It's official, Motor Vehicle Crime is on the up

With the alarming rise in motor vehicle crime, Security Hub have put together a new booklet to give you, the motorist, valuable security tips on how to protect your car, motorbike, moped, scooter or bicycle. A hard copy of this leaflet will be posted through your letterbox very soon, but in the meantime you can download a pdf version by clicking the following link ATA Motor Vehicle Crime 

For your exclusive 10% discount voucher off all Halfords car and motorbike security products, see the back page of the motor vehicle crime booklet.

Tina Pugh / David Scales

Security Hub

Safer Neighbourhoods News and Police Drop-Ins

Hello everyone and a warm welcome to you all in 2018.
The latest figures from our January Safer Neighbourhoods Police Meeting show eight residential burglaries in the Triangle and seven thefts involving the taking of and from a motor vehicle for the October 2017 to January 2018 period.

The domestic burglary figures include one in Lindsell Street where a laptop was stolen and one in Guildford Grove where access was gained through downstairs sash windows. The other streets affected were Blackheath Road, Egerton Drive and Greenwich High  Road. The good news is the Police arrested a burglar in connection with Guildford Grove in early January.

There have been a few incidents of distraction burglary. On one occasion the victim was tricked into letting a bogus charity collector into their house, and the 94 year old victim then had a bag stolen and a few transactions were made on their card.  

 
If anybody does happen to receive a "charity collector", and they are dubious as to their real motives, please call 999 straight away.

With the closure of Greenwich Police station in Burney Street last year, the Safer Neighbourhoods team now operate in the Parks Office, Greenwich Park by the Blackheath gate entrance. The Parks office is not a public station and the nearest desk staffed station to us is Lewisham.

 

The police are now holding some local drop-ins where you can just turn up and raise any issues on crime at St Alfege Church Hall, Roan Street, London SE10 9JT on the following dates:  

Wed 17/01 1800  Sat 27/01 1600  Thurs 1/2 2100   Fri 9/2  1300  Thurs 15/2  1700   sat  24/2 1300

St Alfege Church Hall is situated behind St Alfege Church on Greenwich Church Street, next to Greggs Bakers. Drop-ins will run for approximately one hour.

David Scales
Security Hub

 

 

Bright Scarf Poets, Tues Jan 16

Irene Hill says:

' Come and celebrate the first birthday of In-Words on January 16th, 2018, when the Bright Scarf Poets (Quentin Chowdry, Dominic James, Rosie Johnston and Peter Pagnall) will entertain us from 7.30 at West Greenwich Library, Greenwich High Road. SE10 8NN. Free. More on each poet in this talented group on my website www.in-words.co.uk
'Come at 7pm for some special birthday refreshments.'

Community Health Champion course

After successfully running a course last November the local Seventh Day Adventists church will be hosting another Community Health Champion course on February 22nd, March 1st and 8th from 9:30am-3:30pm. This accredited course is aimed at those who wish to improve their own and family's health and the health of our community. The courses are sponsored by the Royal Greenwich Borough's Public Health Department on behalf of the RSPH. If you are interested in attending, please click this link for course details Royal Society for Public Health and click here is the form for applying for the course. Please note that applications should be emailed to public-health-training@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or Hayley.Butler@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

A seal comes to Greenwich

Visit Greenwich* says this is a seal on a sandbank near the O2. 

Darryl Chamberlain of 853 reports fears that the seal, and any mates it has, might be disturbed if a new Thames Clipper pier is built:

'The firm that runs the Hotel Intercontinental at the O2 has applied for planning permission to convert a disused jetty at Ordnance Wharf into a restaurant and pier for river buses and hotel visitors. But local residents are demanding a full environmental impact assessment is carried out first, as rare birds – such as Caspian gulls – are said to use the old jetty, which was grassed over at the turn of the millennium, as a nesting site.'

The jetty at Ordnance Wharf that could become a river bus pier 

*Visit Greenwich is 'the Royal Borough of Greenwich Destination Management Company, a partnership based, not for profit, Community Interest Company... a private/public partnership, led by a board of tourism professionals, representing different sectors of the industry, with an independent chair. We promote Greenwich and the surrounding area as a visitor destination and place to stay.'

http://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk

Devonshire Drive Singology Choir had a great year

Mark De-Lisser says

"So, in 2017 we sang with Gareth Malone for the opening of the Ned in Central London. Performed at V Festival twice with Stormzy. Fronted the Star For Life charity concert at Harrow School. Hosted our own summer show at the Scoop in London. Competed as finalists in the Songs of Praise Gospel Choir of the year on BBC1 and ended the year with our annual Christmas Show in Central London. Phew... What will 2018 bring for us we wonder? Sign up for a free trial and find out. http://bit.ly/SingologyFreeTrial"

Singology Choir Greenwich The Village, 10 Devonshire Drive, London SE10 8LA

Greenwich trains and London Bridge platforms

Correction: Greenwich trains stopped stopping at London Bridge station on 26th August 2016, not in 2013 as I said in the previous post. (Moral: for intel of this kind, best to trust your neighbours and the News Shopper more than City A.M.)

