High Street banners

[sydres]

Walking up and down the High Street, it is becoming obvious the banners advertising Sydenham are working themselves loose once again.

This is a shame, especially given that these are the second set of signs (the first set having fallen off at the first sign of wind); perhaps the Council can come up with a really clever way of keeping them securely fixed so we don't commission the third set of banners?

Meanwhile in other news the two Legible London signs remain broken at the station end of high street.

[parker]

Meanwhile in other news the two Legible London signs remain broken at the station end of high street.

Yep, and they're very likely to stay like that because LB Lewisham don't give a damn about a thing.

[stuart]

Yep, and they're very likely to stay like that because LB Lewisham don't give a damn about a thing.

Is it the responsibility LB Lewisham or Skanska? Outsourcing does make for confusion.

Stuart

[sydres]

I'm sure our councillors will be able to confirm but I believe the contract was awarded to Skanska (same company responsible for the street lighting). I emailed their customer services earlier but received a quick reply which stated that emails were no longer being actioned.

Perhaps LBL could get in touch with Skanska if they have been awarded the contract and tell them to fix the signs properly this time.

[Pally]

This sort of suggests that the banners are not fit for purpose and maybe need to come down! However I believe quite a lot of money (SEE?) was spent on them and I doubt there is more money available for any replacement of them or for a different idea. Its a shame when things meant to be part of improving the High St become part of the problem

[parker]

Yep, and they're very likely to stay like that because LB Lewisham don't give a damn about a thing.

Is it the responsibility LB Lewisham or Skanska? Outsourcing does make for confusion.

Stuart

What about the toilet at Sydenham station that's been out of order for longer than I can remember? Guess that's not Lewisham's fault neither?

Aren't the council supposed to instruct these firms when things are wrong and hold them accountable to fix the issues in a timely manner?

[Chris Best]

Skanska put up the lamp post banners as they are responsible for the street lighting - I have asked if they could refit when they put up the Christmas lights next month.

As reported at the Sydenham Assembly on Tuesday Lewisham have ordered two replacement Legible London signs - funded from the Sydenham Assembly Fund. There was a written update on the Station Approach w.c. which has been blocked for a number of weeks. The contactor for the toilets is Healthmatic and has not been able to clear the drain blockage. A drain clearing company was due to attend this week with specialist drain clearing equipment. As soon as the blockage is cleared Healthmatic will get the w.c. back in service. Highways have been made aware of the need for a rodding outlet to clear any future blockages.

The next Sydenham Assembly is on Saturday 3 December at Sydenham Community Library and we usually have an item for residents to raise local issues not covered in the meeting. Councillors can always be sent queries by email or a discussion at the advice surgery on the 1st Saturday of the month at Sydenham Library and 3rd Saturday of the month at The Sydenham Centre both from 10.30 - 11.30am.

[leenewham]

This is why local people/groups should have more control over their high streets, including planning decisions.

Lewisham do care and have some really good officers, but it is by far the most disorganised, red tape laden councils I"ve ever dealt/worked with. Their procurement rules are crazy and various departments don't really work together. Highways were especially bad.

Outsourcing everything (even planning decisions in the case of Lewisham, which hasn't worked), with other companies outsourcing so you have multiple layers of buying and selling (and mark-ups on the services) means simple jobs can take ages.

[prince]

Cllr Best, thank you for your update. The replacement of the Legible London signs are particularly welcome.

[JRW]

The contactor for the toilets is Healthmatic and has not been able to clear the drain blockage. A drain clearing company was due to attend this week with specialist drain clearing equipment. As soon as the blockage is cleared Healthmatic will get the w.c. back in service. Highways have been made aware of the need for a rodding outlet to clear any future blockages.

Ever so slightly unimpressed that the council approved such dodgy plumbing - one would have thought that a rodding outlet would come as standard....

[leenewham]

The best ones you can get are from Bay Media. They are normally fixed using a flexible arm which bends in the wind and offers less wind loading on the banner and lampost.

