Proposals for the reinstatement of Crossfield Street open space after the Tideway Tunnel work has been completed are on show at Deptford Lounge for a week from today Saturday 6 May.
Council officers working on the project and representatives from the design team will be available to answer questions and talk about ideas for the space on Wednesday 10 May from 4-7.30pm and Saturday 13 May, 9.30am-12noon.
THE DEPTFORD DAME
Showing posts with label thames tunnel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thames tunnel. Show all posts
Saturday, 6 May 2017
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
Crossfields Green open space - consultation under way
Lewisham Council is consulting with local groups and residents on what they want to see in the master plan for the reinstatement of Crossfields Green after the Tideway Tunnel construction work has been completed.
You may not even know this little slip of land exists if it's not on your route somewhere - it sits alongside St Paul's Church and provides a useful cut-through from the high street to Deptford Church Street and onwards to Greenwich for walkers and cyclists.
It also has some parking spaces, a badly-landscaped turning circle outside the school entrance, and an area of green space, trees and shrubs, part of which has been a community garden and some of which is used as a dog-walking area.
All of this will be taken over next year when construction of the shaft for the Tideway Tunnel interceptor begins. You can read more about the plans in my previous posts and on the Tideway Tunnel website.
Once the construction has finished, Tideway Tunnel is obliged to reinstate the land and Lewisham Council is leading the process of developing a master plan for the site.
You can comment through the online survey which is open until midnight on 21 December - if you aren't really sure what you want to see on this space, why not consider the 'five radical ideas' being put forward by campaigning group Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart?
You may not even know this little slip of land exists if it's not on your route somewhere - it sits alongside St Paul's Church and provides a useful cut-through from the high street to Deptford Church Street and onwards to Greenwich for walkers and cyclists.
It also has some parking spaces, a badly-landscaped turning circle outside the school entrance, and an area of green space, trees and shrubs, part of which has been a community garden and some of which is used as a dog-walking area.
All of this will be taken over next year when construction of the shaft for the Tideway Tunnel interceptor begins. You can read more about the plans in my previous posts and on the Tideway Tunnel website.
Once the construction has finished, Tideway Tunnel is obliged to reinstate the land and Lewisham Council is leading the process of developing a master plan for the site.
You can comment through the online survey which is open until midnight on 21 December - if you aren't really sure what you want to see on this space, why not consider the 'five radical ideas' being put forward by campaigning group Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart?
Monday, 12 October 2015
Silvertown Tunnel and beyond
Transport for London opened the formal 'consultation' on its Silvertown Tunnel scheme recently and is inviting the public to comment on the proposals.
The official line is that the Silvertown Tunnel (which will go under the river from the east side of the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks) is needed to relieve pressure on the Blackwall Tunnel and make it easier to cross the river in the east side of London.
While it might increase capacity under the river itself by doubling the amount of traffic lanes, this traffic will still have to squeeze into the same road system on each side of the river, so it seems obvious that the congestion on local roads each side of the tunnel will remain - and more than likely, will be exacerbated as it's long been known that new roads generate additional traffic. This was established by the Department of Transport itself, in its infamous Sactra report of 1994.
We already know that pollution levels in south east London are well above the EU recommended limits and additional traffic is only going to make the situation worse, with greater risks to public health, especially in children, the elderly and those who already suffer respiratory problems.
Quite aside from the debatable case for relieving congestion, is the fact that TFL is proposing to impose a charge on users of both the new tunnel and the existing one. They say this will be so that they can 'manage demand'. Hang on a minute, I thought the new tunnel was going to do that? So TFL is admitting that the new tunnel will not relieve the congestion, it will merely generate more traffic that will then have to be 'managed'. As an afterthought they also say that the user charges will pay for the tunnel to be built. Clearly the only reason they think they can get away with imposing charges is surely because there are so few other options for drivers in east London, especially if the Woolwich ferry is closed.
No to Silvertown Tunnel campaigners have published quite a lot of detail on their website, including the case against, and an interesting live air quality widget from the air quality centre at King's College.
We've also very recently seen the knock-on effect of the highway restrictions on Deptford Church Street, which came into play a couple of weeks ago. While these lane restrictions are currently only temporary, they are going to be in operation on and off for the next couple of years, and then for longer periods when the Thames Tunnel construction work actually starts. There's been a noticeable increase in traffic levels rat-running through the high street this last couple of weeks, and not only are there more vehicles, the proportion of heavy goods vehicles and lorries also seems to have increased.
