What do you think? Conservation area consultation launched

Lewisham Council has this week launched a consultation into creating a new Ladywell Conservation Area.  In essence, it includes the Station and most of the Victorian housing streets, as well as seeking comment on inclusion of Ladywell Road and the shops.  As you may know, much of our surrounding area, including Brockley and the north side of Hilly Fields, already lies within its own conservation area, brought in after a similar consultation in order to preserve the historic fabric and character of the neighbourhood.

LVIG will be preparing a response as a group but we do urge everyone to read the consultation leaflet you should have had through your door, as well as the surveys published here: www.lewisham.gov.uk/ladywellconservationarea .

The survey document and historical details are fascinating and worth a read on their own!

The Council are holding a special workshop and exhibition which will be well worth a visit, on Saturday 9 January 2010, 12noon-3pm, at Lewisham Library.  The consultation itself closes later in January, so you have time to read all the documents and give them your considered view.  Full details of how to respond are on the leaflet and website.

Ladywell Walking Tour leaflet needs your vote now!

Please support the joint LVIG/Ladywell Society bid for Localities Funding to produce a leaflet illustrating a history/built environment walk through Ladywell.
There is an online poll available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=501RcwjpvXGoYpkhR6eIBQ_3d_3d where you can vote on the proposals competing for a share of the £10k available.
Our proposal is entitled: Ladywell Walking Tour leaflet and every vote counts!

Ladywell Christmas Market - Saturday 12th December

Hope to see you there!

There are still a few stalls available for budding crafters, cakebakers, chocolatiers, dressmakers, caterers etc. Email ladywell.info@gmail.com to get more information and booking form.

Minutes of Ordinary Committee Meeting - September 2009

Please click on the "comments" below to read the minutes from the meeting.

Local residents come together to support LVIG events

A big thank you to all who turned out in force this weekend to support LVIG's Christmas Market benefit gig and Big Bulb Plant events.

The Ladywell Tavern was packed with people who came out to boogie along to the Grey Cats and help raise funds for the Ladywell Christmas Market. It was a fun evening and those that missed it will get another chance to experience the talents of these local musicians, as the band will be rocking the Village again on the night of this year’s Christmas market.

On Sunday afternoon local residents braved the autumnal drizzle to help get new plants and bulbs into the planters and baskets on Ladywell and Algernon Roads. The group planted sixty tulip bulbs, twenty daffodils and a host of new plants to give the planters and baskets colour and vigour over the winter and through to next spring. A tremendous effort was made to keep the locality looking vibrant through the months to come.

Please help us to keep the planters and baskets looking good by removing litter and encouraging local shops and businesses to keep them watered during dry periods.

Join us for the Christmas Market benefit gig

LVIG will be holding a benefit gig at the Ladywell Tavern on Saturday 10th October to raise funds towards the costs of the Ladywell Christmas Market.

For your entertainment and enjoyment, live music is provided courtesy of local band The Grey Cats (including an LVIG committee member playing saxophone!).

Come and join us from 8pm for great music and dancing and help make this a Christmas Market to remember!

Ladywell's Big Bulb Plant - Sunday 11th October

LVIG has signed up to the Big Bulb Plant, a nationwide campaign launched by The Eden Project and The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Centre, which aims to brighten up communities through the planting of spring bulbs. As we were one of the first 100 community groups to apply, we’ve been given a donation of 250 tulip bulbs!

We now need to get these bulbs, along with new plants and flowers, into our planters to continue the displays throughout autumn, winter and into next spring. To keep Ladywell flourishing, join us for the next community planting day on Sunday 11th October to help refresh the planters and baskets with winter-flowering plants and spring bulbs.

Meet at 2pm outside Coral on Ladywell Road/Algernon Road and please bring any small gardening tools you have with you.

Agenda for Meeting 16th September 2009

7.30pm Wednesday 16 September 2009
The Tank Art Gallery, Ladywell Road, SE13 7HS

This meeting is open to the public - we'd be delighted to see you there!

1. Update on Committee members
2. Autumn/ Winter planting
Finalise date
Sponsor a Tree! proposal
3. Ladywell Walking trail
4. Streetscape update – stocktake of outstanding Council actions
5. Dates for the Diary . . .
Christmas Market
LVIG Benefit Night 10th October
6. Publicity round up/ LVIG newsletter (Lara/ Eleanor)
7. Any Other Business

Minutes of Annual General Meeting - July 2009

Please click on the "comments" below to read the minutes from the AGM, including an overview from our guest speaker, Emily Miller, from the Meanwhile Space Project.

