Focus 1999 Spring

Please note that nominations for the officers of the Society (Chair; Vice-Chair; Secretary; Treasurer) together with six members of the Executive Committee must be received by the Chair 14 days prior to the Annual General Meeting. All nominations shall be seconded and shall be accompanied by the acceptance of the nominee.

Forms are available from May Johnson, Flat 2, 30 Howard Road Woodside, London SE25 5BY. (Closing date for returns: Tuesday 6^th April 1999)

Members are reminded that only paid up members may vote.

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Chairman's notes

“Partnership” is a buzz word at the moment.

I went to Merton Abbey Mills on a very cold morning (when it snowed) and arrived early, but nothing was open. This was the Wandle Valley Partnership, which links up the Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth and many schools and other groups which are involved on all sorts of projects. This publicity meeting was to map the Wandle Valley and its history, and to gather all the information into one pack.

David Bellamy, who was attending, had telephoned to say that he would be one hour late as he was coming from Newcastle and the train was running late because of snow.

Whilst we were waiting, several people said what their organisation was doing and I told of how we don't have much of the Wandle above ground in Croydon as it was put underground because of several typhoid epidemics. There was talk of putting it back in Wandle Park but no plans yet exist. We do have it above ground at Waddon Ponds which is right on the very edge between Croydon and Beddington.

One group is wanting to create light and heat in a school and also in a pub. This is underway and some lottery money has been raised but matched funding is holding it back.

Then there is the Agenda 21 Partnership which covers many areas; I am on the Communications and Transport group. We are concerned that although we have had some well publicised events the public in general do not know of Local Agenda 21. We have therefore decided to ask a local newspaper to give a page - or a half page - to our meetings. We also have to work out how the Partnership (of twelve people) from varying organisations can develop some of the plans passed at the November 1998 Conference attended by some 100 people.

Respond to “2020 Vision” was one thing we promised to do by 28 February. This "2020 Vision" is shorthand for the year 2020 and the plans for the re-development of Croydon put forward by the consultants EDAW. The Croydon Society is going to have speakers from Croydon Council’s Planning Department to explain this at our March meeting, which will probably have taken place by the time you get this.

Some of the things in the “2020 Vision” conflict with the LA21 aims such as the development of a sustainable transport strategy, and the effect of all this development with the car parking allowances on Croydon's atmosphere. We could be living in permanent fog.

The Croydon Society is doing its bit in the recycling area by bringing its envelopes into re-circulation many times, both with our circulation of Focus three times a year and in mailings to other bodies. I would also like the cellophane covers which some publications arrive in for the sales table as we could put the books in them when having our bookstalls.

The pilot kerbside recycling collection is awaiting the boxes needed. The first stage of the can and book banks is expected shortly.

I, and I think the Croydon Society, are concerned about the lack of Agenda 21 matters in the concept of “2020 vision” and I thought that this message should be put in all planning conditions and Committee meetings’ consideration.

At this time of year I would like to give thanks to the many people who deliver our Focus and who help to keep our postage expenses low. The

Executive Committee and the Natural Amenity, Planning, Transport Groups and the newly formed Photographic Group plus the Services Sub Committees also need our thanks for keeping the Society ticking over. We also have two very efficient footpath officers who have set up a unique set of regular walks for those who have had heart by-passes. Also many thanks to those who support us on the Open Evenings and on our walks and not least the persons who staff our bookstalls and supply the cars to get us there. Each in their own way keeps our Society on its toes, and

able to meet the next challenge. We continue to be vigilant through all your eyes and ears.

May Johnson

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25th Anniversary Dinner

As you will have seen from Andy’s article in the Summer 1998 edition of Focus, The Society’s 25^th Anniversary will take place on 29^th April, 2000.

We would like to celebrate this in an appropriate manner and it would seem that a dinner, where we can all sit down together, would be appreciated. Menus and prices have been obtained from Croydon College for an evening meal.

As the actual date falls within the Easter period, when the college restaurant is closed, the evening of Thursday 6 April is suggested. We could have the room to ourselves, without extra charge provided sufficient places were booked (minimum of 60). The menus are arranged, the food prepared and served by the students and provide excellent value for money. As the year 2000 is also Millennium year, everywhere is being booked up, so we do need to know your wishes now - please fill in the form and return it to us as soon as possible.

Name __________________________________ Number of places ______________

Menu (current prices) - please circle your preference

a) Hors D’oeuves or Soup

Main Course: Roast Chicken, Lamb, Pork or Salmon with two vegetables and a

potato dish followed by a choice of Sweets and Coffee £7 per head

b) 3 course meal including coffee, glass sherry/fruit juice on arrival. 2 glasses

of wine/fruit juice with meal.

£10.75 per head

c) 3 course meal including coffee, glass sherry/fruit juice on arrival. 1 glasses

of wine/fruit juice with meal.

£9.25 per head

d) 3 course meal including coffee. 1 glass of wine/fruit juice with meal.

£8.50 per head

e) 3 course meal including coffee. 2 glasses of wine/fruit juice with meal.

£10 per head

Please return to: May Johnson, Flat 2, 30 Howard Road Woodside, London SE25 5BY.

It is assumed that members will invite friends and partners as well.

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Pubs and Palaces

Wetherspoons have at last arrived in South Norwood and a jolly nice pub they have produced out of long derelict shops. Situated in the best block in the High Street, which is a Conservation Area, with its exterior entirely redecorated it has been given a bright, varied and very comfortable interior and has become immediately popular with all types of users - a real meeting and mixing place for the community. It should help to ensure the future of the High Street as a retail and business centre for this populous district. The name chosen for the pub is “The William Stanley” after the great guiding father of South Norwood’s formative years whose presence is still very much left in the area ninety years after his death.

