Agenda item

Forest Hill Assembly

 

Monday 8 October 6.45pm – 9pm

Sydenham School

Dartmouth Road,

SE26 4RD

 

Minutes

 

 

6.50 - 7.50 Marketplace event - to decide which projects receive a share of the £15,000 Assembly Fund

Marketplace Event

 

The assembly opened with a marketplace event to decide the allocation of the £15,000 Forest Hill Assembly Fund. There were 13 projects bidding for a share of the money and attendees were asked to visit each project and score it out of 10.

 

The following projects were bidding for a share of the £15,000:

 

Proposal 1 – Improvements to Albion Millennium Green

Organisation – Friends of Albion Millennium Green

Amount applied for £1,865

 

Proposal 2 – Green Oak ‘Lychgate’ Shelter for the Cob Oven at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Organisation – Friends of Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Amount applied for £1,400

 

Proposal 3 – Pop-up Documentary Cinema in Forest Hill

Organisation – THELITTLEGREENSCREEN

Amount applied for £1,088

 

Proposal 4 – The Development of a Local Archive Display Area

Organisation – Kelvin Grove Primary School

Amount applied for £2,000

 

Proposal 5 – Access Forest Hill

Organisation – Voluntary Care Centre

Amount applied for £2,000

 

Proposal 6 – Monthly Market in Forest Hill Town Centre

Amount applied for £2,000

Organisation – Forest Hill Society

 

Proposal 7 – Replacement Planters for Station Entrance

Amount applied for £1,800

Organisation – Forest Hill Society

 

 

Proposal 8 – Town Centre Planting

Amount applied for £800

Organisation – Forest Hill Society

 

Proposal 9 – Christmas in Kirkdale

Amount applied for £600

Organisation – Kirkdale Village Traders and Community Association

 

Proposal 10 – Six Square Planters for Kirkdale (three on each side of the road), plus Three Trees

Amount applied for £1,260

Organisation – Kirkdale Village Traders and Community Organisation

 

Proposal 11 – The Totally Locally Forest Hill Campaign

Amount applied for £1000

Organisation – Forest Hill Traders Association

 

Proposal 12 – Forest Hill Traders AlertBox Scheme

Amount applied for £2,000

Organisation – Forest Hill Traders Association

 

Project 13 – Santas Grotto and Christmas Trail

Amount applied for £1,700

Organisation – Forest Hill Traders

 

 

8pm Introductions and welcome Cllr Alex Feakes (Chair) and welcome to Sydenham School Carolyn Unsted (Head Teacher)

 

Cllr Feakes, chair of the Forest Hill Assembly welcomed everyone to the meeting. He then introduced the other Councillors present Cllr Philip Peake and Cllr Anne Affiku and thanked Sydenham School for allowing us to use their facilities for the meeting. Cllr Feakes then introduced Carolyn Unsted the Headteacher of Sydenham School and invited her to address the assembly.

 

Carolyn Unsted the Headteacher of Sydenham School told the meeting that the School has been celebrating its 95th Birthday and that it has been educating Forest Hill and Sydenham girls since 1917. Recently they celebrated this by having their Birthday party on Saturday 22nd September, this followed on from the opening of Forest Hill Pools in the morning. Carolyn also stated how delighted she was to the host the assembly meeting as she is keen for the school to be the hub

 

8.10 Portas Pilot update

 

Ed Holloway part of the core group of see3 provided the assembly with the a presentation from see3 regarding the Portas Pilot. See3 is the name given to the scheme which incorporates Forest Hill, Sydenham and Kirkdale town centres.  To find out more about see3 visit www.see3.co.uk to see a copy of the presentation contact Paul gale on 8314 3387 or email paul.gale@lewisham.gov.uk

After the presentation Ed Holloway told the meeting that there will be a Christmas Committee meeting on Wednesday 17 Oct at 7.30pm at Forest Hill Pools.

 

8.25 Skanska

 

Paul Burman from Skanska told the assembly meeting that Skanska is replacing all the street lights in the borough and this is part of a joint PFI with Croydon. Paul stated that some street lights will stay, but this is a 3 year project and work will start in Forest Hill ward in May.

