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Blackheath Bluecoat to move to Peninsula

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Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England school is set to move to a brand new building off Millennium Way on the Greenwich Peninsula.

The Governing Body of the 300 year old school has unanimously agreed the move, subject to the decomissioning of a nearby gas holder, or the provision of a suitable site nearby if that isn’t possible. If all goes to plan, the move could be complete by the summer of 2012.

Executive Headteacher Jeffrey Risbridger said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be given this opportunity to move to what promises to be a remarkable building.

“We are enormously grateful to Greenwich Council and the Diocese of Southwark for their unflinching support for this proposal. However we will also remain focused on the vital work of continuing to raise the standard of pupil achievement at Blackheath Bluecoat School.”

Chair of Governors David Prescott added:

“It’s fitting that 310 years on from the first Bluecoat in Greenwich, we’re now writing the next chapter in the school’s impressive history.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to provide a first-class secondary school specialising in maths and computing on the Peninsula and we’re absolutely delighted that staff, pupils and parents are fully behind the move. ”

Councillor Jackie Smith, Greenwich Council Cabinet for Children and Young People said:

“The Greenwich peninsula offers excellent educational opportunities for young people to really drive up their attainment as part of the huge investment in new facilities, skills and local partnerships.”

“The year sees the relocation to the peninsula of the internationally renowned Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication. The College is a world leader in its field and will provide students additional access to the very best technology and learning facilities.

“The school will further benefit from its close proximity to an ever growing business community, and on its doorstep will be The O2, the world’s most successful music and entertainment venue.”

In November 2009, a planned move for the John Roan School to the peninsula was called off.

The Blackheath Bluecoat school is currently on Old Dover Road, SE3, but its history can be traced back to 1700 when a school for 30 girls was created in a house on what has now become Greenwich High Road.

Cutty Sark funding secured, restoration to finish by 2012

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Further funding has been announced for the Cutty Sark restoration project which should see the famous tea clipper open to the public again by 2012.

Greenwich Council has agreed to donate £3million, central government is contributing £3million and the Greater London Authority has stumped up a million too. There’s also a donation of £1million from the Michael Edwards Foundation.

Councillor Chris Roberts, Leader of Greenwich Council said:

“In Greenwich we are tremendously proud of our heritage, of which Cutty Sark is an iconic symbol. After the fire it was clear that our sense of place was shared by people across the world. We are proud to play our part in restoring and conserving the ship for generations to come. I would also like to pay a personal tribute to the Late Chairman, Maurice de Rohan OAM, who was such an inspiration to everyone involved in this project.”

Councillor Nigel Fletcher, Greenwich Conservatives’ Spokesman for Culture and Olympics, said:

“Restoring the Cutty Sark is a hugely important project for Greenwich, given its status as a world-famous tourist destination. The extra funding needed to finish the job would ideally have been found from private donations, but in the current economic climate that avenue has been all but exhausted.

“This is actually the first time Greenwich Council has provided direct financial support to the project, which demonstrates the hard work the Trust has itself done to raise funds. With the Mayor of London and Central Government now contributing to make up the shortfall, it is right we should play our part. Hard-pressed taxpayers may find it a tough pill to swallow, but pulling the plug on the project at this stage would be unthinkable.”

The Cutty Sark was devastated by a fire in March 2007 whilst work was being undertaken on it. Completion of the restoration was then put back to 2010 but in October last year, a further delay was announced with Richard Doughty, Chief Executive of the Cutty Sark Trust telling the BBC he was “confident we will open in spring 2011”.

Once complete, a new public space will be created with improved access to the dry berth by raising the ship up by three metres.

Update: “Cutty Sark restoration turning into a fiasco” – Andrew Gilligan, Telegraph

Planning permission sought for new 450 bedroom hotel on Greenwich Peninsula

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Ansco Hotel

A planning application has been lodged with Greenwich Council for the construction of a 452 bedroom hotel next to the O2 arena.

The large development, on what is known as plot NO301, would also include a separate 22-storey tower comprising of 100 serviced apartments, a ballroom & events space and a health spa.

The Evening Standard quotes David Campbell, of AEG Europe, as saying: “The O2 has already created more than 2,500 direct jobs in Greenwich. However, the real economic prize for Greenwich and east London is adding overnight visitors.”