Admittedly I've no solid evidence to back this up (traffic survey anyone?), it is merely perception, but considering I walk or cycle up and down the high street at least once on most days, it is a fairly well-informed perception. There's also been an increase in the number of times I have to dodge out of the way to avoid cars and even HGVs which mount the pavement to drive along because they can't be arsed to wait for parking drivers, or oncoming traffic. This type of behaviour appears to be ingrained as perfectly acceptable in the drivers who use the high street. I think it's high time the council took a proper interest in traffic levels, safety and driver behaviour on Deptford High Street and began to think seriously about how it can be improved.
The official line is that the Silvertown Tunnel (which will go under the river from the east side of the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks) is needed to relieve pressure on the Blackwall Tunnel and make it easier to cross the river in the east side of London.
While it might increase capacity under the river itself by doubling the amount of traffic lanes, this traffic will still have to squeeze into the same road system on each side of the river, so it seems obvious that the congestion on local roads each side of the tunnel will remain - and more than likely, will be exacerbated as it's long been known that new roads generate additional traffic. This was established by the Department of Transport itself, in its infamous Sactra report of 1994.
We already know that pollution levels in south east London are well above the EU recommended limits and additional traffic is only going to make the situation worse, with greater risks to public health, especially in children, the elderly and those who already suffer respiratory problems.
Quite aside from the debatable case for relieving congestion, is the fact that TFL is proposing to impose a charge on users of both the new tunnel and the existing one. They say this will be so that they can 'manage demand'. Hang on a minute, I thought the new tunnel was going to do that? So TFL is admitting that the new tunnel will not relieve the congestion, it will merely generate more traffic that will then have to be 'managed'. As an afterthought they also say that the user charges will pay for the tunnel to be built. Clearly the only reason they think they can get away with imposing charges is surely because there are so few other options for drivers in east London, especially if the Woolwich ferry is closed.
No to Silvertown Tunnel campaigners have published quite a lot of detail on their website, including the case against, and an interesting live air quality widget from the air quality centre at King's College.
We've also very recently seen the knock-on effect of the highway restrictions on Deptford Church Street, which came into play a couple of weeks ago. While these lane restrictions are currently only temporary, they are going to be in operation on and off for the next couple of years, and then for longer periods when the Thames Tunnel construction work actually starts. There's been a noticeable increase in traffic levels rat-running through the high street this last couple of weeks, and not only are there more vehicles, the proportion of heavy goods vehicles and lorries also seems to have increased.
Admittedly I've no solid evidence to back this up (traffic survey anyone?), it is merely perception, but considering I walk or cycle up and down the high street at least once on most days, it is a fairly well-informed perception. There's also been an increase in the number of times I have to dodge out of the way to avoid cars and even HGVs which mount the pavement to drive along because they can't be arsed to wait for parking drivers, or oncoming traffic. This type of behaviour appears to be ingrained as perfectly acceptable in the drivers who use the high street. I think it's high time the council took a proper interest in traffic levels, safety and driver behaviour on Deptford High Street and began to think seriously about how it can be improved.
Monday, 15 September 2014
Deptford Gardens festival
Next weekend sees a whole host of stuff going on in Deptford - as well as Open House London, about which I'll be posting later this week, there is the inaugural Deptford Gardens festival which is being held in the wildlife garden at the back of the old Tidemill school on Reginald Road.
The event will be a great opportunity to find out about community gardening opportunities in Deptford - not just the Assembly collective that runs the wildlife garden in Tidemill, but also the Wonky Prong garden on Crossfields Estate, the Sayes Court Garden CIC which will be based on the Convoys Wharf redevelopment, and the Deptford High Street Community Garden on Coffey Street next to St Paul's Church.
The latter faces an uncertain future with the disappointing announcement this week of the go-ahead for construction of an access shaft for the Thames Tunnel on the same land. It seems that despite a long and well-argued campaign against the disruption this will bring to Deptford residents and local roads, the government has given permission for the shaft to be built.
The press release says:
The Deptford Gardens Festival will be a great day of fun, food, music, games and performances to celebrate the great community gardens we have in the area.
The festival kickstarts a project to get community gardeners in the area talking, promoting and sharing resources together. Join us for the day and see music and performances by the MADCAP coalition as well as creative workshops and games in the Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden.
Find out about other green spaces in the area, get a chance to meet the volunteers working at these spaces and sign up as a volunteer yourself, become a Deptford Gardener!