There are the same number of platforms at London Bridge station now as before - 15, all rebuilt, but now six of them are terminal platforms, and nine are for through trains, whereas before the upgrade there were nine terminal and six through platforms. 
(Sources: Network Rail, Southeastern, and Wikipedia.)

Greenwich trains go from platforms 1 and 2 (maybe others too - not sure). (Source: experience, word of mouth.)

Southeastern trains to/from Cannon Street/Greenwich:

2 trains per hour (tph) Dartford via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal

2 tph Loop service via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal to Slade Green then return via Sidcup

2 tph Loop service via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal to Slade Green then return via Barnehurst and Bexleyheath

2 tph Loop service via Bexleyheath to Barnehurst, then return via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich

2 tph Loop service via Sidcup to Crayford, then return via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich

(Source: Wikipedia)

(Source: Wikipedia)

We have trains to London Bridge again!

So, as of Tuesday 2nd just gone, Greenwich trains are stopping at London Bridge again, which they haven't since 2013. These are Cannon Street trains - we still have to change for Charing Cross. But hey - we're eight minutes from London Bridge again!

Five new platforms have just opened at London Bridge station

And it's now easier to see where you are, and where's where, when you get off the train at the new London Bridge station, because of two new entrances/exits on Tooley Street, and because just one vast concourse links all 15 platforms - 'bigger than the pitch at Wembley' say Network Rail. The only downside I've heard is that some people would prefer the departure noticeboards to be amalgamated.

The whole £1bn revamp of the station won't be totally finished for some time yet, but the push over Christmas has made a big difference. 

One result of upgrades like this one at London Bridge is that Network Rail are selling off a lot of property to pay for them - so if you've ever wanted a railway arch, now's your chance!

By Imogene Russell
Sources: CITY A.M., trainline, and Sara Emanuel

Some upcoming public Council meetings

From the Council's paper, Greenwich Info, and from www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/meetings:

Most Council meetings are open to members of the public, who can address meetings on agenda items with the prior agreement of the Chair: email committees@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or call 020 8854 8888 and ask for committee services.
Members of the public can submit written questions to Council by 12 noon five clear working days before the meeting and can ask up to two questions at any one meeting - with only one part to each question.
For agendas, see www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/meetings

Here are some of the upcoming meetings this month:
Tuesday 9 January, 6.30pm, Planning Board
Wednesday 10 January, 6.30 pm, Licensing Sub-committee A
Thursday 11 January, 6.30pm, Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel
Tuesday 16 January, 6.30, Greenwich Area Planning Committee
Wednesday 17 January, 6.30pm Licensing Sub-committee B
Wednesday 17 January, 7pm, Children & Young People Scrutiny Panel
Thursday 18 January,6.30pm, Schools Forum
Monday 22 January, 6.30pm NEW- Licensing Review Sub-committee
Wednesday 24 January, 6.30pm Cabinet
Thursday 25 January, 7pm Community Safety & Environment Security Panel
Wednesday 31 January, 7pm Full Council: all 51 councillors - can also be watched live online
Thursday 1 February, 7pm Highways Committee

The ATA won't be posting these meetings regularly - this is a one-off. 

Find them at www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/meetings or Greenwich Info posted through all doors.

These sources don't (immediately seem to) say where meetings are held, but we know that's at Greenwich Town Hall, Wellington Street, Woolwich, SE18 6PW (pictured).

European ruling may curb Greenwich cruise terminal emissions

 Darryl Chamberlain of 853 writes:

'Campaigners who want to cut pollution from the proposed Greenwich cruise liner terminal say they have been given a boost by a ruling from the European Commission. The East Greenwich Residents Association objects to the London City Cruise Port, at Enderby Wharf, not having facilities (my note: electricity from the shore) to power ships while they are staying at the terminal. This means ships will need to use their own (my note: usually diesel) generators while moored at the port, which residents on both sides of the Thames say will hugely increase air pollution in the area.

'Greenwich Council first gave permission for the terminal in 2011, before the dangers of air pollution from ships was widely understood. But it gave permission for a revised scheme in 2015, allowing ships to stay for longer. 

'EGRA has continued to pursue the issue, and last summer presented a petition to the European Parliament objecting to the scheme, saying the environmental assessments had not followed EU law. This went to the European Commission, the 28-member body which implements EU law.

'The commission said that while an overall environmental assessment was not a requirement under EU law, countries that gave permission to schemes that would breach EU air quality rules should take compensating measures to ensure they stay within the law. It said: “If the Member State grants permission to a project that would increase pollution beyond the limit values for ambient air quality, it would logically have to take compensating measures to ensure compliance with the limit values.”

'Even if Britain leaves the European Union, Brexit Secretary David Davis has said that environmental protections enshrined in EU laws would still apply, although Parliament could change them later. EGRA members feel that the Commission’s ruling will help the case for a cruise liner terminal with shoreside power supply, as seen in New York and Amsterdam, and are now hoping to secure a meeting with Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

'Local MP Matt Pennycook is also continuing to campaign for shoreside power at the cruise terminal.'