HOPFest - Saturday 20th September

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Forest Hill Fashion Week - Thursday 18th September - Sunday 21st September
Forest Hill Society Music Festival - Sunday, 21st September, Forest Hill Station

HOPFest - Saturday, 20th September

Forest Hill Society AGM - Wednesday 22nd October, Upstairs at The Hob (opposite Forest Hill station)

Forest Hill Ward Assembly: Tuesday, 16th September, Christian Fellowship Centre, Honor Oak Road (opposite Fairlawn school)
Perry Vale Ward Assembly: Tuesday, 30th September, 7pm, Kilmorie School, Kilmorie Road

Crofton Park Ward Assembly: Saturday, 18th October, 11am, St. Saviour Church on the corner of Brockley Rise and Herschell Road

Horniman Farmers’ Market - Every Saturday 9am-1:30pm at the bandstand

Give a name to an Alpaca

Our new baby alpaca still needs a name - tweet us your vote and be in with the chance of winning a membership pic.twitter.com/smOnvAblP4 — Horniman Museum (@HornimanMuseum) August 22, 2014

Planning Application: 110 Wood Vale

The Forest Hill Society have written to Lewisham Council objecting to the application to build seven houses at 110 Wood Vale.

The planning application (DC/14/88392) can be read at: http://planning.lewisham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=_LEWIS_DCAPR_75239

Our main concerns were relating to poor Internal layout and daylight, unsuitable external amenity space, and over development of the site. Full details of the Forest Hill Society objection can be read here


Note: This application was withdrawn by the applicant on 23rd September

Road Improvements to Brockley Rise and Stondon Park

Lewisham Council has secured funding from Transport for London through the Local Improvement Plan to develop proposals for improving the public realm along various sections of the ‘Brockley Corridor’ - the main north-south route between the South Circular and Brockley Cross.

They are now consulting with local people in order to gain a better understanding of issues within the Corridor and potential for improvements, in order to inform more detailed designs.

Full document is available at http://lewisham-consult.objective.co.uk/file/3081917
And you can respond to the consultation at http://lewisham-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/regeneration/t/brockleycorridor

Watercolour - at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Suitable for the terrified and the gifted this is a uniquely inspiring course. Watercolour will be explored in the natural beauty of the reserve. Personalized and friendly tutoring will enable everyone to gain experience, confidence and direction. You will experiment; gather knowledge, and paintings as you progress.






New term Starts September 10th 2014
Wednesday evenings 7 – 10, Pay per class £8 or £80 per term. All day Saturday sessions to be confirmed.

Tea and coffee provided, anything stronger – bring your own!
Led by Artist Naomi Leake – A regular watercolour tutor for Tate Britain.

Some materials will be provided but please bring student quality paints and brushes.
To book a place and for more information on all classes contact naomi@naomileake.co.uk

Mayow Park Community Day - sunday 31st August

In addition to the cricket fun, there will be the official opening of the new cafe, Brown and Green, in the Pavilion. However, unofficially it opened yesterday, so it is not too early to try it out and enjoy some time in Mayow Park.

Lewisham Elders Resource Centre - Open Day

Saturday 9th August, 11:30am-3:30pm, Stanstead Lodge, 260 Stanstead Road, Forest Hill, SE23 1DD

There will be stalls with Bric a Brac, Cakes for sale, and an AUCTION of porcelain dolls and other items.

There will also be short demonstrations of Tai Chi - line dancing - Vista Reminiscence and their Choir. This will Start around 2.00pm to 2.30pm and all proceeding will be going back into the rebuilding funds for Stanstead Lodge which is a Grade ll listed building and urgently needs funding for its restoration.

Honor Oak Pub - Reopening on 14th August

The Honor Oak Pub has announced their opening date:

 "The grand reveal will be on Thursday 14th August when we open our doors to everyone from 8pm with free canapés and surprises at our preview night. 

