Anyone know what was happening in the Greyhound this morning? A delivery man told me there were loads of police cars outside and the whole pub was taped off. However when I went out to get the paper half an hour later there was only a couple of police cars parked on the opposite side of the road and the pub was open.
Was the delivery man exaggerating and was it just the usual courtesy visit by local police?
The Greyhound, Kirkdale
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Illuminance
- Posts: 84
- Joined: 14 Mar 2005 16:49
- Location: Tunbridge Wells
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JAKES ANGEL
- Posts: 30
- Joined: 14 Mar 2005 16:13
- Location: sydenham
Ahhhh the Greyhound, the only pub where you can order a medium dry white wine and the barman replies "we only do large or small".
As i've said before since this pub has been taken over it has never been so empty, the beers crap, theres no atmosphere and no-one spends any money in there, its always empty inside even when the world cup was on. Ive seen all the outside seating areas packed with not a pint between them, they prefer to go and but drinks in the sweet shop accross the road and then sit outside the pub with them, of course im exaggerating slightly but that definately happens. Its funny because at the weekend they have bouncers, what for ? no-0ne goes in there, i think they must be to keep the only customers they have inside the pub. Its crying out for a proper landlord, proper barstaff, and some decent entertainment to turn it into the great pub it used to be and could be again, otherwise its gonna get turned into more unsightly flats. End of rant
As i've said before since this pub has been taken over it has never been so empty, the beers crap, theres no atmosphere and no-one spends any money in there, its always empty inside even when the world cup was on. Ive seen all the outside seating areas packed with not a pint between them, they prefer to go and but drinks in the sweet shop accross the road and then sit outside the pub with them, of course im exaggerating slightly but that definately happens. Its funny because at the weekend they have bouncers, what for ? no-0ne goes in there, i think they must be to keep the only customers they have inside the pub. Its crying out for a proper landlord, proper barstaff, and some decent entertainment to turn it into the great pub it used to be and could be again, otherwise its gonna get turned into more unsightly flats. End of rant
The Greyhound
Sorry Jakes Angel - we say bring on the flats. If you think the front of the Greyhound is bad enough you want to see it from the back! Living in the road behind this pub we get a really delightful view of their garden or should I say rubbish dump (complete with large TV on top).
This pub is never going to be what it was way back when. If they refurbish the building with a sensitivity to its history and background and turn it into flats, as far as we are concerned, they could do a lot worse. Unfortunately real landlords son't exist anymore - or if they do they don't take on pubs like the Greyhound. It's gone from bad to appalling and it's time Mitchell & Butlers, the Brewery, called it a day.
Lets see some good quality accommodation across the whole site - best thing that can happen in my opinion - but what do I know - I only live here.
This pub is never going to be what it was way back when. If they refurbish the building with a sensitivity to its history and background and turn it into flats, as far as we are concerned, they could do a lot worse. Unfortunately real landlords son't exist anymore - or if they do they don't take on pubs like the Greyhound. It's gone from bad to appalling and it's time Mitchell & Butlers, the Brewery, called it a day.
Lets see some good quality accommodation across the whole site - best thing that can happen in my opinion - but what do I know - I only live here.
Leaf - I have lived here since 1981 so I know this road we are referring to was very rough in the past and to be honest, although improving, is still grotty.
The opening up of the gate to the station on this side has not improved matters - sorry Sydenham Society - for us residents it is a disaster. It may be handy for those nipping round with their cars and parking right outside the 'up line' to London, but it makes parking for residents impossible. What with that and the LA Fitness members using the road night and day and then the residents not wanting residents parking only and also making a big fuss about the proposed closing off of Spring Hill at the roundabout end, there really isn't much hope.
With Spring Hill closed off it would not be quite so convenient for commuters or gym users to nip in and park. With residents parking only between say 12 noon and 2.00pm it would have stopped it all together.
Still it doesn't stop a 3 bedroomed flat in this road going on the market for £200,000+. The world has gone barking mad. No wonder people are looking to move abroad. Sorry, I seem to have gone off the track of the original thread here so maybe should have started a new topic.
