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The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department
Home Office Direct Communications Unit 2
Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
13 August 2018
I have recently been contacted by constituents in Dulwich and West Norwood, regarding an increase in motor vehicle crime and moped and bicycle-enabled crimes in the local area. These crimes include theft of motor vehicles and theft and misuse of mopeds and hire bicycles, particularly docking-station free hire bikes.
My constituents would like to see the government take a more proactive approach to moped crime, including working with moped manufacturers to ensure that they introduce better security measures to stop mopeds from being so easy to steal, and by funding councils to install more secure anchor points for mopeds, an effective way to reduce the theft of mopeds and prevent stolen mopeds from being used to facilitate other crimes.
My constituents are further anxious to see the government act to reduce vehicle theft. It is clear that action is needed to urge ensure that manufacturers improve security and locking mechanisms in order to stem the epidemic of “relay” and other types of vehicle theft. Many manufacturers use the same electronic key to both open vehicles and start the engine and this appears to be a key weakness.
I have also received reports of docking-station free hire bikes being used to facilitate robbery in my constituency, particularly those brands of bikes with weak locking mechanisms which are easy to break by hand. I fully support measures to increase cycling and to make bike hire more accessible, but it is clear that this unintended consequence is not acceptable and must be addressed. I am therefore requesting that you engage the providers of docking station-free hire bikes to address this issue as a matter of urgency.
Finally, I have highlighted on many occasions the cuts to police budgets which are stretching our local teams to the limit. Reversing the £1 billion cut to the Metropolitan Police budget would ensure that the police have the resources to be proactive in addressing these crimes. I look forward to hearing from you.
Helen Hayes MP
There is a new emerging “neighbourhood planning” group for Sydenham Hill Ridge – and it will join the nascent one in Dulwich Village and the one in Crystal Palace & Upper Norwood.
Broadly, the area they are looking at a neighbourhood planning area running along the top of Sydenham Hill and covering Southwark and Lewisham (including Sydenham and Dulwich Woods). The proposed Neighbourhood Area would run in a north east/south westerly direction from opposite Horniman Museum in the north east, to the meeting point of Sydenham Hill road with Crystal Palace roundabout in the south west, following the line of Sydenham Hill road.
If of interest, please contact
Web sites giving information on Dulwich’s involvement in World War One…
World War One Interactive Map
A joint venture by the Dulwich Society, Herne Hill Society and the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery commemorates the centenary of WW1 in an Online Interactive Map. The map features locations in Herne Hill, Dulwich and Norwood and illuminates the contribution the area made to the war effort as well as the war’s impact on the lives of local people. Sites highlighted include Dulwich Village, where in 1917 German aircraft dropped bombs which killed two people, the Sunray Estate of post-war ‘Homes fit for Heroes’ and the military hospitals set up at King’s, the Maudsley and East Dulwich. mapsengine.google.com
Dulwich College. The Fallen of the Great War 1914-1918
Dulwich College has created a web site dedicated to the memory of the 3,103 former pupils of Dulwich College who served in the Great War, of whom 534 died. Each pupil has been given a profile page which follows his life from his home, through school to his service in the Great War. On the web site you can find details of their war service, a map showing where they lived when at Dulwich, and any photographs, papers and letters the College holds. dulwichcollege1914-18.co.uk
The long promised new website was finally launched on 12 July - www.dulwichestate.org.uk. It provides information on the local area like the shops and the Estate’s operations - and includes details of the charity’s annual accounts. Starting on Monday 6 August, anyone who would like to discuss issues relating to their freehold or leasehold property, or plans and ideas for the wider area, can drop in to the Estate office and discuss them with the chief executive Simone Crofton, director of property Adrian Brace, and other members of the Estate’s team. The surgery runs from 10am-4pm at The Old College, Gallery Road, SE21 7AE, and no appointment is needed. They will run on the first Monday of each month and the first is on the 6th August.
Enabling works on the redevelopment started in the third week of July - with the relocation of the boundary fencing and some tree surgery. Demolition of the existing buildings commenced in earnest at the end of the month with the works programmed to take approximately 6 weeks so as minimise the impact on the local schools when the children return for the autumn term.
Responded to concerns at Bessemer Grange Primary School about air pollution and child safety, Southwark Council has agreed to the trial closing of Nairn Grove, the road in front of the School, to motor vehicles during school drop off and pick up times - 8.00-9.15am and 14.40-15.45. The closure will be implemented using physical barriers and will start on 10th September and run though until the end of the Autumn term, a total of 14 weeks. Closure will not be enforced during weekends and school holidays. An essential part of the exercise will be to carry out a monitoring test programme to confirm that air pollution levels are reduced. As well as improving road safety and reducing air pollution, the school and the council believe that this experiment will encourage parents and children to travel to and from school in a more sustainable way - by walking or cycling. Nairn Grove lends itself relatively easily to such an experiment as it is not a major road, implementing a similar proposal in Dulwich village for example, would be far more difficult and contentious. But there has been a lot of talk on what to do about air pollution and it is good to see the Council taking some action.
