Smartening up high street bid

[poppy]

Does anyone know if the Town Centre Steering Group got the £1,500 it was asking for at the Sydenham Assembly Fund meeting? We really need it!!!

Haven't been to the high street for a few days but last time I was there there were still no hanging baskets, Penge has had theirs for ages...Surely June is the time these should go up...does anyone know if they have arrived yet?

Thanks

[leenewham]

Hi Poppy,

no, they didn't get funding. It was £1500 for the baskets, a Christmas tree and fixing the mess that estate agents have left behind with their boards I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong Chris). If it had gone hand in hand with a ban on estate agents boards (as other boroughs have done and a few more are considering) then it may have stood more of a chance.

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of hanging baskets, many of them are obscured by our street clutter and they are so high up on the lamposts they become invisible. I'd rather the money go towards cleaning shops window or roller shutters and better/nicer bins. I know people like them, but people don't look up when they are shopping. There are so many problems with our high street, it seems like a small sticking plaster on a huge gaping wound.

Penge has had the attention of Bromley Councils best officers who have worked with local traders and their traders group. I"ve been to one of these meeting and it was well attended and positive. They also have a really good cllr who will fight tooth and nail for his area (Cllr John Getgood). The difference between the forests growing on Lewisham's pavements compared to Bromley's manicured pavements is also telling, although I guess they made cuts in other areas rather than pavements and street cleaning.

[marymck]

I do wish the council would tackle chewing gum on our pavements and that the (cringes at naff name) "kirkdale village" traders would take down not only the remaining notices advertising their pop up Christmas, but also the hundreds of plastic tie wraps they left on lamposts from the ones they did remove.

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[leenewham]

Hi Mary,
Chewing gum is expensive and difficult to remove. They can freeze it off or water blast it off (which needs to be done regularly). Kingston do it every day.

As they are doing the road improvements, I presume that's why they haven't done it as the pavements will soon be replaced. But Lewisham are making cuts, pavements are not being cleaned or weeded as often, so I doubt whether this will happen.

I agree about the plastic tie wraps, although there are so many things that are at fault with making the high street feel shabby:

Fly posting
Estate Agents boards
Shop Signage
Dirty roller
Litter
Street sign clutter
Railings
Shop fronts
Chewing gum
Clutter in shop windows
Shops covered in daft tiles etc
Window displays
Empty shops
Roller shutters
Poorly maintained buildings
Street furniture etc etc etc

[poppy]

Neither am I a fan of hanging baskets but they are better than nothing. We are paying for them out of the community fund and they are not there! Strange.... I have ranted on here many times about alternatives (and been in touch with people who might have been able to help) to no avail...

I am all for alternative greening arrangements. Was disappointed to see no landscaping at the front of those new green flats by Bell Green.

It seems that the council has yet to understand the benefits of greening an area to the residents within those buildings and those who pass by....(mental health benefits, pollution and noise control as well as all the positives that go with the aesthetics).

An insistence on proper landscaping should be part of the planning permission process - no well considered planting plan, which contains trees and large shrubs - no permission!!!

[Annie.]

Im with you there poppy,the greener the area the better,many parts of Sydenham are so pretty,i was very surprised when we got a metal pear tree and not lovely real ones at Bell green, the name even has "green" in for gods sake, I quite like the buildings, not bad really, the white ones near sainsburys look a bit naff in colour, need lots of sympathetic planting to make it look better.And I hope the flats near the greyhound are going to be greened up?

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[SE26bloke]

Can't we just lie and say the Olympics are on our doorstep? They seem to be chucking money away to tart the East End up.

[paultreacy]

Well, the Olympics sort of are on our doorstep. Are not the Brazilians training in Crystal Palace Park, previously known as Sydenham Park at the National Sports Centre?

[14BradfordRoad]

Anything to do with the olympics is going to get money thrown at it, no real suprise there.

When it comes to local council issues, pavements, cleaning, chewing gum, graffitti etc - The
hard truth is that councils have been forced to make lots of cuts. Hanging baskets are very
nice but hardly a priority. Road and pavement works cost an absolute fortune when private contractors are used, a real money tree for them - huge cost for the local tax paying public.
Trees, green areas all have to be maintained at a cost if they're going to stay looking nice.

Sorry to be doom and gloom but just facing the truth!

[Annie.]

How many unemployed do we have?

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[marymck]

What about if local businesses were to sponsor planting? Perhaps paying groups like Sydenham Garden or local schools or colleges supply and fit the actual hanging baskets, or planters? And each shop that's sponsored one be responsble for the watering? It would also get some variety in the scheme, rather than just those homogenous planting schemes that some Council's do.

I don't have any connection to Sydenham Garden - so they may hate the idea. But getting school children involved would be great, as it would not only give them the satsifaction of action growing something, but give them (and their families) a sense of pride and ownership of the neighbourhood.

We could even have competitions.

[Annie.]

Thats a nice idea Mary,however ,I am always Surprised when we have so many unemployed that an area,not only Sydenham, but in other counties/towns / cities are so run down looking? Im not knocking the unemployed,but the one time I was in that position I would have liked something to do, and to feel motivated/ needed,ok,I was only 20 at the time,but even so,to feel I was doing something worthwhile would have been good,it would also help different ages get together and maybe shut down a few of those barriers that can be built up through not knowing your neighbour.

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[Eagle]

Annie you have a point. Guess loads of young fit unemployed in Sydenham who could earn their handouts by clearing up the town.

A win all round.

They get a sense of purpose and we get a cleaner town.

[SE26bloke]

Except when they're looking for jobs.

[Eagle]

Of course time of for interviews and I am not saying this would be 5 days a week. 3 would be fine giving them time to do CVs etc .

[Annie.]

Even one day a week to be on call for work in the community,imagine how much could get done,

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[Rachael]

To be honest, I think the streets of Sydenham are too green at the moment - every pavement and kerb is erupting with weeds. It looks dreadful. There is nothing more guaranteed to make an area look run down. I think that needs sorting before we spend money on attractive planting.

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[Annie.]

There you then, many hands make light work.

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[Annie.]

If Lewisham council, set up a stall with some hoes? Advertise a few days before, i,m sure people would want to give an hour of their time to help.

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[Stefan]

or maybe someone can sponser youth from sydenham youth forum to help out to raise funds for their causes, win all round