Be a star!

We want you to make a 20-30 second video for our Portas Pilot bid.

Each bid needs to include a video which shows how much the local community cares about their Town Centre and how they would improve it. We would like to include locals' views about the area in a way that will make our bid unique and personal. Your video should therefore include a high and low about either Sydenham, Forest Hill or Kirkdale shopping areas. It can be as simple or complicated as you like, with or without commentary - use your imagination! But it needs to be done quickly. We must have your video by 6pm on Sunday (March 25).

We need the actual file for editing purposes, so please use www.sendspace.com to email your video to myfilm@foresthillsociety.com. If you post your video to YouTube as well, please add the tags se23, se26, forest hill, sydenham and portas.

The legal bit.
You will keep the copyright to your video in its raw format. By sending the video to us using sendspace.com, you will grant Forest Hill Society full rights to include the video in our Portas Pilot bid. Forest Hill Society and its bid partners will have full copyright of the bid video.

St George's Food Fair

On Sunday 22 April,10 until 4, we are holding a Food Fair in the forecourt of Forest Hill Station.
We are busy putting together a group of the finest local food producers and retailers to bring real quality food right into the heart of Forest Hill.
Alongside On THe Hoof's coffee stall, we'll have hot food and great drinks from Fleisch, Forest Hill's newest caterers.

Honor Oak's recent newcomer Hills & Parkes will be selling their delicious home baked pies and a range of superb English cheeses. Their new chef is cooking tartlets filled with lemon/rhubarb and custard/choc/strawberry and savoury flavours too.

Mridula Baljekar's Kitchen will be selling their Pure & Fresh range of spiced fruit chutneys. Using no artificial additives or colours they have an unmistakably delicious Eastern quality.

The fruit and vegetables are supplied by Perry Court Farm in Kent and the recipes are then developed and cooked by Jacqueline Evans & Mridula Baljekar in Mridula Baljekar's Kitchen. Sean 'Egg Boss' Lawson will be selling his six flavours of Scotch Egg, to eat on the day or to take home for a delicious lunchtime treat and Pimento Hill will be bringing the Caribbean to Forest Hill with their sauces, seasonings and jellies. Let's hope they bring the sunshine too!

Local Dulwich favourites Franklins will be offering wonderful deli produce, both local and from around the world and there will also be stalls from artisan bakers BreadBread and the Forest Hill Cake Company to round off our list of quality food merchants.

There will be music and entertainment throughout the day, so mark the date in your diary and come and experience 'all the fun of the fair!'
With thanks to the Station Operators LOROL.

Events

SPRING WOODLAND WALK, SUNDAY, 25 MARCH, 11.00am

Join us on our Woodland Walk. Starting from London Road, Horniman Gardens lower entrance, bottom of Sydenham Hill (not Sydenham Rise). A guided walk will take us through Sydenham Woods looking at the disused railway line and spring flowers. 'Pissarro's bridge' is shown to the right.

FOREST HILL PLANTING, 28 APRIL
Join us for Forest Hill in Bloom 2012!
Meet at 2.30pm, Sat 28 April, at the station forecourt. Bring gardening gloves, trowel and a plastic bag.
We will be holding a similar event in Honor Oak Park (timing to be confirmed)

Development News

Recently there have been several planning applications for high street developments to which the Society has objected. This may seem at odds with our intention of championing the local shopping areas, so we thought we should explain why we have taken this position.
In Dartmouth Road there were applications to change the use of three separate retail units into a financial service, an office, and a bar. Although they have been empty for years and it is great news that new businesses want to open here, we were concerned about the loss of units for retail. Lewisham has guidelines about maintaining a mix of uses in town centres to encourage shopping. We expect that the new swimming pools will increase passing trade and help to revitalise Dartmouth Road, so we don't want too many retail units to disappear.

In Honor Oak Park we objected to two applications on the shopping parade. The first was Domino's Pizza wanting to open a pizza delivery outlet in the former Old Bank restaurant. There was a lot of local opposition and we took the view that it was poor use of a prime location, and there were concerns about parking and noise from the delivery bikes. Lewisham refused the application on those grounds. The applicant appealed against the decision. This was dismissed on the basis of unsatisfactory parking for the delivery bikes.

The second application on the HOP parade was for three units to be combined into one unit for a supermarket (thought to be a chain) with flats above. Local opinion was divided: some feared a supermarket would be detrimental to existing shops, while others thought it would benefit the parade by encouraging more people to shop there. We came to the conclusion that the new unit would probably be good for the area, but some of the flats above had poor layouts and we therefore submitted an objection setting out our concerns about that. Lewisham are yet to decide whether to grant the application.

Contact planning@foresthillsociety.com.
See www.foresthillsociety.com/search/label/Planning for all applications in which we have been involved.

Neighbourhood Planning

Over the past few months things have been moving forward on the proposals for the SE23 and SE26 Neighbourhood Plan. Now that the Localism Act has become law (November 2011), we have a better view of what is required and the regulations that will control the process of creating a Neighbourhood Plan.
The exciting thing about Neighbourhood Planning is that it has the potential to give real control to communities in helping shape their area. It also places a responsibility on Local Authorities to support communities in producing neighbourhood plans.