At present the nearest hotels to the O2 – recently named as the in ticket sales – are the Express by Holiday Inn and the Pilot Inn guest house.

The planning application and association documents can be seen in full at the Greenwich Council website.

Related link: Greenwich Hotels

Council apologises for café blunder

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GREENWICH Council has apologised to a café in Greenwich after wrongly listing them as having failed to receive a Food Hygiene Award.

The owners of Baba’s Sandwich Bar in Greenwich South Street were shocked to see the listing on the council’s published listings, which was also included in a report on Greenwich.co.uk.

Mrs Bolsoy, who started the café 14 years ago with her husband, told Greenwich.co.uk:

“To say that we were furious seeing our business name listed as failed inspection,would be an understatement. I immediately contacted the Environmental Health department, who on investigating, realised there had been an error on their part. We have never failed an inspection in all the years we have been trading. We have a reputation of being very clean, not only with Environmental Health, but with our customers.”

Upon being made aware of the error, Greenwich Council told us:

“We would like to apologise to Baba’s sandwich bar and their customers for any confusion or distress that may have been caused as a result of an error on our website, which incorrectly listed Baba’s as not having a Food Hygiene Award.

It seems that there was an error in updating the information on the website relating to this particular establishment. Regular spot checks are carried out on our website in order to reduce the risk of errors like this taking place, but unfortunately this particular error was not caught by those checks.

Following an internal investigation the error has now been corrected on the website. We have written to Baba’s apologising and have also contacted them by telephone.”

The Food Hygiene Award is given to catering premises where an Enviornmental Health officer has decided that food is handled and prepared safely. Greenwich Council introduced its Food Safety Award scheme in 2004, with the results of inspections published on its website, and say they were the first borough to do so.

The council say they believe this is an “isolate case” and are reviewing their “procedures to ensure that standards of accuracy are maintained and any improvements identified as a result of this review will be acted on.”


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LOCOG: Greenwich Park "most suitable and cost effective venue for the Equestrian Events"

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Following last week’s column by Andrew Gilligan (“”), London 2012 organisers have asked us to publish their response.

Andrew Gilligan is wrong to state that “LOCOG admits Windsor is a better venue” than Greenwich Park. We selected Greenwich Park as the most suitable and cost effective venue for the Equestrian Events and Modern Pentathlon events following a detailed evaluation of a number of potential venues by sporting and competition experts looking at all the requirements needed for an Olympic and Paralympic venue.

As part of our bid pledge we are committed to hosting a ‘compact Games’ with most venues within or near the Olympic Park in Stratford. The close proximity of Greenwich Park to the Olympic Park was a significant factor in the venue selection and this allows riders to be accommodated in the Olympic Village. There is more than adequate space for stabling in Greenwich Park and Circus Field and it is not true to claim that riders stay with their horses, they will stay in the Olympic Village.

As Tim Stockdale, Show Jumper, and member of the British Equestrian Team, said last November: “I am very impressed. I was not aware of the Greenwich Park’s sheer magnificence, tradition and heritage. It will be great to be able to stay in the Olympic Village as well so that the riders can be part of the action.”

The use of Windsor Park would result in a need for a second village to accommodate athletes for Equestrian because they would be competing over an hour away from the Olympic Village. The use of Royal Holloway College in Egham would not be a viable accommodation option for Windsor Park because it is already being used to accommodate rowers from Eton Dorney and canoeists from Broxbourne and will be full.

While Windsor Park was deemed to be adequately served by public transport it is only served by two overground links. In contrast, Greenwich Park is significantly better connected with four overground rail stations, the Jubilee line, the DLR and river services. This serves our commitment to host a public transport Games, and to allow better transportation links for spectators with minimised disruption for local residents.

Windsor Park scored well as an alternative venue in our evaluation, however, it was always a challenge to secure support for Windsor Three Day Event from the athletes and the sport because of the historically poor ground for the cross-country. In contrast, Greenwich Park has the full support of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the International Modern Pentathlon Federation (UIPM), the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and Pentathlon GB.

Windsor Park does not have the infrastructure in place to host all the facilities associated with an event of this scale, for instance accommodation and catering facilities for over 200 grooms, offices and meeting space for officials, hospitality spaces and a media centre. There would be a requirement to create significant temporary facilities to host these functions, whereas all of these facilities can be housed within the existing buildings at Greenwich such as the National Maritime Museum, the Queens House and the Devonport House Hotel.

