Photographs of the Lavender Pump house from the Enthusiastic Gardener blog

A lovely collection of photographs on the Enthusiastic Gardener blog showing Lavender Pump house and its surroundings at their summer best.  Great to see it all looking so great, but a shame that the woodwork is still being allowed to decay so badly. 
https://enthusiasticgardener.com/2017/05/29/lavender-pond-nature-reserve/

If you're interested in the history of the Lavender Lock, Dock and Pumphouse, the following post, which I wrote some time ago, may be of interest: http://russiadock.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lavender-dock-lock-and-pumphouse.html.  I've also written about Lavender Wharf and Lavender Dock here: http://russiadock.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/lavender-dock-and-lavender-wharf-1684.html.




 

The Peter Hills Charity School statues now restored

It was great to have the opportunity to have a look at the Peter Hills Charity School statues now that they are fully restored before they go back up on the building. 

70 St Marychurch Street, the former Peter Hills School in Rotherhithe village is one of the few 18th Century buildings left standing in Rotherhithe.  Now converted for use as offices, it was established in 1742 as a charity school, having moved here from another building in the immediate area.  The school itself was established in 1614 and was founded by benefactors Peter Hills and Robert Bell.  Peter Hills was a seafarer, Master Mariner and Brother of Trinity House.  When he died in 1614, he left a sum of money to enable the establishment and ongoing maintenance of a school.

The two statues, showing a boy and a girl representing students at the school, have long been favourites in the Rotherhithe community and are always a key destination on guided tours of the area.  In the last few years they have become very run down, with paint peeling, giving them a very sorry appearance so it was great news that arrangements were being made to have them restored.  Thanks to Deputy Mayor Kath Wittham for securing the grant to enable this to go ahead.  It was such a good idea, too, to make the statues available at London Bubble for visitors to see them at first hand before and after the restoration work.

The statues before restoration, on display at the London Bubble
Copyright WORG, with my sincere thanks.

I was not able to attend the day when the statues were available in their pre-restored state so HUGE thanks to the lovely Secretary of the What's On In Rotherhithe Group (WORG) for permitting me to use one of the photographs that she took on the day.  The "after" shots are mine from earlier today.

The restoration was carried out by Hall Conservation, who are based near the Thames Barrier and have worked on some very impressive projects (see their website at www.hallconservation.com).

As Astrid Hall from Hall Conservation explained, as part of the restoration work they carried out an analysis of the previous treatment of the statues and cleared all the top layers down to the original surface so that they could determine the original colour scheme and replicate it.  The microscopic analysis of the paint shows that there were 26 layers of paint in total.  Astrid showed me on a photograph of the boy statue before its restoration, and the build up of the layers had smoothed out the surface, completely disguising the features of the face.  Now that the statues have been restored, the features are wonderfully clear.  They also found that each of the statues was made out of a single piece of limestone.

The paintwork has been restored to its original colours.  They are very bright and full of life.  At first glance it seems almost too bright, but that's only because they are right there in front of you.  When they are up on their plinths on the facade of the charity school they will far less dramatic and of course they will weather slightly.  I think that they look splendid, and I look forward to seeing them when they are returned to their original position on Tuesday 22nd March.

At the moment that building is looking very down in the mouth with its windows boarded up thanks to vandalism and theft, but that too is being worked on.  As a grade 2 listed building, planning permission is more difficult to obtain but the plan is that Hall Conservation will make a sympathetic grille that will protect the windows and offer it the security that it needs.
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The statues before they were removed from
70 Marychurch Street. Photo by Chris Lordan.

A summary of the Canada Water Consultative Forum, 18th January 2016

Please note that this post has now been copied to my new planning and development blog, trackerzone, and can be found by clicking here. 
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Photos from Greenland Pier

A couple of pics taken in bright sunshine against an ominous sky last Monday 7th on Greenland Pier.  A remarkable contrast of lights and colours.  The red derrick is in Rotherhithe, and under threat of demolition, and the other photos are of course Canary Wharf.

Red crane may be preserved as bird sculpture? Sigh.

Anyone who has been following the fate of the red derrick on the Thames Path at the end of Odessa Street will be aware that it is under threat from a development that will replace that corner of derelict basketball court and former youth club, removing the problematic former nightclub at the same time.  There are benefits to the Hollybrook Home proposals, as well as potential downsides (see my summary of the consultation exhibition in an earlier post).

According to an article in Southwark News today by Joey Millar, there are now two principal options on the table for the derrick (or crane).  One is to preserve it partially by restoring the metalwork and removing inconvenient arms, leaving one arm remaining (the CGI image from Hollybrook Homes, left, shows the sort of thing envisaged).  The other is to use the metalwork to sculpt it into the form of a bird, to create a crane of the feathered variety, a sort of somewhat grizzly pun.

