This is indeed very tragic, I have been away for a week and got back to Sydenham last night, with no idea what had happened.
Walking down from the high street to Champion Road, I was suddenly aware of the cordoned off Park, several police officers standing guard and the large amount of flowers and messages outside the takeaway over the road.
A real shame to have happened in an area of London that I've happily called home for nearly three years.
Condolences to his family.
Sydenham Park: 16 year old boy stabbed to death (UPDATED)
I agreea and my condolences to his family.spanishsydenhamgirl wrote:I think it's completely disrespectful for people to be commenting and speculating about this at this time. Nobody knows what and why it happened.
A family have just lost their child and many people in the community will have known this young boy.
Please allow the family to grieve in peace and for the police to do their job.
Some of the posts are very mean spirited
From the Metropolitan Police:
Deleted at request of Lewisham Police Press & Communications Officer, as this information could potentially prejudice any future court proceedings.
Deleted at request of Lewisham Police Press & Communications Officer, as this information could potentially prejudice any future court proceedings.
Last edited by Tim Lund on 10 May 2010 09:21, edited 1 time in total.
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Fairlawnresident
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 24 Dec 2008 14:55
- Location: Fairlawn Park
Of course a tragedy for the family and community
Hopefully the friends of the boy will not succumb to the same fate and may think about the intimidation that goes on in the local area due to the presence of them and their uncontrolled dogs
Home Park is a no go zone for young children and families at certain times of the day - always easy to feel paranoid about not letting children play there
Did not in a million years thing that this view would be confirmed by something like this
Hopefully the friends of the boy will not succumb to the same fate and may think about the intimidation that goes on in the local area due to the presence of them and their uncontrolled dogs
Home Park is a no go zone for young children and families at certain times of the day - always easy to feel paranoid about not letting children play there
Did not in a million years thing that this view would be confirmed by something like this
One boy is dead. Another's life is likely to be ruined for an act of idiocy.
We had a Park which local residents had been working hard to become a real asset for Sydenham and be a place to help improve life in the area. Shock may mean that good people may choose to avoid the place and possibly make things worse. But what is certain is under the increased scrutiny the bad people will avoid it for the time being. This is a real chance to seize the Park back. To realise those dreams of making a place of joy not fear. That is one memorial that may stop a recurrence of mindless violence.
I do hope that will be one outcome of this dreadful affair. Can we please be positive and not pander to fear and those that trade in it.
Please do all you can to help Friends of Home Park, their support of the victims and finding a way forward.
Admin
We had a Park which local residents had been working hard to become a real asset for Sydenham and be a place to help improve life in the area. Shock may mean that good people may choose to avoid the place and possibly make things worse. But what is certain is under the increased scrutiny the bad people will avoid it for the time being. This is a real chance to seize the Park back. To realise those dreams of making a place of joy not fear. That is one memorial that may stop a recurrence of mindless violence.
I do hope that will be one outcome of this dreadful affair. Can we please be positive and not pander to fear and those that trade in it.
Please do all you can to help Friends of Home Park, their support of the victims and finding a way forward.
Admin
"Home Park is a no go zone for young children and families at certain times of the day - always easy to feel paranoid about not letting children play there"
It's such a shame we are left feeling like this - Home Park has had a chequered past for such a small lovely space for local people to stretch their legs and young children to play. Friends of Home Park have tried to help make improvements to the park to shift this image of a "no go zone" for local children and people but unfortunately the park seems to be beset by tragedy!
This horrible tragedy is even more reason to continue to develop the park and to reclaim it for all of us to use.
I agree with what Shell1 wrote. We need to make parks safer and get people using them more.
Only a few weekends ago we had a great Sunday seeing lots of kids in Home Park, having fun at the community garden launch. It was amazing how enthusiastic they were at gardening (and how knowledgeable some of them were, they put me to shame). We have an outdoor gym on the way and an outdoor classroom for children in nearby schools to use. The adventure playground is well on the way to being finished and is starting to look great.
