The following is a reminder to everyone interested in improving the environment of Sydenham Road. Those who completed last December's questionnaire should have received direct notice of these two meetings. However, it is not too late to get involved
Enhancing Sydenham high street
Stakeholder Forums have been scheduled for: Thursday 1st March from 7.00 to 9.00 pm and Saturday 3rd March from 2.00 to 4.00 pm at the Naborhood Centre, 44a Sydenham Road, SE26 5QX.
The responses to the recent ‘Enhancing Sydenham high street’ questionnaire are currently being analysed.
The designers commissioned to develop proposals for Sydenham Road will carefully study the analysed results, along with all the comments made on the questionnaires. The introduction to the questionnaire explained that the results of the survey, together with other research conducted at the high street, would be summarised at a stakeholder forum. The forum is intended as an opportunity for us to further hear your views, feed back results of the questionnaire and other research, and introduce the designers who will develop proposals for Sydenham Road.
Both forums will be run in the same manner. If you wish to attend either please choose the time/date that best suits you and RSVP. By way of introduction it is planned to begin each forum with a short summary of the questionnaire survey results, the Community Street Audit undertaken by Living Streets and other research, followed by a short presentation from the designers. The intention is that the forum will then break into smaller groups, led by professional facilitators, to allow in-depth discussion to take place.
After discussing the results of the information gathering and the implications for the design process, the forum will come back for a final plenary session where key points from the groups’ ideas, conclusions and other comments will be fed back to all the participants.
The ‘next steps’ in the design process will be explained. A detailed Note of Proceedings will also be prepared and sent out to everyone who wants a copy.
Considerable interest has been expressed in the forums. It is hoped that all those wishing to attend can be accommodated. However, if you wish to attend it would aid management of the forums considerably if you would RSVP to Rachel Crozier at CAG Consultants. You can RSVP in three ways:
By email: rachelcrozier@blueyonder.co.uk
By freephone: 0800 389 4276 (calls are free if made from a landline)
By post to: Rachel Crozier, CAG Consultants
81 Bradley Crescent
Shirehampton
Bristol BS11 9SR
If it does not prove possible to fit everyone into the venue on the two dates, a further meeting will be arranged. The results of the questionnaire survey, the draft Community Street Audit report and reports on some of the other information gathering, will be placed in Sydenham Library, Kirkdale Bookshop and on the Council website Transport and Streets, Consultation and Policy page (http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/TransportAnd ... ionPolicy/) a few days prior to the forum events. They will remain available in the weeks after the forum.
If you completed a questionnaire I would like to thank you and look forward to meeting you at the forum.
Ian Plowright
Transport Strategy Manager
London Borough of Lewisham
Improvements to Sydenham Road
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
At the opening plenary session of the two open forums held on 1 and 3 March the results of the exercise were presented. 457 people – some 7.5% of the recipients, a good response in terms of Market Research, had completed the questionnaire. About 50 people had joined “Living Streets” (formerly the Pedestrians Association) in walking the high street to pinpoint problems for pedestrians using Sydenham Road and the Space Syntax map of how residents actually cross the roads, avoiding the prescribed crossings did not come as too much of a surprise to most of us.
Atkins Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, the recently appointed successful bidder to take forward the project into the design stage, were introduced. Atkins were the project managers for the design consultants team and provided all detailed landscape design, transport planning, traffic and civil engineering services for major transformation of Trafalgar Square into its current World Square status.
In a break out session three groups then discussed what they wanted to see done to improve the high street. An opportunity was given to everyone to express their aspirations and any concerns and these were noted and will be taken on board by Atkins as they come to design the scheme. Matters raised included planting trees, the roundabout at Cobbs Corner, Station Approach, where crossings and bus stops should be sited, safety issues, lighting and waste management.
At the final plenary session there was a feedback from each break out group and an account of the next steps. Atkins is tasked to come back to the community with a draft design later in the summer for further local consultation before a bid for funding is made to Transport for London, who will be underwriting the improvements to the tune of £2m. It was noted that as Transport for London would be paying for improvements they will also need to be satisfied that any improvements will not impede their raison d’etre, which is to ensure satisfactory movement of traffic through the high street.
There is a Sydenham Community Regeneration Partnership meeting on Tuesday, 24 April at 7 pm at Naborhood Centre, Sydenham Road open to all residents interested in the future of Sydenham road at which there will be a further update on this project.
Atkins Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, the recently appointed successful bidder to take forward the project into the design stage, were introduced. Atkins were the project managers for the design consultants team and provided all detailed landscape design, transport planning, traffic and civil engineering services for major transformation of Trafalgar Square into its current World Square status.
In a break out session three groups then discussed what they wanted to see done to improve the high street. An opportunity was given to everyone to express their aspirations and any concerns and these were noted and will be taken on board by Atkins as they come to design the scheme. Matters raised included planting trees, the roundabout at Cobbs Corner, Station Approach, where crossings and bus stops should be sited, safety issues, lighting and waste management.
At the final plenary session there was a feedback from each break out group and an account of the next steps. Atkins is tasked to come back to the community with a draft design later in the summer for further local consultation before a bid for funding is made to Transport for London, who will be underwriting the improvements to the tune of £2m. It was noted that as Transport for London would be paying for improvements they will also need to be satisfied that any improvements will not impede their raison d’etre, which is to ensure satisfactory movement of traffic through the high street.
There is a Sydenham Community Regeneration Partnership meeting on Tuesday, 24 April at 7 pm at Naborhood Centre, Sydenham Road open to all residents interested in the future of Sydenham road at which there will be a further update on this project.
Anyone know the current timetable?-
Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
The improvements to Sydenham Road are being paid for by Transport for London and the money has been ring-fenced for this.
The improvements should have been happening now - from January 2009. However when it was realised that gas main replacement has not been completed in Sydenham Road the improvements were put back to early next year. So gas main roadworks will commence shortly. Enjoy!
During June there should be an exhibition of the planned improvements in, I believe, the empty curtain shop on the corner of Queensthorpe Road. I say "I believe" because work has been going on in the Curtain shop to strip it out.
Being nosey I stuck my head around the door yesterday and was told that there are two businesses looking at a longterm lease on the property, which is very large, with great space for window display. And no, no one was giving any information away about what type of business might be interested in trading out of the Curtain Shop
That news will probably open another topic of conversation with speculation about possible new traders coming into Sydenham!
The improvements should have been happening now - from January 2009. However when it was realised that gas main replacement has not been completed in Sydenham Road the improvements were put back to early next year. So gas main roadworks will commence shortly. Enjoy!
During June there should be an exhibition of the planned improvements in, I believe, the empty curtain shop on the corner of Queensthorpe Road. I say "I believe" because work has been going on in the Curtain shop to strip it out.
Being nosey I stuck my head around the door yesterday and was told that there are two businesses looking at a longterm lease on the property, which is very large, with great space for window display. And no, no one was giving any information away about what type of business might be interested in trading out of the Curtain Shop
That news will probably open another topic of conversation with speculation about possible new traders coming into Sydenham!
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
Til the last syllable of recorded time
Pat - can you confirm that the exhibition is largely aimed at those citizens of SE26, born and brought up in the area, who will never have heard of the scheme since they were barely conceived when it was first thought up!?!
Let us hope that the exhibition comes with one major display board - a timetable for the works.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
Til the last syllable of recorded time
Pat - can you confirm that the exhibition is largely aimed at those citizens of SE26, born and brought up in the area, who will never have heard of the scheme since they were barely conceived when it was first thought up!?!
Let us hope that the exhibition comes with one major display board - a timetable for the works.