Saturday 20th September
12-6pm
Old Tidemill School, Reginald Road
Thursday, 24 July 2014
Recent happenings in and around Deptford
This blog has been shockingly neglected the last few months with my paid work taking up the vast majority of my spare time. Apologies to those of you who have missed getting your fix of cynical sarcasm - I've been keeping up on Twitter but hope to get the blog back to a respectable level of regularity in the coming months.
Of course things move on in Deptford even when bloggers are otherwise engaged, but happily we have a good complement of local voices to cover a lot of the events so I don't feel too bad, you are in capable hands with Crosswhatfields, Brockley Central and the Greenwich Phantom. Even 853 strays down to Deptford from Charlton occasionally, most recently to wade into the Job Centre row.
There's a whole host of upcoming events, new initiatives and places to review that have sprung up since I last did any serious blogging, so I have a lot of catching up to do. There's also a good few stories bubbling under that I hope to do some digging into, and of course you'll no doubt get a dose of my ramblings on new public realm in and around Deptford.
In the meantime, here's some upcoming events, new initiatives and recent stories that have popped up in the last month or so. I apologise in advance for the surfeit of exclamation marks, I was a little overcome by emotion and excitement at my first blog post for weeks.
Deptford Community Garden (aka Deptford Open Garden) on Crossfields St/Coffey St has just been launched, only to find Thames Water are due to start digging trenches around them. In a strange quirk of serendipity the garden group seem to have found a helpful and flexible attitude in their dealings with Thames Water that was sadly lacking from the council contacts supposedly there to facilitate the project.
New Deptford Cinema project! How exciting - plans to start an independent cinema in a disused shop on Deptford Broadway, right opposite the site where the Odeon was originally located! Sadly I missed the first meeting due to total ignorance - I never walk past the shop and I wasn't aware of the meeting, so I'll just have to rely on someone putting something in the comments to tell me how it went! (go on, you know you want to!)
A big row! About a pub name! Move along now, nothing to see here. I'll be reviewing our new hostelry in due course - both the arrival of the pub and my review are long overdue.
Plans for a user group for Brookmill Park, reported on Brockley Central. One of my favourite little Deptford secrets, love to look out for the kingfishers and herons as I ride through this little green strip of parkland. Meet at the park-keeper's shed on Wed 27th August, 6pm, if you are interested. More details on the BC post.
Free entry to the Fan Museum on 2 August! I've been told this is a fantastic museum by everyone I know who's been, shamefully I haven't made it yet but I certainly intend to. The community open day offers free admission for all Royal Greenwich and Lewisham borough residents, bring ID such as driving licence, utility bill etc. There are curator-led mini tours throughout the day, fan-making demonstrations, kids activity trails and refreshments in the Orangery.
4-17th August 2014: Seventh Greenwich Annuale at Greenwich Gallery, Peyton Place, SE10 8RS
Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat, Sun 1pm-5pm
Photographic exhibition by the Greenwich Satellite Group of London Independent Photography.
There are also special events - on 7 Aug at 7pm an exhibition critique by Elisabeth Blanchet and Mandy Williams, and on 14th August they have a Pecha Kucha (a series of presentations of 20 slides, 20 seconds each) from 7pm onwards.
New Cross Learning celebrates winning a two-year lease from the council! New Cross Learning is celebrating with our charity Bold Vision after winning a two-year lease from Lewisham Council, starting Thursday 17 July. It has been nearly three years since a group of volunteers backed by local charity Bold Vision took over the running of the former New Cross Library, and turned it into New Cross Learning which has a full Lewisham Library service with 5,000 books, and offers community internet access - and much more besides. Read more on the link above...
And finally, for now, the thorny issue of river crossings. TfL wants to hear your views about options for river crossings in East London. You can take part in the survey via this link until 12 September.
The London Chamber of Commerce & Industry, on the other hand, is being shamelessly partisan in coming out with its own design for a new highway bridge for us lot downriver. A rather fugly one if I might be so bold - the influence of the architects on this design is undeniably apparent. The impacts the LCCI quotes make no mention of pollution - you might want to remind yourself of the current situation on our roads by visiting No to Silvertown Tunnel website.
Incidentally I see from the LCCI's facebook page of the launch, our own deputy mayor Alan Smith was present at the launch, where he asked a question. I wonder if it was about pollution - can anyone enlighten me?
