Antic pubs have withdrawn from the Greyhound

[Annie.]

Yes Lee thats what I was trying to say,the flats anove the pub should remain "the pub" with owner flat above if needed by the landlord,or if not needed,then function rooms.
I thought a "Harvester" or something like that would encourage families to walk to it, I hadnt read your post about the new Indian restaurant when I put that part of my post,so obviously we dont want another one so close by.
I personally would like it to be a wetherspoons, I know this isnt very popular with this board,but I think they are well run,cosy type pubs myself.
I didnt realise you are not getting paid for your Greyhound design Lee? I thought it was all paid for by the competition to find a winner, bit naïve of me I guess.
I would expect whatever happens to the pub, that it retains the name Greyhound just for the sake of local history.

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[leenewham]

Hi Annie,

Yes, there is a prize for winning the competition for the Greyhound Wall of £1000 (We found out we won the competition on the 30th April), but they aren't paying it until it's been through planning because they don't want to be £1000 out of pocket. It hasn't been submitted for planning yet.

We will carry on with the design and collecting images regardless.

[Annie.]

Ahh, ok I understand now,although £1000 doesnt seem much,but I wish you well with it.

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[gillyjp]

I've lived in sydenham nearly all my life and I think the whole development is really sad. It looks terrible and a pub which was a real feature is now ruined.

Sydenham has few enough decent places as it is and now one has gone and been replaced by featureless prison block flats.

What purelake are saying is nonsense in my view. If there were structural reasons to knock it down why not tell the council first rather than just rushing it through. The whole thing has stunk from the fire to the demolition. What could have been a lovely pub and surrounding area has been hijacked for private companies greed and profit. As usual in this society.

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Sorry cockneyrebel but I don't agree it looks terrible. I think the actual quality of the build is good and believe me we've watched it grow day by day as we are direct neighbours. I'm so glad it is brick and has not been painted that ghastly white that was in the original design. They have taken time - it has not been a rushed job (unlike some of those awful developments up by the junction of Kirkdale and Dartmouth Rd where some of them look like they are falling down). The reason for this is that they are mostly going to be affordable housing - I guess a shared ownership/ rented combination. So they are not going to be sold off for a huge profit per unit - hopefully they will be good for our local community - some local couples maybe that are looking to make a home may benefit. One can only hope.

Frankly I think that is what is important - much more than worrying about some old pub - now nearly completely pulled apart and knocked down anyway. Where are people's priorities? Yes the Greyhound was a great pub in its day. I worked there when my children were little and when I was young I remember my Dad taking me there for meals and that was when it was something to be proud of. Those days are gone - lets move on and lets have what I suggested before - a green, a water feature, some seats. That would make a great entrance to the Sydenham Gateway.

[Weeble]

Affordable housing has to be built to meet higher specifications than the minimums for general housing - part of the conditions for getting government subsidy.

Agree there's a couple of developments on Kirkdale which have been built in the last 10 years I've lived round here and are already looking knackered. There's another affordable housing development going up on Kirkdale (the Family Mosaic one) - will be interesting to see what that looks like when it's finished.

[marymck]

I noticeed on Monday that the pavement was littered with chunks of render that had fallen off one of those nasty buildings at 113 ish kirkdale. No wonder they suffer from damp.

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[ALIB]

i know gillyjp was not best pleased with the proposed development as it went for Planning. So it is refreshing to hear some positive words about the buildings.
However, i would still guess a significant number of residents would own a car and that the lack of parking for the development will lead to a shortage of parking around the Peak Hill area.

As far as the Greyhound pub is concerned, it is obvious that the Developer is putting time, money and effort into getting the building restored. What it will end up being, is anyone's guess. But at least it looks like of being a high standard.

Pubs have to aim themselves at a particular market niche in the current financial climate. We already have the Windmill and Fox on Kirkdale which cater for 'drinkers', and also virtually nextdoor to the Greyhound is the Railway, which also caters for drinkers.
Certainly from Purelake's own website, they are still marketing the Greyhound as a Gastropub, so any news is eagerly anticipated.

I have to say i never frequented the former Greyhound, as on my only visit it just didn't seem too welcoming to 'newbies'. However, i was a staunch advocate of the Woodman and its roast dinners.
But if you don't use it, you lose it

[Tim Lund]

Whatever the rights or wrongs of what Pure Lake is doing, are we able to thank them for sponsoring the free showing of the Little Shop of Horrors in Mayow Park this Sunday?





And congratulations to the organisers of the Sydenham Arts Festival for getting something positive out of them at least!

[gillyjp]

i know gillyjp was not best pleased with the proposed development as it went for Planning. So it is refreshing to hear some positive words about the buildings.
However, i would still guess a significant number of residents would own a car and that the lack of parking for the development will lead to a shortage of parking around the Peak Hill area.

As far as the Greyhound pub is concerned, it is obvious that the Developer is putting time, money and effort into getting the building restored. What it will end up being, is anyone's guess. But at least it looks like of being a high standard.

