A  planning application has been approved by the Planning Committee of  Greenwich Council to build a new school  for Our Lady Of Grace Primary School on the Community Open Space at Highcombe in Charlton.  This follows the refusal a year ago of an earlier application.  This time the proposal is just for the new school and does not include the residential development at the Charlton Road end of the site.

It appears that the Traffic Plan for the site is being reviewed at present.

Charlton Community Gardens was set up three years ago to try and open up this space –  which has been locked up for more than 20 years – for the use of the whole local community. However,  we now face seeing one of the last pieces of open space in this area being built on.  The site is designated as Community Open Space in the Council’s Local Plan, the Core Strategy.  The committee chair argued for the over-riding importance of Education.

Our community garden at Charlton Station is now beginning its third year.  We’ve been fortunate up until now not have suffered much in the way of theft or damage to the garden.  However, in recent weeks, there has been a spate of incidents which have left us feeling dispirited.  It started a few weeks ago with the potato bags being moved, then upended and the plants and compost turned out and the bags taken. Then a week or so ago some new bags, planted up with courgettes and squashes, suffered the same fate.  We rescued the bags this time but will not be reusing them.

More theft and damage was discovered yesterday.  Many of the bamboo canes for our runner beans – tied into wigwams – have been stolen. They disappeared some time after 4pm.  Also, some of the French beans planted in the same bed have been pulled out.

We know that the vast majority of people really value the garden and appreciate the work that goes into it.  This anti-social behaviour will not deter us. We’ll be at the station this coming Sunday 7th June at 2pm for our regular ‘gardening party’ doing some more planting, seed sowing etc.  We hope you will join us and help make the garden even better for the whole community.

Barbara