If the derrick has to be modified in any way, I don't see any point in doing anything other than retaining as much of it as possible.  It is either a meaningful piece of our heritage as it stands, or you might just as well give up and go home.  How on earth is a bird sculpture supposed to represent Rotherhithe's wharfinger past?  Well apparently that wouldn't be the point - the point would be to represent some sort of "aviary heritage" of which I was unaware.  I think that the word "heritage" is being used somewhat loosely here.  A local resident feels that a bird would be a "talking point" but I have no idea how that is supposed to tie in with what the red crane was all about, and what it still stands for today.

Apparently the options will be put to local residents after Christmas.  I was tempted to make a joke about turkeys, and almost stopped myself just in time.  Sigh!

Here's the Southwark News article:
http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/beloved-odessa-street-crane-may-be-turned-into-a-bird-sculpture/

Update: Odessa Street / Red Crane planning proposal

This post has now moved over to my sister blog that focuses on planning and development news and issues, and can be found at:

http://wp.me/p4saKm-1e

Floating swimming pool in Greenland Dock - countdown to end of consultation period

Hi All

Just a reminder that the consultation period for the ill thought-out planning application 15/AP/1752 for a permanent floating heated and chlorinated swimming pool, measuring 40m x 20m (125 ft x 65 feet), at Surrey Docks Watersports Centre in Greenland Dock.  The operating hours of the pool are expected to be from 6am to 10pm.  This will place it immediately in the vicinity of the Rope Street apartments and opposite Tavistock Tower and the dock-facing houses and apartments of Russia Court East.

Depending on which of Southwark Council's information sources you consult, it's the 3rd, 4th or 7th of November so I'd recommend that if you wish to submit objections, you do so by the 3rd on the Southwark Council planning page for this application.  It is very important that if you have objections you make them now by leaving your comments on the Comments page at:  http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk:8190/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9560300&neighbourCommentsPager.page=1.

If allowed to go ahead it would be incredibly noisy with the sound of screaming kids carrying over the water.  Given the Dock's acoustics, the noise from the pool (and there will be a lot of noise) will be amplified and bounced around all houses surrounding the dock.  It is going to be terribly ugly too, an artificial appendage with ugly shower blocks completely out of keeping with the residential tranquillity of Greenland Dock and its heritage.  There are also potential problems with traffic and parking to add to those that will be caused by the new developments behind the watersports centre and the one planned for South Dock that will have blocks of 20, 15, 8 and 3 storeys.  There are much wider considerations too, some of which are described in a recent comment copied below:

This development conflicts with Policy 3.26 of the Southwark Plan (Borough Open Land):

(i)    The proposal is not ancillary to the use of the open space-it is a new use for the open space that would conflict with existing uses by closing off a section of water to all other users, as well as to wildlife.
(ii)    The proposal is not small in scale. A 40m x 20m development plus surrounds would have a major impact on the dock, on water users and visitors as well as residents.
(iii)    It will detract from the site's open nature and character. The design is unsympathetic to the Dock's current construction and will not "blend in".
(iv)    It is not required to enhance activities associated with Greenland Dock. In fact the development will if anything conflict with existing activities. There is no substantive information provided on the demand for this facility in the local area.
(v)    It does not positively contribute of the setting and quality of the open space. The application does not have sufficient detail to allow an informed view, but the pictures supplied suggest that the development will be visually intrusive.

The development is in our view also contrary to the following Southwark Plan
policies:

The development will add significantly to the noise impact on other users and local residents and for significantly longer periods in the day than the noise arising from current uses, contrary to Policy 3.2. There is no substantive information on proposed hours of use. Outdoor swimming pools are inevitably noisy. The surrounds of this development, being largely water and solid surfaces will amplify the noise levels unacceptably.

The development provides no assurance for the removal of the facility should it prove to be uneconomic to operate or become damaged beyond repair.  Ratepayers would then have to pay for its removal. The Council may find it very difficult to make a claim under the manufacturer's warranty unless it is fully involved in the development. The application has no information on pricing, volume estimates, capital and running costs to allow an informed assessment of the likely economics and consequent risk of closure.

It is also not possible from the information in the application to assess what the transport impacts might be and whether they would conflict with Policy 5.2.

The potential environmental impacts are significant should there be a leak of water- over the life of a facility of this type the risk of a leak must be substantial. The application has no environmental impact assessment to assess the risks systematically and to set out risk mitigations which could be the subject of planning conditions and associated enforcement measures.

There is no information on the need to store and use hazardous substances e.g. chlorine for water purification, contrary to Policy 3.10. The Dock's existing pontoons need to be scrubbed daily for bird droppings. There is no information on how the swimming pool would handle bird droppings.

There is no information on security arrangements to prevent unauthorised access to the pool when it is closed, contrary to Policy 3.14. The pool is likely to be a magnet for illicit users during the summer, with significant noise and nuisance for local residents. The current Watersports Centre security arrangements are unlikely to be sufficient.

There is no information on the energy consumption and grey water management of the development and how the methods chosen to heat the facility and recycle the water will minimise the environmental impact, contrary to Policies 3.4 and 3.9. Given the existence of a local indoor pool, there is no justification for any significant additional emissions or waste, directly or indirectly, from this development.