Slightly unoriginal however, for we also have in South Norwood the Stanley Halls, the Stanley School, the Stanley Clock and the Stanley Works; though the future of the last of these, and the firm that occupies it, is now in some doubt following a disastrous fire just before Christmas which left this Victorian factory, which is in the Conservation area with its charred roof timbers open to the sky, though Stanley’s solid brickwork remains intact.

In accordance with Wetherspoons’ policy of adding atmosphere by highlighting local history, South Norwood’s great benefactor and his good works have been given good coverage in the pub’s interior and other local notables have been resurrected and featured - actress Lily Langtry, composer Coleridge-Taylor and firework manufacturer William Brock, though strangely the Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes connection has been ignored.

Wetherspoons are planning to open yet another pub in addition to the half dozen they already run in the town - in West Croydon. A press release last year said this was to be called “The Ship” or “The Palace of Fools”, this being the name of a poem, translated by an early scholar from the German, one who had connections with Croydon and was buried in the Parish Church. This is my recollection of the report but I have been unable to track it down in the time available. It struck me as an inspired name for it is amusing and attracts attention, and has historical significance. I would not mind drinking in a pub with such a name for we should interpret ‘Fool’ in the Shakespearean sense-as being a wise and witty person.

Croydon, of course, has two real Palaces, both former residences of Archbishops of Canterbury. A year of two ago there was a suggestion that Old Palace School might give up its use of the Old Palace and move to new premises but this now appears to have been put on the shelf. After a chequered career since the Archbishops vacated in the 18^th Century, the Palace and School are now appropriately part of the Whitgift Foundation who can be trusted to co-operate fully with the Council to cherish and respect this most precious part of Croydon’s heritage.

Addington Palace, rescued from the property market in the nick of time, is now leased by the Council to the Westmead Business Group under an agreement which allows the public access to view on certain days of the year. Westmead are promoting it as a conference and meeting centre, a health and fitness centre and for weddings etc.

But it is the Palace that no longer exists and is not even in Croydon that is causing the most problems at present, at least in the north of the Borough. Things have not been going too well for the Crystal Palace Campaign, dedicated to sinking Bromley’s plans for a massive entertainment centre on the site of the former Palace, for the Court of Appeal ruled against them in December, this powerful Campaign is however undaunted and is appealing to the House of Lords and continuing to hold meetings to raise funds and maintain momentum. They are putting pressure on operators not to sign up for the 20 cinema screens.

Meanwhile the developer has submitted detailed places which can at the time of writing be viewed in Upper Norwood, Anerley and Penge Libraries. The battle for better solutions which are not environmentally destructive to the locality nor to the great park itself, just over our borders, is likely to go on for some time.

Hugh Byford

Editor’s note: The Addington Palace also has a restaurant which is open to the public.

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Planning for London

The Civic Trust has produced an excellent document which discusses the above subject. We have a copy you may borrow - just ask May.

Meetings Review and Outlook

The switch to Tuesdays had no noticeable effect in January when a reasonable attendance heard a lively and expert talk from the Geologist Chris Wood. Anyone with strong views on Monday versus Tuesday please convey them to me before we look again for next years dates. The likelihood at the present is that we shall continue on Tuesdays.

When the massive re-development of Central Croydon took place in the decades after the War, there was no input from the Croydon Society because there was no such society then in being and huge mistakes were made. It is therefore important that we have a good attendance on March 23^rd when there will be a full and constructive discussion on the suggestions for re-development displayed in the recent ‘Croydon 2020 Vision’ exhibition at the Clocktower Complex. The Society must be in from the start on the next phase of development.

The AGM on April 20^th will be followed by a presentation of some of the older colour slides in the Society’s collection, if time permits.

Our Treasurer, Andy Bebington, who is a keen cyclist, but also a pedestrian and motorist will, with the aid of slides, be putting forward ideas on how the three modes can be fairly integrated and looking for further ideas from representatives of these three often conflicting forms of travel.

Talks resume on Tuesday September 21^st after the Summer break - details in the next CROYDON FOCUS.

Hugh Byford

All Croydon Society meetings and talks are held in the Small Hall of the East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, commencing at 7.45.

Copydate for next Focus:

22^nd May 1999

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Why has Croydon no

Second-Hand Bookshops?

Consultants to Croydon Council have recently spoken of “the critical mass of offices and retail activity which gives the town the scale and character of a city.” An awful lot is missing from this vision, cathedrals and art galleries for example, but one small thing I always look for in any city is a good second-hand bookshop.

One looks in vain in Central Croydon, which can only offer charity shops. Mr and Mrs Howard are still in business, and display a small selection of their stock at the Antiques Fair, but they gave up their shop in Brighton Road many years ago. Predominantly Paper in the High Street looks like a second-hand bookshop and may be excellent for prints and framing, but its uninspiring stock of books does not seem to have changed since it opened. There is a Croydon Bookshop, which I understand was originally in Croydon, but for as long as I can remember it has been on the far side of Carshalton. Things are no better in other town centres. The shop tucked away behind Bromley High Street closed several years ago and there are none to be found in Sutton.