That's it for now folks. Having discharged my duty to the community in listing a good proportion of the stuff that's been sent to me, along with stuff I've lifted from other bloggers, I look forward to spending my next lunch hour casting a caustic eye over our latest local public realm etc.
Of course things move on in Deptford even when bloggers are otherwise engaged, but happily we have a good complement of local voices to cover a lot of the events so I don't feel too bad, you are in capable hands with Crosswhatfields, Brockley Central and the Greenwich Phantom. Even 853 strays down to Deptford from Charlton occasionally, most recently to wade into the Job Centre row.
There's a whole host of upcoming events, new initiatives and places to review that have sprung up since I last did any serious blogging, so I have a lot of catching up to do. There's also a good few stories bubbling under that I hope to do some digging into, and of course you'll no doubt get a dose of my ramblings on new public realm in and around Deptford.
In the meantime, here's some upcoming events, new initiatives and recent stories that have popped up in the last month or so. I apologise in advance for the surfeit of exclamation marks, I was a little overcome by emotion and excitement at my first blog post for weeks.
Deptford Community Garden (aka Deptford Open Garden) on Crossfields St/Coffey St has just been launched, only to find Thames Water are due to start digging trenches around them. In a strange quirk of serendipity the garden group seem to have found a helpful and flexible attitude in their dealings with Thames Water that was sadly lacking from the council contacts supposedly there to facilitate the project.
New Deptford Cinema project! How exciting - plans to start an independent cinema in a disused shop on Deptford Broadway, right opposite the site where the Odeon was originally located! Sadly I missed the first meeting due to total ignorance - I never walk past the shop and I wasn't aware of the meeting, so I'll just have to rely on someone putting something in the comments to tell me how it went! (go on, you know you want to!)
A big row! About a pub name! Move along now, nothing to see here. I'll be reviewing our new hostelry in due course - both the arrival of the pub and my review are long overdue.
Plans for a user group for Brookmill Park, reported on Brockley Central. One of my favourite little Deptford secrets, love to look out for the kingfishers and herons as I ride through this little green strip of parkland. Meet at the park-keeper's shed on Wed 27th August, 6pm, if you are interested. More details on the BC post.
Free entry to the Fan Museum on 2 August! I've been told this is a fantastic museum by everyone I know who's been, shamefully I haven't made it yet but I certainly intend to. The community open day offers free admission for all Royal Greenwich and Lewisham borough residents, bring ID such as driving licence, utility bill etc. There are curator-led mini tours throughout the day, fan-making demonstrations, kids activity trails and refreshments in the Orangery.
4-17th August 2014: Seventh Greenwich Annuale at Greenwich Gallery, Peyton Place, SE10 8RS
Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat, Sun 1pm-5pm
Photographic exhibition by the Greenwich Satellite Group of London Independent Photography.
There are also special events - on 7 Aug at 7pm an exhibition critique by Elisabeth Blanchet and Mandy Williams, and on 14th August they have a Pecha Kucha (a series of presentations of 20 slides, 20 seconds each) from 7pm onwards.
New Cross Learning celebrates winning a two-year lease from the council! New Cross Learning is celebrating with our charity Bold Vision after winning a two-year lease from Lewisham Council, starting Thursday 17 July. It has been nearly three years since a group of volunteers backed by local charity Bold Vision took over the running of the former New Cross Library, and turned it into New Cross Learning which has a full Lewisham Library service with 5,000 books, and offers community internet access - and much more besides. Read more on the link above...
And finally, for now, the thorny issue of river crossings. TfL wants to hear your views about options for river crossings in East London. You can take part in the survey via this link until 12 September.
The London Chamber of Commerce & Industry, on the other hand, is being shamelessly partisan in coming out with its own design for a new highway bridge for us lot downriver. A rather fugly one if I might be so bold - the influence of the architects on this design is undeniably apparent. The impacts the LCCI quotes make no mention of pollution - you might want to remind yourself of the current situation on our roads by visiting No to Silvertown Tunnel website.
Incidentally I see from the LCCI's facebook page of the launch, our own deputy mayor Alan Smith was present at the launch, where he asked a question. I wonder if it was about pollution - can anyone enlighten me?
That's it for now folks. Having discharged my duty to the community in listing a good proportion of the stuff that's been sent to me, along with stuff I've lifted from other bloggers, I look forward to spending my next lunch hour casting a caustic eye over our latest local public realm etc.
Saturday, 30 November 2013
Want to know the truth about air pollution in Deptford?