The development will not enhance the character or appearance of Greenland Dock, which is a historic environment, contrary to Policy 3.15

The planning details are:  15/AP/1752 -  Installation of a 40m by 20m floating, self supporting swimming pool in Greenland Dock. Greenland Dock, Watersports Centre, Rope Street, London, SE16 7SX.  The Case Officer is Dipesh Patel. Full documentation and other details are on Southwark Council's website at:
http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk:8190/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9560300

The documents for the case are at:
http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk/documents/?casereference=15/AP/1752&system=DC

Listing Greenland Dock - has anyone got any experience with the process?

Does anyone have any experience in getting buildings and other structures listed?

I have been talking to someone at Historic England (the newly renamed English Heritage) today and they said that Greenland Dock would be an ideal candidate for Grade 2 listing, and I have decided to start the process of trying to get it listed to protect it from future threats.  It is ludicrous that I have only just got around to doing it.  I always seemed to be too busy, but this was the kick I needed and I will just have to find the time!

I am happy to do the bulk of the work but anyone with previous experience to help guide me would be much appreciated.  My email address is in the header at the top of the blog.  Please get in touch!

Update at 23:35
I have started the listing process which, thanks to Historic England (formerly English Heritage) is available to do in stages online.  You can do a it, save it, go away and do the research for the new section, complete that, see what's on the next page, have a major panic attack and go away and cry for a bit and come back to it a few days later if required.  I'm impressed with the information that they provide, and the help that the share for people like me who really don't know what they're doing in the listing process.

For anyone interested in finding out more about the dock please read my posts on the subject:

Howland Great Wet Dock 1699-1807 http://bit.ly/1LtDVm3 
Whaling at Howland / Greenland Dock 1763-1806 http://bit.ly/1LMBu9T 
A History of Greenland Dock 1806-1970 http://bit.ly/1OvRhAS
Greenland Dock Turn-Of-The-Century Buildings http://bit.ly/1k5oaHR
Bridges of Greenland Dock http://bit.ly/1PgVY1q  
At Home in Greenland Dock: Cunard A-Class cruise liners http://bit.ly/1PgXvob
A snapshot of ships present in Greenland Dock in the late 1950s http://bit.ly/1G6oxvE

 

Notes from the Odessa Street /Thames Path/ Red Crane development consultation

I seem to be spending far too much time talking about development plans and not enough about local history.  But on this post the two come together.  I went to the Hollybrook Homes exhibition at the Dockland Settlement this evening, which was introducing plans for the 1-3 Odessa Street site.  They had mounted a series of posters presenting their proposition for the new building project.  There were no hand-outs and I forgot to take my camera so I am afraid that I have been unable to provide images of the planned development.  

They are proposing to build a by-now familiar mix of different types of housing, with a commitment imposed by Southwark Council of at least 35% affordable housing.  The buildings will be between 4 and 10 storeys tall, will comprise around 50 homes (final number to be confirmed) and car parking for an as yet undetermined proportion of the homes being built (but likely to be around 50%, which was the same number being voiced for the St George's Quay, South Dock site).

If you have a real interest in this development, I would seriously recommend reading the Southwark Council report "Extending the Thames Riverside Footpath including Consequential Lands Transactions" at http://bit.ly/1LMpUvz (it loads as a PDF) dating to 9th December 2014. It is focussed on this site and contains some insights not covered at the exhibition.

The unique features of the Hollybrook development are that it is planned for one of the truly miserable corners of Rotherhithe, just downriver (west) of where the former nightclub and its squatters are currently located, taking up the space currently occupied by the defunct youth club, sports ground and red derrick (crane).  Here's where all the main features are located:

The removal of the nightclub is part of the plan.  This would not only remove an eyesore but would open up another stretch of Thames Path, currently blocked by the nightclub itself.   In theory, this would enable Southwark Council to open up the Thames Path in front of New Caledonia Wharf and Odessa Wharf.  Although provision was made for the Thames Path to extend in front of these buildings it was never opened up, and the residents in New Caledonia have converted it to a terrace serving the building - and this has been the case for over 20 years.  Should the path be opened in front of New Caledonia, this would be something that would have to be negotiated between its residents and Southwark Council.  This means that although the idea of opening a huge stretch of the Thames Path would certainly be theoretically possible with the removal of the nightclub, it is by no means certain that Southwark Council could successfully negotiate for the return of the stretch of land currently in use by residents of New Caledonia Wharf.  Any New Caledonia Wharf residents reading this might want to have a look at the Southwark Council report "Extending the Thames Riverside Footpath including Consequential Lands Transactions" at http://bit.ly/1LMpUvz (see sections 6, 7, 8 and 22).  There is also more on the Southwark Council website at: http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=32831. 