In addition, if the Equestrian events were located outside London, another London venue would have to be found to host Modern Pentathlon because all disciplines have to be completed in one day. This would not be as simple as using an existing stadium, because Olympic venues consist of many additional back of house elements which in this case would need to include stabling and training areas for the horses. Providing this for just two days of competition, when such duplication can be avoided by sharing the Greenwich facilities, would not represent cost effective delivery of the Games. It should be noted that in fact three of the five modern pentathlon events take place at Greenwich Park, not just the riding element.

Mr Gilligan is being emotive in claiming large parts of Greenwich Park will be closed for eight months and smaller parts for five years. The Park will only be closed off for four weeks in total, with the Children’s Playground and large parts of the Flower Garden remaining open apart from the days around the Cross Country event. We are clear in our planning application that all ground works related to the Games will be completed by November 2012. After the Games, The Royal Parks will implement an acid grass restoration and enhancement programme which will be funded by LOCOG. This will improve the quality and extent of the acid grassland in Greenwich Park, and will not inhibit regular use of the Park.

Greenwich Yacht Club puts on panto for charity

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Greenwich Yacht Club put on a pantomime for its members and selected guests yesterday afternoon. The fundraising production was titled Blazing Paddles III, and Mary Mills went along to enjoy the show – here’s what she made of it:

Greenwich Yacht Club doesn’t seem the most obvious place for thespian endeavour – let alone an actual panto. Yet they do seem to put something on every year with a cast of thousands. It also seems you only find out about it by accident – so thank you Roger, for telling me at the last minute that it was on, and I really enjoyed it. (Roger, with his triple candelabra, is the musical director).

So this was all about the adventures of Dick Dangler and his faithful Puss cat who had to get the beanstalk Giant to eat chocolate instead of mud so that they could join Greenwich Yacht Club and save beautiful Virginia from the evil clutches of Commodore Tacktightly – or at least I think it was. Tacktightly came from Little Luffing, elsewhere on the river – and as Barnacle Bob explained he could face any danger on the high seas “but its people from Erith I can’t handle”. The whole thing was saved when the Giant took up with Virginia’s sister Chlamydia helped by the ministrations of Flossie, the Woolwich Free Fairy. Anyway, everyone married everyone else in the end so it must be alright.

The cast was headed by the redoubtable, current Club Commodore., Nick Day as Commodore Ophelia Nobbes – with a mountain of blue hair and an impressive bosom. Backing was provided by the GYC Combined Foot and Mouth Chorus who enthusiastically sang a vast selection of songs – anything so long as it had the word ‘sailing’ in it somewhere.

I suppose all there is left to say is that a good time seems to have been had by all and that proceeds will go to a selection of charities headed by the RNLI.

Nick Raynsford pays tribute to Alan Cherry

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Alan Cherry, the chairman of Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd, has died aged 76. Local MP, Nick Raynsford, has shared his memories of Alan Cherry:

Alan Cherry will be widely and deeply mourned throughout the housing, property and construction industries. As founding Director of Countryside Properties he created and built up one of Britain’s most successful and progressive development companies. His passionate commitment to the creation of high quality and sustainable communities shone through all his work, and has left a remarkable legacy.

Notley Garden Village in Essex, St Mary’s Island in Chatham, Greenwich Millennium Village (GMV) and Accordia in Cambridge have all been widely recognised and praised as imaginative, ground-breaking developments which raised the bar in terms of social, environmental and architectural quality and in doing so helped lift the reputation of the housebuilding and development industries. Accordia is the only housing development ever to have won the RIBA’s Stirling Prize, no mean achievement.
For me personally GMV will remain Alan’s finest memorial. Conceived in 1997 as the first Millennium Community to be promoted by the newly elected Labour Government, it has transformed a previously foully-polluted industrial wasteland into an exemplary mixed tenure development, demonstrating real vision as a brilliantly planned, imaginatively designed and environmentally responsible housing scheme. Alan threw himself with huge energy into the tough challenge of making GMV a success and achieving something special and memorable. When problems occurred, he never left it to others to sort out. He took a close personal interest in working to identify and implement solutions. He could see both the ‘big picture’ and the detail, and was never too grand or busy to deal with the minutiae. I last met him on site last summer when his passion and commitment remained undimmed, despite the onset of the illness that was tragically to end his life.