Kitchen opens for bookings from Friday 15th August. Everyday from 10am"

 

Public Invite: Forest Hill Town Centre design workshop - vision 2023

Open feedback session from 4-5pm this Saturday 19th July at 6 Havelock Walk (off London Road)

This Saturday the Forest Hill Society and SEE3 are organising a creative workshop for local architects and designers to develop ideas for improving Forest Hill Town Centre. At the end of the workshop there will be an open feedback session for the wider community to come and find out what we have been up to, to hear about the ideas, to ask questions, and input into our emerging town centre vision. 

The workshop is intentionally about looking broadly at the identity of the town centre, key sites (including the station, Perry Vale and Dartmouth Road) and any areas which could benefit from improvement or change.  Over the course of the day the teams attending will help define some of the problems in the town centre and start to develop creative ideas for solving some of them.  This workshop will be focusing on physical issues and spaces rather than building uses and what goes on inside of the buildings. 

The results of the workshop will be published over the summer and we hope they can be used to help support applications for funding to improve the town centre as well as encouraging private developers to make investments and improvements. 

Everyone involved in the day is volunteering their time to help Forest Hill and the town centre and we would really love to have wider support from the community.  If you have any questions please email hilary@fhsoc.com

Please come along between 4pm and 5pm and see what we come up with.

There are some background documents that might make useful reading:

Lewisham Council's 2003 Urban Design Framework for Forest Hill Town Centre (in three parts):

UDF part one

UDF part two

UDF part three

Forest Hill Ward Assembly funded 2010 Street Clutter report on the Town Centre.

Call out to local architects, urban designers, landscape architects and related professionals

Forest Hill Town Centre - Design Charrette, Saturday, 19th July 2014
The last area specific vision and planning guidance for Forest Hill Town Centre was produced in 2003 and much has changed since this time. The town centre has seen a considerable increase in new businesses and new residential development over the past 3-4 years, a new swimming pools complex has opened and the Horniman Museum and Horniman Triangle attract ever more people to the area. There is also an established arts community focused on Havelock Walk and new workspace for artists is due to open this year in Louise House. The addition of London Overground to connect Forest Hill into the underground network has been highly successful and the area is in high demand to new residents. BUT at the heart of this the south circular still passes through the town centre and has a big impact on people and spaces, in addition key streets lack coherence, some connections are poor and key sites are an eyesore.

The Forest Hill Society, SEE3 and members of the wider community have identified that there is
a strong need for a new creative vision for the town centre and related areas, based on:
• evidence of how it works today;
• a community led vision for change and action; and
• creative ideas for making the town centre a better place.

Achieving this will be a significant piece of work and in order to start this process off we are holding a community led design charrette to be held on the Saturday, 19th July 2014 in Havelock Walk. 

The idea is to harness the analytical and creative skills of the local community, to focus on using the skills of local architects, urban designers, landscape architects and related professionals and to run the workshops in the format of a short design charrette or creative workshop. The written outcomes of this work will become supporting documents and content for further placemaking and regeneration work, to help support future funding applications and to help inform future policy guidance.

This workshop will be run between 10am and 5pm in a central venue that enables site visits, investigations and ideas testing. This is a realistic amount of time to expect local people to contribute initially and that we hope a sufficient number of people with creative vision and useful experience will be able to attend (ideally we are looking for around 20-25 in total for the charrette plus more for a feedback and review session at the end of the day). Those attending will comprise both invited local built environment specialists, including architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners and other specialists, and others that have identified they would like to attend in response to a local call for support. We would like those attending to include local traders, community groups, and people from a range of ages and ethnic groups.

Specifically we want to bring together a creative mix of skills, experience, local knowledge and new ideas.

THE SITES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The sites and areas that have been identified to look at include:
• Forest Hill Station forecourt and related sites, including the visual approach into Forest Hill from the South Circular
• Perry Vale pedestrianisation ideas and related sites, including the Perry Vale Car park
• The connections between Forest Hill and Sydenham along the railway line
• Dartmouth Road spaces and pocket park opportunities

If you are interested in taking part please contact Hilary@fhsoc.com

Froglife comes to Dacres Wood Nature Reserve

12th, 13th, 19th & 20th July Dacres Wood will be open for the Sydenham Arts Trail.

