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It appears that there may be a new tenant at Belair House. There is a large sign outside saying look at www.belairhouse.co.uk (bar, dining and social) – however when you go there it still says ‘website under construction’.
A public consultation will be held on 7th and 14th November. Both the Dulwich Society and the Herne Hill Society have lobbied to have the historic columns retained but to no effect – Rail Track are determined not to put them back.
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 18/19 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.
On 3rd October London Mayor Boris Johnson officially unveiled a proposal to rebuild the Crystal Palace. The building will replicate the original in size and shape (though hopefully it will be fire-proof this time) and is likely to house an exhibition centre, and possibly a hotel and other commercial uses. The scheme also involves the restoration of the park to its original Victorian plan and will be funded by a Chinese property billionaire, Mr Ni Zhaoxing, Chairman of the ZhongRong Group based in Shanghai.
Half Moon Lane re-opened on Bank Holiday Monday, 26th August, but almost all the shops remain closed. Drying out of the flooded basements continues but some of the units, and the Half Moon, are not expected to re-open until October at the earliest. The latest news from the Oxfam shop is that it will be nearer Christmas before it will be trading.
Designed by Humphrey Ocean RA, the Artmobile will be launched by racing legend Sir Stirling Moss. The artist will sign his design at a breakfast event on Tuesday 10th September before the Artmobile embarks on its inaugural journey across London.
It will make possible a vastly increased range of creative activity for the least advantaged groups well beyond the confines of Dulwich. It will travel to community sites for older people, day centres, care homes, hospitals, schools and youth sites, working particularly with hard to reach audiences. The project will enable Dulwich Picture Gallery’s well regarded and award winning education department to increase community engagement and enhance lives through caring creativity.
The world-wide final of the ‘Last Man Stands’ cricket competition will be held at Lords on Wednesday 4th September. The knock out part of the completion has been happening in Dulwich over the past week at the Dulwich Cricket Club (Dulwich Sports Club), Southwark Community Sports Trust, Dulwich Preparatory School and Belair Park.
Over 120 teams took part from all over the UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, in addition to composite sides representing India, West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. A particular highlight of the competition was the appearance of a Masai Warriors team from Kenya who play in traditional Masai attire. Details of the competition can be found at www.lastmanstands.com and the venue map for Dulwich can be found here.
London Open House Weekend will be on the weekend of 21st/22nd September. Dulwich buildings that will open for the public include the recently refurbished ‘Concrete House’ on Lordship Lane, Kingswood House, 6 Pond Cottages, The Coach House - 11a Sydenham Hill, and the Carnegie Library in Herne Hill.
The world-wide finals of the ‘Last Man Stands’ cricket competition are being held at Lords in late August with Dulwich Cricket Club and the Southwark Community Sports Trust as key partners. Last Man Stands is an eight-a-side national cricket competition which has been running on an annual basis since 2005. For the first time, there will be an International series of finals starting with an opening ceremony at Lords on Monday August 26th and culminating in a grand finals day at Lords on Wednesday 4th September. The winners receive a cash prize of £10,000.
All the qualification and pool games will take place in Dulwich over the week from 27th August until 3rd September. Locations include the Dulwich Cricket Club (Dulwich Sports Club), Southwark Community Sports Trust, Dulwich Preparatory School and Belair Park.
Over 120 teams will be taking part from all over the UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand in addition to composite side representing India, West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. A particular highlight of the competition will be the appearance of a Maasai Warriors team from Kenya who play good cricket in traditional Maasai attire. In addition to hosting the cricket matches, TV streaming and highlights packages will be screened each evening. This promises to be a unique event which is fully supported by the English Cricket Board, Surrey County Cricket Club and the cricketing organising bodies from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The rules of the competition state that all 8 wickets are needed to bowl a cricket team out. When the seventh wicket falls, the Last Man Stands on his own! The game has been promoted in the UK by the England & Wales Cricket Board to stimulate more take up of cricket by office workers, men and women and others wishing to play.
Details of the competition can be found at http://www.lastmanstands.com/worldchamps2013/playcricketworldchamps2013 and the venue map for Dulwich can be found here http://www.lastmanstands.com/worldchamps2013/playcricketvenueinformationmaps
Many congratulations to the local volunteers who put the Herne Hill Velodrome back on track. They have won a Big Society Award. See www.gov.uk/.. for more details.
Wilf Taylor, one of the stalwarts of the Society’s executive committee and long-time membership secretary, died on Monday aged 90. He had lived in Dulwich for nearly 50 years and was not only an active member of the Society but also the Dulwich Players, the tennis club and latterly, the croquet club. Our condolences go to his family.
Half Moon Lane experienced a major flood late last week when a 3 foot diameter underground water main burst. A large number of the shops were badly affected but Thames Water has confirmed that it is liable for any costs arising from the flood. Work is on-going to renew the pipe and, hopefully, the road will be re-open shortly. The Turney Road web site has more details here and here.
The Society was featured in this month’s edition of the London Forum Newsletter to mark its 50th Anniversary.