Deptford Green School scoops award for best UK educational building

A NEW Cross school’s £32m new site has scooped an award for the best educational building in the UK.

Deptford Green School was awarded the Best Education Building at the Local Authority Building Control’s (LABC) National Building Excellence Awards.

The secondary school, which unveiled its new site in Edward Street last September, has extensive sports facilities, a radio station, and two outdoor classrooms on the school’s roof for its 1,300 pupils.

Speaking of Deptford Green School, LABC Chief Executive Paul Everall said: "As well as providing a sound learning environment, the buildings are energy-efficient and provide natural ventilation and light, exceeding the sustainability targets set out at the start of the project.

He added that challenges the project team had faced included bringing the students together on a single site, including sustainable technologies and making the buildings accessible for disabled people.

The school received a multimillion pound cash injection under the Building Schools for the Future programme and was designed by Watkins Grey International LLP and built by Costain.

Residents and councillors speak out as Thames Water ‘super sewer’ threatens Deptford landmarks

Council representatives and Deptford residents have presented their objections to a proposed ‘super sewer’ that will disrupt a Lewisham school, church and green at a public hearing.

Thursday morning’s hearing took place as part of the Planning Inspectorate’s ongoing examination of Thames Water’s application to build a 25km long sewage tunnel..

The £4.2bn construction, running from Acton in the east of London, to Abbey Mills in the west, would involve the excavation of Crossfield Green on Deptford Church Street and disrupt local services for at least three years.

Local residents and business owners expressed concerns about the project’s effect on noise, pollution, travel and local business trade.

Thames Water estimates that the noise level caused by construction will average 52-65 decibels and that 32 HGVs a day will visit the site at peak times.

Nick Williams, speaking on behalf of the Don’t Dump on Deptford’s Heart campaign, said: “Crossfield Green is at the heart of our community and losing it until 2022 is a very significant loss. Its use is already blighted by the threat of development.”

Construction would also affect St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Grade 1 listed St Paul’s Church, which sit on either side of the proposed site.

Edward Hill, Coordinator at Friends of Greenwich Maritime Museum, said of the eighteenth century baroque church: “This is a wonderful, wonderful church. Putting a sewer next to it says something about how we hold our religion, our culture, our history, our heritage. If we destroy our history, if we destroy our heritage, we are destroying our future.”

Councillor Crada Onuegbu, Lewisham Cabinet Member for Youth, said: “All the efforts we’ve made to make the environment a place that people would actually enjoy being in, all that is just going to be removed from the local people.”

She continued: “This decision is totally, totally wrong, and I would urge you to reconsider. Deptford deserves a chance, the local people in Deptford deserve an improved area. Please don’t take away what we’ve worked so hard to build.”

However, Philip Stride, Head of London Tideway Tunnels for Thames Water, has attempted to reassure residents: “We do understand the very important role that St Joseph’s school and St Paul’s Church play in the local community. Within the context of the works proposed we want to do all we can to support both the work of the school and that of the church.”

He added: “In addition, we’re also keen to work with the London Borough of Lewisham and the local community in developing the design of the new open space so it suits the needs of the local people.”

The plans for the Tideway Tunnels scheme have faced opposition since they were first announced in November 2011. The development was originally planned for Borthwick Wharf, but was changed after the first phase of public consultation.

The scheme also faced opposition from residents of Shadwell in May 2012 over a different tunnel. If permission is granted, construction is due to begin in 2015 and end by 2023.

Revised footbridge designs for Greenwich Reach/Deptford Creek

New designs for the proposed swing bridge over the mouth of Deptford Creek have been submitted to Greenwich planners, and the design documents are on the planning website. Don't be fooled by the visualisations, however, they are the same as the ones that were posted with the (first revision)  application earlier this year. 

The pictures I've posted here are taken from the new detailed design planning statement. Galliard Homes - the developer of the New Capital Quay which has to provide the swing bridge as part of its section 106 commitment (although as I explained in my last post, got agreement for some extra floors on top of its existing buildings to 'pay' for the bridge) has now commissioned some proper bridge designers - Flint & Neill - to examine the proposal and ensure it is workable. Despite the fact that it's a small structure, a certain level of experience is required to properly design a cable-stayed swing span bridge. 

The revised design is a lot less flashy but according to those in the know, looks like it might actually work from a structural point of view. The mast height has been lowered, the arrangement of the counterweight has been changed and various details of the design have been adjusted to reduce the amount of future maintenance required. Reading the planning details, it sounds like the initial proposal was, shall we say, unworkable?

One glaring omission from the documents so far is any firm commitment on operation - an issue which is particularly thorny for the Creek's boat dwellers and those who use it for goods deliveries such as Priors.

Deptford docks join Venice on 'must save' list

Deptford Dockyard has been put on a list of threatened heritage sites alongside world-renowned places including Venice and the Inca ruins in Peru.The site is one of 67 landmarks deemed at risk by the World Monuments Fund, whose report this year highlights the “rich heritage” of the 16th-century dockyard and nearby Sayes Court Garden, and calls for a redevelopment of the area to be carried out “sensitively”. Developer Hutchison Whampoa plans to build 3,500 high-value homes under its £1 billion Convoys Wharf scheme. But Deptford heritage campaigners, although pleased that the WMF has  recognised the site, are fighting to make developers include more historic  features.

Julian Kingston, 61, director of  the Build the Lenox campaign to get the go-ahead to construct a replica 17th-century warship as part of the development, said it was “amazing news”. He told the Standard: “This is real recognition that we should not be living in the shadow of Greenwich — Deptford is more historic if anything. Four hundred warships have been  built in the dockyard; it is steeped in history.”

Mr Kingston, who lives on a boat in Deptford Creek, added: “It is shameful how Deptford has been treated historically and culturally. We are not against the development but are worried that it doesn’t include anything which marks the rich history of the place.”

He added: “We are not Luddites. We totally accept you can’t have a 40-acre site sitting unused in London — it is absurd, but equally we feel 3,500 luxury units planted on a site of such historical importance and adjacent to one of the most challenged areas of London is completely wrong.”

The developers, whose scheme also includes parks and restaurants, say they have offered a site for the Lenox  shipbuilding project but Mr Kingston insists it is not suitable.

A Hutchison Whampoa spokesman said: “HW and their team have fully evaluated the site’s rich history and the 2013 masterplan has allowed the history and heritage of the site to inform the layouts of spaces and buildings.”

(source: Evening Standards)

Creekside Cafe

Creekside Café is a friendly, independent café in the creative heart of Deptford. Offering breakfast, lunch, snacks, lovely coffee and homemade cakes.

Relax and enjoy the exhibition by local artists. Go on a sunny day and sit outside amongst the jasmine and herbs.

The believe in fresh and tasty, that’s why they do things like make their own houmous and roast their own chicken. They have a choice of homemade soup, salads and quiches change daily, along with freshly made paninis and sandwiches.

They also believe in local and ethical – so all theri meat is from WH Wellbeloved in Deptford, their eggs are free-range and come from a farm in Kent, their tea, sugar and hot chocolate are all Fairtrade and they source many ingredients from the local traders in Deptford.

Their coffee (which gets a whole page) is always made with organic milk.

Venue: 

Unit A008/009, Faircharm, 8-12 Creekside, London, SE8 3DX