We’ve heard that last week a neighbour’s son was attacked by a group of balaclava-wearing young men inside the main entrance of Brockwell Park. They hit him over the head from behind but didn’t steal anything. It was around 7pm. The gang was spotted elsewhere in Herne Hill the same evening.
Please be alert, and contact the police if you encounter or suspect problems of this sort.
At a well-attended and angry demo this morning in front of Herne Hill station, residents, voters and library supporters from across London voiced their support for the Carnegie sit-in and furiously lambasted Lambeth Labour’s refusal to listen to residents as Cllr Jane Edbrooke and her colleagues persist in the closure of the Carnegie and other Lambeth libraries and the dodgy involvement of gym-supporting Greenwich Leisure.
We will soon notice that the Herne Hill shopping scene is witnessing a big change.
Even if you’ve been shopping there in recent days, you may not have realised that some of the familiar shops in Railton Road are about to disappear for good.
Owners Network Rail (NW) have been granted planning permission to refurbish seven of the retail units that back on to the railway viaduct.This group of shops runs from the Laundrette to the vintage furniture shop Bleu.
The work is planned to start this spring. The upper floors, currently derelict or used for storage or offices, will be turned into flats. A change of use has also been granted for some of the premises, from Retail to Restaurant/Café.
Two of the present shops have accepted NW’s offer to transfer (at a higher rent, inevitably) to the modernised arches just round the corner on Milkwood Road. Ye Olde Bakery and greengrocers The Fruit Garden will be re-opening there in the coming days. Bleu has occupied a vacant shop on Dulwich Road, a few steps away from The Florence. However, Walters Butchers have declined and, sadly, will close for good this coming Saturday.
Details of the Network Rail plans, and of the Herne Hill Society’s comments on the scheme, can be found in the Winter edition of Herne Hill magazine, just published.
The big risk for Herne Hill is that some of the refurbished units are intended for large restaurant tenants – businesses that can afford the higher rents. This probably rules out the sort of local, family-run businesses that have served and supported our community for so many years. There is talk that Starbucks and McDonalds, those generous contributors to HMRC’s income, have expressed interest.
I guess we are all really thrilled about that …
The Herne Hill Society have announced announced the topic of their next monthly talk on Wednesday 10 September, at 7:45pm, with Ian McInnes
The Sunray Estate was one of the first ‘Homes fit for Heroes’ estates built immediately after WW1 to house returning soldiers. While the Borough of Camberwell and the Office of Works took the credit, the original idea had come from the Dulwich Estate.
Dulwich expert Ian McInnes examines both its convoluted history and its importance in the application of garden city principles to working-class housing.
at Herne Hill United Church Hall
Junction of Herne Hill & Red Post Hill
London SE24 9PW
Admission is free and everyone is welcome, including non-members
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