when the Tories said they would support it because they hadn't heard the Mayor of London say he was opposed to it (never mind what they themselves think, hey?). Anyway, the motion was passed, which was good news and sends a clear signal that Lewisham Council is going to outlaw poverty pay among all those working for the Council, whether directly or via a contractor.

4. There was also cross-party support for a Labour motion calling for the affordable housing quota in the forthcoming Local Development Framework to be increased to 50%. Again, this was welcome news and something the Green Group has consistently called for, including in our submission to the LDF consultation last August. At that point officers argued that it wasn't feasible, so we are glad that the borough's position on this has changed.

It is of course slightly ironic that Lewisham is now supporting a 50% affordable housing quota when it previously wanted to stick at 35% and was in dispute with the previous Mayor of London over this. Now we have a Tory Mayor of London who wants to scrap the affordable housing quota, the Labour Mayor of Lewisham suddenly supports it. Welcome news, nevertheless. The Tories opposed this motion, on the grounds that Boris had made his opposition to affordable housing quotas clear.

There was some hoo-hah over a Lib Dem amendment and motion pointing out the number of planning applications in Lewisham that have failed to meet even the existing 35% quota, but once the main motion was passed (the amendment fell), the Lib Dems withdrew their second motion.

So, two good motions passed, then lots of councillors went to watch some football match or other in Moscow apparently.

Open Gym

A new exercise class has started on Hilly Fields for people who want to get fit but who hate the gym. It's called Open Gym and has been set up by local resident Jo Hill.

Hilly Fields on Radio 4 Today Programme

Rachel Mooney, chair of Hilly Fields Park Users' group was on the Today programme on Monday morning, talking with someone from Natural England about engaging local people in protecting and improving green spaces, and the work HFUG have done with children from Gordonbrock Primary School in planting bulbs and primroses on the fields. The programme can be heard here, fast forward about 15 minutes to 8.45am. Not sure how many days the link will work for though.

Ninja Battle on Hilly Fields!

Just received this in an e-mail and thought it was so bizarre that I had to post it:

"I just wanted to remind (or let you know for the first time) about the filmed Ninja Battle which is taking place on Sunday 16th March 11.00am on Hilly Fields in Brockley, it's not too big a park so look out for a gathering of people dressed in black.

Its part of Fiona Brownlie's (The Other Half, Earth to Earth, Breaker) latest Straight8 film and should be a good laugh. If you're keen just turn up dressed in black and the rest will be provided/explained on the day.
Release your inner Ninja!"

So there you go, Ladywell Fields may have power-pramming, but Hilly Fields has its very own er, Ninja Battle.

New Saturday Football on Hilly Fields for 11-19 year-olds

A new football club for 11-19 years olds is starting on Hilly Fields this coming Saturday (15th September). It's taken a little while to get going, but this is one of the schemes that we managed to get a bit of extra funding for from the Council's Extended Services.

When the Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood PCSOs did their survey of young people and what extra activities they would like to see in their area, the answer was generally football, football and more football (oh, and nailart), so this is in response to what they asked for.

It's being run by local resident Ron Bell and others from Brockley County Football Club, and is in addition to their popular morning club for under 12s, which will continue as normal. A number of older children wanted to be able to play football in a slightly more organised and structured way than just them and a couple of mates. There may also be an opportunity for some of the older members towork towards various FA qualifications such as coaching.

BROCKLEY COUNTY FOOTBALL SCHOOL

• New Football Club for 11-19 year-olds
• Every Saturday, 1-4pm (starting 15th September)
• Hilly Fields, Brockley, SE4
• Cost: £1.99 per session
• For any young person who wants to improve their skills (boys and girls)
• Opportunity for older members to get football qualifications (coaching etc).
• All coaches are CRB checked and FA qualified

Brockley County under 11s football continuing as normal Saturday mornings 10-12pm
For further details call Ron Bell on 07946 409536 or 020 7252 9248.

New Gates for Hilly Fields

The new gates for the entrance to Hilly Fields from Eastern Road have now gone up, and I think they look great. Well done to Hilly Fields Users Group, students from Prendergast and Heather Burrell, the local artist who made the gates (she also designed the gates at the Creekside Centre, among other things). I believe Gordonbrock pupils are also going to be involved in some way, with bulb planting if I remember correctly.

Unfortunately the pot-holed surface of Eastern Road and the path up to Hilly Fields doesn't enhance the entrance much - I've contacted highways to see if we can at least get the pot-holes filled in - the whole road needs resurfacing really, but as it's not a key road for public transport it probably won't be high on the priority list.