The weekend of the 12th & 13th July, 11-5pm artists Kay Bromley, Lilian Chow, Diana Mckinnon, Lisa Muten, & Jill Tse will be showing their work varying from paintings, textiles, prints and jewellery.

On the 19th July Froglife are coming to the reserve, 10-4pm. On this day there will lots of activities for all the family including pond dipping, making plaster cast frogs as well as talks and information on the amphibians and fauna of the pond.

We look forwrad to seeing you then.
Also if you are able to volunteer a few hours on any of these days to help with making teas or greeting visitors please contact us.

 

Devonshire Road Nature Reserve Open Day - 20th July

Summer at the Horniman

Horniman’s Curious Tea Party

Sat 12 to Sun 13 July 2014

An eccentric weekend of Edwardian inspired dance, music, frivolity and food in our Gardens. See specially-commissioned dance and music performances inspired by the Horniman and its eclectic collections, take part in tea dances, go on a singing treasure hunt, experience immersive fantastical art installations, enjoy ragtime jazz, discover a cabinet of curiosities, meet a giant explorer, see dazzling circus acts and more.

Summer Holidays

Mon 28 Jul to Sun 31 Aug
This summer is packed full of exciting new and regular activities from Big Wednesdays to Nature Explorers. See the full summer programme for families.

Jazz Picnics

Wed 16, 23, 30 Jul, 7-8.30pm

Chill out to three special evening Bandstand concerts set against a stunning London skyline. We start the series with Albert Ball’s Flying Aces, the UK's only fully-professional ragtime band.

The Great Animal Orchestra

Sun 27 Jul – Sun 31 Aug
Explore nature's music and the fascinating sounds of animals, birds and insects in this sound installation designed by Bernie Krause. Come along to The Great Animal Orchestra Party on the opening day, featuring Bandstand concerts and family activities.  

Behind the Scenes: A Tour of the Natural History Collection

Thurs 14 Aug, 7pm
Take a behind the scenes tour of our celebrated Natural History Collection and see some rarely displayed specimens, such as Frederick Horniman’s insects collection.
Tickets: £5. Book online.

Extremes Garden

Until Mon 1 September
A special display of cacti and succulents which explores the amazing adaptations plants have made to survive the most extreme conditions on Earth. This display is near the Animal Walk in the Gardens.

Blythe Hill Fields Festival - Saturday 5th July

Free - Meet the Artist event in Forest Hill

Sunday 29th June, 5pm at DoopoDoopo. Art show from Adelina Iliev and Martin Lea.

Honor Oak Pub to Reopen

Reports on Twitter confirm that the Honor Oak Pub (corner of Brockley Rise and St Germans Road) will be reopening as a Gastropub in August this year.

Last year the Forest Hill Society successfully applied to Lewisham Council to have this pub listed as an Asset of Community Value. We believe this has helped ensure it's survival as a pub, after rumours were received of interest from a supermarket chain.

This news comes hot on the heals of news that Sainsbury's are no longer interested in taking over the Windmill pub in Kirkdale. The Sydenham Society are taking the lead in ensuring the best use is made of this Asset of Community Value in SE26.

Louise House Open Morning

Sunday 6 July 2014, 11am–1pm, Louise House (between the library and the swimming pool)

 

To mark the re-opening of Louise House as an Artists' Studio building, V22 will be hosting Open House and Morning Tea on Sunday 6 July.

V22 Louise House is a Grade II listed building. Formerly an Industrial Girls' Home it now houses fifteen artists' studios and an exhibition space. V22 would like to invite you to visit and join us in celebrating Louise House’s future as a new and exciting arts centre.

Forest Hill Society visit to Olympic Park

Saturday, 21st June meet at Forest Hill station at 10:30am for the 10:45 train towards London Bridge.
 

Join our "walk on the wild side" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday 21st June.