It is in the local centres around Croydon that one can still find secondhand books. To the north is Kirkdale Books close to Sydenham Station, an attractive little shop with a large secondhand stock in the basement. In Church Road, on the eastern edge of the Upper Norwood Triangle just inside Croydon, there used to be two second-hand shops. One, Enigma Books, specialising in philosophy and popular music, is still thriving. The other, called London's Largest Second Hand Bookshop, had campaign posters in the window and an owner more than willing to discuss environmental issues, especially the Crystal Palace development up the road in Bromley. Alas he has now gone. The Book Palace across the road will interest collectors of comics, but is not really a second-hand shop. Nor is Bookseller Crow on the Hill in Westow Street, but it is one of the few shops to stock Nicholas Reed's attractive series of 'artists in local context', which started in 1987 with 'Camille Pissarro at Crystal Palace,' and now includes very topically 'Monet and the Thames.'

To the south in Caterham-on-the-Hill, dominating the T-junction at the northern end of the High Street, is Chaldon Books. It has large stocks of books and records and a friendly owner who is always willing to buy your unwanted LPs and CDs and never seems to take a holiday. Just down the road from him towards the 466 terminus in Westway is a house clearance centre where even better bargains can sometimes be found.

Going east out of Croydon one first comes to The West Wickham Bookshop, probably the most accessible and generally recommendable of them all, in Bell Parade at the eastern end of Wickham High Street by the traffic lights. It is not an antiquarian shop, but is well laid out and reasonably priced, with many recent paperbacks in as-new condition. A couple of miles further on in Hayes Village is Books and Bygones, really a house clearance shop, but the main emphasis is on books, including many modern first editions. Unrestricted parking in the road outside is in striking contrast with Croydon, but makes life rather difficult for the drivers of the 119.

Orpington is a long ride on the 353, but its High Street has been greened and traffic-calmed in recent years and now boasts three bookshops. Methven's, opposite the Walnuts Centre, is a standard Waterstone's/Dillon's type shop. PTO Books, in Lorenzo's Sandwich Bar a few yards further north, carries a good second-hand stock, ranging from history and biography to Ruth Rendell and Stephen Fry (I haven't tried their coffee). Finally Reid Books, in the Conservation Area at the northern end of the High Street, looks as if it has been there for many years, but in fact is quite recent.

When I teased the owner that he might have been parachuted in as a heritage feature, he admitted that this had very nearly been the case, but his shopfront improvement grant had taken too long to come through, so he had done the best he could on his own. As well as second-hand, he can supply new books to order at 10% discount.

Finally, to the west and north-west are the aforesaid Croydon Bookshop in Carshalton Road (first request stop past Carshalton Village, but it tends to open late and there is nothing else to do in the immediate vicinity), and two rather untidy shops next to each other at Merton Abbey Mills. To reach this heritage centre by bus one must either change at Mitcham or (until Morden Road Halt reopens as a tramstop) take the limited stop TL1 as far as Dorset Road. From there it is a 15 minute walk, first through a trading estate then, more scenically, along the Wandle Path.

All these shops can provide a pleasant outing, especially for those of us with a Freedom Pass. But why, apart from Enigma Books, are none of them in Croydon? I ask as a bibliophile, but suspect that, as a member of the Planning Group, I should already know the answer.

Note

Books in charity shops, of which Croydon does have a full if constantly changing selection, would require a separate and even longer article. Oxfam shops are usually the most rewarding, but also charge the highest prices. Their huge Bromley store with its separate bookroom is the first and, I would say, the best thing you see when you step off the bus from Croydon.

George Parish

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The Millennium Celebrations

The Croydon Society has decided to commission a statue of a Shirley Poppy Flower Fairy, to be placed in one of the Gardens in the centre of Croydon with a small garden surrounding it and perhaps two seats. We have obtained a quote from a recognised sculptor and are now applying for a lottery bid. We will also probably have to get matched funding and anyone with access to such money is asked to contact the Chairman. We are going to do the funding in three phases - statue, garden, seats, so that we can apply to various lottery funding bodies. We will also be asking for donations from our members, so watch the Autumn Focus as we will probably know the result of the main bid by then.

We will be 25 years old in the year 2000 and are seeking costs for a small celebration with a speaker. Do you have any photographs or memorabilia of past Croydon Society Events - could you let us have them so that they can be mounted into an exhibition?

We are also possibly going to plant 2,000 spring bulbs in a public garden in Croydon. This is not really so horrific as it sounds because some spring bulbs are quite small. We are going to ask a lot of children and students to join us - “partnership” again. Then all of these people in the years to come when we are kicking up the daisies can be telling their grandchildren who will listen open-mouthed - possibly!

May Johnson

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Calling Croydon

Have you ever tried to ring the Council to report a blocked drain in the road, or wondered how to dispose safely of an unwanted fridge? For a start, what about ringing Taberner House on 686 4433, but which department will deal with your query? Well help is now at hand. All you need is a copy of “CALLING CROYDON”, which lists over 1,000 contact numbers, a fifth of which can be dialled direct. The directory is an A to Z list of essential services available to the public which the council provide.

Following the launch last year of Croydon Council's internal directory, which was sponsored by British Telecom, an updated edition has been produced. This was distributed throughout the borough in February, but if you did not receive this, then ring 0181 253 1002 for a free copy.

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Croydon Reports

The Spring Edition of “CROYDON REPORTS” was delivered at the end of March. If you did not receive a copy, ring the Editor of Croydon Reports on 0181 760 5644. This publication always provides a lot of useful information and details not generally available elsewhere. For instance, revised dates were given for Christmas and New Year household rubbish collection and pieces for disposal of Christmas trees. Also “YOUR COMMUNITY PLAN” was enclosed with an issue of “Croydon Reports” last year. Comments were invited on a number of issues intended to make Croydon a better place. According to a report in the Croydon Guardian, one is surprised to read that only 3,642 replies were received by the Council.

