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Greenwich news and information

Cutty Sark scoops award from travel writers

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Cutty Sark

THE NEWLY restored Cutty Sark has been name as 2012’s best new tourism project by travel writers.

The famous tea clipper was chosen above Glasgow’s Riverside Transport Museum and Edinburgh’s redeveloped National Museum of Scotland by the British Guild of Travel Writers.

Richard Doughty, Director of Cutty Sark, who accepted the award, said:

“I am absolutely delighted Cutty Sark has been recognised by the British Guild of Travel Writers. The conservation of this national treasure has been one of the biggest and most complex maritime heritage projects ever undertaken and thanks are due to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the project.

“Already over 225,000 people have visited the ship during its first six months of trading.”

The boost for the Cutty Sark comes months after she was given the Carbuncle Cup by Building Design and slammed by the Victorian Society as a “damaging restoration.”

World’s best tennis players to play at the O2 this week

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THE TOP eight male tennis players will battle to win the end-of-year tournament at Greenwich’s O2 this week.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals gets under way tomorrow – the fourth year it has been held at the North Greenwich venue.

Andy Murray gets the action started as he goes up against Thomas Berdych. If Murray can clinch the title, it would cap an incredible year that has also seen him win the US Open and also take the gold medal at London 2012.

Also competing at the tournament will be world number one, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Janko Tipsarevic.

The prize money for the winner stands at $830,000, rising to $1,760,000 if they can go undefeated for the tournament.

Ticket prices for the ATP World Tour Finals start at £20.

Greenwich People: Ellie Brown

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Ellie Brown, Greenwich Runners

“Running the marathon and going through your home town is great but also it was the first time I’ve raised money for a local charity,” recalls Ellie Brown, who raised £1,800 for the St Alfege Restoration Fund at this year’s London Marathon.

The running coach and local businesswoman, a Greenwich resident for twenty years, is taking a break from the marathon next year but will continue to teach others how to run with her Greenwich Runners club – the official running club of Greenwich Park.

She says she’s seen an increase in people wanting to get active since the Olympics.

“We’ve set up a running group for beginners and that’s very much on the back of the Olympics,” she says. “I had a lot of people asking how they could get in to running but didn’t know how, so that group has just started and we had twenty at our first session.”

Despite the upheaval caused to park runners by the staging of the London 2012 equestrian events in Greenwich Park , Ellie says she was “very much for the Olympics” and thinks the park will eventually look “better than it did before.”

“It’s looking beautiful and it will be back to its normal self.”

Having lived in West London before she moved to the Ashburnham Triangle in Greenwich, I wonder what it is about Greenwich that makes Ellie love it so much.

“What Greenwich has that I haven’t found anywhere else in London is the amazing community and it’s not just Greenwich. It seeps into Blackheath and it seeps into Deptford and it really is a very strong community, and I think the park acts as a hub for that community. It’s very, very special.”

Find out about Ellie’s Greenwich Runners and her pilates studio.

Ellie Brown, Greenwich Runners

New calendar launched to mark a year to remember

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GREENWICH.CO.UK announces that its souvenir calendar for 2013, made using stunning photos from 2012, goes on sale online today.

The limited edition keepsake has been created using photos taken throughout this momentous year in the life of Greenwich.

The calendar is available to order online at a cost of £10 and will be in selected local retail outlets as of next week.

The A3-sized calendar includes ten photos taken by Greenwich.co.uk plus two very special images from wonderful local photographers – Mike King and Peter Hayward.

Commenting for Greenwich.co.uk, Rob Powell said: “It has been a privilege to be able to cover some historic events this year in Greenwich for the website and I hope this collection of photos I have selected can be enjoyed as a souvenir from what has been a year to remember.

“Proceeds from the sale of the calendar will help enable Greenwich.co.uk to continue reporting local news and keep commissioning paid writers as it enters its fifth year.”

