Come and see Revitalise Camberwell at

The Farmers’ market on the Green Sat 3 December 10am-2pm

A walking tour and workshop starting at St Giles Centre on Sat 3 December 9:30am-1:30pm and on Thu 8 December 6-9pm

Exhibition at the St Giles Centre on 8 December from 5pm and in Butterfly Walk on Saturday 17 December from 11am.

For further information contact the Revitalise Camberwell team on 020 7525 5317 or email transport@southwark.gov.uk

The Revitalise Camberwell team from Southwark Council are consulting local residents about the local area and improvements. When consulted I told them of the improvements I wanted to see in the local area — in terms of transport, community facilities, town centre development etc etc which I’m sure we could all reel off easily having been, it seems, consulted many times over the past five years. I hope that this time the consultation will lead in improvements actually being made to the area. We need consultation thats leads to action.

The library plans were a bit of a shock. Gone are the plans to bring over the Bermondsy Spa pavilion and instead a new 1980’s style angular red and black shed is proposed to occupy the site. It will sit at a jaunty angle producing corners of unused wasted space around the triangle structure; also almost all the trees will need to be chopped down to accommodate it.  Attached are a couple of renders of the plans by Cazenove Architects.

Next were plans for the Elmington plots. There wasn’t much detail about these but the council are also planning to knock down or refurbish allot more buildings in this area as soon as the Elmington project is finished. The current proposal is mostly 3/4 story terraces following the street layout and with more walkways and cycle-ways. At present it is planned that Edmund Street will have parking on both sides, this will obviously narrow the road so it isn’t good news for cyclists that use that route into London.

Both Maudsley and Kings have building projects on the go. The Maudsley is going to start a new training centre on Grove Lane later this year and due to be finished by 2013. Plans look good from the renders and model (photo attached). Education consultants were also the event to talk about the plans to redevelop the schools in the area including St. Michael & All Angels and Highshore School on Wyndham Road.

Finally the council are getting peoples emails because I think they are planning an event to discuss the road layout around the green. Oh and there was a band playing jolly music. I will update the Camberwell development map with more information on these new projects.

Meet local councillors and learn about plans for your area, such as: Improved homes; New library and resource centre; Burgess Park transformation; Street improvement schemes.

Also it’s the College of Arts MA show next week; find out more at MA Digital Arts or MA Fine Art, which has an impressive list of events.

McDonalds on Denmark Hill want to open 24 hours at weekends. I know that in the past the area outside McDonalds has been marked as one with a high incidence of crime, so I hope that’s taken into account when the planning decision’s being made.

Last weekend I went to the new bar where Funky Munky used to be, which is currently nameless (well, I know what the name is but I’m going to let the owners unveil it when they’re ready; suffice it to say, you’ll never guess what it is). It’s bright and spacious and has a fantastic range of beers; they offer the new 1/3 pint measure so you can experiment many different beers without getting too hammered.

It’s not officially opened yet but I’m already optimistic that this is going to be a great addition to the area; finally a place which serves more than the standard choices provided elsewhere (to be fair, The Phoenix has a pretty decent selection too).

I really, really hope they keep the NEVER GIVE UP sign.

Update: More stuff! Saturday is the Brunswick Park fete, from 12–4 in Brunswick Park (obviously). And at 9am on Sunday the Bikes for Books team departs from Camberwell for a ride to Burwash, some 50+ miles away.

Let’s start with the good news. Today I had a day off and the chance to walk around Camberwell and see some of the good side of it. Breakfast at Johanssons followed by a swim at the Baths, and what a marvellous job they’ve done of restoring it; a really beautiful, first class job. The pool looks brilliant and enticing, the changing rooms are modern and clean. Well done to everyone involved. In the reception they’ve a cartoon from 1907 of the Camberwell Ladies fighting to keep the Baths open. Thanks to them, we can enjoy the pool 100 years later.

Later I had a patty from Patty Island, which I probably don’t mention enough even though they make tasty snacks.

Last weekend I went to The Crooked Well, and they’ve done a great job there too; a proper, full redevelopment, not just a lick of paint. The place was busy but we got a table, and the food was delicious. It’s not cheap — about £15 for a main — so it’s a place you’d go to for an occasion, not an off-the-cuff bite to eat (at least, that’s the case for me; richer readers may find that exceptional value). One gripe: the beer’s exactly the same as every other pubco pub. Would be nice to have some more tasty craft beers, but them’s the breaks, I guess.