Comments to the editor of “Focus” please.

Jean Richards

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Barn Elms Visit

There will be no formal society outing this year owing to the rising costs of coaches.

What there may be is a visit to Barn Elms where a new outdoor conservation area with hides and other buildings, some still under construction, is in the course of building. This is being done under the umbrella of the World Wild Life Trust and is as a memorial to Sir Peter Scott. Preview groups are now being received. I went to visit the site last Sunday and was pleasantly surprised at how much has already been done. Large lagoons, paths and bridges have been landscaped out of the base of the old reservoirs. These are no longer needed as all water is now underground. To visit this we could go with travel passes all the way, but with two changes.

If you wish to go on this please let me know, as the recommended number is 30 people. It would probably be in May but I need to know that I have got 30 people wishing to come first - at least by the end of March.

There also may be a visit to the Whitgift School at the end of April or May. I would need at least 15 for this. Pleas let me know as soon as possible.

With both these requests - please write to me to say you want to come and how many people.

May Johnson

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Gillett and Johnson Clock Faces

You will probably be aware that a long time ago Robin Redsull, who was then our Chairman, spent a lot of time trying to find businesses in the clock trade to keep this site connected with clocks - to no avail. When the developers were granted permission to build on the site, a sum of money was requested to be put aside for a project to involve the existing clock faces (these are now stored safely). Westwood High School has applied to have this money and use the clock faces in a project they are considering. This is good news. We wait for the next instalment.

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Care For Croydon

Awards Ceremony

I was invited to attend the above award winning event, last autumn, following the earlier judging tour to find the best front gardens window box or balcony flower display in Croydon.

It was interesting to meet the winners of the garden section, after the meeting. Prizes were presented to various schools for their efforts in collecting recyclable items and improving school grounds by growing plants etc.

A number of Residents’ Associations also received certificates, etc. for the care and improvement of their local environment by joining in the Spring Clean Up, monitoring skips and generally disposing of rubbish.

When presenting the awards, The Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Pat Ryan, congratulated the school children on their efforts, also the Residents’ Associations who played such an active part in keeping Croydon tidy. Amongst the other awards, B&Q Warehouse in Croydon have a scheme for recycling materials known as “from the cradle to the grave”, as well as supporting Local Agenda 21.

Special mention must also be made of the wonderful display of flowers at New Addington Fire Station and the Waste Transfer Station operated by Cleanaway. The latter making use of discarded items such as tyres and other containers for their plants.

During the afternoon children from three schools recited or sang songs about litter and the planet.

Jean Richards

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Croydon Festival of Walking

11-12 September 1999

It may seem strange to drop “International” from our title, having succeeded in attracting our first visitors from overseas last year (three from Belgium, one each from Germany and Ireland). However, “Croydon International 2-Day Festival of Walking” was really too much of a mouthful, and in any case, nearly everyone used the abbreviated form - including me!

Anyway, we have decided to go ahead again this year, on Saturday and Sunday 11-12 September. The longer challenge walks will use the same venue (Lloyd Park) and the same routes going out towards the North Downs in a different direction each day. The guided strolls will hopefully be included again, though it's not absolutely certain, as the PACE Project which set them up comes to an end in June.

This year I am being helped by Liam Mallon of the Croydon Sutton & District Spastics Society, which will again share the charity donations with the Mayor of Croydon's Charities. I was delighted that the Croydon Society won the trophy for the largest team last year, even though they had donated it themselves! I shall be very pleased if members of the Society are able to take part again this year. If you would like to walk as a member of the Society's team, please contact John Stern on 0181-686 6659. We also need people to help as marshals etc. - if this interests you please call me on 0181-686 0443.

Colin Saunders

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London Walking Forum

After more than a year in the doldrums, due to the Project Officer leaving, the Forum is once more very active and life is getting exciting.

In September last year we appointed a Director, Jim Walker, and a London Walks Officer, Susannah Peckham. Jim is busy reviewing the aims, objectives and structure of the Forum, whilst Susannah is concentrating on getting the two orbital walks completed.

These are the Capital RING and the London LOOP. The RING is the 72- mile inner orbital route linking as many green open spaces as possible. The LOOP is the 150-mile outer orbital route keeping, as far as possible, to the boundary of Greater London.

The LOOP consists of 24 sections, of which 8 are south of the Thames. If all goes according to plan, all 8 sections will be open by the summer. The London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley are working on the route from Erith to Petts Wood. The next part of the route is already open as far as Banstead, whilst the Lower Mole Countryside Management Project are working to complete the route to the Thames at Kingston.

The South West Sector of the Forum are working on their section of The RING, which runs from Crystal Palace Station to the Thames at Richmond. Again if everything goes according to plan, this section should be completed in the 1999/2000 financial year.

Implementing the RING is a far more complex problem than that of the LOOP due to the number of local authorities involved. For example there are 7 London Boroughs involved in the 16 miles from the Crystal Palace Station to Richmond plus the Royal Parks Agency and the Wimbledon Common Conservators!