This walk, in London's most recently created public park, will meander through the magnificent and varied beds of wild flowers which are part of London's Olympic legacy.   The walk is generally on flat paths or grass with occasional wide steps - with handrails.  There are many seated areas, plentiful loos and a cafe where we could either buy lunch or eat a picnic.  The whole park is to be admired for its innovative and environmentally friendly planting and well designed, imaginative street furniture.

We are meeting at Forest Hill Station at 10:30 and will take the train to London Bridge where we will pick up the Jubilee Line to Stratford. The walk should finish at around 3.00pm. If joining at Honor Oak Park find us at the front carriage of the train.

Ward Assemblies

Ward assemblies are an important way to have your say on developments in the local area and are a good opportunity to meet your local councillors.

Crofton Park Ward - Saturday 21st June, 10am, St. Saviour's Church Hall, Brockley Rise (see http://goo.gl/maps/Xj7yQ)
Forest Hill Ward - Sunday 13th July, 1:30pm, Forest Hill Pools, Dartmouth Road
Perry Vale Ward - Tuesday 15th July, 7pm, Rockbourne Youth Club

An Urgent Appeal on behalf of Sydenham Arts Festival

From the team behind the Sydenham Arts Festival:

You may know that we currently planning our sixth annual arts festival in Sydenham - as always providing a fantastic, wide-ranging programme of arts events and activities for the whole community, more than half of which are free (see http://sydenhamartsfestival.co.uk/).

Having received some very generous grants from National Lottery and Lewisham Council, not to mention support from local businesses, this has become our most ambitious programme ever, meaning July will see several, very high-profile, large-scale events come to Sydenham and Forest Hill.

With events on this scale, there has been a much larger than unexpected increase in costs – in particular for technical infrastructure, security personnel and health & safety provision. Despite strenuous efforts to meet this shortfall in our budget, we need additional funds. We are therefore making an urgent appeal to local residents, festival goers, business owners, stakeholders and supporters, to help us meet this gap.

Become a Friend of Sydenham Arts FestivalIn our own 'crowd-funding' bid, we are looking to raise additional funds from private donations. You may donate any amount, but those contributing £50 or more will be listed as a Friend of Sydenham Arts Festival on our website, and can also claim two free tickets (subject to availability) to one of the following events:
HEGLEY & KAY or IAN SIEGAL: 21ST CENTURY FOLK & BLUES
OR 1 family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) to JEREMY STRONG
OR 2 adult & 2 child tickets to TOY SYMPHONY
PLUS an invite to our pre-festival ‘warm up’ in June.
NB: Tickets may be claimed up till Mon 23 June 2014.

Friends will be listed on our site in four categories:
Platinum - £500 +
Gold - £250 +
Silver - £100 +
Bronze - £50 +

How to donate to Sydenham Arts Festival Ltd (a not-for-profit organisation):
Cheques (made payable to Sydenham Arts Festival Ltd): drop in or post to Sydenham Arts Festival, Kirkdale Bookshop, 272 Kirkdale, Sydenham SE26 4RS
Cash: please leave envelopes at Kirkdale Bookshop, marked Sydenham Arts Festival Friends (receipts will be provided).
Bank transfer: Barclays account number 43366650, sort code 20-05-57. Please use reference Friend of SAF

Please also email financeofficer@sydenhamartsfestival.co.uk with subject line Sydenham Arts Festival Friends Appeal, to claim your free tickets and be named as a Friend on our site.

Thank You!
The SAF team

If you go down to Dacres Woods today you're sure of a big surprise

On Saturday, 31st May 2014 the Friends of Dacres Wood Nature Reserve are hosting a teddy bear's picnic as part of an open day.

From 1pm-4pm you could hunt for teddies, make a sculpture, share a picnic with your teddy or just go for a tour of the nature reserve.

All you need is a teddy and picnic (and even those are optional)

visit http://dacreswood.org.uk/ for more information

The 23rd Annual Friends of the Horniman Art Exhibition

14-15 June will see the 23^rd Friends of the Horniman Art Exhibition in the Conservatory of the Horniman Museum and Gardens.