The new lighting is more efficient, saves energy and requires less maintenance. Every street is being designed from scratch to meet the British Standard and on some streets the lighting will be moved.  Before the works start in a particular street we will send you a letter detailing what is happening, we will then generally place the lights at the back of the footway in line with the guidance issued from the local authority, but there exceptions to this.

 

Q I live on Nelson Avenue and it is a trip hazard as the lamppost is not omitting light.

A This depends on when it was installed, it may be that we are waiting for UK Powernetworks to connect the power.

 

Q On Church Lane and Westbourne Drive there is a really poor consistency of light

A There are some roads where we have had problems, we are looking at this, but trees are also causing some issues.

 

Q What will Benson Road look like as this is a conservation area?

A I will need to check this and get back to you, conservation areas will get aesthetically enhanced lighting, but I cannot comment on specifics for each road.

 

Q What about placing signs and banners on the new street lights for events and promotions?

A This is a problem on existing columns as wind will create stress and they need to be structurally tested before this can be agreed. The new columns are not a problem and we have an attachment form that you will need to complete for us to authorise this

 

Q Will the radio signal that the lights omit interfere with other signals?

A No these are very low frequency

 

Q Are you not lighting up areas too much?

A The light is a white / blue mix and only appears brighter, this helps with reducing crime.

 

Q Is each lamp column controlled individually?

A Yes we can do this, but we want it to be consistent in each street

 

Q What about the lanterns that are blocked by the trees, especially ones on the A205?

A These will be re-sited, but the A205 is a TfL road and we do not control their roads.

 

Q Will the light be brighter and cause more light pollution?

A It will be brighter, but just the road and the footway as we are trying to avoid light pollution

 

Additional questions – Ian Ransom Head of Transport at Lewisham was also at the meeting, some questions were put to him during the evening that could not be answered at the time. Below are the answers to these.

 

Q Water Leak that has been cordoned off for over two months,  Elliot Bank near to junction of London Road.

A This leak has now been repaired.

 

Q Dartmouth Road - delivery Motor-Cyclists driving along footway and parking, (unclear if this is on footway or private forecourt), can we refer to parking, not sure if planning can do anything?

A We have asked our parking enforcement service to step up enforcement against any illegal footway parking in Dartmouth Road. Enforcement against motor cyclists driving on the footway is a matter for the Police.

 

Q A205 TfL through Forest Hill Town Centre, trees obscuring street lights, also street light out by Esso garage, junction of Honor Oak Road, also centre island centre column out, please can we report this to TfL.

 A This has been reported to TfL

 

Q Canonbie Road, underside of vehicles scrapping road humps making a loud noise, this might also be coming in a mayor enquiry.

The Council has responded directly to this via the casework system, reference number 198041.

 

Q A petition for a controlled crossing in Kirkdale between Thorpewood Avenue and Elliot Bank is being raised

A We will wait for the petition to arrive,  then we can note the details and carry out an investigation. 

 

Q Woodvale / Forest Hill Road, lack of pedestrian phase at traffic signals.

A These roads are in L B Southwark.

 

Q Various water leaks along Honor Oak Road, one by Tyson Road and two near Fairlawn School.

 A These leaks have been reported to Thames Water.

 

 

8.45 Update from the SNT

 

PC Michael Hill told the assembly that the ward priorities are burglary, motor vehicle crime and robbery. Robbery is a third down from last year, Burglary is 5% down, however Motor Vehicle crime is up. It is essential that people keep their valuables out of sight especially satellite navigation systems. PC Hill also stated that they are looking for more people to join the ward panel and help to decide the priorities for Forest Hill.

 

Q What about the proposed closure of Sydenham Police Station?

A There is no official decision yet, but it may go. If it does, we will still patrol as normal and we will be based in the community so it won’t make a difference.

 

Q What about attacks on the person?

A This is robbery and can have a big affect on the victim, once again do not display your valuables while out and about.

 

Q I find the noise from the Helicopter really threatening as it makes me fear what is going on in the area. The circling above is intrusive and unnerving. How many of these incidents lead to arrests when the Helicopter is involved?

A I can’t answer this, but I will get back to you. However, the Helicopter is not just used for crime, it could be looking for someone such as a missing person.

 

8.50 Community Updates

 

Cllr Feakes asked the assembly attendees to complete the fairness in procurement survey and then opened the meeting to news from the floor.

