Restaurant fire closes Trafalgar Road

Photo taken by @j0annepsi

Traffic came to a stand-still on Tuesday evening as a fire broke out at a restaurant in Trafalgar Road.

Around 20 firefighters and four fire engines attended the blaze at Othello Steak House, 113 Trafalgar Road, near the junction of Lassell Street.

Trafalgar Road was closed to traffic in both directions as firefighters from East Greenwich, Greenwich, Lee Green and Deptford stations got the blaze under control.

There were no injuries and the fire caused damaged to the 1st floor and roof.

Andrew Gibb Memorial vandalised

The Andrew Gibb Memorial in Blackheath at the junction of Maze Hill and Charlton Way has been struck by vandals.

The memorial, which is opposite the Greenwich Park war memorial and comprises of a water fountain under an impressive eight-sided shelter, was badly damaged in the attack which is believed to have happened sometime on Thursday night.

The stone obelisk has been smashed from its fixings on the fountain and then broken into pieces. I understand that although the panes of glass are smashed frequently, this may be the first time the obelisk has been so badly damaged since the £100,000 refurbishment in 2003.

The damage was spotted by local resident, Mr M Qavi, shortly after 1pm on Friday and quickly reported to the council. He told Greenwich.co.uk “that the Councillors and the Council Officials responded immediately by sending out a team to remove the stone ball and glass shards”.

Ward councillor, Alex Grant, visited the memorial to view the damage for himself on Friday afternoon.

Andrew Gibb was a local ship-repairer who lived at Garthlands in Westcombe Park, as well being a philanthropist and one of the first Aldermen of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich.  According to the Greenwich Council website, he left £1,200 for the erection of a public water fountain when he died in 1908.

You can see how the Andrew Gibb Memorial looked before the vandalism here and here.

Daily Photo: 27/08/2010 – Ile De Batz

Thanks to local tweeter, @MillenniumQuay, for allowing me to use this photo of Alcatel Lucent’s submarine cable laying ship, Ile De Batz, which was taken from Millennium Quay you may not be surprised to hear.

The ship was actually in the area as part of a day of activities yesterday to mark Alcatel-Lucent, based in Christchurch Way, receiving Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2010. The award was presented by Colonel Cyril Young.

Read more about Alcatel and its role in making East Greenwich ‘the home of communication’

Daily Photo: 26/08/2010 – Clocktower Market

Andrew Gilligan: Small Shops Under New Threat As Sainsbury’s Comes To Town

Greenwich town centre is to get a new Sainsbury’s supermarket, triggering a potential new threat to the town’s remaining independent shops.

The motorbike accessories store in the same Greenwich High Road block as the existing Co-op is closing down. On its windows are statutory notices announcing that Sainsbury’s is applying for an alcohol licence for the premises. The new store – about the same size as the Co-op by the looks of the site – will be the third new supermarket chain to open in recent years, after the M&S Simply Food at the Cutty Sark and the Tesco Metro on Trafalgar Road.

The post-Tesco fate of the other shops on Trafalgar Road – closure for some, reduced business for many – could be a worrying portent of the future. The new Sainsbury’s will be within a minute’s walk of Greenwich’s main cluster of independent food shops – the greengrocer, butcher, cheese shop, fishmonger and general grocery on Royal Hill.

True, these places have managed to cope with the Co-op, for years. But Sainsbury’s stock is likely be more directly competitive with them – more fresh food, more bourgeois comforts and more upmarket stuff than the Co-op – meaning that it’s a more serious threat.

And the competition between the two neighbouring supermarkets may also (temporarily) drive down prices on the basics and staples to an extent which damages Royal Hill. I found last year that the prices of the Royal Hill shops were suprisingly competitive with the Co-op (then Somerfield). If both of the retail behemoths are prepared to sell things at a loss as they battle it out, however, it seems unlikely that the smaller players will be able to compete on price. That could do them great damage.

At the same time, perhaps the most consuming retail issue in Greenwich – the fate of the market – is about to come to a head. Planning permission for Greenwich Hospital’s hateful scheme to knock down the market was refused exactly a year ago. But the Hospital’s appeal against the decision will be heard by a planning inspector at a public inquiry between September 7th and 17th.

Greenwich Hospital’s changes to the scheme – principally keeping, though reglazing, the roof – don’t seem to have convinced anyone. The existing shops will still be demolished and the number of stalls, and the food court, reduced. The site will be dominated by a 100-bedroom hotel.

On Sunday, as we covered on the site, there was a demo against the plans, with the three local councillors handing out leaflets claiming that even the revised proposals “will see the end of Greenwich Market as we know it.” This is true – because the cost of the redevelopment will almost certainly mean that the Hospital will have to raise the rents to a level beyond that which the existing independent traders can afford. Hays Galleria or Spitalfields, next stop!