There’s work going on at (the former?) Funky Munky. I asked in The Hermit’s what was going to happen there, and they said a pub with food, nothing different or more elaborate. All will be revealed.

The bad news? Well, not so much bad, as uncertain. Camberwell’s going through a change at the moment; the old Cypriot Camberwell is disappearing. Paul’s Continental seems to be over, Tadim show no signs of reopening, Cruson’s days are shortening fast… pretty soon only Sophocles (Edit: and The Vineyard) will remain. What will we become when Little Cyprus is forgotten?

More certainly, from 2012 Denmark Hill loses it’s direct connection to London Bridge. It means a change at Peckham Rye, an inconvenience for many people. Also, it could mean the loss of service to London Victoria, which is possibly more serious.

Those aren’t all the changes at Denmark Hill; the row of houses along Windsor Walk is finally being restored — seems they’re to be part of the Hospital, although would have been better if they were private residences, to make that walk seem a little safer at night. Also, work has begun on the new station entrance; a temporary footbridge will be introduced as a first step.

And talking of changes, Burgess Park is to be mostly closed off while the regeneration begins. There’s a map showing the areas that will be out of bounds for a while.

So, lots going on, more even than I’ve mentioned here. The Sun & Doves has had a stay of execution, the Mary Datchelor development looks lovely, work has begun on the old Town Hall buildings… as the Funky Munky used to say (paraphrasing Winston Churchill): Never Give Up.

You may be aware of the Burgess Park Food Project, a new community garden and food project being established on the Surrey Canal Walk. A separate group supported by the Friends, they are half way through a funding bid, and a thorough consultation is needed to ensure they properly represent local needs. A copy of the questionnaire is online here.

We’d appreciate if you could fill in the form and return it to burgessfoodproject@gmail.com or drop a completed form at East St or Peckham Library or Brothers Food and Wine on the bridge on Trafalgar Avenue. Alternatively, come to the open day on Saturday 11th June and see what’s going on.

Please feel free to pass the form on. The more ideas and support received, the more representative the project will be.

For more information about the site and project, please have a look at our website
www.burgessfoodproject.posterous.com.

The Camberwell Society object to the proposal on the grounds that the building’s just too big; it would occupy most of the currently open plaza, making it very cramped, and involve cutting down some of the orchard (which they say is ‘becoming lovely’, although I’d dispute that) and some and nearby trees. Also, planning permission was granted only last year for children’s play resources and tree re-planting.

They say the move is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £500,000, and the building itself has an estimated life span of only 10 years, so would rather see the money spent on developing the existing library and meeting spaces in the leisure centre. There would also be costs involved in breaking the leases that are held on the current property.

I received an email from someone suspecting ‘ulterior motives’ for the Council’s proposal, and the author has some questions that they feel haven’t been answered, including:

• Has an application for planning permission been made?
• What is the total projected cost of the move?
• Have estimates been made for repairs to the existing building?
• What will be done with the old building?

Someone on this blog mentioned a Tesco opening in the current library’s position, but I’m not sure if that was any more than a joke or speculation.

I have to say that I’m not against this proposal if it brings benefits, but I agree that the proposal for meeting spaces and cafe could easily be met by funding the leisure centre, in which case moving the library doesn’t seem to make much sense.

The Council are running the public consultation until 21 April; download a copy [PDF] and fill in your responses if you’re interested in making your voice heard.

First and most obviously there’s to be a by-election in Brunswick Park ward
after councillor John Friary resigned over some quite disturbing allegations. Allegations which the local Lib Dems seized on shamelessly, distributing a quite nasty attack leaflet which they obviously knew would be contentious as their name appeared on it only in the tiniest lettering possible. I think it should be borne in mind that Mr Friary is innocent until proven guilty, and capitalising on the allegations is quite revolting. Kate Heywood definitely won’t be getting my vote.

Lots going on in terms of regeneration. NickW has put together this fantastic map of developments in SE5 in the next five years, which is great work. I didn’t know about many things, but the big project over in Myatt’s Fields was a real surprise. The plans to develop Burgess Park have been approved, and there’s more good news as Camberwell Baths are due to reopen on February 28th.