Leaflets and details of other Forum walks can be obtained from the Forum Office Tel: 0171-213 9714

or visit the Forum’s web site www.londonwalking.com

John Stern

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Transport Group News

INTEGRATED TRANSPORT POLICY

The Government has now published a consultation paper, "Breaking the Logjam", on the subject of road user and workplace charging proposals. The methods suggested for implementing road user charging indicate that Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions thinking is that charges should only apply over very small areas - in effect they are suggesting "local congestion charging" rather than "generalised road pricing". In practical terms, any form of road user charges is likely to cause some relocation of houses, shops, offices and factories but the two methods that Government is suggesting to reduce car use through fiscal pressure on the motorist are most likely to encourage relocation out of traditional town and neighbourhood centres. In practice this may well stimulate car use because much of the relocation is likely to create journeys which are not amenable to walking, cycling and public transport.

"Generalised road pricing" applied over a wide area is much more likely to reduce car use and facilitate diversion to environmentally-friendly modes of transport. However, it is likely that most of the reduction in car use will be due to shorter and fewer journeys rather than by transfer to other modes of transport.

"Breaking the Logjam" also suggests that motorcycles, mopeds and scooters should be exempt from road user charges and then acknowledges that there are road safety implications. Isn't it logical to charge all vehicles on the basis of the amount of road space they occupy? The area of the vehicle plus one foot of space on all sides would seem appropriate.

CENTRAL RAILWAY

The first proposal by Central Railway to build a new railway from the North-West to the Channel Tunnel was defeated in Parliament in 1996. The proposal has now been revived and pre-consultation has started. However, Central Railway have not yet published the route in detail.

Central Railway want to build a new railway in order to carry fully-laden trucks with export loads to Europe. This is not possible on the existing railway network in the United Kingdom because the loading guage is too small. However, the loading guage of the Channel Tunnel is big enough and so are many railways in Continental Europe. Central Railway believe their railway will make a profit from carrying lorries to and from the Channel Tunnel and are selling their proposal to the public on the grounds that there will be fewer lorries on English roads. They have now realised that they could also provide a passenger service which could make some journeys easier.

It is suggested that the proposal will include a station in Croydon and that the route will be alongside existing railways from Streatham Common to Coulsdon. North of Streatham Common and south of Coulsdon, the route is expected to be in tunnel. This means that the most serious environmental damage and the most serious construction disruption is likely to be in the Borough of Croydon. Benefits from a station in the Borough are likely to be small as few people are likely to want to make journeys using Central Railway. Central railway is not likely to make it easier for Croydon manufacturers to export freight to Europe unless there is a freight yard in the Borough which would generate lorry movement on Borough roads!

In practice, the construction of Central Railway will depend on decisions at a national level rather than at a local level. It should be possible for local people to influence the route taken should construction be agreed. It is far more important for Central Railway to justify their proposal to the nation as a whole than to communities along the route.

The existing railway network has plenty of capacity for additional freight but it cannot carry fully-laden trucks. But is it sensible to put a fully-laden truck on a train for 1000 miles when it is only the goods on the truck that are needed at the destination? Is it sensible to divert profitable freight traffic from the existing publicly-funded railway network to Central Railway thereby increasing the cost of providing existing passenger services? It has been suggested that Central Railway will increase the proportion of freight to and from Europe carried by rail from 5% to 40%. If there is no change in the volume of freight moved, this will clearly result in a fewer long distance lorry movements. However, ferries from Dover to the Continent are now carrying more vehicles across the Channel than before the opening of the Chunnel, which suggests that the opening of Central Railway could simply involve an increase in freight movement with no decrease in lorry movements.

We also have to remember that new transport infrastructure to facilitate exports is equally effective in facilitating imports. In order to be profitable, Central Railway needs to generate an increase in freight movement while improving the environment and reducing the consumption of non-renewable natural resources requires freight movement to be reduced.

EAST LONDON LINE TO CROYDON

At present, London Transport are investigating the possibility of extending the East London Line from New Cross Gate to Croydon over National Railway tracks. It has been realised that there is no land for a terminus at East Croydon so the proposed Croydon terminus is now West Croydon.

It has been suggested that the benefits will be improved access to Docklands, the City and some reduction of road traffic. Consequently we asked about the expected door-to-door journey times from Croydon to Docklands once the Jubilee Line Extension is open, the volume of travel that is likely to generated by the East London line extension and the volume of travel that is expected to be diverted from the motor car. To date, we have been told that the information is not available so we have had to reply that we cannot see any merit in extending the East London line on environmental grounds.

Chloride

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Update on Shirley Windmill

Since The Croydon Society visited Shirley Windmill on 11^th May 1996, there have been quite noticeable developments. In the autumn of 1996, we were advised that Croydon Council were successful in their application for a Lottery grant. The work for this did not begin until the summer of 1997; this made our open days very interesting, as we did not know from one month to the next which piece of machinery was going to be missing or renovated. Also, some months, the lighting was not working and the tours took place in very gloomy conditions . However, we had about 1200 visitors during 1997.

The Millwright (Jonathan Minns and his team from the British Engineerium)

was very busy and the most obvious change, at least from outside the windmill, is the difference in the sails. These are now equipped with a full suite of Shutters, (in skeleton frame form), uplongs, spider, bellcranks and all the striking gear to operate them properly.

Inside, up on the Dust Floor, a new brake lever, complete with operating rope, has been fitted, all the ironwork cleaned and painted, and a new Sack Hoist chain connected up, passing through a rebuilt Trap Door, as it should. Trap Doors have been fitted on all other floors too.

On the Bin Floor, the Sack Hoist operating rope has been fitted, and this can be operated from any floor, as it could originally. Also a model showing how the Fantail mechanism works has been installed.

On the Stone Floor, the original Stone Case now has a new lid, together with Horse, Grain Hopper and Feed Shoe. All the other components of the Feed Gear have now been rebuilt, including the Damsel, Warning Bell, canvas feed chute - everything. This makes the tour guide's explanation that much easier. The Runner Stone of the other pair of stones has been lifted to show the pattern of the grooves and lands, and to expose the Mace.