As well as extending the Thames Path either a short way or all the way to Greenland Dock, there are plans for a "pocket park" (one of those pseudo-phrases like pop-up restaurant or tea-cup pig) which basically makes provision for a small green area within the development.  The development itself is shown skewed at an angle, which has been done to preserve existing mature trees, but I was unable to determine if any other mature trees were under threat. A park, even a small one, would be a good thing.  The more greenery the better.  There's not much of it in that area of the Thames Path.

There are also plans for a cafe with views over the river to be built underneath one of the apartment buildings, which sounds like a very good idea, as long as it is sustainable.  If memory serves, the Surrey Docks Farm had a lot of trouble maintaining a cafe in their busy facility before the current Piccalilli Cafe was established.  I would image that one of the problems would be figuring out how to promote its survival during the week, when most people in the area are at work, and through the winter months. 

My main priority in attending was to see the plans for the red derrick (or crane) that was preserved by the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) as a piece of riverside heritage.  Many other pieces of history were preserved by them at the same time and they have all become valued features of our landscape, landmarks with great personality that give Rotherhithe a unique character.  The Hollybrook consultation included a poster that asked for ideas about what to do with the derrick.  David Godden, who helpfully answered a positive barrage of questions from residents, says that there was no plan to move it north of the river, but that there were other options.  First, a specialist company is being brought in to see how structurally sound it actually is.  Thanks to decades of neglect by Southwark Council, there is significant rust.  An engineer, one of the residents attending the exhibition, thought from the photographs that it was probably structurally sound, and that the visible rust is cosmetic, but we have to wait for the survey before any decisions can be made.  I will be so hacked off if Southwark Council's neglect has resulted in its demise  - that's a serious dereliction of the council's duty of care to our heritage, to the community who live in its vicinity and to visitors on the Thames Path.  It is of course a long-standing, if dishonourable tradition in this country to let inconvenient structures that are located on prime development land rot so that there are good arguments for removal.    If it is given a surveyor's seal of approval the next question is what happens to it.  One suggestion is to reduce it down to more manageable dimensions and shift its position slightly so that it is still incorporated into the site but does not require as much space as it does at the moment.  A suggestion from Southwark Council (proposed in the above report) was to try to interest some sort of heritage organization who might take it and incorporate it into some sort of display (all a bit ephemeral!).  No other suggestions were being proposed, but the Hollybrook standpoint on it is that they would like to hear other ideas for its future.  So if anyone has any good alternative ideas please let me know and I will pass them on.   Something certainly needs to be done with it - it is probably a health and safety hazard and it is currently occupied by pigeons (winged vermin), and it will be wonderful to see it restored in some way to its former dignity.  My email address is in the header at the top of this blog if anyone has any suggestions for its future.  Hollybrook themselves seemed very approachable on the subject, and included the derrick in many of their artist's impressions.  It does worry me, however, that Southwark Council's own "Extending the Thames Riverside Footpath including Consequential Lands Transactions" from 9th December 2014 report at http://bit.ly/1LMpUvz (see sections 19, 21) states:

The removal of the crane may result in some members of the community being concerned about the loss of a heritage feature. However, the safety of the wider community including persons inclined to climb upon it and users of the Thames Path being subject to pigeon mess must over-ride this concern. Hollybrook has agreed to see if a historical organisation will take the crane but failing that it will be broken up and removed.

It seems so typical of Southwark Council to become concerned for public safety only when it becomes possible to redevelop the site! They couldn't develop it previously because of agreements for its usage that were in place and have only been recently overturned.  It is really no more of health and safety hazard now that it was five or more years ago, and no-one on the Thames Path walks under it at the moment, so that statement is all about being in a position to move an obstacle to development, not making the site any safer or more "mess"-free. 

I would imagine that parking would be an issue for the residents of Redriff Estate, because they already have difficulty with car owners from surrounding developments using their spaces.

I am forever banging on about traffic and public transport impact assessments because there is so much new building going up that at rush hour local roads, buses and tube trains are creaking at the seams.  As anyone who lives upriver (west) of Greenland Dock knows, there are only three ways off Rotherhithe in a car.  And there's nothing more annoying when you're trying to get to work by bus than watching the 381 sweep merrily past your bus stop because it is full to capacity.   There are already two huge brand new developments nearby, one opposite Trinity Church and the other just up the road at the Downtown site where the medical centre has always been located, and these are already contributing to the strain.   Southwark Council really need to think about how to improve public transport services if they want all these new homes to be built.

As to the buildings themselves, Hollybrook had quite a few posters and a model on display.   The buildings are being graded in height to limit the impact of light blockage on surrounding buildings (one will have to wait for a full assessment to see how effective this will be), and although the design doesn't look particularly distinctive or imaginative in the architectural sketches, it doesn't look too bad either.  The illustrations are early stage impressions of what it will look like, and I'm fairly sure that if they go ahead as they are they won't distinguish themselves, but they seem unlikely to upset anyone either.  The architect firm is Panter Hudspith.  The sketch of the building certainly looks a lot better than the nearby Custom House Reach!  I do wish I had pictures to show you.