As I was writing the title of that post, it struck me that some of you might answer 'no!' to my question, preferring to be happy in your ignorance rather than be faced with the stark facts about what damage local air pollution might be causing you.
That's understandable to some degree, but our corner of SE London is set to experience some very significant increases in traffic in the coming years as a result of the Thames Tunnel construction, a surge in our local population, and the construction traffic associated with building these new developments.
Having independent, irrefutable evidence of the impact this is having on environmental conditions will be vitally important if we are to argue for mitigation or traffic restrictions. Such measurements could also be vital to anyone wanting to judge the accuracy of claims made in environmental impact studies produced by consultants working for major developers. I have frequently questioned the accuracy of transport models created for major developments such as Convoys Wharf, and it is these models that are used to assess the potential environmental impact of a development.
Campaigners against the Silvertown Tunnel in our neighbouring borough of Greenwich carried out an extensive air quality study in the area of the tunnel earlier this year, and published their findings recently. I wrote about the implications for our local area.
These findings revealed shocking levels of pollution already in the area, and raised the question of what would happen if more traffic were to be generated by a new tunnel. Lewisham does measure air quality but on a tiny scale, just four stations in the whole borough - results from these stations can be found here.
Now the campaigners in Greenwich propose to repeat and extend their study, and are keen to get people from Deptford and beyond involved. They are willing to share their experience and enable other groups, campaigners or concerned individuals to access pollution data for their own use.
That's understandable to some degree, but our corner of SE London is set to experience some very significant increases in traffic in the coming years as a result of the Thames Tunnel construction, a surge in our local population, and the construction traffic associated with building these new developments.
Having independent, irrefutable evidence of the impact this is having on environmental conditions will be vitally important if we are to argue for mitigation or traffic restrictions. Such measurements could also be vital to anyone wanting to judge the accuracy of claims made in environmental impact studies produced by consultants working for major developers. I have frequently questioned the accuracy of transport models created for major developments such as Convoys Wharf, and it is these models that are used to assess the potential environmental impact of a development.
Campaigners against the Silvertown Tunnel in our neighbouring borough of Greenwich carried out an extensive air quality study in the area of the tunnel earlier this year, and published their findings recently. I wrote about the implications for our local area.
These findings revealed shocking levels of pollution already in the area, and raised the question of what would happen if more traffic were to be generated by a new tunnel. Lewisham does measure air quality but on a tiny scale, just four stations in the whole borough - results from these stations can be found here.
Now the campaigners in Greenwich propose to repeat and extend their study, and are keen to get people from Deptford and beyond involved. They are willing to share their experience and enable other groups, campaigners or concerned individuals to access pollution data for their own use.
 |
| Tube being installed by Silvertown Tunnel campaigner |
Campaigners against the tunnel shaft which Thames Water wants to sink on Crossfields Green have taken on the organisation of the scheme, and are asking for pledges of money and time in order to get a Deptford scheme under way. The cost of each monitoring tube, including the laboratory analysis, is just £7, which seems a very reasonable price to pay for what could be vital information.
Volunteers are needed to put the tubes up and take them down a month later (they all have to be installed and removed on the same days, the details have to be noted and the locations photographed), and this is planned to happen in early January.
As well as feeding into the case against the Thames Tunnel shaft, the data that is generated will be available for the Silvertown Tunnel campaign, and there's also the opportunity for people to sponsor a tube to measure air quality outside their own homes. Schools may also want to get involved not only to measure the data but also as a project for students.
Full details of the proposed air quality measuring scheme, the dates for involvement and the contact details for getting involved are available on Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart.
Friday, 6 September 2013
Come and see Deptford's highs and lows in Open House
One of my favourite weekends of the year will be with us in just over fortnight - Open House London, the time when London's grand buildings, architectural follies, private homes and quirky corners are open to the public.
You're too late to see any of the remaining underground structures - they are still there but covered up for now - but you will be able to venture inside the Olympia boat-building shed with its distinctive curved roof and lovely internal iron structure.
Deptford Creek - tide half in, half out. Look out for herons and swans, or watch the DLR trains rattling over the bridge.
St Paul's, Deptford - a Baroque beauty with a bit of guerrilla gardening on the adjoining green space. The grass circle marks the size of the access shaft that Thames Water wants to dig for its supersewer.
The Laban Centre on Creekside was designed by Herzog & de Meuron and won the Stirling Prize for architecture in 2003. Sadly it's not part of Open House London, which is a shame. But they do have monthly architecture tours you can book at £12 a head - and it has a very pleasant garden if you want to picnic.