Fly-tipping in Lewisham - can you help with research?

Tom Ashworth, a student at the London College of Communication, is working with Lewisham Council to tackle the borough’s high level of fly-tipping incidents. As part of his MA in Design, Tom is trying to gain an understanding of how local residents feel about this problem.
If you have views on the fly-tipping problem in Ladywell/Lewisham, please get in touch with Tom at rudiger100@hotmail.co.uk and he will send you a questionnaire to fill out and return.
Your views are much appreciated by Tom, and will not only help him with his project, but help clear up this annoying and ugly blot on our landscape.

Ladywell controlled parking zone

As everyone in Ladywell should now know the council is considering introducing a controlled parking zone (CPZ) in Ladywell. The CPZ would appear to have some people strongly in favour and others strongly opposed.

The council have promised that they will listen to the views of the people expressed in the consultation period so it is essential that whatever your view you return the consultation form to ensure your voice is heard.

LVIG believes that if the CPZ is introduced then it would make sense to introduce at least four free short stay parking spaces near to the shops at the southern end of Algernon road so as to allow people to park and use the shops in Ladywell. LVIG sees this as essential to support local shop keepers.

For more information on the CPZ and the consultation please visit this link where you can download the consultation document.

At the most basic level the important details are:

1. The CPZ is slated to operate from 9am-7pm on weekdays.
2. Residents who wish to park their car in the area must purchase a permit; these are slated to cost £60 per year.
3. Visitor permits will be available at a cost of £1.70 per half day, £2.80 per full day and £8 per week.
4. Pay and display parking will be priced at £1 per hour.
5. There will be disabled bays which anyone with a blue badge can use for free.
6. The council is considering having some bays for cars from the street car car club in the CPZ.

Minutes from meeting 20th May 2009

Please click on 'comments' below to read about May's meeting.

Happy Birthday LVIG!

AGM and election of committee - Wednesday 15th July

We can’t believe it’s been a whole year since LVIG was born! Come and celebrate LVIG’s first birthday with us at the AGM on Wednesday 15th July. The AGM and election of officers to the committee will open at 7.30pm at St. Mary’s Centre, Ladywell Road, SE13 7UW.

We’ll be reviewing the achievements of the past year and discussing and agreeing on priorities for the coming year. Your ideas about what LVIG should be doing are vital to helping improve Ladywell and LVIG welcomes all comments and suggestions.

The Group also needs to elect a committee to bring those ideas to fruition. LVIG welcomes members who wish to stand for election for any of the committee positions. Sitting on the LVIG committee is great fun and gives you the satisfaction of helping bring real change to Ladywell. As well as attending committee meetings and helping organise events, officers get to shape the direction of the group and collaborate to make decisions about what it campaigns on. Why not join the committee and be part of the solution?

For more information about the committee positions, the constitution and how to stand for election, click on "comments" below.

Pictures from the Community Planting Day

The Ladywell Village Improvement Group team was joined by dozens of local residents on saturday morning to revamp the planters on Ladywell Road, following a successful Localities Fund application earlier in the year. The event had been several months in planning and LVIG worked with both Lewisham Council and Envirowork to bring the green fingered idea together.

Lavender plants were joined by cherry and fig trees as three generations of one family came out to help. The existing two planters were tidied up and new flowering shrubs added outside the post office and bakery, with four entirely new planters added to the collection along Ladywell Road. Each planter received a good dose of topsoil and compost to keep the new greenery happy.

LVIG's green fingered chair, Tony Major, said "the level of support has been fantastic. From the Council to Envirowork, who supplied the soil, planters, plants and a four-strong team, to the locals who turned out to help, we are hugely grateful and would encourage everyone to do their bit and keep them watered through the summer!"

He went on to say "in a recession it's all the more important for us to encourage local shops and businesses, and making Ladywell a cleaner, greener place to live and work. We hope that the Council's promised "deep clean" of the pavement will also happen soon".

Meeting 20th May 2009

LVIG's next Ordinary meeting is tomorrow on the 20th May at 7:30pm in the St Mary's Centre on Ladywell Road.

The agenda for the meeting is below:

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of the Ordinary Committee Meeting held on 18 March 2009
3. First Community Planting Day – 16 May 2009 – feedback
4. Community Planting Day no.2 - 7 June
5. Lewisham in Bloom competition - entry deadline - 17 June
6. Bids for Mayor’s Funds –LVIG plans for putting forward
7. AGM date - July 15 Advise on process
8. Financial Report (Tony Rich)
9. Publicity round up/ LVIG newsletter (Lara/ Cynthia)
10. Any Other Business
    

Of course this is a public meeting and we would be delighted to see as many people there as possible!

