In the latest proposal Morrisons will remain, as will the existing shopping centre, although the shop units will be reduced in size and the covered passageway opened as a street. There are plans for up to 146 new homes, a 101-bed hotel, a cinema (which could be used for something else if no operator can be found), new public realm, and 32 car parking spaces (for shoppers, not residents).

The developers haven’t uploaded the latest plans to their website, but the key documents you may want to look at are the planning statement, proposed location plan, and elevations 1, 2, 3.

At the time of writing only 83 people had left public comments on the consultation, which isn’t many when you consider it’s a big change in the heart of the neighbourhood. Reader Camilla Read-Shaw kindly sent some points for consideration when making any response:

• Can the site accommodate so many residential units as well as a cinema and a 101-bed hotel?
• What assurances can the Council provide that local infrastructure (public transport, primary healthcare, educational services) will cope with the extra population?
• Would Camberwell benefit from the proposed cinema and the proposed hotel?
• Does Camberwell need two large new hotels (one on Butterfly Walk and one across Denmark Hill as is proposed for the Valmar Trading Estate)?
• How much thought will be given to the crucial matter, in this area, of preventing crime and anti-social behaviour in the design of the project, given a lack of detail on this topic?
• What impact will the proposed new buildings have on the surrounding Conservation Areas? Will they fit in to the area well?
• Are the height and mass of the buildings suited to the area?
• Will there be unacceptable levels of overshadowing or overlooking of existing adjacent properties?
• Are the proposed service yards sufficient and will service vehicles be controlled so as not to cause nuisance to adjoining properties?
• Is there sufficient “greening” designed into the project?

Burgess Park

A number of new buildings, some up to 10 stories (30m) tall, have been proposed for Parkhouse Street and the Burgess Business Park site. The Friends of Burgess Park argue that the tallest buildings will cast shadows up to 100m in Winter. They’ve launched a campaign called Don’t Put Burgess Park in the Shade, and are asking for people to get involved:

• Write to Johnson Situ, the Councillor with responsibility for planning.
• Write to your local ward councillor.
• Object to each planning application (links to follow).

The post Proposed Developments: Camberwell Lanes and Burgess Park appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

As mentioned, this is the revival of the fair which previously ran from 1279–1855 until it was shut down by the authorities for ‘immoral and riotous behaviour’ (which you can still find on the Green in a more limited fashion).

For these three days the residents of Camberwell were compelled to witness disgusting and demoralizing scenes in which they were powerless to prevent.

Last year’s fair had some great information about the history of Camberwell and the fair (funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund) printed up on banners which are still hanging on the Green, but they’ve also passed them to me to make available online.

There are eight PDF documents: The History of Camberwell and it’s Fair; Origins of Camberwell Fair; Camberwell Fair: A History; The Faces of Camberwell; Camberwell Through the Ages; School Education in Camberwell; Rich Pickings for Pickpockets; and What Led to the Abolition of Camberwell Fair in 1855?

They’re well worth some of your time to read.

The post Camberwell Fair is back on 31st August 2019 appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

Anyway, here’s a round-up of some of the more interesting things that have happened recently.

Nandine & More Flour to the People

A couple of new eating establishments have opened. More Flour To The People! is a bakery, cafe, and pizzeria on Coldharbour Lane. If bread is your thing this is the place to go; lovely home-baked loaves for sale, nice brunch options during the day, and very generous and tasty pizza in the evenings. Well worth a visit.

And Camberwell favourites Nandine have opened on Church Street in the former Queen’s (and very short-lived Fat Phil’s). With the new premises they have a full kitchen so can really go all out on the food, and it’s delicious; sweet and spicy and generous. Mostly small plates for sharing, although the kebabs and chicken wings are really big. They have an alcohol license now as well, with a small but well-selected wine list and a few local beers. I think this place is exceptional, and all the feedback I’ve seen has been incredibly positive too.

Also coming soon to Camberwell are New Cross favourites, The London Particular. They’ll be opening in the old Town Hall on Peckham Road soon.

Camberwell Identity

The image shown above (and at the top of this page if you’re not using a mobile) shows the new mural on the railway bridge on Camberwell New Road. It’s painted by Lionel Stanhope, who’s responsible for similar murals across South London, and the colours were chosen by pupils at Sacred Heart School.

The mural is part of a new Camberwell identity project by SE5 Forum, Camberwell Society and Camberwell Arts with the community and businesses. Its aim is “to bring to life Camberwell’s unique, vibrant identity and make everyone feel proud of Camberwell”.

The Camberwell identity group is currently raising money to install raised lamppost banners along Denmark Hill; the Mayor of London has pledged to match donations up to the target amount, so please contribute if you can.