Unlike many others who have achieved huge success from relatively modest beginnings, Alan never lost his common touch and his sympathy for those less fortunate that himself. While some housebuilders stubbornly resisted demands to mix affordable and social homes with those for market sale, Alan showed that mixed income developments could work very successfully and took great pride in the fact that at GMV housing for rent and for sale is indistinguishable.

Alan didn’t keep his passions and skills to himself. He gave generously to a wealth of other causes, contributing to a series of ground-breaking initiatives such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Inquiry into British Housing in the 1980s, the Urban Task Force in the late 1990s and more recently the Thames Gateway Strategic Partnership. He was for many years closely associated with Anglia Ruskin University and supported a range of charities and other good causes in his county of Essex.
It was always a pleasure to meet Alan. He combined a number of characteristics that do not always sit easily together. He was idealistic, entrepreneurial, imaginative, determined, courteous and thoughtful and combined a breadth of vision with modesty and personal kindness. I am very proud to have known Alan, to have called him a friend and to have been associated with one of his finest developments. He leaves behind an inspiring legacy and he will be remembered and honoured by many, many people whose lives he touched.

Greenwich Council Meeting 27/01/10: Greenwich Time, Council Tax & Royal Borough Status

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Greenwich Council’s newspaper Greenwich Time was branded “appalling” and “blatant propaganda” by opposition councillors at Wednesday night’s full council meeting.

The weekly was criticised in a Westminster debate earlier this month, with it and other council publications coming in for attacks from politicians and publishers of local newspapers, who claim it damages free speech and is hurting their business.

Conservative councillor Dermot Poston called it “an appalling piece of paper”, adding it was “a shocking indictment” of the council.

“Ask anyone in this borough who reads it – not that anyone does – and they’ll tell you,” the Eltham North member said.

Brian Woodcraft (Lib Dem, Middle Park & Sutcliffe) said the paper, which was relaunched as a weekly in 2008, was “blatant propaganda”.

“It contains a full week’s TV listings, which is totally inappropriate for a local authority newspaper,” he continued, questioning the cost of employing distributors to deliver it weekly, when previously it had been delivered fortnightly alongside the established local freesheets, the Mercury and the News Shopper.

However, council leader Chris Roberts (Labour, Peninsula) said it was more cost-effective to publish Greenwich Time once a week.

“It’s cheaper weekly than fortnightly, and I’m happy to provide figures to any member who asks for them,” he told the meeting.

He said the decision was made to distribute Greenwich Time separately because the council had received “too many complaints” that the newspaper was not being delivered, and residents were missing out on important items of public consultation.

“Neither the Mercury nor the News Shopper reach the whole borough,” he added.

Addressing charges that the newspaper was propaganda, Cllr Roberts said: “Hammersmith and Fulham Council has its council tax plastered on its lamp posts – well beyond anything that goes on in this borough.”

Referrring to criticism from News Shopper editor Richard Firth – who called the newspaper “a self-serving propaganda sheet” – Cllr Roberts called for an “honest debate” on the issue, reeling off a list of local newspapers published by newspaper group Archant, including The Docklands, a version of which appears in Greenwich as The Peninsula.

“I don’t think the views of the Archant publishing house somehow go unreported,” he said.

However, the News Shopper is published by Archant’s rival Newsquest, part of US newspaper giant Gannett.

Nigel Fletcher (Conservative, Eltham North), complained that Greenwich Time routinely ignored opposition councillors’ views, even on non-controversial matters such as Greenwich becoming a royal borough.

“Our views were represented in three of our local media; the Mercury, the News Shopper, and greenwich.co.uk; but the one local newspaper which neglected us was Greenwich Time.

“It was slightly absurd that a photograph of the leader of the council should have been on the front of Greenwich Time and not one of the Queen.”

He said it “fully vindicated” his party’s pledge to scrap the paper if it took power at May’s elections.

Councillors vote for council tax freeze

Greenwich council taxpayers are set for a freeze in their bills after councillors voted through this year’s budget proposals.

Council leader Chris Roberts said he had “no desire to slash and burn” public services, citing investment in transport, anti-crime measures, housing and children’s centres, adding the cashflow plan was strong enough to deal with any government cuts after the general election.