I don't live in that corner of Rotherhithe, so I don't feel that I really have the right to comment on whether the proposed development is a good thing or not, but I did like the idea of the park, of the cafe (if it could be made sustainable) and of a residential development of some sort to replace and improve that terribly wasted corner of Odessa Street.  I think if I did live around there, I would be concerned about parking and public transport, but would be glad to see that ghastly mess of abandoned sports grounds and the former youth centre transformed into something useful and viable.  Local residents who were in the group of us talking with David Godden were all in favour of salvaging the red derrick in some form. 

As with all these developments, residents are always dealing with two separate entities - the developers and what they want to produce, and Southwark Council and what they want to achieve.  It's amazing how often the developers are more reasonable than the Council (other than Barratts of course!).  But it is Southwark Council who have the final say, so if you have any concerns you will need to communicate them to both Hollybrook Homes and, when a planning page becomes available for this development, Southwark Council.

Thanks to David Godden from Hollybrook Homes for talking through and explaining in detail the information provided at the exhibition.   

Hollybrook have promised to keep those of us who left email addresses up to date with proceedings, so I look forward with real interest to seeing what happens next.

Heritage in Danger? The Peter Hills Charity School

I went on an organized walking tour of Rotherhithe recently, with 10 other people, all of whom were new to the area.  Our tour leader,  Ken Titmuss, took us to all of the main sites in Rotherhithe Village and Lower Road, and of course we visited the famous Peter Hills Charity School.  The school is one of the jewels in Rotherhithe's crown.  Or it was.

Peter Hills was a seafarer, Master Mariner and Brother of Trinity House, a substantial and influential individual, interested in the welfare of the community.  The Peter Hills charity school was established in 1613 for the children of local sea-men, a remarkable act of social conscience and good will.  Its original home no longer stands but it was moved in 1795 to today's 70 St Mary Rotherhithe Street, a former residence that dates to the early 1700s.  I have covered the school on a previous post if you want to know more about its history.  The school was furnished with two statues at first floor level, a boy and a girl dressed in the school's uniform.  The two statues remain today.

Unfortunately, the statues and the rest of the building are rapidly deteriorating as the photographs show.  The ground floor windows are boarded up, the paintwork on the statues is peeling, leaving the underlying material exposed to the elements, some of the masonry is damaged, and the woodwork is decaying rapidly.

Does anyone know if anything is being done about this?  If there is a plan for its renovation?  The neighbouring rectory is being redeveloped, I am told sympathetically, for housing, and it would be nice to think that the Charity School building will also be cared for now that it is in desperate need of assistance.

Floating swimming pool *IN* Greenland Dock now into consultation, which closes in four days!

If you feel as strongly as I do that this is a terrible idea, you need to act now.

Back in May I posted that Southwark Borough Council’s leisure contractor Fusion wants to install a permanent floating heated swimming pool, measuring 40m x 20m (125 ft x 65 feet ), at Surrey Docks Watersports Centre in Greenland Dock.  The operating hours of the pool are expected to be from 6am to 10pm.  This will place it immediately in the vicinity of the Rope Street apartments and opposite Tavistock Tower and the dock-facing houses and apartments of Russia Court East.

It has been brought to my attention that the status on the Southwark Council planning page for this development proposal has been changed, and that as of 21 September we are apparently in a formal consultation period with respect to these plans. The website says that the consultation only runs until 14 October - 4 days away!  I live immediately opposite the planned swimming pool and I am furious that I have not been notified by Southwark Council that the formal consultation has been opened.  Where are the presentations and meetings that should go along with the formal consultation??

It is very important that if you have objections you make them now by leaving your comments on the Comments page at:  http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk:8190/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9560300&neighbourCommentsPager.page=1.

If allowed to go ahead it would be incredibly noisy with the sound of screaming kids carrying over the water.  Given the Dock's acoustics, the noise from the pool (and there WILL be a LOT of noise) will be amplified and bounced around all houses surrounding the dock.  It is going to be terribly ugly too, an artificial appendage with ghastly-looking shower blocks.  And there will be endless problems with traffic to add to those that will be caused by the new development behind the watersports centre and the one planned for South Dock that will have blocks of 20, 15, 8 and 3 storeys.  What is more, a new, state of the art swimming pool / aqua centre is part of the first phase of the British Land Masterplan proposals on the land close to the Tesco carpark, so what on earth is the need?

There are much wider considerations too, which are detailed in several negative and lengthy objections on the site, of which one is mine. But so far there are only two pages of comments (some of which are in favour of it) and we need many more objections to be submitted for them to be taken into consideration.

I worry, for one thing, that an open air heated pool (ludicrously energy-wasting) will be unusable in the winter or on poor days, at which time a tarpaulin or other temporary structure will be fitted over the entire lot.  Once this has been installed for a while it will be seen as tacit acceptance of a closed structure in the dock and a permanent structure will be built over the top of it, so that there will be an actual floating building in the dock!  With these proposals it's not just the immediate horror of the initial planning permission that has to be considered - the future possible planning implications need to be thought through as well.

