1. Walworth Society General Meeting – Wednesday 21st February 7pm (online).
Our next general WS meeting will be held on Wednesday 21st February starting at 7pm. Online (Zoom) only.
To join on Zoom please click here or go to Zoom and join with Meeting ID: 881 4108 5650, Passcode: 252925.
Our draft agenda for the meeting is:
- Welcome, apologies and introductions.
- Action points from our January meeting and matters arising.
- Carnaval del Pueblo – update from Nuala Riddell-Morales.
- Planning matters – 31 Amelia St, Beehive PH appeal.
- Other current issues.
- AOB.
Minutes of the January 2024 meeting to follow.
2. Una Marson Library Opening.
On Thursday 1st February there was an opening event for the brand new Una Marson Library (62 Thurlow Street London SE17 2GN) – the UK’s first public library named after a black woman.
If you have not visited yet, the details are here:
https://www.southwark.gov.uk/libraries/find-a-library?chapter=13
Some photos from the event are below and a short write-up are here:
https://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2024/feb/southwark-s-residents-celebrate-the-launch-of-una-marson-library
3. 31 Amelia Street SE17 – Planning Committee (Tuesday 20th February – 6.30pm Tooley St)
The proposed 146 rooms of student acommodation on Amelia St goes to planning committee on Tuesday evening. During the planning process 117 people objected to the scheme but officers are recommending that the committee approves it almost entirely unaltered from the original plans.
The details of the application including the officer’s report can be seen here (item 6.1)
https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=649&MId=7746&Ver=4
Together the society and the Pullens TRA have put together a briefing (link below) for members of the planning committee that sets out what we feel are strong reasons why this application should be refused.
https://mcusercontent.com/1d4cbd5443daab04d0a2f98fe/files/9fab4a02-2ed0-5756-f397-4016d0ab01d8/31AmeliaSt_22_AP_0850_WS_amp_PullensTRA_ObjectionBriefing_16Feb24.pdf
As we say in the briefing, we believe that there are strong grounds for refusing planning permission for this development and that significant issues which the committee should be taking into account are absent from the officer’s report.
Concerns relate to:
- Planning policy and an over-concentration of student housing in the local area.
- Poor design of the development including its impact on Amelia St, Pullens Gardens, the Pullens Conservation Area and the policies that protect the infrastructure of the Low Line.
Overall, there is a strong sense that the proposed permission to grant is driven by the £5 million in lieu payment to Southwark Council and that significant and substantive reasons to refuse this application are being overlooked. Few changes or improvements have been requested to the design throughout the lengthy planning application process or any that respond to residents’ concerns.
If you are free it would be great to have some members at the planning committee meeting to help show support against this scheme.
| 4. Cinema Museum: The Gothique Film Society Present. Founded in 1966, the Gothique Film Society specialises in double bills ‘for the connoisseur of the macabre’. On Friday 16th February the society presents presents: The Most Dangerous Game (1932) and Dead Of Night (1945) The first cinematic adaptation of Richard Cornell’s classic 1924 short story, The Most Dangerous Game is especially fascinating as it was originally devised as something of a ‘filler’, to take advantage of the King Kong cast and crew who were waiting around for the extensive, and time-consuming, special effects to be completed.  So we have celebrated ‘scream queen’ Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong, from Kong, being taken captive by Count Zaroff on his remote island following a shipwreck. After initially giving them a courteous welcome, the count explains his passion is hunting, and his prey is ‘the most dangerous game of all’… Also known as Hounds of Zaroff. Dead of Night was a real change of pace for Ealing Studios, albeit perhaps a rather predictable one. Throughout the war, the studio had produced a series of typically morale-boosting films but, as the war ended, and the wartime embargo on horror and the supernatural was being relaxed, studio head Michael Balcon took the opportunity to move into those previously ‘forbidden’ areas. He ended up with one of the most celebrated genre films produced in the UK. A group of disparate people gather at a country cottage and recall strange events they have heard about, or experienced themselves. Six stories follow, the most well-known being ‘The Ventriloquist’s Dummy’, in which Michael Redgrave is taunted, and driven mad, by his dummy, Hugo. Doors open at 18.00 for a 19.00 start. Refreshments will be available in the licensed cafe/bar. TICKETS & PRICING: Everyone welcome: Individual tickets at £8.00 can be purchased on the door or via TicketLab. Alternatively, Gothique Film Society membership subscriptions are available. Each season comprises six shows, from October to March. The subscription for all six shows is £30.00, but discounted membership is available for in-season joiners. For further enquiries about membership, contact David Simpson : david.simpson399@btinternet.com or come along and join up on the door. For more information click here or go to www.cinemamuseum.org.uk. |
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The Walworth Society 