The opening up of the gate to the station on this side has not improved matters - sorry Sydenham Society - for us residents it is a disaster. It may be handy for those nipping round with their cars and parking right outside the 'up line' to London, but it makes parking for residents impossible. What with that and the LA Fitness members using the road night and day and then the residents not wanting residents parking only and also making a big fuss about the proposed closing off of Spring Hill at the roundabout end, there really isn't much hope.
With Spring Hill closed off it would not be quite so convenient for commuters or gym users to nip in and park. With residents parking only between say 12 noon and 2.00pm it would have stopped it all together.
Still it doesn't stop a 3 bedroomed flat in this road going on the market for £200,000+. The world has gone barking mad. No wonder people are looking to move abroad. Sorry, I seem to have gone off the track of the original thread here so maybe should have started a new topic.
They could always demolish it (and the buildings between it and the station) to make space for a proper platform at the station. Then, with a concrete base over the station making it possible to create a public square with the station entrance in the centre and the traffic routed round the edges..... Now that would be a Sydenham gateway!
and we wouldn't have a half mile treck to the "up" platform.
Wait for the chorus
and we wouldn't have a half mile treck to the "up" platform.
Wait for the chorus
I agree with Knighton - get rid of both the Greyhound and the bridge and build something else. It would be easy to knock the pub down. It is almost falling down anyway judging by the condition it is in. The bridge is another matter.
The incident that ocurred recently at the station highlights the need to make that area safer. If Sydenham is to improve it needs a modern and attractive transport hub, bearing in mind the East London Line extension coming shortly and the much mooted promise of improvement. We are competing with other areas in terms of regeneration and therefore some radical and inspirational thinking is required.
I really hope that Sydenham doesn't miss the boat..
The incident that ocurred recently at the station highlights the need to make that area safer. If Sydenham is to improve it needs a modern and attractive transport hub, bearing in mind the East London Line extension coming shortly and the much mooted promise of improvement. We are competing with other areas in terms of regeneration and therefore some radical and inspirational thinking is required.
I really hope that Sydenham doesn't miss the boat..
i agree that the station could do with a bit of improvement,but are you suggesting that a face lift for the area would mean no more crime?
isnt there crime in all areas?
regardless of the appearance of the area?
as the sign says there has been an inn on that site for several hundred years and parts of the building are listed,i think you can safely assume that it will not be knocked down anytime soon.
isnt there crime in all areas?
regardless of the appearance of the area?
as the sign says there has been an inn on that site for several hundred years and parts of the building are listed,i think you can safely assume that it will not be knocked down anytime soon.
Then perhaps the building could be put to another use. The car park is sufficient for what I suggested.
I was not suggesting removing the bridge although rebuilding to a more useful design is desirable.
What I was trying to suggest is that there is a need to have two bridges each handling one-way traffic. Demolish the ugly pub next door to the railway to make a bit of space and create a public square straddling the railway with access to the station in the middle of it.
Too radical for Sydenham I know. Too posh an area for Lewisham/Pepys Council to invest in anyway.
I was not suggesting removing the bridge although rebuilding to a more useful design is desirable.
What I was trying to suggest is that there is a need to have two bridges each handling one-way traffic. Demolish the ugly pub next door to the railway to make a bit of space and create a public square straddling the railway with access to the station in the middle of it.
Too radical for Sydenham I know. Too posh an area for Lewisham/Pepys Council to invest in anyway.
I welcome the fact that people are trying to "think big" on how to improve the area around the station. But let's get real about some of the suggestions.
The Greyhound is privately owned by a pub chain, the Greyhound car park is privately owned by a property developer (a developer whose proposal for flats in the car park is merely awaiting the right set of plans). We don't live in a Stalinist autocracy. How would you aim to get your plans to fruition?
I too would love to develop the station but in the meantime I'm content to carry on the piecemeal work I am now doing with other local people to improve it - meeting with the rail companies to get improvements like opening up the gate on platform 2, installing CCTV cameras, widening the "night" gate on platform 1, remove the rubbish from the area behind platform 2, stopping the dumping of rubbish on Station Approach etc etc.