Camberwell Area Plan

The Southwark Community Action Network recently held a public consultation for ideas to improve the area. The boards that were shown are all online [PDF download]. There’s a lot to talk about; here are a few things that stood out:

• Six major new housing/social developments are planned: Camberwell Lanes, on the Butterfly Walk/Morrisons car park land; Respublica, an arts/co-working/shared living space on Valmar Trading Estate; the Camberwell and Abellio bus garages; and the Magistrates Court on Camberwell Green North area.
• Three public space projects, with better walking routes including part-pedestrianisation, at Windsor Walk, Camberwell Station Road, and the Wilson Road crossing of Camberwell Church Street.
• A widened Camberwell Green with shared walking and cycling space occupying the existing third south-bound lane, and a ‘super-crossing’ with all-green phase, like at Oxford Circus, to make it easier to cross the junction.
• The ‘low line’ walking route from the former Camberwell Station along the railway arches to Medlar Street, eventually linking up arches all the way to Bankside.

Some of these ideas are new to me, and some have been carried forward from 2017’s Area Vision for Camberwell. It seems from the boards that the reopening of Camberwell Station is still hoped for despite TfL’s previous lack of enthusiasm.

There’s a lot contained in here so I urge you to take a look for yourself and email camberwellplan@southwark.gov.uk with your feedback.

Showing My Face

The Peckham Peculiar recently ran a special edition focusing on Camberwell, which had an interview with your humble author. I don’t usually talk about myself much here, but after 15 years running this blog I was quite proud.

The post New Places to Eat, a Local Identity, and a Plan for the Area appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

Well, it’s been a minute since I last wrote anything here, but I feel like I can’t let the end of a little piece of Camberwell history pass without recording it.

In case you haven’t heard, Aris and Maria of Cruson are retiring and the shop has been sold. They took over the shop in 1971—or at least, Aris think so, but nobody’s really sure. And they’ve been a pretty much permanent fixture on Church Street ever since.

When they came to Camberwell the area had a lot of Cypriot immigrants who’d moved over here in the 1960s—so many that the area was informally known as ‘Little Cyprus’. Even today there’s Sophocles bakery, Vineyard Greek Taverna, St Mary’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral; when I first moved here back in the mid-90s there was also another Greek Taverna on the corner of Camberwell Grove, and Tadim cafe on Church Street, and Paul’s Continental Olive Shop. And there was Cruson.

Everybody knows Cruson. The shop with its green awning, and its racks of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and plants on the street, and its interior a time-capsule of a high street long since gone. It’s a local landmark, appearing in much art and photography.

And everybody knows Aris and Maria—Aris especially, as he was the face of Cruson. In all the time I’ve lived here, every morning before 8am Aris opened up the shop, and every evening at 9pm he closed it again. You can read some of his life story in this piece from the Peckham Peculiar last year.

When I came to London I was trained as a hairdresser and I got a job working in a hairdressing salon on Old Compton Street in Soho. But times were difficult because everyone wanted to have long hair so you didn’t get the regular customers coming in like before. Just as I learnt how to be a barber I also learnt how to be a greengrocer.

He was also featured in a BBC article about the changing face of the high street—and, as always, just referred to as Aris.

It’s Aris, just Aris. No one knows my other name. If you say it, you write it down, everyone will say, ‘who is that man, I never heard of him’.

Tom Leighton, who took the iconic photo at the top of this post, has made a lovely short film about a day in the life of Cruson. Here’s a preview:

I wish Aris and Maria a very happy retirement. I’ll miss dropping in there to hear him say, in the Cypriot accent he never lost in almost 60 years, “hello, young man!”.

At 78, I think I should try out retirement. I am not sure how I will find it, but it’s now or never!

The post Goodbye Cruson appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

A reinstated National Rail station at Camberwell would deliver local benefits but in overall terms would not be a good use of public funds at this time.

So that’s a no.

It seems that, despite being the best option of all proposed transport changes (including an enhanced bus service, better walking and cycling options, and a tram), the scheme would benefit Camberwell but not enough to justify the cost.

The decision would appear to hinge largely on: 1) that proposed redevelopment around the area wouldn’t bring enough new housing; and 2) the negative impact of an extra stop on the journey times of commuters to and from Kent. To which I would reply: 1) what about all the new homes that are currently being / have already been built around the Green; and 2) who cares?

Local politicians who campaigned for the station reopening are obviously disappointed. Harriet Harman MP said:

Deeply disappointed TfL not planning to reopen Camberwell Station! No tube, packed buses and very dangerous overcrowding at Denmark Hill & Nunhead stations. Solution urgently needed before an accident happens.

