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Greenwich news and information

Costa plans new coffee shop in Greenwich

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COSTA Coffee is planning to open a new branch in Greenwich.

The chain has applied to Greenwich Council for permission to turn 44-46 Greenwich Church Street, next to the Spanish Galleon pub, into a coffee shop.

It is proposed that the new coffee shop would open between the hours of 7am and 10pm daily.

The planning application reveals that Costa’s lease inside Waterstones is shortly coming to an end and won’t be renewed.

The premises are currently vacant and were most recently occupied by “The Greenwich Boutique” clothes shop.

Daily Photo: 22/02/2012 – Greenwich Church Street hole

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This watery hole seemed to appear in Greenwich Church Street, outside Greggs, last night. Local resident, Robert Gray, says he felt the paving stone give way when he was returning from a trip to a shop. He explains:

“I knew there was something afoot when I trod on the slab and it gave way. My foot went in and I ended up on the floor. I do hope it can be repaired before anyone else might be hurt.”

Two police cones were placed in the vicinity of the hole by this morning but one passer-by told me other paving stones close to the hole did not feel secure under foot.

The hole has been logged with Greenwich Council and reported to their Highways team for repair.

In search of Greenwich’s best… Hot Chocolate

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It’s the drink Britain has never really warmed to…hot chocolate. We’ve always been a nation of tea lovers, only lately becoming coffee fanatics thanks to the chains that dot every high street, including Greenwich. But hot chocolate? That’s a bit French, isn’t it?

Yet it is amazing just how many secret hot choc lovers are out there. And even the most macho among us are not afraid to ask for some extra marshallows on top. I went in search of SE10’s champion hot chocolate for Greenwich.co.uk and here’s what I found…

Costa (inside Waterstones), Greenwich Church Street

Situated upstairs at Waterstone’s, Costa takes up a large corner of the first floor, facing Greenwich Church Street. Like any chain, the turnover of staff is rapid, leading to impersonal service. So it proved when I popped in on an arctic-like Thursday morning, craving a relaxing hot choc. Although I was in Greenwich, I could have been at Euston Station, Heathrow or any other cloned Costa outlet.

The relaxing part soon went kaput too when I ordered a small £2.20 hot choc. “Would you like whipped cream with it?” I was asked. “Yes, please.” Within a a few seconds, the drink in a tall glass was placed in front of me at the counter. “That’ll be £2.55,” said the manager. “Shouldn’t it be £2.20?” I questioned, surprised. “You wanted cream and that’s 35p extra!” As he hadn’t mentioned the extra charge when offering it to me – very naughty, I say – I said I didn’t want it, and he took it away and made one without cream. Not a good start. I didn’t like it served in a glass, either. For me, glasses should be used for cold drinks only.

“Where’s your chocolate from?” I then asked. “Head office, they send it to us,” the manager replied. “No, which country?” Blankly, he looked at me before guessing an answer….”I don’t know, Belgium maybe?” The drink just wasn’t worth it either, lacking depth and flavour, the taste forgotten as I walked down the stairs. They also do medium and large sizes -£2.50/£2.70 (memo to Waterstone’s: replace the carpet, guys…it’s badly torn in places and having strips of black tape over parts of it is ugly. What’ll the Queen think if she pops in for the latest Katie Price blockbuster in April?)

Red Door Cafe, Turnpin Lane

Situated in Turnpin Lane, I have to admit I have a soft spot for this quirky little gem. I follow owner Kate Hill-Smith on twitter (@katereddoor) and you can tell from her chatty tweets that it’s a labour of love, posting photos of scrummy cakes, new nic nacs on the glass shelves, and before and after shots of her partner Edward’s haircut.

She says that “people come in for coffee, and a bit of cake and some cheek.” But what about the hot chocolate? It’s wow excellent. It turns out to be Monbana Hot Chocolate from France, highly rated on the internet, with cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast and S America. It’s smooth, and moreish. I sip it slowly, sitting downstairs at the back of the cafe on a two seater sofa among an eclectic mix of furniture: a mahogany plant stand with a skull on top, a row of two old-style cinema seats rescued by Kate’s mum from a Plymouth skip, and a couple of glass tables.

The brick walls are painted red and white. There are red chili lights lit up. To my left, sitting on a wooden bench with a rug on top, is a mysterious young foreign women reading a book by Swedish crime author Hakan Nesser, her feet stretched out on the bottom step. Edward is running the show today, sometimes wearing the bemused look of an English lecturer at a red brick university. I love the place – they’ve also just installed wifi – as there’s something unique about it. It’s even more special as their hot choc rocks. It costs £2, larger cup £2.20.