 

• Sara Angelini invited attendees to sign a petition relating to a crossing at Eliot bank School
• Forest Hill Society are planning autumn bulb planting and general tidy-up for the areas we've planted in Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park on Saturday 20th October 2.00-4.00pm, meeting in the forecourt of Forest Hill Station and Honor Oak Park station for simultaneous planting at both stations!
• Bring and Take day Sunday 28th October 2012 - 1.00 pm – 4.00 pm at Dacres Wood Reserve Field Centre, Dacres Road, SE23 (access via a Honeyfield Mews between Catling Close and Homefield House, near the junction of Dacres Road and Silverdale)
• On 4 November 10am – 2pm there will be a Food Fair in the Station Car Park
• On 17 October there will be a Forest Hill Pools stakeholder meeting, we want to hear your feedback so email  foresthillsociety.com
• On 27 October 1pm – 9.30pm there will be an acoustic event at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, there will be food and bar with 10 bands performing
• On 31 October there will be a Halloween event at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve from 5pm

 

8.55 Results of voting

 

The following projects will receive money from the Forest Hill Assembly Fund.

           

Voluntary Care Centre - Access Forest Hill £2,000

Forest Hill Society -  Monthly market £2,000

Kelvin Grove Primary - Local archive £2,000

Forest Hill Traders Totally Locally Campaign £1,000

Forest Hill Society - Town centre planting £800

Forest Hill Society - Station planters £1,800

Friends of Albion Millenium Green – Improvements to AMG £1,865

Devonshire Road Nature Reserve - Green Oak ‘Lychgate’ Shelter £1,400

Kirkdale Village Traders and Community Association – Planters £1,260

*Forest Hill Traders -  AlertBox Scheme £875 (applied for £2,000, but receives the remaining £875).

 

*It was later decided that £875 was not enough money to start an AlertBox scheme. The next placed project was also a Forest Hill Traders application and was the Santas Grotto and Christmas Trail. This project will now receive the £875.

 

Councillor Feakes then thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and asked people to complete their evaluation forms.

 

There being no other business the meeting was closed at 9 pm. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 6 February with the venue and time to be confirmed.  Further details and information will be circulated to all residents nearer the time.       

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

 

 

 

Forest Hill Assembly

 

Monday 8 October 2012 7pm – 9pm

 

Sydenham School

Dartmouth Road, SE26 $RD

 

Minutes of the meeting

 

 

Marketplace Event

 

The assembly opened with a marketplace event to decide the allocation of the £15,000 Forest Hill Assembly Fund. There were 13 projects bidding for a share of the money and attendees were asked to visit each project and score it out of 10.

 

The following projects were bidding for a share of the £15,000:

 

Proposal 1 – Improvements to Albion Millennium Green

Organisation – Friends of Albion Millennium Green

Amount applied for £1,865

 

Proposal 2 – Green Oak ‘Lychgate’ Shelter for the Cob Oven at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Organisation – Friends of Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

Amount applied for £1,400

 

Proposal 3 – Pop-up Documentary Cinema in Forest Hill

Organisation – THELITTLEGREENSCREEN

Amount applied for £1,088

 

Proposal 4 – The Development of a Local Archive Display Area

Organisation – Kelvin Grove Primary School

Amount applied for £2,000

 

Proposal 5 – Access Forest Hill

Organisation – Voluntary Care Centre

Amount applied for £2,000

 

Proposal 6 – Monthly Market in Forest Hill Town Centre

Amount applied for £2,000

Organisation – Forest Hill Society

 

Proposal 7 – Replacement Planters for Station Entrance

Amount applied for £1,800

Organisation – Forest Hill Society

 

 

Proposal 8 – Town Centre Planting

Amount applied for £800

Organisation – Forest Hill Society

 

Proposal 9 – Christmas in Kirkdale

Amount applied for £600

Organisation – Kirkdale Village Traders and Community Association

 

Proposal 10 – Six Square Planters for Kirkdale (three on each side of the road), plus Three Trees

Amount applied for £1,260

Organisation – Kirkdale Village Traders and Community Organisation

 

Proposal 11 – The Totally Locally Forest Hill Campaign

Amount applied for £1000

Organisation – Forest Hill Traders Association

 

Proposal 12 – Forest Hill Traders AlertBox Scheme

Amount applied for £2,000

Organisation – Forest Hill Traders Association

 

Project 13 – Santas Grotto and Christmas Trail

Amount applied for £1,700

Organisation – Forest Hill Traders

 

1.         Welcome to the more formal part

 

Cllr Feakes, chair of the Forest Hill Assembly welcomed everyone to the meeting. He then introduced the other Councillors present Cllr Philip Peake and Cllr Anne Affiku and thanked Sydenham School for allowing us to use their facilities for the meeting. Cllr Feakes then introduced Carolyn Unsted the Headteacher of Sydenham School and invited her to address the assembly.