More than 30 Artists will be showing work over the weekend, in a wide variety of styles both contemporary and traditional. We will have oils, acrylics and watercolours but also drawings, prints, textile art and sculpture. Many artists will be familiar to previous visitors but we will also have a number of new artists this year. This is a great opportunity to purchase a unique, original art work while also supporting the museum. Even if you feel that you don’t currently have the wall space many of the artists will also be selling greeting cards.

The Sunday is Father’s Day so we are hoping that many people will incorporate a trip to the Museum and the Art exhibition into the weekend, perhaps including a trip to the Extremes exhibition, the Aquarium or your old favourites. 

Where: The conservatory, Horniman Museum and Gardens

When: Saturday 14 June 10am-5pm and Sunday 15 June 10am-4.30pm

Forest Hill Traders’ Association

There’s been some exciting developments in Forest Hill over the last few years, and as traders we’re thrilled to witness the continued regeneration of our town centre and the increased visibility of our creative community.

Local regeneration was given a boost a couple of years ago when a group of residents and traders (including members of the Forest Hill Society) pitched for and won a Portas Pilot grant for high street regeneration in Forest Hill, Sydenham and Kirkdale. One of the scheme’s conditions was that each of the areas involved should have an active traders’ association, so we duly resurrected the then-dormant Forest Hill Traders’ Association in support of the new SEE3 initiative that was born as a result of securing the Portas funding.

In the words of the SEE3 website: “The Forest Hill, Sydenham and Kirkdale’s Portas Pilot vision is of a high-street where established independent traders are an integral part of the community, new traders bring innovation and further quality, boundaries between retail, culture and community blur, energy of active citizens is harnessed, new ideas are championed and space that is secured for start-up enterprises to develop is readily accessible.”

We’ve been proudly involved in the many SEE3 initiatives that have taken place since, from exciting pop-ups and new markets through to community events and the Forest Hill Fashion Week (visit http://www.see3.co.uk/ for more details). We believe the scheme’s benefits have been both tangible and highly visible, making our neighbourhood a more varied and interesting place to live.

Totally Locally is a nationwide social enterprise which provides “support for independent retailers with a free branding and marketing campaign for their town.”

One of our local traders (Serge Sumerling of B Cards on Darmouth Road) had the idea to establish a Totally Locally hub for Forest Hill (http://totally-locally.co.uk/foresthill/), and this has now become the online “home” for the Forest Hill Trader’s Association and its members: a place where people can learn about what Forest Hill businesses have to offer, and where they can keep abreast of forthcoming initiatives, special offers and events.

We’re excited about the forthcoming Forest Hill Film Festival, with some of our members hosting screenings and events, and we’re due to install a map outside the station that will encourage people to explore Forest Hill’s hidden retail and other gems - so keep an eye out!

We’re especially keen for new members to join us. Established businesses, newcomers, market traders and home businesses are all welcome. This is a relatively young organisation and you’ll get a chance to help shape the future of independent business in Forest Hill.

Please contact Julia Channon (allinnone@btconnect.com) if you’re interested in joining, or even if you’d just like to attend our next meeting.

Farmers' Market at the Horniman

Following on from the success of the Forest Hill Society monthly Food Fairs, the Horniman Farmers' Market (run by Griffin, Kendall and Cox) is now a thriving weekly Saturday market.

Regular stalls include vegetables, bread, meat, cheeses, eggs, cakes, muffins, handmade pasta, juices, and loads more food to eat there or take home for the week ahead. All the produce is excellent quality and produced or sourced locally. Recently Billings of Sydenham have added fish to the market. And once a month you will find the Forest Hill Society stall with information about events in the local area and shops on the high street.

Horniman is a superb venue, with possibly the best views at any market in London. The market brings a greater variety of foods to the area, competing primarily with Sainsbury's. It is there to give you the opportunity to buy local produce direct from farmers and local producers, in addition to supporting local shops on the high street.

