AGM update

At its well-attended AGM on Tuesday 31 March, the Ladywell Fields User Group re-elected Tony Rich and Robert Sheppard to serve for another year as Chair and Secretary respectively, and was pleased to elect Caroline Cupitt as Treasurer.

 

Issues discussed included the adventure playground, the breach in the weir, inconsiderate (and dangerous) cycling, and the impact of the Catford Green development on the Park.  The introduction of the (this!) new Ladywell Fields website was widely welcomed.

 

The notes of the AGM will be posted here shortly.

 

The User Group will  meet next on Tuesday 30 June, when we'll start with a short walk through the Park.

 

Robert Sheppard

Come along to join in important discussions about Ladywell Fields' future

The Ladywell Fields User Group (aka Friends of Ladywell Fields) will meet in the Gallery r/o the Ladywell Tavern at 7.30pm this coming Tuesday 31 March.

 

You will find the agenda here.

 

Please come along.  After dealing with election of officers (we don't have any new nominations but Tony Rich and Robert Sheppard have agreed to continue, if re-elected, as Chair/Treasurer and Secretary respectively) there will be a discussion about the challenges ahead as the Council and Glendale scale down parks management services and support.

Revised Park Keeper arrangements after Easter

As a result of cuts in the Council's Parks Budget the services provided by Glendale will reduce in 2015/16.

 

Ladywell Fields will effectively share a Park Keeper with Hilly Fields and it is planned that this shared Park Keeper will be at Ladywell Fields every morning (only) between Thursday and Monday and in Hilly Fields on those afternoons.  There is scope for flexibility in these arrangements, e.g. when one park or the other has particular issues that need more attention at any given time.

 

It's likely that this Park Keeper will be the experienced person who's been Keeper at Hilly Fields for the last two years.

 

From May to September Glendale will employ a seasonal park keeper who will cover across the Borough for any absence (e.g. holiday, sickness).  Where there is no absence this person will be able to either support existing park keepers or add additional presence in a park.

 

There will be mobile cleansing teams that will visit the parks on a daily basis (similar to the existing arrangement for Tuesday and Wednesdays).

 

Park Visibility Patrols will continue to be carried out with an expected increased presence.

To date grounds maintenance arrangements have not been affected by budget reductions, though this cannot be ruled out in the near future.

LFUG Annual Report 2014 now available

The Ladywell Fields User Group has published its Annual Report 2014 which summarises key events that occurred and issues that arose during the course of the year.  It also provides information on the LFUG bank balance as at the end of December 2014.

Robert Sheppard

Might the National Trust have a role in 'saving' local parks?

The National Trust has recently published a strategy 'Playing our part - what does the Nation need from the National Trust in the 21st Century' in which it says (on page 21):

 

"Half of all visits to the outdoors are to local parks.  And it follows that local green spaces and heritage have a huge impact on how we feel about the places we live.  The 2014 Heritage Open Days saw three million visits to local heritage sites over one weekend.

 

"This is where our founders, particularly Octavia Hill, started – protecting and improving the quality of the places people live.

 

"These places matter but we don’t often stop and think about how they are looked after.  Local authorities and small charities – often funded by public money – do a great job in caring for these places.  But deep and long-lasting budget cuts mean many are struggling to cope.  At the same time, the need for more houses and better infrastructure is putting people live pressure on the places people live."

 

Octavia Hill is attributed with saving Hilly Fields (in Ladywell) from developers - see the following from the Council website:

 

"Octavia Hill, one of the three founders of the National Trust, had a passionate interest in the housing conditions of the London working classes. In 1884 she had assumed responsibility, on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, for 133 homes in Deptford.

"In a poorly furnished room in one of the Deptford homes, she noticed on one occasion a vase of freshly picked wild flowers. On being told they had been picked on Hilly Fields, she set off the same day to see the place; she was concerned not only with the housing of London’s poor but also with the overall environment where they lived. For this reason she campaigned vigorously against the loss of the open spaces that were enjoyed by Londoners, especially the poorest members of society.

 

"Hilly Fields, at that time, was mostly farmland, with an area of game shooting to the south. The latter had already been leased to developers for building, and Deptford Common, just to the north, had also disappeared.

 

"When plans were announced to build over Hilly Fields, Octavia Hill was instrumental in helping local people set up a campaign, and also raise funds, to save the land as a public park. As a direct result of the campaign, Hilly Fields was purchased by the London County Council with substantial donations from a number of sympathetic charities and City companies. Part of the site had been used for brickmaking and this area was levelled and the swampy sections were drained. On 16th May 1896, Hilly Fields was dedicated to the public."

Might the NT be persuaded to give special attention, and some financial support too perhaps, to their founder's old south east London stomping ground?

Thanks to Paul de Zylva, Chair of QWAG for spotting this.