On the Meal Spout, poor ironwork has been painted, the entering gear

reinstated, and the Governor fitted with a leather drive belt, cleaned, painted and polished. Meal chutes to the sacks have been made, the Wire Dresser restored, and the mystery of some intriguing wooden brackets fixed to the floor above solved by some detective work by the Millwright. These, in fact, form part of the drive to the Grain cleaner on the floor below.

On the ground floor, replacement flour and grain chutes have been fitted, together with a completed miller’s balance. There is also a working model of the windmill, which shows how the machinery works.

The Visitors’ Centre has new counters and new interactive multi-media computers which tell the story of Shirley Windmill and how it works, etc., as well as local history. The 1998 season was very successful and, including school visits, over 1700people visited the windmill.

I hope that if you have not seen the Windmill or if you have not visited since the work mentioned above, that you will come and visit. There are refreshments and souvenirs available.

Our Open Days for 1999 are as follows:

Mills Day 9^th May 1999

12-5pm. last tour 4:30pm

Heritage Day 9^th September l999

12-5pm last tour 4:30pm,

The first Sunday in the month June-October 1999

1-5pm again last tour 4:30pm,

tours last about 30 minutes.

Please come and visit as you will be made very welcome.

Tony Skrzypczyk

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Planning Applications

These take up a great deal of our time and Beverly Sale who attended the Ballards Way proposal put forward by Green Acres, makes the following comments:

Neighbours

A Public Enquiry is one way to learn more about your neighbours. Their comings and goings, living quarters and annexe extensions, social habits, night time activities, even where they like to dine and what they like to eat.

The discussion which lasted several hours concerning whether the badgers of Ballards Farm Road, having lived at this sett in almost country lane surroundings for many decades, would or would not be affected by the proposed large Executive Type back garden housing development. The details ranged over were very interesting.

One of the facts put forward was that there are only three London Boroughs that can claim to have these delightful animals living within their boundaries and Croydon being the one with many setts. We were told that they are very sensitive to human activity but can live in close harmony with us providing any disturbance has a regular pattern to it, i.e. the daily milk float, or the occasional regular walker, with or without dogs and children.

Many Croydon residents may remember the promises given when the Quarries/Stanhope Road development took place, that the badger setts there would be protected. The disturbance was too much and sadly they abandoned this area. This doesn’t mean they just have to go and dig a hole elsewhere they have to invade other badgers’ territories and no doubt violent disputes ensue.

Let's hope the badgers in the setts we are concerned with are not driven to this.

Bev Sale

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Letter to the Editor

I must endorse Andy's comments about unnecessary headlights. This fashion was started by Lucas, a firm which makes headlights, and was taken up by people claiming that stationary cars, which are quite visible with no lights at all, suddenly become invisible when they start moving, unless they have 120 watts of light on the front.

One aspect of headlights which is almost always overlooked is the fuel they waste and the extra pollution they cause. People think that because the alternator is always turning, it makes no difference whether the lights are on or off. Taking this idea to its logical conclusion, a larger alternator could be fitted, producing enough power to drive an electric motor to turn the wheels. Then hardly any fuel would be used; just enough to keep the engine turning.

In the real world, the more electricity an alternator produces, the more effort is needed to turn it. I once made a pedal-driven battery charger by jacking up the back wheel of a bike and fixing an alternator to it so that the tyre turned the pulley. I was able to turn the pedals easily at high speed. Then I connected the alternator to a battery. At first pedalling was just as easy, but alternators don't start charging until they reach a certain speed. When that speed was reached, it was as if the brake had been put on. Speed dropped, the alternator cut out, and pedalling became easy again. Next time, as soon as the alternator cut in, I increased pedalling force to keep the speed up, but soon had to give up, having run out of breath.

This principle that you can't get something for nothing is called the first law of thermodynamics. It’s a pity it isn’t taught in schools, as it has many other applications. For example, it shows that the only reason people are too fat is that they eat too much, and that trying to invent perpetual motion machines (such as electricity that comes from nowhere) is a waste of time.

C. Howes

Chipstead Valley Road

Coulsdon

The editor welcomes interesting letters on any subject, perhaps you would like to follow up on an article from this or previous editions of Focus.

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Conservation And Regeneration

Dame Jennifer Jenkins

London Forum 10th Anniversary AGM

25^th November 1998

The following is the text of Dame Jennifer’s address to the London Forum Annual General Meeting last autumn:-

Two contrasting messages about the contribution that conservation can make to economic regeneration have gone out this year. In April the HLF launched its Townscape Heritage Initiative with a programme for investing £50M over 3 years in historic urban areas. In partnership with local authorities and others the scheme will aim at the restoration of streets or areas as a whole through the offer of grants for repairs to rundown properties and improvement to the surrounding land. The scheme will go beyond the scope of existing grant programmes by funding conversion for new uses, the adaptation of upper floors above shops for residential accommodation and the encouragement of new buildings to fill gap sites. These measures will help to bring people back to live and work in town centres and other historic areas.