If you haven't been before, pop along on a Saturday between 9:30am and 1:30pm, and enjoy doing some shopping in a great setting.

Edible High Road - 10th May 2014

Historic Walk around Forest Hill

Saturday 10th May 10.30am - Free, One hour 'Talk and Walk' around Forest Hill and Sydenham with local Historian Steve Grindlay. 

Learn about some of the fascinating history of this area and more about the possible future PLUS the on-going BurtonNitta Knowledge Bank project.  

Meet outside the exhibition window at Sainsbury’s in Forest Hill.

Members Profile: Michael Abrahams, Chairman of the Forest Hill Society

When did you arrive in Forest Hill?

I moved to Forest Hill at the age of 4 in 1978, and have lived in a number of houses and flats around Forest Hill, on both sides of the railway. I now live in the same road that I moved to more than 30 years ago.

What made you choose Forest Hill as a place to live with your family?

Initially that was down to my parents. However I met my wife, Anne-Marie, in the sixth form of Sydenham School (we weren't married at the time) and we eventually chose to rent a flat in Forest Hill. We both grew up the area and have many friends who live in the area or close by, and both our sets of parents continue to live in Forest Hill.

When did you join the society?

I was one of the founder members of the Forest Hill Society. We met in the Dartmouth Arms in May 2006 after discussions on SE23.com. I chaired the Society for a couple of years before stepping down but I stayed on the committee and, when Richard stepped down last year I took the opportunity to stand again for Chair of the Society. I'm very proud of what we have achieved in the last 7 years and want to make sure we continue to find new ways to improve Forest Hill.

Why did you join the society?

I had always felt that Forest Hill lacked a clear voice and the closure of the swimming pool in 2006 was the main driver for local people to set up the Society. Other than the swimming pool, my main reasons for being part of the Society are to improve the high streets and to create a greater sense of community and shared pride in where we live.

What are the main things that the Forest Hill Society have achieved since you joined?

The swimming pool campaign was our main focus for a number of years. Had it not been for the tenacious campaigning by the Forest Hill Society and other groups, I don't think this would have happened.

Last year the Food Fairs took up lots of the efforts of the Society and partially as a result of this we now have a weekly market at the Horniman (not run by the FH Society), and at least two new shops on the high street.

What has been your proudest moment in the society?

Seeing the swimming pool built was wonderful. Swimming in the pool on the 15th September 2012, and attending the official opening a few weeks later, were certainly very proud moments – and the culmination of years of hard campaigning by local residents.

How has Forest Hill changed since you moved to the area?

It has changed a lot. We used to have at least three greengrocers, a fishmonger, cheese shop, health food shop, toy shop. But things changed on all high streets and after some bad years (mid-90s to mid-00s), the high street has definitely picked up in the last few years.

The other big change is the Horniman. When I was a child it was a 'dusty old museum', today it offers so much more for visitors. I'm sure part of this is my perception now that I have a young daughter, but I think the team in charge of the Horniman have done a fabulous job to improve and extend the museum.

What are you main priorities as Chairman moving forward?

It would be really nice to do something to make Forest Hill more friendly to pedestrians, or at least more attractive in the public spaces. Unfortunately this is not something that is easy to achieve and we need to find appropriate sources of funding.

I also want the Society to continue to enable local people to make things happen. We have been involved in a number of groups that have started off small and have made a difference to the local area separate from, but supported by, the Forest Hill Society. If you have ideas about making the place better, get in touch and we can help you to find a way to make it happen.

What's your vision for Forest Hill as Chairman?

Long term I want to see a redeveloped town centre – the space around the station and underpass on both sides of the railway. And I want to see the Bakerloo line extended underground to South East London – it doesn't have to be Forest Hill or Honor Oak, but either one would be my preferred route.

But most importantly I want everybody in Forest Hill to feel part of the community and to feel proud to live here. I think that is what being a member of the Forest Hill Society is all about.