We have been meeting with Lewisham Planning Officers to discuss ideas for the area the plan will cover and how we can work closer in the future on this and other planning policy documents.

Our next steps include presenting our ideas to each Ward Assemblies in SE23 and SE26; identifying areas of funding to support our work with the wider community on the plan; and building up our database of people who are keen to help. We are keen to progress work on Forest Hill town centre, to gain a better understanding of what gives the area its special character, and how we can try and make sure that future development proposals support and reinforce what makes the area special.

If you can offer your time or skills to the Neighbourhood Planning process we'd love to hear from you. We will continue to keep you informed as work progresses over the coming months. Please email your details to Hilary@foresthillsociety.com with details of your interests, how you are able to help, or the issues we should be covering.

ST AUGUSTINE'S - URGENT APPEAL

St Augustine's church in Honor Oak urgently needs £300,000 for essential repairs, or we may face losing this landmark building. Please go to www.augustineonetreehill.org.uk/donations.htm
The deadline for donations is March, so please act fast!

Future of Police

Doubts have been raised by the Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panel about the future of Sydenham Police Station on Dartmouth Road. The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (which took over from the MPA in January) are reviewing the entire property portfolio as part of a London-wide review of Police station provision.

The Metropolitan Police (MPS) may want to sell off the building to raise much needed cash and relocate the Forest Hill, Sydenham and Perry Vale Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) and the Rapid Response Team to Catford.

The Station may open only Part time to the public, but is home to our SNT. Relocating the SNT to Catford will result in them spending less time policing the very streets they are supposed to protect and is contrary to the idea of local policing. We feel that this is far from ideal and are calling on the MPS to review the situation.

Borough Commander, Detective Chief Supt Burton, will 'neither confirm nor deny' the rumours and will only say that there is a review of Police Stations happening across London that will look at counter provision across Lewisham.

The Forest Hill and the Sydenham Societies held a protest at the Station on 18 February, which was supported by Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick and are calling on their members to sign the petition available in local shops or online at www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-sydenham-police-station/ and email Detective Chief Superintendent Jeremy Burton: Jeremy.burton@met.police.uk

Raising the Roof at the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

The Nature Reserve is looking for volunteers to help build the new Green Oak Shelter.
Specialist green-oak carpenter and teacher Tom Trimmins (tomtrimmins.co.uk) is running carpentry workshops on Saturday March 3rd, 17th and 31st from 10.00 until 2.00 , cutting and shaping the green-oak frame for the building, making the mortice-joints and bracing pieces and forming the curved roof timbers. Work will carry on later into the afternoon for those with a passion and there will be other sessions on weekday evenings to continue the work learnt on the Saturday sessions.

Volunteers are also needed to clear the site and cast the pad-stones ready for the timber frame, so, if you don't see yourself as a carpenter but feel like some honest labouring, there's plenty to do.

The Oak frame will be erected on Sunday, 1 April. There will be a party to celebrate, so dig out your dancing clogs. There'll be hard work, music and food and drink. Families welcome to raise the barn!

There will be further hands-on workshops in May to build and plant the living roof (similar to the Horniman Museum). Guided by Dusty Gedge (dustygedge.com), one of the foremost experts in green roof technology, this is the opportunity to learn all about this environmentally friendly method. Contact jacob@foresthillsociety.com.

Sydenham Garden

Established for ten years, this community project provides gardening and art therapy to local people with physical or mental health issues.

The new resource centre was opened in 2010 and the Garden is looking to expand to serve other community needs. The Gardens are actually just in Forest Hill, on Wynell Road, next to the Forest Hill Bowls club on the site of a, wait for it ... a former market garden (used up to the middle of the last century. The Gardens were proud to win a Lewisham in Bloom prize last year.

The charity has ambitious plans to grow food commercially at the former allotments in De Frene Road. Rubbish and debris has been cleared to get the land ready. In coming years you will dine in local fashionable restaurants knowing your produce is both fresh, local and supports the community. See www.sydenhamgarden.org.uk for further details including how to get involved and open days.

New Community Orchard

The community orchard in Mayow Park was planted on Saturday 28th January 2012, after months of preparation that saw Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) working with London Orchard Project (LOP) and Lewisham Council.

Numerous local adults and children helped, learning from LOP how to dig a square hole, mulch and stake the trees. Eleven trees were planted: ten trees were sponsored by local people and one was a gift. The Society sponsored the Brandy Pear tree, which is a medium sharp perry pear.

Six people volunteered to be orchard carers. They will receive basic training on care for the trees and will water them during the growing season for the first two years. A fruiting hedgerow was also planted. We look forward to autumn fruit harvesting and other celebrations annually. If you would like to be an orchard carer or would like to know more about the orchard. Contact FOMP on friendsofmayowpark@ymail.com