A quite different message has come from Lord Rogers’ Urban Task Force in their Prospectus, which claims to have learnt from the experience of the 1960s and 70s but seems likely to repeat some of their disastrous and irreversible mistakes. The Task Force’s vision is one we would all share - an urban renaissance bringing about all improved quality of life. The Prospectus recognises the importance of beautiful surroundings in making cities desirable but does not mention the historic buildings and parks which contribute so much towards this beauty. The Prospectus does not mention conservation areas - nearly 9,000 in England alone - nor ask why these are such popular places to live. Buildings of historic or architectural interest - listed buildings - are referred to only as a “restraint that can effectively block redevelopment” and not seen as a resource which can enhance the visual quality of a town. There is no recognition that historic areas, provided that they are well maintained, can be economic assets attracting people to work, shop and visit. There is no suggestion that there may be other historic areas, now run-down and ignored which could be rehabilitated. A good example is Tottenham High Road, one of the old roads leading out of London, where fine surviving Georgian houses and Victorian buildings are obscured by hoardings and are punctuated by gap sites and unsympathetic post-war in-fill, with Tottenham Hotspur football stadium looming in the background. After the first year of a Conservation Area Partnership scheme restored buildings show how the road could look and became a beacon to the large surrounding area of high unemployment and deprivation. The scheme enjoys strong local support.

Had the Task Force included someone with a conservation background their attention would have been drawn to the many successful conservation schemes which have acted as catalysts in regenerating inner areas of such cities as Bristol and Nottingham as well as smaller towns as far apart as Armagh in Ulster and Berwick in Northumberland.

Before suggesting a few of these catalytic schemes which the Task Force might visit I want briefly to look at experience on the continent where towns and cities are more like ours in form, history and hinterland than are those in North America. There can be no doubt that historic towns in France and Italy have survived far better than have ours. There has been little large scale demolition for redevelopment. Most have kept their traditional layout and artisan quarters as well as their churches and public buildings, yet they have not lost their vitality. They are still places where people want to live, work and do their daily shopping, and they have now also become magnets for tourists and universities. Ironically, the absence of inner relief roads and new highways slicing through historic quarters has not made traffic more difficult to solve. On the contrary, it has been easier to exclude cars from tightly woven centres and return the narrow streets to pedestrians as pleasant places to walk. Only this autumn I was struck by the measures taken to ban through traffic from main thoroughfares as well as from the medieval district of Naples, not a city one would expect to be giving a lead to London. In Germany also, those cities which were not destroyed during the Second World War are being carefully conserved and are prospering - Munich and Heidelberg for example.

Many historic cities on the continent have remained relatively intact because of the protection of effective legislation. In France the 1943 rule controlling land within 500 metres of monuments classes has been a powerful shield for Paris and other cities. In Italy planning and conservation now operate effectively in historic towns north of Rome. In southern Italy and Sicily, as in much of Eastern Europe, the historic core of many towns is relatively undamaged, not because positive steps have been taken to preserve them but because they have been disregarded in the rush to build on the outskirts. In the Czech Republic, for instance, historic town centres were left largely untouched because ideology favoured new types of building on new sites. Prague in all its beauty is a monument to Ruskin's doctrine of conservation by neglect - though neglect was about to result in collapse when the Communist regime was ousted. In contrast some of our towns and cities have suffered because of misguided attempts to integrate major developments and new roads into the heart of historic areas - a classic example of the damage which can be done by good intentions if misdirected.

Continental towns have one great advantage over the British and that is the continuing appreciation of urban living and its cultural resources. Even today, with the freedom to travel bestowed by the motor car, there is little nostalgia for the equivalent of a rose-covered cottage in a Cotswold village which has helped to fuel the flight from towns in this country. But it is worth remembering that, at least until the First World War, British cities also housed rich as well as poor and enjoyed a flourishing cultural life. Several cities have retained these qualities - Bristol and Glasgow for example - and it ought not to be impossible for others to recover them.

I want now to look at four towns in the north of England, a region badly hit by long-term industrial decline, where schemes for the repair and rescue of historic buildings have made a significant contribution to regeneration.

First is Chester, a city now experiencing almost excessive pressure for development but which 30 years ago was suffering from widespread dereliction: people had moved out of the historic core which was described as “depressed ..., visually blighted by misused, empty and near derelict buildings. The situation was breeding insecurity and pessimism among the remaining inhabitants”. Following a detailed survey of the historic centre by Donald Insall, the local authority in partnership with the Historic Buildings Council launched a strategy for restoring decaying properties, re-occupying empty churches and other interesting buildings for a mixture of housing, commercial and community purposes and filling gap sites. The city levied a conservation rate to help finance the programme and within twenty years these objectives had been accomplished: the historic centre was thriving, and its success had attracted new businesses to the outskirts of the city.

Second is Halifax in West Yorkshire where by the late 1970s the decline of the woollen industry had left empty mills and their former owners’ mansions, and accelerated the redundancy of churches and chapels. As in Chester, the local authority took the initiative, launching a scheme for improving shop fronts and the appearance of the principal streets and encouraging the repair of the principal landmarks. The turning point for the town came in 1983 when Sir Ernest Hall bought Crossley Carpet Mills, once the largest employer, and converted the enormous building into units for hundreds of companies which now employ 3,500 people as well as providing space for arts and education projects. This generated such a feeling of success that by the early 1990s professional surveys ranked Halifax as one of the top ten locations for business and above York as a desirable place to live. Since then the town’s attractions have been added to by the establishment of Eureka!, a children's inter-active science enterprise in redundant railway buildings and the restoration of the People’s Park, both aided by Heritage Lottery grants. But there is still more to be done: some good Victorian buildings stand empty in the town centre and the market hall awaits refurbishment.