The planning details are:  15/AP/1752 | Installation of a 40m by 20m floating, self supporting swimming pool in Greenland Dock. Greenland Dock, Watersports Centre, Rope Street, London, SE16 7SX.  The Case Officer is Dipesh Patel. Full documentation and other details are on Southwark Council's website at:
http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk:8190/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9560300

The documents for the case are at:
http://planbuild.southwark.gov.uk/documents/?casereference=15/AP/1752&system=DC

Update on the Rotherhithe Red Crane and the Odessa Wharf development

It has been nice not to have to post any bad news stories in the last couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean that problems have gone away, just that something is happening behind the scenes that isn't being aired in public.  The red crane was saved by the London Dockland Development Corporation, which recognized its great value as a piece of irreplaceable local heritage.  As of yesterday plans by developers who want to build on the site where the distinctive red crane stands have been brought to light.  Mark Parker attended the Canada Water Consultative Forum last night, where the property developer Hollybrook presented their design for the Red Crane site on Odessa Street to the assembled meeting.

Thanks to Mark for the photographs below of the material they provided. You can click to expand but although they are still not easy to read the pages basically state that Hollybrook are holding a consultation on the 14th October between 4 to 8.30pm at the community centre at Dockland Settlements at 400 Salter Road about building a new development on the land occupied by the former nightclub, the basketball court and the crane. It will be important to assess the exhibition with a view to understanding the implications for the local community and the local heritage. http://www.se16.com/event/odessa-street-development-public-exhibition

One interpretation of the meeting at Hollybrook is that they are planning to relocate the red derrick over the river! Quite why Rotherhithe heritage should be moved out of Rotherhithe I am by no means sure.  It seems both inappropriate and illogical.  Hopefully the exhibition on the 14th will clarify matters.

The heritage represented by the red crane and the impetus to save it from destruction are covered in an earlier post:
https://russiadock.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/please-help-to-save-red-crane-on-thames.html

 

Campaign to protect the Lavender Pump House

Yesterday's post reporting damage to the Lavender Pump House is followed by some better news today.  A number of residents are pulling together to discuss measures to prevent the continued deterioration of the historic building, and to find ways to save it for the future.  There is now a website with a blog dedicated to the task, and a Facebook page where people can join in the discussion.

To see the website:
https://savethepumphouse.wordpress.com

To join us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/savethepumphouse 

Squatters have left the Lavender Pump House in a real mess

The Pump House in better times
Photograph by Andrea Byrnes

The Lavender Pump House is one of the few surviving pieces of Rotherhithe's dockland buildings.  It was constructed in 1928-9 to house the pump machinery that regulated the levels throughout the complex dock system which, until the pump house was built, fluctuated considerably.  The building itself is lovely, a really attractive 1920s building with tall windows, full of light, with its original round Port of London Authority plaque commemorating the building date still in place on its Thames-facing side.   Surrounded by a small wildlife park with a remnant of dockland water at its front, it was always one of the nicest ways of presenting Rotherhithe's past, peaceful, appealing and full of charm.   I covered its history in a previous post, and expressed concerns about its future back in 2013, in a post about local heritage under threat, when I realized that the Pump House was not a listed building. 

The Pumphouse Today.
Photograph by Steve Cornish

The interior was stripped out many years ago and some of the original machinery is preserved at the Brunel Museum.  For many years the Pump House was a museum and included a local history display.  When this very sadly closed, the future of the building, in the ownership of Southwark Borough Council, became a real concern.  It was used by a local business for storage for a while, which kept it safe, but when the rental on the building was raised they left.  Lacking new tenants, the building was next occupied by squatters who were eventually removed.  Then, following a suggestion that the building could be converted to use as a gym in association with the Hilton Hotel, the council placed security guards to protect it.  However the plans were cancelled and in the last few months the security has no longer been in place.  The property was rented out to Sands Film Studios, but this was not enough to prevent squatters realizing that 24 hour security was no longer in place, and they entered the premises on the first night that Sands locked up. So the Pump House has again been occupied by squatters for several weeks, and were only evicted by court order in the last few days. 

Queen Elizabeth II's replica Wedding Cake,
now vandalized.
Photograph by Steve Cornish

Steve Cornish has been into the Pump House to see what it looks like, and the mess is substantial.  I've posted two of his photographs.  Remembering what the interior was like when it was still a museum, this is just so sad.  The graffiti is of course superficial but Steve has been told that the internal wiring had been removed along with some of the internal fixtures and fittings.  He contacted English Heritage last year and were very worried about the last set of squatters trashing the internal fixtures and fittings, which might well invalidate the possibility of receiving listed status.

It seems clear that if the Lavender Pump House is to be saved from becoming a casualty of Southwark Council's ambitions to redevelop every inch of Rotherhithe for blocks of flats, local people will have to watch for planning applications and fight to keep this valuable piece of local heritage.  Other possible casualties are the red crane on the Thames Path near Surrey Docks Farm, and a number of pubs that have been bought out by developers and have also been occupied by squatters.

