Cressingham Community Vegetable Garden

A public meeting has been held at Cressingham gardens estate, attended by residents, members of the TRA and one of our local councillors, Marcia Cameron.  This meeting followed an estate-wide consultation exercise, in which residents were invited to give their views on a number of possible projects.

Everone who attended the meeting is keen to move forward with community gardens on the Estate.  Two schemes have been chosen to start with.  The first is a scheme whereby residents of Hambridge Way look after their gardens collectively.  The younger, and more able residents will assist those who are less able to manage, and all crops will be shared between them all.The second scheme involves a public area, which is a raised bed at the south end of the estate, at the corner of Hardel walk.  This raised bed surrounds an area that lets light into the garage area.  The bed currently has a number of shrubs, some self-seeded saplings, and some Japanese Knotweed.
 

Both  Marcia Cameron, and the Sustainability Unit at Lambeth are supporting us with this project.

Pamela Woodroffe
Green Champion Cressingham Gardens TRA

Enquiry To Wheather Derelict Land Between Cressingham Gardens Est And The Petrol Station In Tulse Hill Could Be Used For A Community Garden?

Local Councillors carried out an investigation to find out if the derelict land between Cressingham Gardens Estate and the Petrol Station in Tulse Hill at the vacant site at 107 Tulse Hill could be used as a Community garden. The site is 0.17 hectares in size, with its primary frontage situated on the eastern side of Tulse Hill, opposite the junctions with

Craignair Road

and

Claverdale Road

. The site is currently vacant and overgrown and was previously occupied by a detached house set in substantial grounds. This building was last in use as a Day Nursery (D1 Use Class), however was demolished over ten years ago and only foundations and the remnants of a basement remain. The site is enclosed by hoardings and a brick wall.

There have been two recent planning applications for the site, both of which have been refused by the Local Planning Authority. These are:

• 09/02961/FUL – Planning permission refused on 18^th December 2009 for ‘Erection of a part 4 and part 5 storey building to provide 24 self-contained flats including the installation of front and rear balconies, provision of refuse and cycle storage, with pedestrian access from Tulse Hill’.

• 08/04428/FUL – Planning permission refused on 19^th March 2009 for ‘Erection of a part 4 and part 5 storey building to provide 27 self-contained flats (15 x 2 bed and 12 x 1 bed units) including the installation of rear, front and side balconies, provision of refuse and cycle storage, with pedestrian access from Tulse Hill and Crosby Walk’.

Both of these applications have been appealed to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS), with both appeals dismissed by PINS thereby finding in favour of the Council.

The site is currently in private ownership (Urban Life Development (Tulse Hill) Ltd). Presently there is no likelihood of the site coming forward for community use as a vegetable garden.

Josephine Avenue Famous Oak Tree

Josephine Avenue in Tulse Hill is an historic location. Josephine Avenue is lined with wide trees and shaded areas. The street also has a famous oak tree where Sir Walter Raleigh is rumoured to have courted Elizabeth I, while punting on the river Effra.

Tulse Hill Estate Community Garden

Tulse Hill Estate - Community Garden
		This project formed part of the BBC programme 'Charlie's Garden Army' with Charlie Dimmock and was carried out over a period of three months.

Lambeth Allotment Sites

The London Borough of Lambeth contains a number of allotment sites, which are of various sizes and in different parts of the Borough. One of these allotment sites is Council owned and managed, and the majority are privately owned or managed by a private association.
We currently manage one allotment site in the borough:
Lorn Road Allotments
Lorn Road
Stockwell
London SW9
See a location map for Lorn Road Allotments
This is a small set of allotments off Lorn Road, which is off Brixton Road SW9. Lorn Road Allotments are owned and managed by Lambeth Council, through our Parks and Green Spaces Unit.

There are only 29 plots at Lorn Road, and given the active plotholder community on site and its small size, means that the waiting list for the site is both very long and currently closed.
There is a Lorn Road Allotments Management Advisory Committee (MAC), which represents allotment holders with regards to the Council and other stakeholders. The MAC doesn't take requests for allotments, so people must go through Lambeth Parks and Green Spaces to ask if plots are available.

Contact the Parks and Green Spaces team to find out more (Tel: 020 7926 9000; email: parks@lambeth.gov.uk).

Other allotment sites (privately owned)

There are a number of other working allotment sites in the borough, which are privately owned and managed, which include:

• Rosendale Allotments
  Rosendale Road
  London SE21
  Put your name on the waiting list.
  Rosendale Allotments Association website
• Brixton Windmill Allotments (owned by Thames Water)
  Lyham Road
  Brixton Hill
  London SW2
  Email: info@windmillallotments.org.uk
  Brixton Windmill Allotments website
  Apply for an allotment to:
  Thames Water Property Services Ltd, Clearwater Court, Vastern Road, Reading, RG1 8DB.
• Vauxhall City Farm Allotments165 Tyers Street
  Vauxhall
  London SE11 5HS
  Telephone: 0207 582 4204
  Email: vcf@btconnect.com
  Vauxhall City Farm website
• Vauxhall Gardens Allotment AssociationDetails to follow.

Who to contact

To register or for further information, please contact Lambeth Parks on 020 7926 9000 or email parks@lambeth.gov.uk.

Operation Freshview

Operation Freshview, Lambeth Council's drive to clean up some of the borough's most deprived areas, is being extended.
Freshview brings together a range of services in a day of concerted action to 'blitz' wards to make a real difference to the quality of the environment and lasting improvements to the area.
Staff blitz graffiti and fly-tipping, cut back overgrown hedges, paint and smarten up tired street furniture such as sign posts and fences, take action against abandoned vehicles and rogue traders and seek to find solutions to long term local problems.  Following the success of the operations last year, the scheme is being continued.
Freshview came to Tulse Hill for the first time on Friday 25th January when council staff were joined by colleagues from the police, fire brigade, and voluntary organisations in a day of concerted action.
In addition to Tulse Hill, the other Freshview wards are Prince's, Coldharbour, Oval, Ferndale and Vassall.
Freshview was initially a one year pilot scheme, which began in September 2006, but has been extended with the agreement of partners after making major improvements during its pilot phase.

Brockwell Community Green House

Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses is a project operating in partnership with Lambeth Council which manages the old greenhouses within the centre of Brockwell Park.
The Greenhouses are one of Lambeth's two Green Pennant Award sites, having won this prestigious award for the first time in 2009. A Green Pennant recognises the work of community groups to help manage local open spaces, and is part of the Green Flag Award scheme, the national standard for quality parks and green spaces.
The group works with a wide range of stakeholders including local schools, residents and with the homeless charity St Mungo's. These groups have opportunities to participate in community horticulture, urban conservation and biodiversity projects in Brockwell Park and within the wider community.
The greenhouses are used to grow seasonal fruits and vegetables, medicinal herbs and decorative flowers, which are then sold to generate revenue for the maintenance and development of the greenhouses.
For further information about the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses project, please go to their website or email bpcgsecretary@googlemail.com.