I welcome the wide-ranging propositions put forward by others but most of them are pie-in-the sky unless you are willing to do something practical about them as well as posting them up on this website. Blaming Lewisham Council, Len Duvall or any other scapegoat for local crime or the state of our pubs, stations etc is going nowhere unless you have a practical plan and you are willing to go out and do something about it.
The Greyhound is privately owned by a pub chain, the Greyhound car park is privately owned by a property developer (a developer whose proposal for flats in the car park is merely awaiting the right set of plans). We don't live in a Stalinist autocracy. How would you aim to get your plans to fruition?
I too would love to develop the station but in the meantime I'm content to carry on the piecemeal work I am now doing with other local people to improve it - meeting with the rail companies to get improvements like opening up the gate on platform 2, installing CCTV cameras, widening the "night" gate on platform 1, remove the rubbish from the area behind platform 2, stopping the dumping of rubbish on Station Approach etc etc.
I welcome the wide-ranging propositions put forward by others but most of them are pie-in-the sky unless you are willing to do something practical about them as well as posting them up on this website. Blaming Lewisham Council, Len Duvall or any other scapegoat for local crime or the state of our pubs, stations etc is going nowhere unless you have a practical plan and you are willing to go out and do something about it.
Discussions like this help to engender the debate. I am not seeking to blame anyone for the problems of Sydenham but realistically what has been tried so far has not worked.
If you bothered to read my earlier post, the opening of the gate to platform 1 only benefited those who found it convenient to park right outside and those who found it inconvenient to walk over the bridge to get to the station. It has, at stroke, caused mayhem and misery for the majority of residents of the immediate area. We now have a much higher volume of pedestrians, car parking, noise and rubbish to contend with in this road, and you expect us to be grateful?
I am not seeking to blame Lewisham Council, Len Duvall, or anyone else for the state of the pubs, station, or Sydenham in general. We were present when the Council granted the Greyhound a license to extend its opening hours. We put forward our objections and it didn't make the slightest difference. The big boys won. Even now the terms of that license appear to be flouted almost daily (glasses are used out the front of the pub despite this being a major health & safety concern and prohibited by the conditions of that license).
It now appears that unless we can come up with a solution we should not even be airing our frustrations on this website - funny that....
If you bothered to read my earlier post, the opening of the gate to platform 1 only benefited those who found it convenient to park right outside and those who found it inconvenient to walk over the bridge to get to the station. It has, at stroke, caused mayhem and misery for the majority of residents of the immediate area. We now have a much higher volume of pedestrians, car parking, noise and rubbish to contend with in this road, and you expect us to be grateful?
I am not seeking to blame Lewisham Council, Len Duvall, or anyone else for the state of the pubs, station, or Sydenham in general. We were present when the Council granted the Greyhound a license to extend its opening hours. We put forward our objections and it didn't make the slightest difference. The big boys won. Even now the terms of that license appear to be flouted almost daily (glasses are used out the front of the pub despite this being a major health & safety concern and prohibited by the conditions of that license).
It now appears that unless we can come up with a solution we should not even be airing our frustrations on this website - funny that....
I'm not stopping you airing your frustrations. I'm just asking whether the solutions that many of you are putting forward - knocking down the Greyhound etc - are reallly realistic.
Your disgust at the opening up of the gate on the up platform could be argued to be of benfit to local people or not. I, and I think most users of the station would agree, that it's of huge benefit to people living on that side of Sydenham and for people carrying luggage or using prams and buggies.
Knocking down a pub because there's been trouble there is simply barmy.
Your disgust at the opening up of the gate on the up platform could be argued to be of benfit to local people or not. I, and I think most users of the station would agree, that it's of huge benefit to people living on that side of Sydenham and for people carrying luggage or using prams and buggies.
