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The hoarding around the site is now almost complete. Demolition of the existing buildings will start after Founder’s Day in the first week of July. Access to the site will be via College Road.
The new building is to be constructed in two phases starting in January 2014. The target completion for the first phase is Summer 2015 with the second phase following on directly - the phasing is to allow part of the existing lab complex to remain in use during the building period.
The hoarding around the site will start on Monday 17 June and demolition work on the eastern section of the existing buildings will begin a week or so later. The aim is to complete the demolition work over the summer before the autumn term starts. Access to the site will be via College Road.
The new building is to be constructed in two phases starting in January 2014. The target completion for the first phase is Summer 2015 with the second phase following on directly – the phasing is to allow part of the existing lab complex to remain in use during the building period.
The school is also currently carrying out major refurbishment programme to its sports fields between Hunts Slip Road and Alleyn Park. The work is to improve the condition of the existing pitches, including new drainage, and is not related to the new buildings.
The Duke of Gloucester opened the completed building on 13 June. He is the Patron of the Heritage of London Trust, the charity who carried out the work after Southwark council compulsorily purchased the derelict house. The property has been converted into five flats and will be managed by social housing landlord, the Hexagon Housing Association.
It has now been confirmed that Kings College London’s former Sir James Black Centre at 62-68 Half Moon Lane has been chosen as the site for the new school. It will open in September and initially use temporary buildings while the new school is being built. Local councillors have welcomed the new school but local residents remain concerned over the traffic and parking implications.
As reported previously Network Rail will be replacing three of the local rail bridges early next year. The bridges in Village Way, Rosendale Road and the bottom of Croxted Road are over 160 years old and the supporting structures need to be brought up to current standards. The Society is most concerned that the historic character of the bridges is retained and is waiting on a date for a meeting with Railtrack to hear about the proposals in detail.
The Society’s AGM was held on the 9th April at the Crown and Greyhound. Over 70 members came - the best attendance we have ever had. The highlight was the showing of a film about the Dulwich 1000 year celebrations made in 1967. Many in the audience remembered being there at the time and were thrilled to see themselves in their younger days.
At last, after several years of pressure from the Society, the Dulwich Estate has finally made the owner of Belair Cottage fill in the gap in his boundary wall and we will no longer have to look at the piles of redundant building materials in his garden.
In April the Dulwich Estate published plans to refurbish the upper floors of the pub to provide five new flats and also build a new house on the site of the old garages in the rear garden. A public consultation is taking place on 12th April at the Old Grammar School on the corner of Burbage Road and Gallery Road (5-8pm).
The Southwark Clinical Commissioning group (SCCG) which has taken over from the Southwark PCT is running a further consultation on the future of health services in Southwark. To the Society’s knowledge this appears to be the third such consultation in the last three years –Your views can be expressed at a series of public meetings and, for those who like filling in survey, there is an online questionnaire available at: http://www.southwarkpct.nhs.uk/improving_services_consultation
The public meetings are at: St Barnabas Church at 7pm on Tuesday 30 April. St Barnabas Church at 2pm on Tuesday 22 May. Drop in session at the Dulwich Community Hospital at 12:30pm on Wednesday 1 May
The Dulwich Estate’s planning application to refurbish the Crown and Greyhound pub in Dulwich Village and turn it into a boutique hotel was approved by Southwark Council on 26th March. The Society welcomes the proposal as it will bring a much needed benefit to Dulwich while retaining the historic character of the pub itself. It is not clear when work will actually start on site as the Estate still has to complete its ongoing negotiations with the current tenant, Mitchell & Butlers.
The refurbishment work on the well-known ‘concrete’ house on the opposite corner of Lordship Lane and Dulwich Common junction is progressing well and completion is due shortly. The project, funded by the Heritage of London Trust, started last year after Southwark Council had compulsorily purchased the property from its former owner who had left it derelict. When completed the building will have five social housing flats managed by the Hexagon Housing Association.