Looking at the house where Nick lived it's full of colour and lights and flowers and balloons. It feels positive and happy despite the terrible tragedy that family has endured. I think that's the best tribute to Nick and his family is to be the same.
Only a few weekends ago we had a great Sunday seeing lots of kids in Home Park, having fun at the community garden launch. It was amazing how enthusiastic they were at gardening (and how knowledgeable some of them were, they put me to shame). We have an outdoor gym on the way and an outdoor classroom for children in nearby schools to use. The adventure playground is well on the way to being finished and is starting to look great.
Looking at the house where Nick lived it's full of colour and lights and flowers and balloons. It feels positive and happy despite the terrible tragedy that family has endured. I think that's the best tribute to Nick and his family is to be the same.
I really think what Lee and the Friends of Home Park are doing are great, but I also think making the library more welcoming could play a really positive role in improving the use of the park and overall feel of the area down there.
I asked Chris Best years ago if something could be done with the library and she bascially said something along the lines of 'it will just be abused by local people' and that was why the windows were covered in chicken wire.
It baffles me that if Forest Hill library can have an amazing upgrade, why not Sydenham? Other libraries in the borough are far more inviting, including Crofton Park and Lewisham.
First:
* Remove the chicken wire
* Build a nice obvious entrance, maybe a glass extension or something (in Thronton Heath on the way to Ikea they are doing just this)
* add a cafe (with reasonably-priced drinks and snacks so people on low incomes can afford them)
* a community room, maybe where things like a pensioners' group could meet, breast-feeding cafe, a SureStart thing or playgroup, where local mums could get advice and support.
This could have a huge long-term impact, improve library and park use and make the people who live down there feel valued too!
I asked Chris Best years ago if something could be done with the library and she bascially said something along the lines of 'it will just be abused by local people' and that was why the windows were covered in chicken wire.
It baffles me that if Forest Hill library can have an amazing upgrade, why not Sydenham? Other libraries in the borough are far more inviting, including Crofton Park and Lewisham.
First:
* Remove the chicken wire
* Build a nice obvious entrance, maybe a glass extension or something (in Thronton Heath on the way to Ikea they are doing just this)
* add a cafe (with reasonably-priced drinks and snacks so people on low incomes can afford them)
* a community room, maybe where things like a pensioners' group could meet, breast-feeding cafe, a SureStart thing or playgroup, where local mums could get advice and support.
This could have a huge long-term impact, improve library and park use and make the people who live down there feel valued too!
Hi Poppy,
I just got back from a walk and talk in Home Park which included Chris Best, representatives from the adventure playground, Julie Sutch, our town centre manager, a representative from the library, local schools among many others.
We observed a minutes silence for Nick at the beginning of the meeting.
A lot of what you talk about is on the cards for improvements to the park. The chicken wire is ugly and we are looking at making the entrance to the park more inviting, along with removing some of the hedging behind the brick flower planter to make the park more open and safer.
I think a cafe would be a brilliant, but without the people there is no trade. It really is a case of chicken and egg, but in time, once we get more people to use the park, perhaps to use the outdoor gym or the community garden or some of the other things planned for the park. The more people we get using the parks, the safer they feel.
A lot of this relies on funding. But the more people with the authority realize people are behind the improvements, the more likely they are to release the funds.
Poppy, please post your thoughts on the blog against one of the posts. Hopefully one day we can make them happen.
I just got back from a walk and talk in Home Park which included Chris Best, representatives from the adventure playground, Julie Sutch, our town centre manager, a representative from the library, local schools among many others.
We observed a minutes silence for Nick at the beginning of the meeting.
A lot of what you talk about is on the cards for improvements to the park. The chicken wire is ugly and we are looking at making the entrance to the park more inviting, along with removing some of the hedging behind the brick flower planter to make the park more open and safer.
I think a cafe would be a brilliant, but without the people there is no trade. It really is a case of chicken and egg, but in time, once we get more people to use the park, perhaps to use the outdoor gym or the community garden or some of the other things planned for the park. The more people we get using the parks, the safer they feel.
