Greenwich news and information
This is one of the seven life size wooden sheep that featured in the cross country course during London 2012 and is now in the children’s playground at Greenwich Park. Each of the sheep is hand carved from oak. The sheep were donated by LOCOG and installed on October 22nd.
A DRAMATIC shakeup of NHS services in south-east London has been proposed by the Administrator of South London Healthcare Trust (SLHT).
The Special Administrator, Matthew Kershaw, was put in charge of the debt-ridden SLHT during the summer and has now published his draft six-point plan for overhauling local healthcare over the next three years.
His proposals would see the dissolution of the SLHT, with Greenwich’s local hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Woolwich, joining together with Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust.
Controversially, Lewisham Hospital would lose its A&E role with QEH providing emergency care for residents of both Greenwich and Lewisham boroughs.
The recommendations by Mr Kewshaw, who previously ran Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, would see Lewisham Hospital, Queen Mary’s Hospital Sidcup and Guy’s Hospital continuing to provide urgent care for conditions that don’t require admissions.
A “24/7 urgent care centre” at Lewisham Hospital would still be able to treat 77% of the patients who currently attend A&E, says the Administrator’s report.
But the proposed closure of Lewisham’s Accident & Emergency ward, just months after it benefitted from £12million of investment, has been been bitterly attacked by campaigners who have started a petition to save the local services at Lewisham.
A consultation on the recommendations begins on November 2nd and ends December 14th. The Office of the Trust Special Administrator is holding a series of public meetings throughout the consultation period including one at West Greenwich House, Greenwich High Road, on November 13th.
The Special Administrator’s recommendations can be read online in full or in summary.
Thanks to local photographer Dawn O’Connor for this photo of newly christened MS Adeline passing through the Thames Barrier this afternoon. The new roll on roll off freight vessel had her christening ceremony this morning alongside HMS Belfast.
A MODEL of Nelson’s Column has been been given to the National Maritime Museum.
The 6.5 metre tall model was part of the showjumping course during London 2012 where it was seen by millions of people on TV this summer.
It was built by Bob Ellis Equestrian Services and with the Olympics out of the way, it was presented to the National Maritime Museum in time for Trafalgar Day last weekend by British Showjumping.
Andrew Finding, Chief Executive of the British Equestrian Federation said “We are immensely proud of the achievements of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes throughout the Games of London 2102 and are delighted to dedicate part of one of the Olympic Games show jumps “Nelson’s Column” provided by our colleagues at British Showjumping, to the National Maritime Museum as a perpetual memory of an outstanding experience for us at Greenwich.
“In doing so we express our heartfelt thanks to the people of Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum for their tolerance and hospitality throughout London 2012. We are eternally grateful – thank you.”
Visitors to the National Maritime Museum can also see the coat that Admiral Lord Nelson wore at the Battle of Trafalgar, his blood-stained breeches and a lock of his hair.
The statue of Lord Nelson by the Trafalgar Tavern spent Trafalgar Day looking a little worse for wear.
RECORDS of burials and cremations in the Royal Borough of Greenwich have gone online.
Almost 500,000 burial and cremation records from the local area have been put on Deceased Online for the first time. The records include burial registers, cemetery maps and even photos of headstones.
Cllr Maureen O’ Mara, the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s cabinet member for community safety and enforcement said: “The service that the Royal Borough and Deceased Online offers allows residents quick and easy access to a wealth of valuable records that can prove invaluable when researching family history.
“I encourage everyone connected to Royal Greenwich to utilise the service and learn more about their past.”
The film crew for Thor: The Dark World descended upon Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College on Sunday. The sequel to 2011’s Thor has the working title Thursday Mourning and sees stars Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman return to their roles as Thor and Jane Foster.
Photographer Vickie Flores shared these photos with Greenwich.co.uk
The producers wrote to local residents recently to let them know of their planned filming with a low flying helicopter.
The chopper with camera attached buzzed over the ORNC throughout yesterday morning as multiple scenes were shot where panic-stricken extras appeared to flee an airborne threat.
As part of the filming, an array of cars were haphazardly parked in the Grand Square and a double decker bus lurked around the corner, with rumours online suggesting it may be part of a planned crash scene.
Thor: The Dark World will be released in 2013.
Following the announcement by Greenwich Hospital that plans for a new hotel at Greenwich Market have been dropped, Warwick Leadlay quickly put this amusing display in the window.
CONTROVERSIAL plans to redevelop Greenwich Market have been DROPPED by landlords Greenwich Hospital.
The scheme which would have seen a radical revamp of the historic covered market and a new 100-room boutique hotel will not now go ahead, Greenwich Hospital confirmed today.
The news was first announced to traders and tenants last night at a meeting with Greenwich Hospital bosses in the chapel of the Old Royal Naval College. There was an outbreak of applause as the change of direction was explained by Resources Director, Edward Dolby.
Speaking to Greenwich.co.uk today, he explained that the uncertainty was “not ideal for us or the traders and shopkeepers.”
“We want to remove the uncertainty and crack on” with plans to “enhance and improve” the market, he said.
Those improvements could see £10 million spent over the next five to ten years and will include:
“We want to get on now and make a difference. We feel that everything else has been coming together around us while our bit of the town centre has been on hold, ” commented Mr Dolby.
He said the return of some leases from Greenwich Inc had enabled “new opportunities” for the naval charity such as the return of Goddard’s Pies and the arrival of Jamie’s Italian in Nelson Road where five new flats are planned above.
He pointed to the recession as a factor in the decision. ” It’s been much longer than we’d imagined and where we are today is a very different place from where we were five years ago,” he commented.
But how much has Greenwich Hospital spent on the aborted revamp, that was bitterly opposed by many traders and unanimously rejected by councillors on Greenwich Council’s Planning Board, only to be later overturned after a public inquiry.
“It’s fair to say that there isn’t a figure but it is quite normal for any of these major projects to go through a period of analysis and deep investigation. Sometimes it proceeds and sometimes it doesn’t,” says new Director of Greenwich Hospital, Hugh Player.
“No amount has been spent that is inconsistent with investigating a major project.” The “skills and knowledge” gained from that process are helping to “get going [with the improvements] much more quickly,” he added.
The decision not to proceed with the scheme was taken before Mr Player took up his role as head of Greenwich Hospital, but the former boss of St Martin in the Fields says he is happy to be announcing the decision which he is “confident is the right one.”
Next week on Greenwich.co.uk – all the reaction to today’s announcement by Greenwich Hospital
Photo taken in the summer of 2010 at the height of campaign against Greenwich Hospital’s plans
Photo taken today in the north west corner of Greenwich Park where the grass is being worked on following this summer’s Olympics.