I do love a good snoop around people's houses - something worth remembering if you ever invite me in, although I will always respect your privacy by not actually divulging what I find ;-) - so this is an event that really appeals to me. And whatever you want to say about the opportunity to examine the architectural detailing or admire the historic fabric of a building, I'm damn sure a lot of you love snooping too, you're just too polite to admit it.
So what will there be to see in Deptford?
There's enough to keep you busy for a whole day in Deptford, and if you aren't from round these parts, I reckon you'll get a good introduction to our neighbourhood by coming down on Saturday 21st September.
Start with a trip to the top of the Seager Distillery Tower - a building which it's definitely preferable to be in looking out, rather than the other way round. I went up it last year and the views are stunning - you can orient yourself with views north to the river, following the route of the Creek, or look south towards the rest of the borough. Be warned space is limited at the top of the tower and you may have to queue.
Once you've descended, you may wish to head over to Deptford New Town where you'll find the pocket-sized Connearn Studio in Friendly Street. I've not been to this one, and from the picture on the website it looks like it won't keep you amused for long - but the walk is a pleasant one, especially if you go through the park and pass by the Stephen Lawrence Centre. Just try and ignore the ugly block of houses they built next to it (replacing the ugly houses that were there before). You can come back along Brookmill Road past Mereton Mansions, or go the other way to pass Wellbeloved's butchers on the bottom of Tanner's Hill, in a row of Deptford's oldest buildings.
From there I would recommend a wander down our fabulous high street and through the market (not forgetting the huge second-hand stalls outside the Albany) to Tidemill Academy and the Deptford Lounge, to dig out the substance behind the bling. You might want to linger in the library for a while, browse a few books or have a coffee.
If you like your coffee super-charged, be sure to stop off at the Waiting Room to get your caffeine fix, and a falafel wrap or veggie burger with super hot sauce to keep up you sustained for the afternoon. Any visiting vegans will be happy to discover this place, which serves vegan-friendly fare without making a fuss about it.
Alternatively if the Waiting Room is too crowded - or you want something a bit more substantial for your lunch - Deli X a few doors down is another great option. If you want to eat on the move, or it's too nice to go indoors, I recommend filling up on fresh salt-cod fishcakes or souse from In a Pikkle or try the jerk chicken with rice and peas from the neighbouring stall. Both are in Douglas Square in the middle of the market.
From here, keep walking towards the river for two more very interesting Open House experiences. Convoys Wharf site is well worth a visit just to get an idea of its vast scale and the glorious riverside vistas it has kept to itself all these years.
You're too late to see any of the remaining underground structures - they are still there but covered up for now - but you will be able to venture inside the Olympia boat-building shed with its distinctive curved roof and lovely internal iron structure.
According to the Open House listing, there will be displays showing Hutchison Whampoa's redevelopment proposals. It's more than possible they will wheel out the famous groundscape model of the scheme although perhaps they'll also show the little polystyrene blocks (above) which are supposed to show the building density and heights.
Right next door to the site is the historic Master Shipwrights House, which will be open to the public on both days - a rare chance to see this beautiful building. I visited a few years ago during Open House and was mightily impressed - you can read about it here. Normally this house is only visible when glimpsed from the river on a Thames Clipper - don't miss the chance to explore behind the big steel gates.
What's more, I've got it on good authority that there's going to be some very interesting events taking place here over the course of the weekend - of which, stay tuned for more details in due course.
While you are down Watergate Street, it's well worth popping into the Dog & Bell for a pint or two of the best-kept (and by far the cheapest) ale in Deptford. Have a game of bar billiards or sit out in the garden at the back - it's a real old-fashioned boozer of the best kind.
If you're visiting from outside the 'ford, do take the opportunity to explore our lovely little corner of SE London to the full. Every one of these is only a stone's throw from the high street.
Deptford Creek - tide half in, half out. Look out for herons and swans, or watch the DLR trains rattling over the bridge.
St Paul's, Deptford - a Baroque beauty with a bit of guerrilla gardening on the adjoining green space. The grass circle marks the size of the access shaft that Thames Water wants to dig for its supersewer.
The Laban Centre on Creekside was designed by Herzog & de Meuron and won the Stirling Prize for architecture in 2003. Sadly it's not part of Open House London, which is a shame. But they do have monthly architecture tours you can book at £12 a head - and it has a very pleasant garden if you want to picnic.