 

Carolyn Unsted the Headteacher of Sydenham School told the meeting that the School has been celebrating its 95th Birthday and that it has been educating Forest Hill and Sydenham girls since 1917. Recently they celebrated this by having their Birthday party on Saturday 22nd September, this followed on from the opening of Forest Hill Pools in the morning. Carolyn also stated how delighted she was to the host the assembly meeting as she is keen for the school to be the hub of the community.

 

2.                  Portas Pilot update

 

Ed Holloway part of the core group of see3 provided the assembly with the a presentation from see3 regarding the Portas Pilot. See3 is the name given to the scheme which incorporates Forest Hill, Sydenham and Kirkdale town centres.  To find out more about see3 visit www.see3.co.uk to see a copy of the presentation contact Paul gale on 8314 3387 or email paul.gale@lewisham.gov.uk

After the presentation Ed Holloway told the meeting that there will be a Christmas Committee meeting on Wednesday 17 Oct at 7.30pm at Forest Hill Pools.

 

 

 

3.         Lewisham Street Light Programme - Skanska

 

Paul Burman from Skanska told the assembly meeting that Skanska is replacing all the street lights in the borough and this is part of a joint PFI with Croydon. Paul stated that some street lights will stay, but this is a 3 year project and work will start in Forest Hill ward in May.

The new lighting is more efficient, saves energy and requires less maintenance. Every street is being designed from scratch to meet the British Standard and on some streets the lighting will be moved.  Before the works start in a particular street we will send you a letter detailing what is happening, we will then generally place the lights at the back of the footway in line with the guidance issued from the local authority, but there exceptions to this.

 

Q I live on Nelson Avenue and it is a trip hazard as the lamppost is not omitting light.

A This depends on when it was installed, it may be that we are waiting for UK Powernetworks to connect the power.

 

Q On Church Lane and Westbourne Drive there is a really poor consistency of light

A There are some roads where we have had problems, we are looking at this, but trees are also causing some issues.

 

Q What will Benson Road look like as this is a conservation area?

A I will need to check this and get back to you, conservation areas will get aesthetically enhanced lighting, but I cannot comment on specifics for each road.

 

Q What about placing signs and banners on the new street lights for events and promotions?

A This is a problem on existing columns as wind will create stress and they need to be structurally tested before this can be agreed. The new columns are not a problem and we have an attachment form that you will need to complete for us to authorise this

 

Q Will the radio signal that the lights omit interfere with other signals?

A No these are very low frequency

 

Q Are you not lighting up areas too much?

A The light is a white / blue mix and only appears brighter, this helps with reducing crime.

 

Q Is each lamp column controlled individually?

A Yes we can do this, but we want it to be consistent in each street

 

Q What about the lanterns that are blocked by the trees, especially ones on the A205?

A These will be re-sited, but the A205 is a TfL road and we do not control their roads.

 

Q Will the light be brighter and cause more light pollution?

A It will be brighter, but just the road and the footway as we are trying to avoid light pollution

 

Additional questions – Ian Ransom Head of Transport at Lewisham was also at the meeting, some questions were put to him during the evening that could not be answered at the time. Below are the answers to these.

 

Q Water Leak that has been cordoned off for over two months,  Elliot Bank near to junction of London Road.

A This leak has now been repaired.

 

Q Dartmouth Road - delivery Motor-Cyclists driving along footway and parking, (unclear if this is on footway or private forecourt), can we refer to parking, not sure if planning can do anything?

A We have asked our parking enforcement service to step up enforcement against any illegal footway parking in Dartmouth Road. Enforcement against motor cyclists driving on the footway is a matter for the Police.