To finish on a more positive note (again news provided by Steve) residents around the Pump House noticed that the water levels in Lavender pond were at critical levels, posing a threat to the local wildlife, so they asked the London Fire Brigade if they could help in any way. The London Fire Brigade sent out five Engines and spent all afternoon pumping much needed water into the pond.  They are now keen to request a personal bore hole for the nature reserve that pumps up fresh underground aquifer water in the nature reserves pond in an attempt to eradicate this potentially massive environmental problem. 

Please help to save the red crane on the Thames Path at Odessa Street!

What a shame that a wonderful piece of local heritage is under threat from development by Southwark Council and its business partners.  The red Scotch derrick at Lawrence Wharf, a wonderfully preserved crane from Rotherhithe's shipping past, is both a monument to a lost world and an inherent part of Rotherhithe's modern character and identity. Please add your voice to a newly launched petition to save the Scotch Derrick by signing it at change.org at the following address:  http://chn.ge/1EHzH2E. 

And please share the petition address as widely as you can.  The petition has only just been opened so we need many more signatures.  The more signatures, the better the chances of saving this super piece of our local heritage

The Scotch Derrick in 1937

In August 2013 I wrote an account of the Scotch Derrick on the Thames Path, which is just off Odessa Street.  It was preserved by the London Docklands Development Corporation in recognition of its importance as the last remaining independently mounted crane in Rotherhithe, the only Scotch Derrick that remains, and a significant piece of our industrial heritage.  It was photographed as part of the photographic survey of the Thames in 1937, when it was hard at work, as you can see in the picture on the left (click to enlarge it). Miraculously, it survived the Second World War, when the Downtown area was bombed intensively during the Blitz, leaving almost nothing of the original riverside properties behind.  In the 1980s it was still hard at work long after the Surrey Commercial Docks had closed, one of a number of derricks employed to shift hardwood timber tree trunks from ships into Lawrence wharf, as the photograph below shows. Lawrence Wharf was thought to be the last remaining sawmill in London until it closed in 1986, when the family sold the business, but still the crane survived.  Its value as a piece of local history is beyond dispute but it is also much-loved by local residents, who not only respect its links to Rotherhithe's past, but also hold it in considerable affection in its own right.  It is such a distinctive local landmark and has become an old friend,

In October 2013, I made a list of the items of Rotherhithe heritage that I considered to be most in danger due to neglect or from the risk of development.  I included the Scotch derrick because of its location on a piece of Thames-fronting land that could handily fit a block of flats.  Here's what I said about it at the time:

Moving vast timber logs in 1980 (with thanks
to Malcom T. Tucker)

It is no surprise that there are a lot of rumours locally about the fate of the piece of land at point where the northern part of Odessa Street bends abruptly to the left and, to the right, reconnects with the Thames Path.  This small corner of the area does have a slightly battered look, and the best thing about it is the wonderful Scotch Derrick that is preserved at the top of the basketball court at the edge of the river.  It is a terrific piece of heritage, about which I've written in the past, and a real Rotherhithe landmark.  At the moment there is an abandoned youth club hut and a basketball court, running up the side of the access to the former Downtown nightclub and it is entirely probable that both developers and Southwark Council will feel that it would be ripe for development.  The Scotch Derrick should not be sacrificed during any of those plans. 

It survived the Second World War.  Let's see if it can survive plans for yet another block of flats.  

Please sign the petition:  http://chn.ge/1EHzH2E

In 1982 (with thanks to Malcom T. Tucker)

As it is today

As it is today

Lavender Dock, Lock and Pumphouse

Timber handling in the
Surrey Commercial Docks, 1930s

In the early 1800s timber imports began to increase substantially, leading to a requirement for more timber-handling facilities.  There was plenty of land behind Norway Dock (today's "The Lakes" development) and in 1811 No.3 pond was built, directly to the north of Norway Dock to which it was connected by a small cut, and later named Lady Dock.  Lavender Pond was the third in the succession of timber ponds that were added, each connected to its predecessor by  a cut - No.4 in 1812 (which later became Acorn Pond), No. 5  by 1827 (renamed Lavender Pond in 1864) and finally, much later, the small No. 6 pond by the 1861 (Globe Pond).

The building of Lady Dock had to accommodate Commercial Dock Road (now Redriff Road), which passed over the cut between Norway Dock and Lady Dock.  The other cuts were crossed by foot bridges.  See the maps of 1876 and 1914 at the bottom of the page.

Lavender Lock was truncated and the pumphouse was
built behind it, but hte remains of the lock are
clearly visible where it opens out onto the Thames

Like its neighbours, the purpose of Lavender Pond was to float timber.  The floating of timber was a very efficient form of storage.  The timber, already cut into shape, was organized into rafts, which was moved by skilled rafters and could be maneuvered in that form out onto the Thames (see photograph at the top of the page).  

