· OnBlackheath
· Lewisham Gateway
· Library Consultation
Minutes:
OnBlackheath– Cllr Bonavia - This was the second year of the Festival and it was larger this year with 25,000 attendees permitted. On Saturday about 23,000 attended and on Sunday approximately 15,000 people attended. There were improvements this year to transport and they appeared to work well, I have received no complaints about this and I have not received any complaints about noise. However, I know that there were some complaints in Greenwich. The weather was not very good and the organisers have agreed to restore the grass in the area of the festival. There will be a post event consultation meeting and we will circulate the date when we have it. The Blackheath Society has also carried out a survey and the results will be given in due course.
Blackheath Village Day – Cllr De Ryk - This will happen on Saturday 5 December and it will be better this year with lots of street entertainment.
Platform 4 Lewisham Station – Cllr De Ryk - Heidi Alexander MP has arranged a meeting tomorrow of what will be a Platform 4 Users Group tomorrow night at St Stephens Church from 7pm and the Chairman of South Eastern will be at this meeting.
Drop off / Collection at St Matthew Academy – Cllr De Ryk - This is coming up again as an issue and the School is not really listening. It affects many residents particularly those from St Joseph’s Vale, so we will be reviewing this and trying to rectify the issue and we will set-up a public meeting.
Lewisham Gateway – (from handout provided)The structure of our first building (next to the entrance of the DLR) is now complete and work on windows and façade is nearly complete. Removal of scaffolding will start in November 2015.Construction of the second building has reached level 20, with the structure due for completion towards the end of January 2016. Work on windows and façade has started on the lower levels.
Replacement of the zebra crossing with a signalised pedestrian crossing on Lewisham Road. The zebra crossing on Lewisham Road next to the Texaco Garage has been suspended. There is currently a temporary signalised crossing 20 meters to the north with signs directing pedestrians to the temporary crossing. This closure will remain in place until mid December, when a permanent signalised pedestrian crossing will replace the zebra crossing permanently
Taxis - The new final taxi rank on Station Road is due to open on 21 October 2015. Taxis will access the new Station Road rank via Lewisham Road and exit via Loampit Vale (very similar to how they operated before the work started). Details are currently being ironed out and once the details of the works are confirmed we will provide updates to the community.
Transport and access - Access from the DLR and station to the town centre is currently diverted via Station Road/Molesworth St until works are completed by spring 2016. In the meantime bus users for stops outside the DLR station have been directed to Lewisham Police Station.
From spring 2016 we aim to have completed all of Lewisham Gateway’s main highways works:
Buses will stop in their final locations close to the DLR and Lewisham Station – along Station Road and near the DLR on Molesworth Street
All new signalised crossings will be in place
Pedestrians will be able to walk from the DLR Station, down to the Shopping Centre/Market needing only to make one single phase crossing (over Rennell Street)
Work will then solely focus on finishing the buildings under construction, creating Confluence Place and bringing forward the other buildings and open spaces planned for the site.
We are holding a Meet the Construction Team event next week on Tuesday (20 October) from 5pm to 7pm in the Glass Mill Leisure Centre foyer. If you’d like to find out more or discuss the works please come along – it’s open to anyone who wants to pop by. In the meantime if you have any questions please call 020 7403 8587
Cllr Siddorn – The situation with the buses has yet to be resolved particularly outside the police station, we are lobbying TfL and they have said that they will reconsider re-instating the bus stops and a petition will be handed in today, so we will keep you posted.
Library Consultation – Cllr Bonavia - This again relates to the cuts and we unfortunately once again have another Library consultation. We used to have 12 libraries, it was reduced to 7 with 5 community libraries and now these proposals pertain to three library buildings (Forest Hill, Manor House, and Torridon Road) and the Library and Information Service more generally. Therefore, we have been asked to look again at the ways in which we run our Service to produce further efficiencies of £1M. Therefore, Lewisham Council is now consulting residents on the proposed changes to the library service. Among other measures, the consultation will include a series of public meetings and a survey. The consultation closes on 15 November.
Blackheath Fireworks – Cllr Bonavia - We still have this event and it is still free Saturday 7 November 8pm, please help us to raise funds. It costs £100,000 with Greenwich paying £10,000 we really need help here as if we lose it we will never get it back. 80-100,000 people come every year and love it
Register to vote – Cllr Bonavia - Please make sure that you are registered and check as from 1 december there will be a new system and we could lose representation in parliament. You can go online to the electoral commission all you need is your national insurance number.
Variety Show and Supper – Helen Reeves - This will take place on Friday 30 October at 6.30pm at Blackheath Halls and will be presented by Timothy West. Stars of opera music and theatre will entertain with a variety of events connected with Blackheath over the past 200 years. Tickets are £35.
There being no other business the assembly closed at 8.50pm and Cllr Siddorn thanked everyone for coming along to the meeting.