THIS THURSDAY HONOR OAK PARK STATION

This area is getting a makeover

This Thursday we will be planting the lovely plants from Phoebes Garden centre and funded by Southern behind the newly painted railings. We will be providing information about the aims of the Honor Oak Park Action group. If you would like to help or tell us what you think about HOPAG or help with the planting please come and see us.

THURSDAY 31st July
HONOR OAK PARK STATION
11 AM

Jersey tiger moth

When clearing the site of rubbish at Honor Oak Park Station we spotted a Jersey Tiger moth.

Community partnership with Southern rail

HOPAG has forged an important community partnership with Southern. We asked station manager at Honor Oak Park, Chris Daley to help us kick off our campaign with clearing the rubbish from in front of the station and prepare the ground for some attractive planting. Chris Daley is a man of action and got his team onto this immediately and has already cleared the rubbish and the railings have been given a lovely pale green lick of paint. A new community notice board will arrive soon. The best news is he has given us a budget of £250 to plant a small dry garden behind the railings at the entrance to the station.

HOPAG (Honor Oak Park Action Group) invited Joan Ruddock MP to see first hand the issues that local residents desperately want to see improved. Specifially the lack of recycling for shops and visitors which results in litter and fly tipping and dog poo. We will continue to exert pressure on Lewisham council to find an ATTRACTIVE solution to our problems, and to apply for Crofton Ward Panel local assembly funding. £10,000 is available each year to spend on issues that local residents want tackled.

Please contact us Iris or Fiona if you would like to get involved. HOPAGROUP@GMAIL.COM

We can improve Honor Oak

Local resident Action Groups are making a big difference to local communities and businesses. Small changes can have a big impact. A few years ago some local residents formed the Brockley X Action Group - they have made a huge difference to the quality of life around Brockley station. They have successfully negotiated with both the council and railway and now the area has been rid of rubbish and replaced with a lovely planted area and attractive recycling bins. Now when arriving at Brockley Station you feel a real community spirit with great Deli's , coffee bars, health food shops and a lovely garden at the station - it's an attractive and thriving community.

Brockley Station
The group has also successfully negotiated with the council and railway to get the railway bridge cleaned and netted and launched a campaign to re-open the high-level railway station.

Hither Green - another success story

Another space that has been tackled by locals is Hither Green Station. The local businesses and local residents formed the Staplehurst Road group started to make improvements around the Station by planting up large planters and got Lewisham Council to improve the station with hanging baskets and close the road when they have their annual fundraising fete.

Now it's our turn to improve Honor Oak!

Fundraising to make a difference at Honor Oak starting soon!!

Crofton Ward assembly, a successful evening

A very successful Crofton Park Assembly meeting took place last night at St Hildas Church Hall.
Around 100 people from the ward formed small groups and voiced their concerns about the local area. Each group highlighted what is good and not so good about the area and proposed solutions. Common themes emerged and there were lots of ideas on how to take things forward, but getting the basics right is crucially important to all of us.

The concerns:
The widespread dog fouling - lots of ideas on how to tackle this (watch this blog for full report)
Disabled access to Honor Oak park station platforms and other facilities/parking spaces
Waste management, better street management is critical to make our streets more desirable. We need attractive recycling stations at both Crofton Park and Honor Oak Park station to reduce/eliminate litter. Good quality street furniture, e.g small bins seating and planters. Better facilities for garden waste and large items. Clearing rubbish at Honor Oak park station. A yard where we could free cycle large items to resolve fly tipping and encourage recycling (lots of people like rummaging in skips! so why not a yard)
Community support for youth clubs and getting youngsters involvement on the next assembly.
Best kept street award?
Better parks - cafe kiosk, toilets, wardens, improved playgrounds
More volunteering
More trees
Consultation with Transport for London on the future of our 2 local stations

Want to know more?
Your Councillor is the person elected every four years to represent your area. They can help if you are dissatisfied with a council service by advising or directing you to someone who can help sort out your problem and can sometimes progress the case on your behalf. This is often done in advice surgeries where you can meet with the councillor for your ward and discuss your problem. As community leaders they put forward proposals to improve their ward, which may include bringing together different community groups to develop a case for change.
Crofton Park councillors
.http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/councilanddemocracy/electedrepresentatives/councillors/croftonpark