A lot of this relies on funding. But the more people with the authority realize people are behind the improvements, the more likely they are to release the funds.
Poppy, please post your thoughts on the blog against one of the posts. Hopefully one day we can make them happen.
Any chance of there ever being summer carnivals and fetes in Home Park like in the 70's where a Carnival Queen was crowned and sat on a float? There was Morris Dancing, games, TV personalities, funfair rides, donkeys etc.
It was organised by the COMMUNITY who lived there, where their children were allowed to play in the park and go to the library after school without worry of marauding gangs of other children (who for some reason their own parents are scared of telling off).
There used to be a youth club.............a PROPER youth club in what was then the Green Hut next to St Philip Neri church. Just a hut with a piano and teenagers went in and danced.
Nothing threatening. Nothing to do with knives,guns,gangs who fund their criminal lives through children.
Oh well that was our childhood.
Didn't think so.
It was organised by the COMMUNITY who lived there, where their children were allowed to play in the park and go to the library after school without worry of marauding gangs of other children (who for some reason their own parents are scared of telling off).
There used to be a youth club.............a PROPER youth club in what was then the Green Hut next to St Philip Neri church. Just a hut with a piano and teenagers went in and danced.
Nothing threatening. Nothing to do with knives,guns,gangs who fund their criminal lives through children.
Oh well that was our childhood.
Didn't think so.
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yummymummy
- Posts: 58
- Joined: 29 Oct 2007 15:55
- Location: Sydenham
I noticed there is family fun day planned as one of the events for the Sydenham Arts Festival!!
lets hope this is the first of many events to help us 'claim back' the park!
http://www.sydenhamartsfestival.com/2056.html
lets hope this is the first of many events to help us 'claim back' the park!
http://www.sydenhamartsfestival.com/2056.html
Thanks Lee, please spread the word about the Home Park Family Fun Day which will run lots of activities , followed later on by a Film chosen by local young people on THURSDAY 12th AUGUST 2010.
Its success depends on us all to share in the day's events - all the more pertinent now perhaps to bring the local community together to celebrate what this lovely open space has to offer us all.
I also agree with the posts about improvements needed for Sydenham Library - such a valuable local resource which (as Lee explained) is being looked at by the Friends of Home Park.
Its success depends on us all to share in the day's events - all the more pertinent now perhaps to bring the local community together to celebrate what this lovely open space has to offer us all.
I also agree with the posts about improvements needed for Sydenham Library - such a valuable local resource which (as Lee explained) is being looked at by the Friends of Home Park.
I am so glad Chris Best is finally listening now about the need to improve the appearance of the library. It's only fair it gets some investment, afterall!
The park also needs much better planting to make it look more attractive and the large expanse of concrete next to the play area is also very off-putting. Is this where the outdoor gym is going?
The pathways' black tar effect is also pretty ugly. You can achieve a really nice effect with a very fine gravel, I am not sure exactly how you do it, but I think the surface is something like tar, soft anyway, the gravel is laid on top and with use it slowly inbeds and then excess is swept away, I am guessing. They did something like this I believe in Dulwich Park and it looks really good. Might be ambitious but worth it I think.
The park also needs much better planting to make it look more attractive and the large expanse of concrete next to the play area is also very off-putting. Is this where the outdoor gym is going?
The pathways' black tar effect is also pretty ugly. You can achieve a really nice effect with a very fine gravel, I am not sure exactly how you do it, but I think the surface is something like tar, soft anyway, the gravel is laid on top and with use it slowly inbeds and then excess is swept away, I am guessing. They did something like this I believe in Dulwich Park and it looks really good. Might be ambitious but worth it I think.
Re: Sydenham Park: 16 year old boy stabbed to death (UPDATED
Update - 4 more charged with murder (now 8 in total), another charged with perverting the course of justice, and another 11 currently still on bail pending further enquiries..........
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8273204./
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8273204./