Finally, if St Nick's church in Deptford Green is open, it's worth taking a look inside at the Grinling Gibbons woodcarvings. But even if you can't get inside, you might want to walk past just to look at the famous skull & crossbones sculptures atop the two gateposts.
Other eating and drinking highlights close by are the rotis at Chaconia, grilled pork noodles or banh mi at Panda Panda, cocktails out of teacups with cheese straws in the living room of the painfully hip Little Nan's Bar, a wide range of ales and reliably top-quality dinners at the Royal Albert, and if you are prepared to walk that bit further, there's the small-but-perfectly-formed London Particular, another place for great quality grub, top coffee and fantastic cakes.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Thames Tunnel consultation; possible impact on Deptford
Thames Water's plans for construction of the new Thames Tunnel, which have been under development for some years now, are set to affect Deptford in some way or other, like it or not.
Next Friday and Saturday (24 and 25 June) Thames Water is holding drop-in sessions at the Creekside Centre to consult with local residents and businesses about its 'phase two' plans. I strongly recommend attendance to comment on proposals; please read on to find out why.
Three routes are being considered for the main tunnel - the preferred route more or less follows the River Thames from Hammersmith down to Abbey Mills - but whichever is chosen, a few smaller connection tunnels must be built to carry waste from the combined sewer overflows into the main tunnel. Local combined sewer overflows for Greenwich Pumping Station (located at the foreshore just west of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel) and Deptford (right in front of the Ahoy Centre) must be linked into the main tunnel at Rotherhithe, with the main work site originally intended to be Kings Stairs Gardens. During the phase one consultation, locals mounted an impressive campaign to save their local green space from being used as a construction site. As a result, Thames Water is trying to find an alternative and has even bought up brownfield land nearby as a possible option.
But one of Thames Water's proposed changes to reduce the impact on Rotherhithe is to reverse the direction of tunnelling for the connection tunnel. Originally the tunnel boring machine was to start at Kings Stairs Gardens and head towards Greenwich; the spoil was to be taken up to ground level through a large shaft in KSG and removed by barges. While construction sites were needed in Greenwich and Deptford, they would be smaller and less disruptive, without the need to remove lorry loads of spoil and deliver materials for the tunnel construction works.
With suggestions that the direction of tunnelling be reversed, this could have quite a dramatic impact on the preferred construction site just over the boundary in Greenwich, and associated impacts on local roads.
Greenwich Pumping Station, which is just across the Creek in Norman Road, is owned by Thames Water and as such is an obvious choice as a worksite for one of the local interceptor tunnels. But changing the direction of tunnelling will mean spoil has to be removed at the site and taken away by road, and additional deliveries will be needed, as well as the fact that a larger construction site will have to be used.
Here's a rendering of how it is proposed the site will look when the work is finished.
A second, potentially more disruptive issue for Deptford town centre has emerged as part of this second round of consultation.
A construction site is also needed to build the interceptor tunnel for the Deptford combined sewer overflow which discharges down by the Ahoy Centre. Again, in the initial consultation, Thames Water proposed a site at Borthwick Wharf as its preferred option, but there was opposition from local residents in Millennium Quay who would be directly affected by the construction work. The work was also proposed to leave permanent structures at the site to enable operation of the tunnel.
As a result, Thames Water wants to know what local people think about losing the use of the little triangle of land enclosed by Deptford Church Street, Coffey Street and Crossfield Street for several years. This would be turned into a construction site from which the interceptor tunnel for the Deptford overflow would be built.
In the open letter that has been sent to local residents by Thames Water, there's not much information about what work would need to be carried out from this site, or how long it would be needed for, but I guess that's what staff at the 'drop-in' sessions at the Creekside Centre next week will be able to confirm.
I am not particularly keen on the prospect of more heavy construction work in the centre of Deptford - Thames Water is intending to start work in 2013 with completion of the whole system in 2020 so it seems we may have a lull of a year or so after the town centre/Tidemill/railway station/etc completion before chaos descends again. I am also very fond of that little green lung, it enhances the setting of St Paul's Church and provides a buffer against the noise and pollution from Deptford Church Street. Its trees and grassed areas provide valuable wildlife habitat in an increasingly built-up urban environment. The fenced-in area next to the road is also used by dog-owners to let their pets run off the lead, and additionally, the proposed site is right in front of a primary school.