We used them on all the high street schemes we have worked on and they have lasted with, to my knowledge, no broken banners. I'd be surprised if Lewisham didn't use Bay Media, but ones in the high street don't look like the ones we have had installed before.

http://www.baymedia.co.uk/markets/roads ... t-banners/

It may be worth Cllrs and the local hoi polloi lobbying to get better quality banners considering the high street can get pretty breezy at times.

[mosy]

Maybe it's just me but I don't see the point of small banners well above pedestrian eye level and driver level that are nondescript invisible pink and white with illegible lettering. If more money might be spent, do others see a point of them that I don't? Giz a clue.

[Pally]

Maybe it's just me but I don't see the point of small banners well above pedestrian eye level and driver level that are nondescript invisible pink and white with illegible lettering. If more money might be spent, do others see a point of them that I don't? Giz a clue.

I agree ...I have never really seen the point of the banners! I wonder how much they cost and if that money could be better spent?

[parker]

Maybe it's just me but I don't see the point of small banners well above pedestrian eye level and driver level that are nondescript invisible pink and white with illegible lettering. If more money might be spent, do others see a point of them that I don't? Giz a clue.

I agree ...I have never really seen the point of the banners! I wonder how much they cost and if that money could be better spent?

Anything that distracts the attention of anything at eye level in the high street is money well spent.

[mosy]

I suppose it depends on how you view any high street, parker. The one thing that ours has going for it is that it's thoroughly alive during daylight hours and has almost no boarded up shops, even if not a go-to in the evening. (I'll ignore nose-to-tail traffic; short of a flyover or underpass, we're kinda stuck with that being a through route.)

Banners should be At-a-Glance. Besides which, the "market" usually closes for the winter period anyway. I'd just have Skanska take them all down for this year. Not to mention that Skanska tend to be fully booked, so as soon as the banners are fixed they'll be in the way of the wonderful Xmas lights that'll need to be put up. It goes back to what one thinks the money could be better spent on.

[leenewham]

Banners can add something if there is a reason for their being there and they don't add to street clutter.

The ones in Herne Hill certainly work well. So did the Olympic ones. They should be bold and simple. People don't really read them, they are decoration, to give an overall feel. Think of them more like bunting.

There is so much clutter in Sydenham, from shops, hanging baskets, lights, banners etc, you don't know what to look at. It's a symptom of high streets being well or badly managed (or not managed at all in most instances).

Each high street should have a strong body that has more control over planning, banners, advertising, branding etc to make their high streets bespoke destinations or unique and engaging places in which people want to spend some time.

[harrym]

Couldn't agree more Lee. I'd love to help get the High Street tidied up! Nunhead have done a great job reverting to hand painted shop signs (both traditional long standing shops and new ones). A coherent design strategy would not necessarily cost much to implement (if each new shop was given guidelines for frontage for example) but would make a big impact over time. I would personally give my time to rip down a plastic fascia and hand paint a beautiful sign!

[leenewham]

I'd love to do that too. If only it were that simple!

Nunhead was one of the best high street schemes.
The shop front designs were designed by the excellent Jan Kattein architects. The shop front scheme was £390k.

The pocket park, designed by AOC is great and used up the bulk of the rest of the £1.2 million budget. It included social spaces and a childs play area, which I believe should feature in ALL high streets (I suggested it for the pocket squares in Sydenham, but instead we have a space for Talk Talk to interrupt me as I walk to the station).

If Sydenham wants to move forward, fostering a stronger sense of community in the high street is key, and key to that is a strong traders group, which Sydenham doesn't yet have, unfortunately.

[sydres]

Does anyone know when our Christmas lights are going up? Apparently the banners would be fixed at the same time.

[sydres]

So the banners are still loose despite being told that they were going to be fastened when the xmas lights went up.

2017 - 3rd set of banners commissioned and blown loose by wind......and repeat.