National Maritime Museum Cafe

Greenwich park looks particularly stunning as I walk along to the cafe, blown away by the mixture of cold, cutting wind, brilliant blue skies, naked trees and greenery. I arrive just after 1pm and the cafe is rammed. There’s the usual mix of plummy yummy mummies with newborns and space age pushchairs, students glued to their smart phones and smiley grandparents on outings with relatives. And there’s the obligatory crying baby, too. (I don’t mind, I married a former baby).

There’s a five minute queue, but I know the wait will be worth it. I’ve already tweeted that I really, really like their hot choc. It comes one size only, served in a mug (love that!), and costs £2.25. Or £2.02 if you’re a National Maritime Museum member and use your 10 per cent discount. It is worth it (every penny), frothy on top with a lovely silky, chocalatey flavour. London-based Union Hand-Roasted coffee seems to be taking over Greenwich, and their chocolate will soon follow. This special one is their “thinking chocolate”, using cocoa from a growers’ co-operative in Ghana.

The sun is streaming through the huge windows, and the cafe quickly empties after the lunchtime rush. The staff are special here too, always very jolly and keen. There’s also free wifi for two hours with no strings attached (unlike at Cafe Rouge). “Are you finished?” asks the young waitress, looking at my empty mug. Sadly, I have to confirm that I am.

Verdict

I reckon the hot chocolate at the NMM Cafe is the Daddy, followed closely by Red Door’s offering. Costa? It trails way, way behind…even if they do serve marshmallows (for an extra 35p, mind you).

You can follow Benb111 on Twitter for news and pictures from around Greenwich. Benb111 is supporting Old Brewery Head Chef Dan Doherty, who is running the London Marathon for Sense, the brilliant deafblind charity. Please back Dan: justgiving.com/Dan-Doherty

Olympic transport plans unveiled by London 2012 organisers

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LONDON 2012 organisers have unveiled a raft of measures to help Greenwich’s local transport network cope with the thousands of visitors expected for next summer’s Olympics.

Chief among the proposals, which went on display today and can be viewed by residents until Saturday, are road closures and an enlarged one way system around the town centre throughout the Olympics.

Greenwich Church Street will be closed to traffic, as will Straightsmouth at peak times and Greenwich High Road towards the town centre from the junction of Norman Road, as these become designated pedestrian routes from Greenwich railway station.

Marshals will guide the throngs of spectators along these routes and then down College Approach and through the Old Royal Naval College where they will then access Greenwich Park by crossing two new temporary footbridges across Romney Road.

Locog’s City Operations Manager, Jennifer Impett said of the proposed footbridges:

“We want to maintain the vehicle route as much as we can. The one way gyratory will be adding some pressure within the area so we need to maintain free flowing traffic as much as we can.”

A bridge is also proposed to get spectators arriving via Blackheath station across the A2 from the heath to Greenwich Park.

Drivers heading into Greenwich from Greenwich High Road will have to turn left at the Norman Road junction, before turning into Creek Road and then joining the existing one way system.

Organisers say that Cutty Sark DLR station will have to close during peak hours as it doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the volume of spectators.

Olympic ticket-holders tempted to try and park in Greenwich will find that hours have been extended in all Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ).

Areas within a 30 minute walking radius of the park which aren’t currently in a CPZ will have new temporary controls put in place to deter spectators planning to drive in, and residents and businesses will be issued with special Olympic parking permits.

Other key proposals include:

  • Closing Charlton Way and The Avenue/Blackheath Avenue from 7 July-8 September.
  • Closing the Lewisham-bound DLR platform at Greenwich train station, with passengers asked to join services Deptford Bridge instead.
  • Using the Blackwall Tunnel, the A2 and Prince Charles Road, Maze Hill Road, Park Vista and Park Row as Olympic Road Network routes for transporting athletes and the “Olympic family”.
  • Setting aside 100 car parking spaces for Blue Badge holders.
  • Establishing “park and ride” areas around Blackheath so spectators can be coached in from Bluewater and Lakeside.

The proposals, along with more planning documents, will soon be submitted to Greenwich Council as London 2012 organisers attempt to meet the conditions of its original planning application.

Clues as to the kind of stunning images viewers at home can expect were hinted at with maps showing the construction of a mile-long cable to carry a TV camera from Millwall Park high over the Thames, swooping across the Old Royal Naval College and equestrian arena in Greenwich Park before finishing near the General Wolfe statue.

London 2012 Venue General Manager for Greenwich Park, Jeremy Edwards, commented:  “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure the experience next year is one of the most memorable for the people of Greenwich and the spectators.”