Benefit gig at the Ladywell Tavern to raise funds for community planting

LVIG has organised a benefit gig to raise funds for more community planting in Ladywell. Come and join us for great music and dancing at the Ladywell Tavern on Saturday 30th May from 8pm, and help sow the seeds of recovery in the neighbourhood!

For your entertainment and enjoyment, live music is provided courtesy of local band (including an LVIG member!) The Grey Cats with Jason James in support. So, get up and put on your dancing shoes!

All monies raised will be used to fund plants and materials, bringing much needed colour to Ladywell Village and improve the environment in which we live and work.

Hope to see you there!

Ladywell Community Planting Day - Saturday 16th May

LVIG has organised the first of several Community Planting Days to launch Ladywell’s bid for the ‘Lewisham in Bloom’ competition.

Come along on Saturday 16th May to help raise the profile of Ladywell and improve your local environment. Plants, tools and paint will be provided, but we need your energy and enthusiasm! To take part, meet at 11am outside the Post Office on Algernon Road, Ladywell.

The planting days will help to bring a dash of much needed greenery and colour to the village and draw attention to LVIG’s campaign to improve the local area.

Hope to see you there!

Ladywell Village Voice - a newsletter for Ladywell

LVIG has responded to Ladywell resident's calls to find out more about the progress of its campaigns and projects by launching a newsletter. The newsletter will be emailed to LVIG members and will also be printed for distribution in local shops and businesses.

Ladywell Village Voice aims to keep you up to date with LVIG's activities, as well as inform you about news and events in Ladywell that are relevant to LVIG's objectives.

If you haven't already seen a copy of the first issue, dated May 2009, please email LVIG at ladywell.info@googlemail.com

As LVIG is keen to improve on this newsletter, we would really appreciate your feedback. Have your say on the LVIG blog by clicking on the 'comments' below.

Please support LVIG's objectives at the Ladywell Assembly, Monday 20 April

The Ladywell Assembly will next meet on Monday 20 April (7.00-9.00pm at Prendergast School lower site) to develop an action plan for its priorities. It will also look at ideas for ways to spend the £50K Mayor's Fund for Ladywell and the £10K Localities Fund for 2009/10.

Please join us at the Assembly and join the debate and decision making! Click on "comments" for further information about the Assembly meeting and LVIG's ideas for funding community projects.

Minutes from our February meeting

Click on 'comments' to read about February's meeting, which included a discussion on the action plan - ideas we're taking forwards this Spring.

Next meeting, Wednesday, 18th March, 7:30pm, St Mary's centre, Ladywell

Agenda to follow.

LVIG benefit gig at the Ladywell Tavern

The Grey Cats are playing a benefit gig for LVIG at the Ladywell Tavern on Saturday 21st March.

Music starts at 8:30pm and the Grey Cats are on stage from 10:00pm.

See you all there!

Who do you love?

In line with the fact that we've just had Valentine's day Lewisham Council is holding a competition to find the best independent business in the borough.

Ladywell has some great independent businesses deserving of the support of local residents so whichever of our fine local businesses you love please vote for them! The vote closes on the 28th February with results announed on the 6th of March, you can also enter a draw to win a gift to the value of £25 from the winning business.

Action Plan - your thoughts please!

A key idea from the January meeting was to draw up an 'action plan' to focus LVIG's activities in the next few months.

Click on 'comments' here to see more detail on our ideas, which include short stay parking, a Town Centre Manager, and funding streams. We welcome comments and will seek to sign off this overview document at our meeting on 18 February.

Join us for the February meeting

We are fast approaching the third Wednesday of the month, which can only mean one thing - LVIG's public meeting.

Come along to the St Mary's Centre, Ladywell Road, for 7.30pm on Wednesday 18 February.

We will (techniology permitting!) be showing a presentation of the professionals' current ideas for the Play Tower, as well as discussing and signing off our 'action plan' for the next few months.

Come along - everyone is welcome, even if you've never been before.

LVIG

Minutes from 21 January

Click on 'comments' below to see the minutes from our meeting on 21 January

Minutes from meeting on the 19th November 2008

Please see the comments section of this post for the minutes from the meeting on the 19th November 2008