Finally I want to look at Newcastle and Liverpool, two cities which have suffered from decades of decline in shipping and shipbuilding. They now have to diversify their employment base and adapt their economy to the post-industrial era. Both have coherent historic areas and fine buildings which can help to attract new investment. But unlike a city such as Hamburg, where, if a historic area is going downhill or a large building becomes empty, new uses are actively sought, Newcastle has until quite recently done almost everything possible to destroy and drain life away from its historic heart - a 1960s highway smashing through, the demolition of its finest square, indoor shopping centres, high-rise office blocks and out of town business parks attracting companies from the grand nineteenth century “Tyneside Classical” heart of Grainger Town, formerly the retail and business centre of the city. Not surprisingly by 1992 this area had over one million square feet of floor space unoccupied. No attempt had been made to bring in new occupants, perhaps the flourishing university only a short distance to the north. Following a pioneering study and some early funding by English Heritage at the eleventh hour, English Partnerships in co-operation with the City Council have come to the rescue with a programme of conservation-led property development in order to bring in alternative uses - housing, training, leisure, tourism and small businesses.

In contrast to the decline of the city centre has been the revival of the waterfront along the Tyne. Here Victorian warehouses have been converted and new buildings constructed for hotels, housing and restaurants. Within twenty years the deserted quayside has become a lively, bustling district. transformed through a mixture of conservation and new development with little help from the public purse. But there are no effective links by which this new vitality could explode into the city centre and the escarpment above the river.

Unlike Newcastle, Liverpool’s landmark buildings line the river and one, the Albert Dock, has been the focus of the greater part of conservation expenditure in the city. In the mid 1970s the Albert Dock, the most impressive late 18th century dock buildings in the country, was empty and seemed destined gradually to subside into the Mersey. But in 1981 Michael Heseltine, then Secretary of State for the Environment, appalled by the high level of unemployment in the city, initiated a series of grants for the repair of the colossal structure and its conversion for a variety of new uses, including a maritime museum, an outpost for the Tate Gallery, restaurants and living accommodation. The revival of the Albert Dock has highlighted Liverpool’s attraction as a tourist destination and has sparked off the restoration of other dock buildings along the Mersey.

The city’s second important conservation programme has concentrated on the fine early nineteenth century terraces and squares of the Canning Street area which were in even more immediate danger of collapse 25 years ago than was the Albert Dock: many houses were empty and becoming derelict and terraces were interrupted by gap sites. Since 1976 these have gradually been repaired and re-occupied and a recent HLF grant will make possible the landscaping of some of the small empty spaces and back lanes. The refurbished flats have been in great demand and even in 1982, when the programme was still in its early stages, on the day after the riots I found that none of the buildings on which work had started or been completed had been touched, although several commercial properties had been burnt. Today Canning Street is once again fully occupied and is one of the most extensive residential areas of architectural distinction to survive in any English city.

The impetus and most of the funding for conservation in Liverpool have come from national agencies and has been hampered by the lack of an overall strategy for the city or consistent support from the Council. However there is now a joint venture between the City Council, English Partnerships and others, financed largely by English Partnerships and the European Regional Development Fund, for reviving Duke Street and Bold Street which link the retail centre of the city to the redeveloped docks. An area of merchants’ houses and maritime warehouses, many derelict and subject to arson attacks, it is already live at night with young people attracted by the night clubs and the recently developed continental-type piazza in Concert Square. The plan is to develop the area as a vibrant mixed use historic quarter by initiating an extensive refurbishment programme combined with limited demolition and rebuilding and enhancement of the streetscape.

Experience in Newcastle and Liverpool shows that schemes for regeneration through conservation do not yield their full potential unless they form part of an overall plan for the city and unless integrated with transport, economic and housing policies. Only too often badly sited developments and roads have worked against conservation initiatives.

The restoration of historic buildings is of course only part of urban regeneration; they can give a sense of place, set standards and foster a sense of local pride. The large areas of derelict land and redundant industrial buildings of no merit are in need of redevelopment. Since the Second World War much new housing, offices and industrial building has been disappointing. Perhaps the most visible failure has been on the south bank of the Thames where long stretches from Tower Bridge to Putney have been rebuilt. There was no lack of opportunity for architects, planners and developers to demonstrate their skills, yet the only buildings of distinction are the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre; and, apart from the Coin Street community scheme, there are no new public gardens to match the Embankment gardens on the north. Looking across from the Houses of Parliament beyond Lambeth Palace only Terry Farrell’s fantasia for MI6 relieves the monotonous row of rectangular boxes. But in Oxford, Richard MacCormac, our president, has performed the seemingly impossible task of enhancing this city of architectural treasures with new buildings, unmistakably contemporary in design, but relating well to their older neighbours. Why is there no overall design plan for redevelopment between each of the Thames bridges, indicating where there might be gardens, how new buildings might relate in height and mass to remaining landmarks and what might be the impact on the other side of the river? Perhaps this is a subject which the Urban Task Force might consider.

Conservation and well designed new buildings should be allies, not rivals. Both will be needed if cities are to become more attractive places in which to live and work and if we are to achieve an urban renaissance

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Fighting The Cowboys

Croydon Council has launched a Local Builders Charter scheme to help cut the number of complaints about “cowboy” building firms. Twenty-eight companies are included on a recommended list of local firms to help householders choose reputable businesses for home improvement work.

Details from Croydon Council.

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“Surfing in Croydon”

It is clear that the Internet or ‘World Wide Web’ is a huge success. Since February, every public library in Croydon has internet facilities, so that you can send email or ‘surf’ the web, and of course more and more people are getting these facilities at home.

But is there anything of interest to the Croydon Society member? Is the internet adding anything to Croydon’s civic