 

Q A205 TfL through Forest Hill Town Centre, trees obscuring street lights, also street light out by Esso garage, junction of Honor Oak Road, also centre island centre column out, please can we report this to TfL.

 A This has been reported to TfL

 

Q Canonbie Road, underside of vehicles scrapping road humps making a loud noise, this might also be coming in a mayor enquiry.

The Council has responded directly to this via the casework system, reference number 198041.

 

Q A petition for a controlled crossing in Kirkdale between Thorpewood Avenue and Elliot Bank is being raised

A We will wait for the petition to arrive,  then we can note the details and carry out an investigation. 

 

Q Woodvale / Forest Hill Road, lack of pedestrian phase at traffic signals.

A These roads are in L B Southwark.

 

Q Various water leaks along Honor Oak Road, one by Tyson Road and two near Fairlawn School.

 A These leaks have been reported to Thames Water.

 

4.                  Update from the Safer Neighbourhood Team

 

PC Michael Hill told the assembly that the ward priorities are burglary, motor vehicle crime and robbery. Robbery is a third down from last year, Burglary is 5% down, however Motor Vehicle crime is up. It is essential that people keep their valuables out of sight especially satellite navigation systems. PC Hill also stated that they are looking for more people to join the ward panel and help to decide the priorities for Forest Hill.

 

Q What about the proposed closure of Sydenham Police Station?

A There is no official decision yet, but it may go. If it does, we will still patrol as normal and we will be based in the community so it won’t make a difference.

 

Q What about attacks on the person?

A This is robbery and can have a big affect on the victim, once again do not display your valuables while out and about.

 

Q I find the noise from the Helicopter really threatening as it makes me fear what is going on in the area. The circling above is intrusive and unnerving. How many of these incidents lead to arrests when the Helicopter is involved?

A I can’t answer this, but I will get back to you. However, the Helicopter is not just used for crime, it could be looking for someone such as a missing person.

 

5.      Community Updates

 

Cllr Feakes asked the assembly attendees to complete the fairness in procurement survey and then opened the meeting to news from the floor.

 

• Sara Angelini invited attendees to sign a petition relating to a crossing at Eliot bank School
• Forest Hill Society are planning autumn bulb planting and general tidy-up for the areas we've planted in Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park on Saturday 20th October 2.00-4.00pm, meeting in the forecourt of Forest Hill Station and Honor Oak Park station for simultaneous planting at both stations!
• Bring and Take day Sunday 28th October 2012 - 1.00 pm – 4.00 pm at Dacres Wood Reserve Field Centre, Dacres Road, SE23 (access via a Honeyfield Mews between Catling Close and Homefield House, near the junction of Dacres Road and Silverdale)
• On 4 November 10am – 2pm there will be a Food Fair in the Station Car Park
• On 17 October there will be a Forest Hill Pools stakeholder meeting, we want to hear your feedback so email  foresthillsociety.com
• On 27 October 1pm – 9.30pm there will be an acoustic event at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, there will be food and bar with 10 bands performing
• On 31 October there will be a Halloween event at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve from 5pm

 

6.                   Results of the vote

 

The following projects will receive money from the Forest Hill Assembly Fund.

           

Voluntary Care Centre - Access Forest Hill £2,000

Forest Hill Society -  Monthly market £2,000

Kelvin Grove Primary - Local archive £2,000

Forest Hill Traders Totally Locally Campaign £1,000

Forest Hill Society - Town centre planting £800

Forest Hill Society - Station planters £1,800

Friends of Albion Millenium Green – Improvements to AMG £1,865

Devonshire Road Nature Reserve - Green Oak ‘Lychgate’ Shelter £1,400

Kirkdale Village Traders and Community Association – Planters £1,260

*Forest Hill Traders -  AlertBox Scheme £875 (applied for £2,000, but receives the remaining £875).

 

*It was later decided that £875 was not enough money to start an AlertBox scheme. The next placed project was also a Forest Hill Traders application and was the Santas Grotto and Christmas Trail. This project will now receive the £875.

 

Councillor Feakes then thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and asked people to complete their evaluation forms.

 

There being no other business the meeting was closed at 9 pm. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 6 February with the venue and time to be confirmed.  Further details and information will be circulated to all residents nearer the time.       

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.