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An important piece of London Street Art by artist Stik has been stolen from a Dulwich location. It was one of three panels situated on the side of Mrs Robinson, a homeware shop on the corner of Lordship Lane and Blackwater Street. The shop owner had turned over the space on the side of the building as a place for street artists to exhibit their work. The painting by Stic was an interpretation of ‘Mrs Moody and her sons’ by Thomas Gainsborough and was a part of the Dulwich Festival and Dulwich Picture Gallery’s ‘Baroque the Streets’ programme earlier this year.
The last public consultation was held on 14th November (16.00-19.30hrs) at the Montessori School in Half Moon Lane. The sections of road by the railway bridges in Croxted Road and Rosendale Roads will be closed to all vehicle traffic from Saturday 11 to Sunday 26 January (with a pedestrian walkway except for the actual construction works on the weekend of 17/19 January).
The last public consultation will be held on 14th November (16.00-19.30hrs) at the Montessori School in Half Moon Lane. Some initial enabling work on underpinning the abutments started in September and the actual renewal works will take place in January and February.
The sections of road by the bridges in Croxted Road and Rosendale Roads will be closed to all vehicle traffic from Saturday 11 to Sunday 26 January (with a pedestrian walkway except for the actual construction works on the weekend of 17/19 January).
Village Way bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic from Saturday 8 to Sunday 23 February – the actual construction work will take place on the weekend of 15/16 February.
There is no confirmed news yet about the new post office counter but there is a strong rumour that it will be located next door in Shepherds. Members who have lived in Dulwich a while will remember the old counter in the wool shop and it will probably be a similar arrangement. The Herne Hill Post Office moved to a counter in the local ‘Costcutter’a few years ago.
Increased competition has meant that Sergio’s, the delicatessen in the Village, is no longer. However, all is not lost as the lease has been assigned to another deli operator and the new shop should open in the next few days, a team of shopfitters are working to make it ready sometime this week.
A new butcher, Dugard & Daughter has opened at the south end of Milkwood Road, just a few steps from Half Moon Lane. This is a very welcome addition to the area.
The shops in Half Moon Lane affected by the recent flood are gradually reopening and it is essential that those that are open receive our support. Not surprisingly footfall has reduced since the flood and it needs to return to its former level.
To help things along Southwark traffic wardens have been banned from issuing tickets outside the shops. A local shopkeeper tweeted: “Why does Southwark council send traffic wardens to Half Moon Lane all day. We’re trying to recover from flooding.” Later he added: “Traffic warden patrolling Half Moon Lane from 8.30 gonna [sic] be a busy day not, thank you Southwark”, and “another day of parking gestapo, and guess what no customers after 12 o’clock”.
Southwark Council saw the tweets and agreed not to issue any more fines in the bays until further notice. Local Village Ward Councillor Robin Crookshank Hilton was supportive and said “The traders need to be allowed to get on with the renovations.”
A new tenant has taken over the restaurant at Belair House. Local residents will be pleased that the former name Beauberry House has been dropped and name returned to the original. The new restaurant opened on Saturday. www.belairhouse.co.uk.
A new revised and updated History of the Herne Hill Velodrome has recently been published. It should be available locally shortly priced at £10.00.
The historic pedestrian footbridge over the railway line has been found to be defective and is to be replaced over the next few months. This will require a new temporary entrance to the ticket hall and the construction of a temporary footbridge further down the platform while the works are carried out. As part of the contract the side walls and roof to the ramp access to College Road will be refurbished.
His Excellency Volodymyr Khandogiy Ambassador of Ukraine and Aleksandr Lukyanchenko, Mayor of the City of Donetsk, will visit West Norwood Cemetery on Wednesday, 13 November to lay a wreath on the grave of John Hughes. Hughes developed the first iron foundry in what was then the Russian Empire, and the small town he constructed around the foundry grew into Donetsk, now Ukraine’s second largest city. The official party will be welcomed by members of the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery who researched Hughes’ burial and managed the restoration of his massive headstone, which had fallen into disrepair. The Friends were helped in this by journalists from Donetsk News and a generous donation from the Ukrainian Development Foundation, with the support of family descendants, Glamorgan Archives, the Borough of Lambeth and the Diocese of Southwark. People will gather in the cemetery at 10.30am for a simple wreath-laying ceremony at 11.00. The Mayor will then depart for Cardiff to open an Art Exhibition featuring Hughesovska/Donetsk.
Southwark Council has proudly announced Conrad Shawcross as the winner of the Dulwich Art Commission. The appointment follows an extensive public consultation process and deliberation by the Dulwich Park Commission Steering Group and the Contemporary Art Society who managed the artist commissioning process.
Conrad Shawcross has achieved international recognition for his work - most recently, he won acclaim for his 2013 Timepiece exhibition at the Roundhouse, London. His work was also displayed at this year's 55th Venice Biennale. His design, Three Perpetual Chords, has been selected from a shortlist also including proposals by artists Anya Galaccio, Ryan Gander and Eva Rothschild.
Following a public consultation in which over 400 local people gave their views about the proposals, the Dulwich Park Commission Steering Group came to a consensus to name Shawcross as the artist who best fulfils the commissioning principles originally set out.
Three Perpetual Chords proposes a series of cast iron sculptures, each created in relation to the mathematical patterns found in music. The artist describes these forms as "visual descriptions of musical chords." Roughly human height, the sculptures will be sequenced, leading visitors through an unexpected series of encounters in the park.