Agenda and draft minutes

Cllr Hilary Moore welcomed everyone to the Grove Park Assembly and introduced Councillor Colin Elliott and Councillor Suzannah Clarke.

Written update - The Council is exploring options to work with L&Q with the aim of providing new homes and improved community facilities in the Marvel’s Lane Area. Heidi Alexander MP has invited representatives of the Council and L&Q to meet with residents on Saturday 7th November at 4pm at WG Grace Centre to:

·        Discuss with residents about what they would like to see in the area

·        Provide further information about when short-term and longer-term  improvements may be seen in the area

This will be a really important opportunity for residents to help the Council to better understand the ways in which it can support the local community through working with L&Q. Officers would like to listen to the local community and work with Councillors to ensure that any future proposals which are developed are both suitable and sustainable.

Mervyn Kaye the Head of Lewisham Youth Service was at the assembly to talk about youth provision in Grove Park. He told the meeting that the youth service is trying to do what it can with reduced resources to offer provision. The youth service partners and funds other organisations such as Elevating Success which is based at the WG Grace Centre. 95 young people take part in this project which is more than attended the old youth club. Mervyn also stated that young people will travel and use other provision available in the borough and that the service also funds the Scouts centrally. The nearest youth club is at Bromley and Downham and lots of people from the borough use this facility. Mervyn also stated that they will be meeting with Heidi Alexander MP to discuss what else can be provided as well as meeting with London Quadrant to talk about similar issues and buildings where activities can take place. L&Q are saying that there will be resources so we need to look at different opportunities for this age range, the higher the age the more challenging this is. There are some issues with using the old youth club building.

Mervyn reminded the assembly that the role of the youth service is to support young people to grow, it is an informal education working hand in hand with formal education. Therefore it has to be fun as young people attend voluntarily and the age range is 8-19 years.

Cllr Clarke – We need to look at provision that can provide ICT and skills based learning and potentially we can use the Ringway Centre and more schools. I do think that there is a strong argument for using the old youth club building but maybe as a facility for the whole community.

Cllr Elliott – We also need to ensure that there is an emphasis on practical skills

Q Can we have an Astro-turf pitch?

A This is very expensive and requires a lot of land which is high priced in London. We do fund projects at Millwall and we can look at getting them more involved in this.

Q Can we have older people teaching young people craft skills with the younger people teaching older people computer skills?

A Yes we always want volunteers involved and we will train you if you want to do something like this.

Q What about more open days at schools and colleges, with them marketing non-academic skills?

A Schools have a captive audience, with the youth service we need to build this. Once this is established then we can do this.

PC James Hextall introduced himself as the new designated ward officer for Grove Park ward. The current ward priorities are:

·        Assault with injury

·        Theft from motor vehicle

·        Burglary

PC Hextall was very keen to stress that as nights get longer Burglary does traditionally rise and therefore people should take steps to try and protect their home. These can include ensuring that windows are properly locked as well as outbuildings and leaving lights on when you are not at home.

PC Hextall reminded the attendees not to leave valuables on display inside vehicles.

Q Can you tell us what you are doing to combat drug dealing?

A We are tackling this and only this morning we executed a warrant relating to drugs. It is important that people continue to report things that appear suspicious as we really do rely on intelligence from the community.

Q Are you aware of speeding issues around Sometrees Avenue?

A No, but I will investigate

Cllr Moore then reminded the assembly that there is a Grove Park Safer Neighbourhood Team ward panel and to speak to the police if you want to be more involved.

This was an information item with a video played to attendees asking them to complete a short questionnaire. For more information please contact Paul Gale.

There were some attendees who were dissatisfied with the lack of questions on the document.

Jamie Wheeler provided an update to the assembly and thanked them on behalf of the group. 

The update stated that a good part of the funding has been used to purchase equipment and that the remaining funding will be spent over the coming months.  Jamie confirmed to the assembly that the group had achieved a development award earlier in the year and was at its largest for 15 years.

Michelle Ball from the Northbrook Park Community Group thanked everyone for their support of the projects in the past and hoped that they will continue to support their efforts to improve Northbrook Park in the future

The fitness trim trail / Assault course has now been completed which was partly funded by the assembly fund. This is a great asset to the park and the community and has been well used so far and enjoyed by many.

The latest project is the Nature trim trail / walk which is the area backing onto the stables and this will be started soon and was also part funded by the assembly with a contribution of £1500. The area will be cleared first and then work will start, this is the last area in the park to be transformed into a usable space for the community.

Paul Gale told the assembly that this fund is a budget allocated to each ward to meet the local assembly priorities. The fund supports chosen assembly priorities and helps each assembly make decisions and bring about change. The fund may also be used as ‘seed’ funding to attract other sources of finance. There is £12,500 available and the maximum amount that any group can apply for is £2,000. The deadline for applications is Monday 11 January at 9am. The Grove Park Assembly priorities are:

·        Improving the town centre

·        Crime and anti-social behaviour

·        Neighbourliness, community activities, events and cohesion

·        Community facilities

·        Parking, road safety and traffic calming.

Shared Lives – Kerry Spicer told the meeting that the purpose of Shared Lives is to provide homes which enable vulnerable adults to share in family and community life and which promote the strengths and abilities of each individual. The Scheme helps approved Shared Lives Carers (ordinary people from the local communities) to share their home and time with someone in need. The carers are fully supported by the Shared Lives team.  If anyone feels they would be able to provide this support to a vulnerable adult and would like more information or an application form please contact a member of our team on 0208 461 7020 or alternatively entering Shared Lives into the search box on Bromley councils web page.

Grove Park Neighbourhood Forum Stephen Kenny told the assembly that the forum is working with a Aecom to map out opportunity sites within the boundary http://www.aecom.com

For more information about the Forum visit http://www.groveparkneighbourhoodforum.com/

Library update - Cllr Suzannah Clarke told the assembly that the front of the library has still not been painted. They do need some new volunteers and there will be a meeting with Eco- Communities to progress this and come up with an action plan. We will also be looking at the libraries future and how it can play a greater role within the community.

WG Grace and Grove Park – Local historian John King explained that as the 100th anniversary of W G Grace’s approached, it was important to remember that there was a big Grove Park dimension to Grace’s last years. It was Bristol where Grace spent much of his cricket career with the Gloucestershire Cricket Club and where he made his reputation. In 1899 he came to live to live with his family in Sydenham where he headed the London County Cricket Club. When the club ceased its activities in 1909, he moved to Mottingham, probably in October, to a large house, Fairmount, which still stands. It is at the higher section of Mottingham Lane and is easily recognisable by its bright blue plaque. Exactly why he chose Mottingham, may never be known. 

In Mottingham there was already the well-established Eltham Cricket Club which dated back to 1863 with a ground at Chapel Farm which was less than a mile from Grace’s home. Not surprisingly he and his son Charles who was also an accomplished player, joined the club, their first match being on 28 May 1910 against Granville of Lee. In Grove Park there were at that period three cricket clubs – St.Augustine, Fairfield and Grove Park. The church’s club had been formed in 1910 while the Grove Park club had been formed in 1913. The grounds were on farmland in Marvels Lane near the Quaggy.

It was on 6 June 1914 that the Eltham Club received Grove Park at its Mottingham ground. The match was a draw. Grace’s penultimate match was on 25 July 1914 against the Grove Park club on the latter’s ground. It was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.