“Whatever is thrown at us by central government over the next few years, the people of Greenwich will expect us to be prepared,” he said.

“It is a budget which protects our essential services, and does not mortgage our futures.”

With an eye to the council’s own election in May, he said his Labour group had provided “stable and secure financial management for more than a decade”.

Conservative leader Spencer Drury said freezing the budget seemed “the right thing to do”.

But the Eltham North councillor questioned a sum of £3.7 million which was counted as cash to be held in reserve, but he said looked as if it had actually been allocated to services including continuing weekly black bin collections and covering extra costs in social care.

“These things are essentials,” he said, “not things we have any choice over”.

If that sum of money really was available, he said, then it should be returned to council tax payers “who are suffering too”.

Cllr Roberts said he wanted to keep the extra sum of money aside in case the relevant departments needed extra cash for those services.

Council tax bills will not be finalised until after February 10, when London Mayor Boris Johnson’s budget will be settled. He is also planning to freeze his part of the bill.

Royal borough status welcomed by all sides

Greenwich Council could buy a sailing ship to commemorate becoming a royal borough in 2012, Conservative culture spokesman Nigel Fletcher told the meeting.

Councillors from all parties welcomed the announcement, which was made earlier this month.

One idea, he said, would be to purchase a sailing ship to commemorate The Great Harry, a warship built at Woolwich for Henry VIII.

Cllr Fletcher said it was worth noting that royal connections were spread across the borough, and a ship would recognise Woolwich’s contribution.

“It’s an idea that could have a range of benefits, particularly for our youth,” he said.

“There is a challenge to us to answer what becoming a royal borough means in real terms.

“It’s up to us to use this to secure real benefits across the borough. There should be a Jubilee legacy to go with an Olympic legacy.”

Greenwich will be the first royal borough with a “significantly diverse” population when it is awarded the honour in 2012, council leader Chris Roberts said.

“I have always felt the royal element of the borough has been underplayed,” he said.

“Even those who declare themselves to be not tremendous royalists say how proud they are. It’s an incredible honour.”

Cllr Roberts said discussions would start soon on just what the honour, awarded to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, would actually mean for the council, from possible changes to the council’s coat of arms to putting the new borough names on street signs.

“There will be protocols to follow – I’ve been up to my eyeballs in them – but it will be up to us what to do, in consultation with civil servants and Buckingham Palace,” he continued.

“I never thought I’d quote Margaret Thatcher, but ‘rejoice, rejoice, rejoice’.”

Long-serving Conservative Dermot Poston also spoke of his pride in seeing Greenwich’s diverse population honoured, adding that in 1968, the borough had been turned down for the honour by then-prime minister Harold Wilson.

Councillor and historian Mary Mills (Labour, Peninsula) said Greenwich and Woolwich’s royal connections had contributed to many of the borough’s industries, adding that the honour recognised “all sorts of ordinary people going way back”.

Chris Roberts added that he had been touched by letters from people about the honour, adding: “My personal favourite is from a lady who wrote, ‘I’m just waiting for the first journalist to knock it.'”

Motorcyclist hurt on Woolwich Road

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Road closures were put in to place around Woolwich Road and Blackwall lane last Wednesday after a nasty road traffic accident involving a motorcycle and another vehicle.

Police closed roads from early morning through to 11.30am.

Initial reports from local shopkeepers suggested that there may have been fatality but Greenwich.co.uk has been informed that this was not the case.

If you know any more about this incident, please email news@greenwich.co.uk

NHS Trust closes wards to visitors to combat Norovirus

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South London Healthcare NHS Trust has instigated a ban on non-essential visitors at Ward 2, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.

The action has been taken to combat the current out break of Norovirus, also known as “winter vomiting bug”.

The restriction on visitors will initially last for 72 hours, although the medical staff can make exceptions for visits to acutely unwell patients.

Two other hospitals under the control of the Trust – Queen Mary’s Sidcup and Princess Royal University Hospital Bromley – had already had to start putting in place restrictions yesterday.

“We are very grateful to staff, patients and the public for their cooperation, support and understanding during this outbreak. The measures we have taken reflect how seriously the trust takes patient safety and infection prevention,” comments Tracey Cooper, Director of Infection Prevention and Control.