Pubs have to aim themselves at a particular market niche in the current financial climate. We already have the Windmill and Fox on Kirkdale which cater for 'drinkers', and also virtually nextdoor to the Greyhound is the Railway, which also caters for drinkers.
Certainly from Purelake's own website, they are still marketing the Greyhound as a Gastropub, so any news is eagerly anticipated.

I have to say i never frequented the former Greyhound, as on my only visit it just didn't seem too welcoming to 'newbies'. However, i was a staunch advocate of the Woodman and its roast dinners.
But if you don't use it, you lose it

Yes I confess ALIB I was not best pleased when the development was first proposed but we did get the number of units reduced from 70+ units. One of our main arguments when we went to Planning Committee was the car parking issue and the effect this would have on the Peak Hill area. However, the council were not a bit interested in this - saying that they were proposing goodness knows how many cycle storage racks and I think a total of 7 car parking spaces some of which would be for disabled residents. Well even to my mind this was going to be a disaster for local parking. There were 2 bed and a couple of 3 bed units which were obviously going to be housing families. Are they going to go to Sainsburys on their bikes and pick up the weeks shopping? No, of course not, but Lewisham's Planning Committee thought they knew best. Basically they couldn't have cared less.

Time will tell and I can't say I am looking forward to vying for parking space in the road I live in with more people, along with the commuters who catch the upline to London and the keep fit fantatics who frequent LA Fitness. I know we don't own the road but I can visualise parking half a mile away from my house in the very near future.

I have no problem with social housing - at least if there are problems we will be able to take issue with Hexagon but I am hopeful that will not be necessary. Lets be honest, some owner occupiers can be a real problem and it is difficult to get any help getting anti social issues dealt with.

Whatever they do with the remains of the Greyhound, we await the completion of the site with interest. All I can say as an immediate neighbour is what is there now is alot better than before when we were looking at the back of an unkempt and ramshackle pub and a carpark that people were doing god knows what in...

[ALIB]

The issues Gilly raises regarding cars are quite crucial. However near the station/bus stop you are, and however many cycle racks you include on a development, inevitably a large proportion of residents will be car owners. It is simply unrealistic to expect people to do family shopping, buying of furniture, day trips etc , just by using public transport.
People like their cars, and they won't just give them up because they are a stones-throw from public transport stops.
It's going to be interesting to see how this pans-out

[ALIB]

and although i won't be going to the "Little shop of Horrors", the sponsorship from Purelake was appreciated and good PR

[Annie.]

If going anywhere by bus wasn't such a traumatic experience,i'm sure more people would stop using their cars. also even to get to Beckenham for example the cost of the fare makes it stupid money even with an oyster card,by car its cheaper!
(if you already run a car) just thought i would add that before people start talking about the car tax etc etc zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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[dickp]

Whenever the "car issue" comes up on here, you can always tell the life-long Londoners, and those of us who have previously lived / have connections to elsewhere.

In the sticks, you learn to drive as soon after your 17th birthday as possible. You will probably have a car by 18, even if it's cripplingly expensive. You will go years without getting on a bus or a train. If your journey is more than half a mile, you will drive.

That's how 90% of this country's population lives their lives. London is weird.

[Eagle]

dickp

Dare I say that is why on average people outside London are even more tubby than Londoners.

[dickp]

Probably.

Let's face it, if you drive to the end of the road to post a letter *stares at own dad*, you're not going to get your 15 minutes of brisk walking per day.

[Weeble]

On the car parking issue - planning guidance actually restricts the number of parking spaces you can provide for residential development (although I think it might have changed more recently?) - the idea is to discourage car trips and encourage more journeys by bike, public transport etc. Hence copious numbers of cycle storage spaces and comparatively few parking spaces. It's the kind of thing developers are probably happy to comply in many cases, as parking takes up valuable space when they want to increase the density of development. Probably even more so in an affordable housing development where the developer doesn't have to worry about shifting the units afterwards.

[marymck]

dickp

Dare I say that is why on average people outside London are even more tubby than Londoners.

People in the country have cars as a necessity. There is very, very little public transport and what there is is very, very expensive.

But never mind Eagle, London's breeding a generation of extreme tubbiness. Free public transport for children ... which doesn't happen outside London ... enabling them to catch a bus for one or two stops while eating their extremely nasty takeaways, will also create jobs, ensuring plenty of work for the hard pressed NHS in the years to come.

[Eagle]

Mary
I have to admit you are correct.

I have seen numerous youngsters in school uniform of sorts stuffing themselves with pies or chips on buses back to school.

I am puzzled how children are allowed out of school lunchtime. Surely should stay in the playground area as the school has a responsibility of safety for these children from start to end of school.

I doubt if Eton or Marlborough has this problem.

[cockneyrebel]

The fact that there is a social housing angle is a total irrelevance to the developers. They are in it for profit, nothing else. I guess it's a matter of taste but I think it looks awful and if social good had been the main factor you would have had a far nicer development and pub.

To me it just looks like a featureless prison block which now dominates the area and not in a good way.

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[ALIB]

it is often part of Planning Procedure/Permission that a certain % of a development is given to social housing. This is obviously a big concern to Developers who want to maximise profit, but it is totally at the Local Authorities discretion as to what % is allocated. (subject to negotiation)