Don’t forget the South Norwood Walk and Talk on 12 June.
And do check out the Croydon Advertiser‘s article ‘9 fascinating things you probably never knew about South Norwood‘ this week.
Author: Chris Peskett
Free guided tour of South Norwood
Think you know South Norwood?
Join local historian John Hickman for a PPR ‘walk and talk’ on 12 June and you’re almost bound to learn something new.
Meet at Stanley Halls at 7pm – there are only 18 places, so be sure to turn up on time!
There’s no charge but donations are always welcome, and will help PPR keep up the good work.
A big day on Saturday 17 March
To begin with, weather permitting, there’s a morning session at the Portland Road Community Garden, from 10am.
Then at 2.30pm there’s the launch of the latest addition to the PPR Heritage Trail.
The Dean of Winchester, Catherine Ogle, is coming all the way up to South Norwood to unveil a special plaque, designed by Ken Baker, on the exterior of 118 Portland Road, once the home of William Walker (1869–1918).
So who was this William Walker? Only the local man who saved Winchester Cathedral from collapse!
A professional deep-water diver, he spent more than five years propping up the cathedral’s water-logged foundations with concrete, working in total darkness in trenches as much as 6 metres deep, shifting thousands of bags of cement and concrete blocks. Heavy work, especially wearing lead boots, a bulky diving suit and a huge round copper helmet. But he’d still find the energy to cycle the 70 miles home to his family in South Norwood at the weekend.
Walker has long been celebrated in Winchester, where they’ve even named a pub after him. Now, thanks to the sterling work of local historian John Hickman and designer Ken Baker, PPR is about to put Diver Bill on the South Norwood map.
Gardening day cancelled
Thanks to the combined efforts of ‘the beast from the east’ and Storm Emma, there will be no work at the PPR Community Garden today. Next session 17 March.
We Love SE25
A Community Economic Development Plan for South Norwood
In June 2016, PPR applied for and won a modest grant that enabled us to develop what is known as a Community Economic Development Plan for South Norwood. Thousands of local groups bid for this. We were one of only 20 successful applicants!
The idea behind this is that local people work together with businesses and other ‘stakeholders’ like the council, to find ways of improving and regenerating the local area for local community. So often, when an area changes for the better this results in ‘gentrification’: many local people are then priced out and the area is totally changed. We want to improve South Norwood while protecting all the many good things about it.
One key way of doing this is encouraging more wealth generation that stays in the local area. This can be done through encouraging and supporting local entrepreneurs to set up new businesses and create new jobs. They could then occupy the empty shops that blight our local high streets. New and improved businesses will then encourage more local residents to shop, play and socialise locally, generating income for local businesses.
A working group was formed including local residents, councillors, businesses and representatives from Croydon Council. Under the banner ‘We Love SE25’ meetings were held at the Stanley Halls where a succession of conversations was held with residents and businesses, rather than any formal presentation. We also floated the idea of a community hub and asked for people’s ideas about what they’d like to see take place there. Surveys were completed both for residents and businesses to understand what was loved and what was wanted in South Norwood.
As of summer 2017, we are collating the information and putting together a ‘Plan for South Norwood’ and intend to carry on using our branding ‘We Love SE25’ as the recognisable logo of this activity.
You can read the final version of the plan here
Consultation meeting in Stanley Halls
We Love SE25 banner on display
Economic development plan title page