If you want to find out more, and have your concerns noted, please try and get to the drop-in sessions at the Creekside Discovery Centre, 14 Creekside.
Friday 24 June 10am-7pm
Saturday 25 June 12-5pm
There's a huge amount of information on the project and the consultation process at Thames Water's dedicated Thames Tunnel page here, with most of the consultation information about various sites on this page. The second phase of public consultation is not due to start until September of this year, so if you are concerned about the impact this work could have on Deptford and its surroundings, now is probably a good time to read up on it and have your objections ready.
Next Friday and Saturday (24 and 25 June) Thames Water is holding drop-in sessions at the Creekside Centre to consult with local residents and businesses about its 'phase two' plans. I strongly recommend attendance to comment on proposals; please read on to find out why.
Three routes are being considered for the main tunnel - the preferred route more or less follows the River Thames from Hammersmith down to Abbey Mills - but whichever is chosen, a few smaller connection tunnels must be built to carry waste from the combined sewer overflows into the main tunnel. Local combined sewer overflows for Greenwich Pumping Station (located at the foreshore just west of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel) and Deptford (right in front of the Ahoy Centre) must be linked into the main tunnel at Rotherhithe, with the main work site originally intended to be Kings Stairs Gardens. During the phase one consultation, locals mounted an impressive campaign to save their local green space from being used as a construction site. As a result, Thames Water is trying to find an alternative and has even bought up brownfield land nearby as a possible option.
But one of Thames Water's proposed changes to reduce the impact on Rotherhithe is to reverse the direction of tunnelling for the connection tunnel. Originally the tunnel boring machine was to start at Kings Stairs Gardens and head towards Greenwich; the spoil was to be taken up to ground level through a large shaft in KSG and removed by barges. While construction sites were needed in Greenwich and Deptford, they would be smaller and less disruptive, without the need to remove lorry loads of spoil and deliver materials for the tunnel construction works.
With suggestions that the direction of tunnelling be reversed, this could have quite a dramatic impact on the preferred construction site just over the boundary in Greenwich, and associated impacts on local roads.
Greenwich Pumping Station, which is just across the Creek in Norman Road, is owned by Thames Water and as such is an obvious choice as a worksite for one of the local interceptor tunnels. But changing the direction of tunnelling will mean spoil has to be removed at the site and taken away by road, and additional deliveries will be needed, as well as the fact that a larger construction site will have to be used.
A second, potentially more disruptive issue for Deptford town centre has emerged as part of this second round of consultation.
A construction site is also needed to build the interceptor tunnel for the Deptford combined sewer overflow which discharges down by the Ahoy Centre. Again, in the initial consultation, Thames Water proposed a site at Borthwick Wharf as its preferred option, but there was opposition from local residents in Millennium Quay who would be directly affected by the construction work. The work was also proposed to leave permanent structures at the site to enable operation of the tunnel.
As a result, Thames Water wants to know what local people think about losing the use of the little triangle of land enclosed by Deptford Church Street, Coffey Street and Crossfield Street for several years. This would be turned into a construction site from which the interceptor tunnel for the Deptford overflow would be built.
In the open letter that has been sent to local residents by Thames Water, there's not much information about what work would need to be carried out from this site, or how long it would be needed for, but I guess that's what staff at the 'drop-in' sessions at the Creekside Centre next week will be able to confirm.
I am not particularly keen on the prospect of more heavy construction work in the centre of Deptford - Thames Water is intending to start work in 2013 with completion of the whole system in 2020 so it seems we may have a lull of a year or so after the town centre/Tidemill/railway station/etc completion before chaos descends again. I am also very fond of that little green lung, it enhances the setting of St Paul's Church and provides a buffer against the noise and pollution from Deptford Church Street. Its trees and grassed areas provide valuable wildlife habitat in an increasingly built-up urban environment. The fenced-in area next to the road is also used by dog-owners to let their pets run off the lead, and additionally, the proposed site is right in front of a primary school.
If you want to find out more, and have your concerns noted, please try and get to the drop-in sessions at the Creekside Discovery Centre, 14 Creekside.
Friday 24 June 10am-7pm
Saturday 25 June 12-5pm
There's a huge amount of information on the project and the consultation process at Thames Water's dedicated Thames Tunnel page here, with most of the consultation information about various sites on this page. The second phase of public consultation is not due to start until September of this year, so if you are concerned about the impact this work could have on Deptford and its surroundings, now is probably a good time to read up on it and have your objections ready.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)