The cynical view is that the tourists won’t be able to tell the difference. But of course they will – and we most certainly will. The market was so rammed this weekend that, to the rage of passing motorists, the demonstrators had to stand in the road. If it’s turned into a feeble appendage of a 100-room hotel, with added chain-stores, it won’t be anything like as much of a draw to the town.

As well as the local councillors, the influential Commission on Architecture and the Built Environment – the Government’s design standards watchdog- has attacked the revised scheme. In their response to the planning inspector, CABE said the new plans were still ‘alien.” They criticised the proposed layout of the market, the ‘dominating’ scale of the boutique hotel and the detailing of the glazed roof.

They branded as “awkward” the proposed new route from Greenwich Church Street into the market. And they said that the relationship between the roof and the proposed new buildings on either side was still not “fully resolved.”

I’ll be covering the saga of the market and the public inquiry in more detail within the next two weeks. But we should look at the onward march of the supermarkets – a Waitrose and a further Tesco are also rumoured – with just as much alarm.

Daily Photo: 24/08/2010 – The dome from the beach

Graham Miles kindly allowed me to use this picture that he took today from the Greenwich foreshore. He tells me that he took advantage of the low tide and sunshine, but paid the price in his pursuit of this great photo by ruining his trainers !

Daily Photo: 23/08/2010 – Robin in Greenwich Park

I saw this robin yesterday hiding in trees in Greenwich Park by the path next to Crooms Hill.

Greenwich Market campaigners demonstrate against redevelopment

A group of campaigners gathered outside Greenwich Market on Sunday to protest against proposals to redevelop the market.

Car drivers honked their horns in support and a crowd gathered to watch as demonstrators held their “Save Greenwich Market” banner aloft outside the College Approach entrance to the market.

The demonstration organiser, Cllr Maureen O’Mara, was joined by her fellow councillors for the Greenwich West ward, David Grant and Matthew Pennycook, and concerned local residents. Some stall holders and shop owners from inside the market also came out to lend their support.

Plans to redevelop the covered market and add a new boutique hotel were rejected by Greenwich Council last year but could still go ahead after owners, Greenwich Hospital Estate (GHE), appealed the decision.

Cllr Maureen O’Mara commented:

The market is under the threat of complete demolition. GHE want to put a hotel here and I’ve got arguments about that but my whole principle about this is that the market is a much loved part of london. It’s one of London’s jewels and people come here every weekend – they love it and enjoy it. I think what GHE wants to put in its place is just a homogenised view of London.

Edward Dolby from Greenwich Hospital told Greenwich.co.uk that if they do get planning permission, the redeveloped market would retain “essentially the same footprint and character” and that trading would be continuous throughout the redevelopment – expected to take almost two years – because the market would move to a temporary site in Monument Gardens. He added:

The hotel that features in our regeneration plans will be a welcome addition to the town centre and not a threat or competitor to the market – rather it should provide additional custom for our traders.

Campaigners are planning another demonstration to coincide with the start of the Planning Inspector’s inquiry next month at Woolwich Town Hall.

Listen to Cllr Maureen O’Mara speaking to Greenwich.co.uk at Sunday’s protest:

Listen to Cllr David Grant speaking to Greenwich.co.uk at Sunday’s protest:

Councillor Maureen O’Mara being interviewed about the protest.

Greenwich West councillors – Maureen O’Mara, Matthew Pennycook and David Grant – outside Greenwich Market

Greenwich Market protest planned this weekend

A local councillor is organising a protest against plans to redevelop Greenwich Market.

Cllr Maureen O’Mara (Labour, Greenwich West) will join fellow protestors outside the College Approach entrance to the market on Sunday at 2pm.

Plans by market owners, Greenwich Hospital Trust,  for the controversial redevelopment of the market, which would include  a new 100-bedroom boutique hotel, were unanimously rejected by Greenwich Council last year.

In February this year, Greenwich Hospital confirmed that that would be appealing against that decision.

Protestors at this weekend’s demonstration aim to show the strength of  local opposition to the proposals before the  independent Planning Inspectorate begins its inquiry on the 7th September at the town hall in Woolwich.

Uni’s School of Architecture gets new Head

A new Head of the School of Architecture & Construction at the University of Greenwich has been appointed.

Neil Spiller, currently a Vice Dean at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College, London,  will take up the post on September 1st.

The University plans for the School of Architecture to move from its current site at Avery Hill to a new purpose built facility in Stockwell Street.

Professor Spiller commented: “It is a great time to be joining the University of Greenwich as the School of Architecture & Construction makes plans for its new building in central Greenwich.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, Baroness Blackstone, added: “Neil will play an important role in the development of our plans for a new building for the School; taking advantage of its new location, close to the City and Docklands, which will provide many opportunities to enhance its academic profile and reputation.”

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