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The Hepworth Steering group saw a more detailed presentation from the four selected artists at a meeting on the 18th. The public consultation remains on course for late September and will be held over two weekends at the Francis Peak Community Centre in Dulwich Park
A planning application has been submitted to construct a temporary classroom block on the site while the existing laboratories are converted into the new school. There will be a consultation meeting on 3rd July for local residents who live near the site. The plans currently show off-street parking and a turning space for parents to drop their children off.
The new Tollgate equipment is now installed but there are teething problems with the new smart cards.
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).