Wednesday 15 March 2017

Report backs the return of the anchor to Deptford High Street

A report into the feasibility of returning the anchor to Deptford High Street has recommended it be returned to the south end of the high street.

The report by consultant BDP was commissioned by the council following continued pressure from Deptford residents and local groups, and the 'Give us back our bloomin' anchor!' petition by Deptford Is Forever/Deptford Society which attracted more than 4,000 signatures.

The cost of returning the anchor - which is currently being stored in a shed in Convoys Wharf - is estimated by the report to be approximately £24k. This would include cleaning the anchor (which  since being put in 'secure' storage now has graffiti on it ) and creating an area of contrasting paving around it to prevent visually-impaired people from walking into it.


The BDP report considers other options for relocating the anchor, including Giffin Square, but concludes that the south end of the high street is the most feasible.


The report comes before the mayor and cabinet meeting next Wednesday. Council officers have recommended agreement to the return of the anchor; they also suggest that crowd funding be used to raise at least some of the cost of doing so.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

I bet some car will drive into it and dent it like so many other things around Deptford. :-(

Anonymous said...

^ unlike with the foldable flimsy perforated bollards around the new market yard, I think the cars would come off worse if they stacked on the anchor

Anonymous said...

Good news about anchor.
But look at the state of the fairly new paving they installed recently. Needs a clean and it needs to be regularly cleaned.

Anonymous said...

If they put it on a raised platform as of yore, then Deptford residents at that end of the street will be back to square one.
Drunks sitting, urinating, propositioning, fighting, bleeding and vomiting in, on and around that area. If they don't put it on a raised platform then the first toddler or OAP or biker that runs into it will spark a prohibitively big insurance claim. Which is why it was put on a raised platform in the first place.

There is probably ten times the space opposite the school and library Why can't it go there? Or alternatively why not sell the
bloody thing and put the money into the nearest AA based charity?

The very first thing I'm going to do is to alert Asda management to the well documented problems that existed before it was sensibly removed.

Random said...

Stick it in the park where people will spend a few mintues to appreciate it rather than on the high street which people will either be using it to pee on at night or be falling over it!

Random said...

Whats asda going to do? They need to sort out problems theyve bought such as their loud AC machines and their daily 3am delivery trucks banging metal against metal!

Anonymous said...

@Random

Trust me, I've lived on the high street for twenty years and the drunk magnet parked at the end of the street, was far worse than deliveries and air conditioning. Asda won't piss and defecate on your front door, they won't leave needles or bleed there or insult you and your children as you enter and leave your own home. Asda won't throw bottles at pedestrians and the traffic and they won't threaten you with violence. I think they might be interested in all the letters documenting that tidy little lot I sent to the council and my MP over the years. All of which has diminished considerably since the anchor was removed. I'd be quite pleased if they helped to lean on what I assume will have to be a planning application.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous you are a flipping muppet, the whole point of this campaign is that the plinth wont be reinstated, the only reason why anyone was loitering there in the first place.

There are plenty of examples of street art or furnature being installed without needing a plinth, fence or whatever, and the anchor being at the top of the high street in its original location is a matter of historical significance and a strong visual point at the gateway to Deptford.

This is also about the community demonstating that unaccountable councils or developers cannot just do what they want all the time, impacting the character and history of the area.

If you dont care about the cultural and historial significance things like the anchor have then piss off and live in another part of london.

Anonymous said...

A fucking report for a return of an anchor.

"Generally its edges require little attention, there appears no sharp edges or spalling;"

Anonymous said...

Put it at the station. That is where most people arrive in Deptford.

Anonymous said...

Deptford High Street residents don't want the shitty anchor back. The only person who does is the moron who littered the High Street red tape anchors a while back.