The calendar includes images from the royal borough celebrations, from the Queen’s visit, from the London Marathon, the re-opening of the Cutty Sark and of course the Olympics and Paralympics are represented too.

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Some of the pictures from the calendar, printed in Greenwich by SBS Printing, include:

Flowers for HM Queen
The Queen receiving flowers in Greenwich

Belem approaching the Dome
French tall ship Belem on the Thames

Paralympic torch on the Thames with Greenwich behind
The Paralympic Torch Relay leaving Greenwich by boat

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Councillors to decide on east Greenwich student accommodation

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COUNCILLORS will decide next week whether to give the go-ahead to almost fifty new student flats in East Greenwich.

The developer behind the scheme has proposed a 47-bed block of student accommodation in Denham Street on a plot of land previously used as offices and a depot by Lewis Coaches.

Eleven letters of objection were received by the council, citing concerns over increased noise, parking and loss of light and TV reception but officers have recommended councillors back the scheme at the Greenwich Area Planning Committee next Wednesday evening.

New townhouses

Councillors will also consider whether to approve the demolition of three Victorian houses at the meeting.  The empty homes at 24-28 Greenwich High Road would be replaced by four new townhouses, if planning permission is agreed.

Ten letters of objection have been received and the redevelopment is also opposed by the Greenwich Society and Greenwich Conservation Group. In its objection, the Greenwich Society  cited “the need to preserve as much as possible of 19th century fabric.”

The houses back on to the car park of Greenwich’s newest hotel, the Mercure, and councillors will also be considering whether to approve a new internally illuminated rooftop sign for the  boutique hotel. Periquin Limited is the name of the developer that is behind both the hotel and the application to redevelop the houses in Greenwich High Road.

On a busy night for councillors, they will also decide on the latest bid to develop the land at the corner of Roan Street and Straightsmouth with the developer wishing to build a three storey block containing two flats.

See the full agenda for the Greenwich Area Planning Committee on Wednesday 7th November

 

Tory leader’s “concerns” over District Auditor’s foot tunnel omission

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THE LEADER of Greenwich Conservatives has questioned why the District Auditor didn’t raise the handling of the bungled foot tunnel refurbishments in her report on the council’s performance.

The District Auditor’s Annual Audit Letter, a summary of her 2011/2012 audit, was published at last night’s full meeting of the council.

“I concluded that you have made proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in your use of resources,” wrote the District Auditor in the letter.

But the council itself admitted last month that its £11.5million refurbishment of Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels had gone wrong over the last two years and announced it would commission in an independent review of its procedures.

Tory leader Spencer Drury told councillors that the “serious mismanagement” of the project should have been mentioned by the District Auditor.

“Surely, the District Auditor should be mentioning that sort of concern in a letter which is supposed to reflect the procedures and financial performance of the borough.

“The District Auditor is the person I look to to provide us with some assurance about what’s going on. I don’t think this letter reflects the serious concerns which we should have been aware of and we should expect the District Auditor to make us aware of.”

Councillor Peter Brooks, deputy leader of the Council, said the report represented another positive year for the council.

“It’s pleasing to note the council continues to demonstrate strong financial resilience despite government cuts and the economic downturn,” he said.

Also from last night’s council meeting

  • Cllr John Fahy said council officers were working through the draft report by the NHS Trust Special Administrator (TSA) to come up with a response. He said the report was “probably better than we expected…  there are obviously some positives and some serious negatives particularly in regards to waiting times.”
  • Cllr Fahy also revealed that the Special Administrator had been invited to a Scrutiny Panel meeting, open to the public, on November 15th and said the council wanted the TSA to hold more public meetings across the borough.
  • Severndroog Castle restoration expected to be completed by Autumn 2013, said Councillor Denise Hyland
  • Cllr Hyland also stated that she expected Circus Field to be reinstated by Spring 2013.
  • Councillor Maureen O’Mara admitted “errors” in the way the Run to the Beat event was handled.
  • The effectiveness of barriers erected in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel will shortly be reviewed, said Cllr Hyland.