Local Peckham based architects’ practice, Pricegore, working together with artist Yinka Ilori, are the winners of the design competition for the temporary pavilion to be built in the Picture Gallery grounds in the summer of 2019. Called ‘The Colour Palace’, the pavilion's colourful exterior fuses African and European design, and draws upon the design team’s intersecting backgrounds to create a pavilion that aims to reflect London's multiculturalism.
Following on from the ‘sold’ sign recently seen on the boundary wall a planning application has now been made to build three houses on the former rear garden along Red Post Hill. Many local residents joined the Society in objecting to a previous proposal which was turned down by the Council and confirmed on appeal. Nothing has changed and many local residents remain strongly opposed to any plans for this site which has never been built on and has become a haven for trees and wildlife. There is also the question of access, currently a four feet wide gate which opens on to a narrow pavement by the bus stop opposite North Dulwich Station. The applicants have said that they intend to leave the access as it is and that purchasers will either not have cars or park their cars in surrounding streets - but there is the question of how the scheme is actually built if this is the only access.
The Dulwich Village Conservation Area Appraisal says, in Paragraph 3.6.2, that ‘Lyndenhurst's large rear garden has not been developed, although half of it has been separated off. This garden setting positively enhances the listed building. It is important for the proper preservation of the character of the conservation area that the open setting is preserved, and that both parts of the former garden remain undeveloped’. Who can disagree?
Originally commissioned by Salisbury Playhouse in collaboration with Army SW, Southwark Council is promoting a local version of the event as part of their programme for Dulwich Park - it will take place on the weekend of 9, 10, 11 of November. ‘Boots on the Ground’ is a headphone performance created by physical theatre ensemble and charity Tangled Feet, (www.tangledfeet.com). Inspired by the centenary of the WW1 Armistice, it explores the experience of demobilising from the Armed Forces and returning to civilian life after the experience of conflict. Each performance is aimed at roughly 30 participants and starts in an Army tent stationed in a public space. The audience 'enlist' to take part and are invited to step inside the boots of a soldier who is being demobilised from the Armed Forces. Wearing headphones, the audience leave the tent and are instructed how to march together. On their route around the local area, two storylines play out - one set in 1918 and one in the current day. Part of the story is told via binaural recordings, and part by our two professional actors. The performance is designed to respond to the local history and environment of Dulwich. The performance will happen three times a day, lasting about an hour in total each time. Tangled Feet are looking for a wide range of participants including local schools, local historians, local forces/ex-forces communities and volunteer stewards. If you are interested in participating or learning more, please contact
Local customers received a confirmatory letter last week and a sign also appeared in the bank’s window. This is obviously very bad news but is, regrettably a sign of the times. The branches in East Dulwich & West Norwood are to remain for now. You can pay in money and cheques for any bank account at the Village Post Office - and they also have a free cash machine.
The Council has now agreed the proposed changes to the scope of the tree works but there is confusion over a site-start date. Although the resident’s monitoring group have not been officially informed, the Society was told by the Estate that it would be week beginning 2 July. The developer has now confirmed that this is not the case but it is likely to be very soon.
Where is it? The estate takes in 1500 acres of Dulwich village, West Dulwich, parts of Herne Hill and Sydenham
Who lives there? Comfortably off professional families who like being in walking distance of some of south London’s sought-after private schools.
History: about to celebrate its 400th anniversary, the estate is a charitable foundation, set up by the Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn who left it as an endowment for a school. Today, there are seven schools that befit form his largesse, Dulwich College, James Allen’s Girls’ School and Alleyn’s School as well as four state schools. Many of the 5000 properties are now owned freehold, with 208 still in the portfolio but all owners have to seek approval for alterations to the external appearance of their property.
Heart: It is a proper village, complete with fin ger posts, post-and-chain fences and a mix of workmen’s cottages, fine Georgian villas and post war buildings. It offers pretty much every affluent suburb must-have: deli, farmer’s market, bookshop, cafes and a local annual festival.
Vision: ‘The Dulwich Estate has led the development of a vibrant neighbourhood’ says chief executive Simone Crofton, ‘I want to bring in the best independent shops, cafes and retailers across the estate and ensure we continue to inspire visitors and residents alike with a distinct experience’.
Why live there? Its exceptionally green, with 40 acres of allotments, 12 playing fields and 69 acres of ancient woodland, as well as the Herne Hill velodrome, a former Olympic venue, which now has a new pavilion.
Transport: North Dulwich Station in Zone 2 or West Dulwich and Sydenham Hill in Zone 3.
To rent: new two-and-three-bedroom flats in Croxted Road in West Dulwich are available through Pedder
To buy: a five-bedroom family house with a large garden is £2,595,000 through KFH.