Harriet Harman MP

The point about overcrowding at Denmark Hill is very salient; with no solution expected until April of next year at the very earliest (and even that date has no degree of certainty), and recent news of reduced bus services, our transport links are worsening.

Councillor Kieron Williams picked up on this:

Very disappointing news, Camberwell needs better transport, rail has to be part of long-term answer, as a council we will continue to work with local residents, hospitals, businesses, SE5 Forum to make that case.

Councillor Kieron Williams

One possible cause for hope is that the business case notably excludes the local hospitals, King’s and Maudsley, who employ thousands and help many, many more. Perhaps this could be used to persuade TfL to take a second look, and that’s certainly reflected in the reactions of Helen Hayes MP and Councillor Johnson Situ:

It is very disappointing that the business case does not appear to have given any weight to the critical transport issues facing staff at Kings and the Maudsley. This is a serious flaw in the government’s methodology which means that the business case for Camberwell Station must be reconsidered.

Helen Hayes MP

We firmly believe that including the use of the station by hospital visitors would make a significant difference to the outcome of the business model, and it should be reviewed.

Councillor Johnson Situ

What this means for Camberwell in terms of Southwark’s area vision is yet to be known; a large part of the regeneration of the area around Station Road seemed to be contingent upon the reopening of the station. Hopefully we can get some clarity on that, and even more hopefully perhaps the business case can be reassessed with our local hospitals and healthcare services in mind.

You can read more about this story on the website of the Southwark Community Action Network, who’ve been active in this campaign since the start.

The post TfL say there’s no business case to reopen Camberwell station appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

First is the Brunswick Park Summer Fete, this Saturday the 18th. Surrey Docks farm will provide a petting zoo, and there will be games, competitions, and food and drink. It runs from 1pm to 4pm.

Then Camberwell Fair returns to the Green on Saturday 1st September from 12–9pm. Here’s their official press release:

Now in its 4th year, the Fair [is] a chance for all the community to come together and celebrate themselves, each other and the local area.

The fair will offer 3 music stages, 30 stalls showcasing local community organisations and independent traders, games, food, bars and a special daytime carnival led by street band Kinetika Bloco.

In addition to the Fair itself, this year Camberwell Fair offers a range of FREE activities in the local area in the run up to the Fair. More info on all of these below and on our website:

• Carnival Costume Making Workshops on the Aylesbury Estate (in association with Latin American Multicultural Society)
• Poetry workshops on the Aylesbury Estate (in association with Hammer and Tongue)
• Artist Showcase at Louie Louie in Walworth – 17 August – a chance for aspiring artists to compete for a chance to perform at the festival – email oddmotionmedia@gmail.com to sign up
• ‘Rare Doings at Camberwell’ – a Heritage Lottery funded project to explore the roots of the Fair.

The post Camberwell Fair is back on 1st September appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

The interior layout hasn’t changed drastically, but has been given a fittingly Spanish-style redecoration. They’ve also refreshed the outdoor decking area which is perfect in this heatwave. Over all, Tapete feels modern, warm, and welcoming—and the staff match that description too.

I’d describe the food as classic, or typical, tapas; from albóndigas to boquerones to croquetas, all the dishes you know and love are on the menu. It’s all freshly cooked and really well made. They also serve paella made to order (with a 30-or-so minute wait), which seems very popular from my observations.

The wine list is entirely Spanish, and one of the few things I think would improve Tapete is if they offered more variety of wine by the glass—right now your choices are house red or white.

The other suggestion I’d make is for them to offer regular specials—the menu is fixed, and while that’s mostly not a problem it would be more of an incentive to return regularly if there were some seasonal variety.

But those are really just additions I’d like to see, not negative marks. In all, I’m very happy with this new addition to the area and wish it plenty of success.

The post Tapete restaurant review appeared first on Camberwell Blog.

The full extent of the damage hasn’t been reported, but there is damage to the first and second floors, and the extraction system which goes to the roof. Personally speaking, I hope the damage isn’t too bad as the Grove is one of my favourite buildings in the area.

The cause of the fire has also not been reported. Update: an article in the Morning Advertiser says “fire officials believe the fire was caused by a thermostat failing on a deep fat fryer, causing the oil to catch alight”.

The pub will remain closed “until further notice”—here’s hoping they’re back on their feet soon.

You can see a couple of clips of the fire in these videos from Twitter user Rodnie Oro.

Fire at Grove House pic.twitter.com/yLi6vAcGRp

— Rodnie Oro (@rodnie_oro) July 21, 2018

Fire suddenly broke out in the pub where we were drinking #camberwell #grovehouse pic.twitter.com/ZUYe1gyWz7

— Rodnie Oro (@rodnie_oro) July 21, 2018

The post Fire at the Grove House appeared first on Camberwell Blog.