As some of you have already seen, Southwark Council have proposed relocating an 8,000 square foot prefabricated building, currently in Bermondsey, to the plaza in front of the Magistrates Court. This would involve removing some of the trees and part of the orchard that’s down there. The Camberwell Society have responded, saying that the idea is good but the building far too large for the available space.

Their full response is in the latest Camberwell Quarterly, which also has a nice article on the fire that all-but destroyed Denmark Hill station 30 years ago, and another on the Camberwell House Asylum (which later became the registry office, and is soon to become student accommodation).

On the subject of history, I bought myself a copy of the new book Camberwell Through Time, which shows historical photos of local spots compared to their modern-day appearances. Really interesting, and I recommend you pick a copy up yourselves.

I could write more, but I won’t. Don’t forget, volunteers are very welcome.

I’m still a bit discombobulated after a short break in Barcelona so I don’t have a lot to write about just yet, but one potentially huge piece of news happened late last month/year which needs to be reported.

TfL have announced a grant of £200,000 to pay for the design of improvements to Camberwell town centre. This will pay for a full consultation of local needs & wishes and designs to be drawn up based on the results of that. Mooted improvements include:

… improving the pedestrian crossing at Camberwell Green junction, widening pavements and improved pedestrian crossings at Denmark Hill, creating a “green walking link” from Wren Road to Butterfly Walk and decorating the blank walls of Orpheus Walk.

Now this does sound somewhat familiar (there seems to be a new consultation every other year), but Southwark council are hopeful it could lead to up to £7million of further investment from TfL and “other sources”. If that happens, it would be amazing — especially with the influx of new residents in the new Camberwell New Road development and the Peckham Road Student Village — so fingers crossed it comes to pass.

Congratulations to all of the local pressure groups — including many of the readers of this blog — who have campaigned to make this happen. Let’s hope for bigger things in 2011 and beyond.

I also have some other news which I’ve promised not to tell yet. It’s not on the same scale as this, but is quite a shock. Yes, I am a big tease.

Went with the wife to The Recreation Ground last Sunday; had planned to eat there but they were only serving roasts, so decided to just have a drink instead. The refurb isn’t immediately apparent; it’s obviously cleaner and the walls are bare, but the biggest difference is in the fantastic toilets, now down in the cellar. The area where they used to be has a DJ booth and dancefloor. It was a bit empty when we were there — not helped by the bare walls and big space at the back — but the staff were mega-friendly and the food looked good, so we’ll be going back soon.

On the Friday before we went to check out Wuli Wuli, the new Chinese on Church St. As has been mentioned before, they have a traditional ‘English’ menu, but also more typical real Chinese dishes (offal seems to feature strongly). I had a dish which was strips of beef and chilli and it was absolutely delicious; much spicier than I’m accustomed to. They still have a 15% opening discount, so you should get down there and give it a go.

Also, we went to the GX Gallery last week to see the exhibition by local artist Martin Grover. I loved his work, but the big revelation was the gallery itself; I’d never been down to the cellar before, and it’s astonishing. It’s a converted bakery which still has the old ovens in the wall, and the rest of the space is beautiful old brick with hidden nooks. If you haven’t been, go; I had no idea it was so lovely.

Okay, on to proper news. Lewisham Council recently commissioned a report on options to extend the Bakerloo line [PDF, 410kb]. Only one of the options involves passing through Camberwell, but interestingly that’s the second cheapest option (the cheapest goes through the Aylesbury Estate to Peckham) and they note that this line has been extensively planned in the past. If it does happen it won’t be for many years, but useful to know that it’s still being considered.

Activism: Carter Place Garden, the only green space on Walworth Road, is in danger of being developed on. This post on the SE5Forum explains the context, and what you can do to help.

Also, there’s a public meeting at St Giles Church on Nov 3rd to discuss the Camberwell Baths Campaign. Phase 1 of the work — including the pool, changing rooms, and cafe — has been completed and recently an extra £50,000 was granted for Phase 2, which is the gymnastics hall (and why the Baths remain closed until next year). But there’s apparently still £1.8m needed to complete all the works, and the Campaign needs your help to support their petition to the council. Full details here — please get along if you can.