Knocking down a pub because there's been trouble there is simply barmy.
yes!
mums with buggys,when the little leaves were babies i used to have to walk all the way to forest hill to board the up train without having to hump the buggy over the bridge,as i live in upper sydenham it didnt make a huge difference to my journey having to go to fh not syd but not everyone lives in upper syd,i can understand your concerns as a resident of that road but surely the people who benefit from the gate being open outweigh those who live on the road and object?
why was the gate not open anyway?[before now]
mums with buggys,when the little leaves were babies i used to have to walk all the way to forest hill to board the up train without having to hump the buggy over the bridge,as i live in upper sydenham it didnt make a huge difference to my journey having to go to fh not syd but not everyone lives in upper syd,i can understand your concerns as a resident of that road but surely the people who benefit from the gate being open outweigh those who live on the road and object?
why was the gate not open anyway?[before now]
In response to Nasaroc's last post, and the comment 'knocking down a pub simply because there has been trouble there' is a slight understatement. Spare a thought for those of us who have had the misfortune of living next to it for the last 20 odd years. Before you go on about us having choices in where we live - I didn't and still don't have. We don't all have the benefit of owning or affording our own homes and simply cannot up sticks and move.
As soon as the brewery stop making money on it, and I can't see how they are even now, they will want to sell the valuable site as a development. If you look at other examples near by, The Goat House, The Lesley Arms, all large unprofitable pubs all being sold off as development sites. Good riddance. All the cries of it being a listed building - so what? The only thing that was listed as far as I can recall (and yes I worked there too) was the tiled bar which with some thought could be utitlised in its redevelopment. The Greyhound is just a series of extensions with rotting woodwork, broken drains and unsightly paintwork.
I am sure we will get a group of do gooders who want to 'save the Greyhound'. Well perhaps they would like to try living next door to it for a few weeks.
As soon as the brewery stop making money on it, and I can't see how they are even now, they will want to sell the valuable site as a development. If you look at other examples near by, The Goat House, The Lesley Arms, all large unprofitable pubs all being sold off as development sites. Good riddance. All the cries of it being a listed building - so what? The only thing that was listed as far as I can recall (and yes I worked there too) was the tiled bar which with some thought could be utitlised in its redevelopment. The Greyhound is just a series of extensions with rotting woodwork, broken drains and unsightly paintwork.
I am sure we will get a group of do gooders who want to 'save the Greyhound'. Well perhaps they would like to try living next door to it for a few weeks.
I couldn't agree more with gillyjp. Not everyone has the choice of where to live and with escalating house prices it will get worse not better.
What confuses me is how the issues of the Greyhound and the station have been linked, unless it is in terms of an overall redevelopment of the whole area they encompass. That means as Knighton says thinking wider than a peicemeal tarting up and thinking about how we actually make things better. Yes this ocsts money, but as other areas have found investment is needed in order to gain the improvements.
The redevelopment of the greyhound site, could begin to bring in planning gains that would masively contribute to that process. Yes we must have social housing on the site, but the location and size of the site means there must be other benefits as well to the wider community. Improved access and a redesigned station needs to be a part of it.
Finally back to the Greyhound - it is pointless to say there has been an innon this site for hundreds of years. The same is true of many things. That does not mean things cannot or should not change. Things move on and what worked in the past does not mean it works now. Much better would be to incorporate the best parts of the existing building with a high quality original and modern building that made a statement about Sydenham being a thriving and exiting place to live and to trade. The greyhound does not give that image with its rubbish strune forecourt and its dead plants in tubs!
What confuses me is how the issues of the Greyhound and the station have been linked, unless it is in terms of an overall redevelopment of the whole area they encompass. That means as Knighton says thinking wider than a peicemeal tarting up and thinking about how we actually make things better. Yes this ocsts money, but as other areas have found investment is needed in order to gain the improvements.
The redevelopment of the greyhound site, could begin to bring in planning gains that would masively contribute to that process. Yes we must have social housing on the site, but the location and size of the site means there must be other benefits as well to the wider community. Improved access and a redesigned station needs to be a part of it.
Finally back to the Greyhound - it is pointless to say there has been an innon this site for hundreds of years. The same is true of many things. That does not mean things cannot or should not change. Things move on and what worked in the past does not mean it works now. Much better would be to incorporate the best parts of the existing building with a high quality original and modern building that made a statement about Sydenham being a thriving and exiting place to live and to trade. The greyhound does not give that image with its rubbish strune forecourt and its dead plants in tubs!