The Commercial Dock Company had planned for a new lock entrance to this part of their system, near the apex of Rotherhithe as a second access point for large ships so that they did not have to negotiate Greenland and Norway Docks to access the inner docks.  They obtained an Act of Parliament in order to carry out the works in 1860.  Although the lock that opened in 1862 and opened into Lavender Dock was designed for small rivercraft, it was sufficiently large to handle larger vessels as well (320ft long, 34ft wide and 18.5ft deep).   Although it ceased to be functional in the late 1920s its foreshortened remains are still in situ, visible from the Thames Path and Rotherhithe Street.

The Lavender Pumphouse, facing into the remains
of Lavender Pond, now a nature reserve.

In 1864 the Commercial Dock Company, which occupied the top half of Rotherhithe, was ammalgamated with their competitors the Grand Surrey Docks and Canal Company, which occupied the lower half of Rotherhithe and included the Grand Surrey Canal.  The combined company was named the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, and links between the two systems were created and it was at this time that the docks and ponds were renamed. 

Water-loss was an ongoing problem in the docks.  Stuart Rankin writes that up to 2ft could be lost from seepage, through the use of locks and leaking lock gates and evaporation between tides.  An LDDC document says that as much as 4ft could be lost during neap tides (when high tides are at their lowest).  In order to maintain levels a decision was made to build a pumping station the purpose of which was to pump water from the river to maintain dock levels. In 1928/29 the Lavender pumping station was built to a design by the Port of London Authority, which had taken over responsibility for all the London docks in 1908.  Lavender Lock was closed at the same time, again to reduce water loss, although it was not removed and remains in situ today.  

The Lavender Dock Pumphouse was built over the infilled inland end of the sealed off lock (SE16 5DZ), and was separted from the Thames-side section of the lock that remained by a draw bridge that allowed traffic to cross Rotherhithe Street.  It was made of the ubiquitous yellow brick known as "London stock" and was provided with a round ornamental oculus window in the tympanium at one end, the PLA logo in the circular window frame at the other end, and big rectangular windows with gauged arches inset into rectuanguar recesses.   The sills beneath the window recesses were made of a charcoal-coloured brick that was much-used in this area.  It was an impounding pump station, a design that had already been tried and tested in other docks in London, as early as 1828.   Its pumps were driven by electricity. 

By 1932 Acorn and Lavender Ponds had been deepened to serve as docks and were provided with timber sheds.  The increasing popularity of plywood over deal boards meant that new storage facilities were requried.  Plywood is an artificially assembled composite made of thin sheets of wood veneer that were glued together;  they would have delaminated if exposed to water.

Priming Pump from Surrey Docks, now
at the Brunel Museum.
Photograph by Mike Peel
(www.mikepeel.net) CC-BY-SA-4.0

When the docks closed in 1969 the station was closed, but one of the pumps was moved to the Brunel Museum where it is still preserved. The rest of the machinery went for scrap. The Pumphouse was renovated in 1981 by The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) at the cost of £270,000, preserving some of the water as a large pond, and creating a small but attractive wetland and woodland wildlife zone of 2.5 acres (now maintained by The Conservation Volunteers, which was formerly the Trust For Urban Ecology). Lavender Pond received a Green Flag Community Award in 2012, and it continues to be supported by the volunteers of the Friends of Lavender Pond.

In 1988 the Pumphouse became a museum, the Lavender Dock Pumpuhouse Education Museum.  The museum was divided into three parts, with one section dedicated to local history, the Rotherhithe Heritage Museum.  Although it was awarded a Southwark Civic Award for its work in both 2002 and 2003, the museum was closed by Southwark Council in 2011.  There is a post by councillor Lisa Rajan on her blog about the closure.  The Pumphouse Educational Trust was was awarded a Blue Plaque in 2011, which was unveiled on June 12th of that year.  It has since been used as a storage facility by a local business.  It is a charming building, unique to Rotherhithe, which fortuitously survived the Second World War bombings that destroyed so much of Rotherhithe's heritage.

Although the land around the Pumphouse was classified as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in 2005, and is on Public Open Land, the Lavender Pumphouse is worryingly not listed, and must therefore considered to be under potential threat from development.   The terms of the land as a Local Nature Reserve does not preserve either the building or the land from planning projects, as this statement from a Southwark Council website makes clear: "A LNR does not enjoy immunity from possible future development or planning ‘applications’. However, as the Lavender Pond site is Council owned, it is unlikely that there will be any applications forthcoming for alternative uses in the foreseeable future. The site is already designated as Metropolitan Open Land, under the new Unitary Development Plan.  Should there be any planning applications in the Future; and the LNR designation agreed.  Members would have to take into account the LNR designation as a material factor."

The Heritage Museum collection is now held by Redriff School, and visits can be arranged in the evening by prior appointment only but may be subject to change if the premises are required for school activities.

1876 and 1914. Lavender Pond is at the very top of Rotherhithe. The 1976 map clearly shows
where the lock entered Lavender Pond from the Thames, crossed by Rotherhithe Street.