Remaining London 2012 Transport Drop In Sessions
Friday: 09.00 – 18.00
Saturday: 09.00 – 17.00
Devonport House, King William Walk, Greenwich

Council consults on Greenwich pedestrianisation proposals

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Greenwich Council has initiated a consultation on proposals to part pedestrianise Greenwich town centre.

The pedestrianisation scheme would entail closing College Approach and King William Walk (northern section) to all traffic except for access. Greenwich Church Street north of Creek Road would allow some traffic access.

Cllr Chris Roberts. Leader of Greenwich Council, said, “We are very keen to get the views of everyone who lives in, works in or visits Greenwich, and I hope as many people as possible will take part in the consultation on the Council’s proposals.”

The options currently under proposal are:

Option 1 – two-way traffic on all the non-pedestrianised roads.
Option 2 – create new clockwise traffic gyratory with one-way traffic flows on Norman Road and the affected stretches of Creek Road, Greenwich Church Street and Greenwich High Road.

Those supporting the second option are invited to give comments on three variations:

2a – As Option 2 but with two-way movement permitted on Greenwich High Road southwest of Stockwell Street.
2b – As Option 2 but with a bus contra-flow on Greenwich High Road – Greenwich Church Street – Creek Road.
2c – As Option 2 but with a cycle contra-flow on Greenwich High Road – Greenwich Church Street – Creek Road.

The proposed options can be seen in detail, along with a visual computer model, at an exhibition being held at Devonport House on the 19th/20th/21st December between 10am – 8pm. More information is available from the Council website.

Pub Review: Gipsy Moth

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Gipsy Moth
60 Greenwich Church St SE10 9BL

I’ve walked past this Greenwich institution many times but have always overlooked it, probably because from the ‘town’ side, the exterior is rather unpromising. It’s small, dark and has nothing to distinguish it from any other local pub (except perhaps having a name that sounds like more like a progressive folk band than the ship or insect it’s presumably named after). But I urge you to take a look inside because when I did, I liked it.

I imagine this was your average Moby Dick style tavern in its early days and the front bar is, again, small and dark in keeping with that. However, the Gipsy Moth has been extended out to a large seating area, with a much more open feel, that backs onto the twinkly beer garden. The art deco design, including teal stone chandeliers, is perhaps a little pretentious but it works, as the low lighting gives it a dingy edge that rescues it from being too clean cut.

The house specialty is cider and there’s a long list to choose from, including organic cider on tap. They also have Wheat Beer and Peroni on tap, with a few football lagers to cater for all tastes. The menu plays it fairly safe so most things come with chips, but there are a few more daring options such as duck quesadillas and lentil & spinach burgers. I went for the latter and was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted of lentils and spinach – being vegetarian makes me a somewhat unwilling connoisseur of spinach and you would be surprised how rare this is. The burger was a bit of a beast so having soldiered through it I was too full for the puddings, but I did have a peek at the next table’s and it looked damn good.

Best of all, the bloke serving was very friendly and even indulged us with a bit of table service. It was really busy for a Monday (mostly couples, one arguing, which was very amusing) but the couple of guys on duty took it all in their stride and no one was neglected. The Gipsy Moth strikes the right balance between quality and casual and I would definitely go there again.

Gipsy Moth in Greenwich

Man Stabbed To Death in Greenwich Church Street

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A man in his 20s has died after a stabbing in Greenwich Church Street in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police were called to the scene of an incident at just gone 2am where they found a critically injured man. He was taken to hospital but sadly died later from his knife wounds.

A suspect – described as mixed race and about 5ft10 – was seen running down St Alfege Passage towards Roan Street.

Update: The victim of this crime has been named as 25 year old Paul Martin from Blackheath.

Update: Police have arrested two 27 year old men in connection with this incident.

Update 02/04/09: 27 year old Michael Bowden from Bermondsey has been charged with Paul’s murder and put on remand by Greenwich Magistrates.

The Greenwich Boutique Launches

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Greenwich Boutique Opening

Last Wednesday’s Late Night Shopping Event also saw the launch of The Greenwich Boutique in Greenwich Church Street.

This high end ladies’ fashion store is the show case of fashion designer Schola Titus and her label Coco Seamstress. Schola has been backed by the London Youth Support Trust (LYST),  which is a charity dedicated to helping young entrepreneurs.

Coco Seamstress specialises in “beautiful, well made garments” that take their inspiration from fashion icons of the ’50s.  Also in the shop you will find clothes and jewellery from other LYST supported fashion brands such as Fingerprints, Chelline International Fashions and Design 237.

The Greenwich Boutique is open now at 44 Greenwich Church Street.


From Left to Right: Schola Titus, Tabitha Fyffe from Fingerprints, Michelle Nomwa from Chelline Intl Fashions