The Herne Hill Society blog

March 2012 report from our Chair

Our Chair, Sheila Northover, reports:

Safer Neighbourhood Team in Village Ward Southwark

It was suggested that there should be a HHS rep from the “North Dulwich Triangle’ which is an area affected by burglary and robbery. No one has come forward from our members; it is now on the HH Forum website as well. We do plan to nominate a rep.

Next meeting: Wednesday 11 April at 7.30pm at St Barnabas Centre, Calton Avenue

Velodrome User Group

We have been invited to join the HH Velodrome User Group.

The purpose of the User Group meeting is to bring together current and potential users along with local residents, so that the Trust can engage with each of you, update you on our latest work and hear your thoughts. The meetings will be held every two months.

In addition to the first User Group meeting, we are setting up a special Design Working Group specifically to get your input into the Southwark Olympic Legacy Fund which we were awarded late last year. This will be attended by members of our project team in addition to Trustees.

Lambeth Country Show 15-16 September

The Society agreed to take a stall on the rearranged dates.

Southwark and crossing patrols

News from the leader of Southwark council: by cross-party agreement, the budget also included the reintroduction of schools crossing patrols in Dulwich back into the council’s base budget. This was achieved – following an amendment with unanimous support from Dulwich councillors – by reducing the Cleaner, Greener, Safer Revenue Fund for Dulwich. This will mean that schools crossing patrols will be funded in exactly the same way as they have been in the past.

Lambeth Local History Forum summer walks

Robert Holden has offered to do a walk on behalf of the Society on 25 August, starting from the station. This is the date of the 150th anniversary of its opening.

Higher crime levels in Village Ward

We've heard from the Village Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) that the police are warning of higher levels of burglaries and car crime in the Herne Hill area between Half Moon Lane and Herne Hill (i.e. on the Southwark side of Herne Hill, including the so-called North Dulwich Triangle).

There is a meeting of the Village Ward SNT next month, and the Herne Hill Society are hoping that one or two residents in the affected area (whether Herne Hill Society members or not) could attend this and perhaps report back to us what if anything needs to be done, so that we can issue the appropriate advice.

Please let Herne Hill Society Membership Secretary Eleanor Hayes know if you or a neighbour could attend this meeting. It will be held at St Barnabas Church (Calton Avenue, Dulwich) at
7:30 pm on 15 February. Village Ward Councillors will attend.

eleanorihayes@hotmail.com

Red Post - restored! And news on the former petrol station site

In a previous post we reported that our smart new red post (as in Red Post Hill) had been vandalised.

Fortunately the missing parts were found safe nearby, and have now been re-instated. Voila!

More good news: in case you missed the posters on the shuttering around the old petrol station at the bottom of Herne Hill (by Sainsbury's), Goldcrest Land has acquired the site. This has been an eyesore for so long that it's getting hard to recell what it looked like before.

It seems that Goldcrest are keen to talk to local communities. We are going to have a short exploratory discussion with them next month. It's likely that they will want to have an open meeting at the Herne Hill Forum before too long.

Red Post - damaged

You may have noticed that two of the direction pointers on the Red Post outside the United Church are missing.

It appears that someone swung on them, presumably late at night having had a few pints too many, and the rivets broke. The two arms were found nearby and are now safely in the hands of the Dulwich Society, who as you will remember organised the Red Post installation on 2 October last year.

It appears that it will be a fairly simple matter to put them back. But how can it be prevented from happening again?

Herne Hill's illegal booze trade

The following extract is from a piece by Nadia Gilani that appeared in the South London Press on 31 August 2010.

BARS in cars are worrying businesses, who claim unlicensed traders have been selling booze from their boots after last orders.

Shops, bars and restaurant owners have said they are concerned about the sales going on in Railton Road, Herne Hill.

Jim Davidson, who owns picture-framing shop Brockwell Art Studios in the street, said the drink vendors were causing disturbances at night.

He said: “We’ve seen a number of bars in cars where people have been turning up with beer in their car and selling it.

“It’s way past midnight when they seem to come. We’ve seen the evidence in the morning.

“But it’s not only that. There have been occasions in nearby Norwood Road, with people setting up barbecues and selling food.

“I had a street sweeper complain to me about finding a bag full of uncooked chicken left out for refuse collection.”

Members of the Herne Hill Society have been lobbying Lambeth council over the issue.

Full story

All is not well

One of the recent discussion threads on the Herne Hill Forum is about the seeming absence of pressure to improve the quality of the businesses in and around the newly pedestrianised Railton Road precinct.

Can't we do better than takeaways and night clubs?

And you may have noticed the police cordon on Saturday morning all around the pedestrianised area, and forensic officers checking for evidence. We hear that there was a stabbing in the early hours - people coming  out of Destinys... broken glass on the pavement.