3rd June 2021

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lakanal’s sister block emptied

Issue 1533

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Why Scott feels ‘fortunate’ ELEPHANT LEGAL BATTLE IS OVER!

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100 YEAR OLD STORY OF OUR BRIDGE Pages 20-21

european champ Residents have from been told they SE22 will have to leave

See page 6

over fire safety concerns

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NEWS Pages 2-18 OPINION Pages 16-17 arts Page 19 history Pages 20-21

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

Appeal court halts campaigners’ legal fight, yet they vow to carry on

Photo by Sebastian Garraway

Contents

property Page 22 classified & family announcements Page 23 Public notices Pages 25-26 SPORT Pages 27-32 During the crisis, contact us if you have a story on 07973175511 or email

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By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk Elephant and Castle campaigners have come to the end of their legal challenge against the demolition, after the Appeal Court upheld a High Court decision in support of the regeneration scheme.

Although the court found there were no grounds for a u-turn, after a four-year campaign activists say their work is far from over, highlighting that pressure put on landlord and developer Delancey and Southwark Council led to significant gains, including upping the number of social housing and a better deal for displaced traders.

Demolition is already underway, with hoarding up along the decommissioned shopping centre, which finally shut its doors last September.

Jerry Flynn, from the Up the Elephant campaign, said: “We are naturally disappointed that the court has not found in our favour, but we can be pleased with the victories we have had in our fight with

PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN Issue 1532

Editor: Kevin Quinn Deputy Editor: Katherine Johnston Reporter: Kit Heren Sports Editor: John Kelly Arts Correspondent: Michael Holland Weekender Series Editor: Laura Burgoine Media Partnerships: Anthony Phillips Sales Manager: Tammy Jukes Advertising: Clarry Frewin, Lorraine Wood, Design: Dan Martin, Aurelio Medina Finance: Em Zeki - Tel: 0779 883 3758 Subscriptions/Announcements: Katie Boyd Managing & Commercial Director: Chris Mullany Managing & Editorial Director: Kevin Quinn Published weekly on a Thursday at: Unit A202, The Biscuit Factory, Drummond Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 4DG. News and Sport: 020 7231 5258 Advertising: 020 7232 1639 News: news@southwarknews.co.uk Advertising: ads@southwarknews.co.uk Finance: em@southwarknews.co.uk Printed by Iliffe Print. Tel: 01223 656500 www.iliffeprint.co.uk

Delancey and Southwark.

“There was zero proper social rented housing to begin with and it is only by the efforts of local people that we have the 116 homes now promised.

“But this social rented housing still has to be delivered and Delancey’s track record shows that it is practiced in passing these costs back to the public purse.

“We will continue to campaign to make sure that we get the promised 116 social rented units and that Southwark does not have to pay for them.

“There have also been gains for the traders – many now have somewhere to move to, with Castle Square and other spaces, although not enough space for everyone who needs it and traders are still in negotiation with Southwark for a new market space.

“We will continue the fight to get them a better deal, alongside the Latin American community, who have made the Elephant their home.

“We also got together a great legal team and are very grateful for the part that they have played in this battle, which has shone a light on the advantages our planning

EXCLUSIVE

Established: 1987

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May 27 2021

to solve the housing crisis.”

Paul Heron, of the Public Interest Law Centre, who acted as solicitors for Jerry Flynn, who launched the appeal, said the local authority should ‘now be on notice’ that future developments should have the maximum of affordable and council homes.

“While we have lost this case, we have demonstrated we have the capacity to hold Southwark and big developers to account and we will not hesitate to mount more challenges where we think it is justified”.

The scheme, a regeneration aiming to create a new ‘town centre’, improved transport links and a new campus for the University of the Arts London was approved in July 2018, two years after a first iteration planning application was first deferred due to hundreds of objections over lack of social housing and retail space.

The final plans will see 979 build to rent homes, of which 330 are ‘affordable’ and 116 for social rent on land where there is currently no housing.

The News contacted Delancey on press day, but did not receive a response before deadline.

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BOSS DEMAND OF ATTACKER AFTER NEW Page 30 DEAL

Southwark News started life as the Bermondsey News in 1987, as an A-4 photocopied sheet of paper and rapidly grew to cover the entire borough and the surrounding area. As the borough grew, so did the newspaper.

It is owned and run by Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn.

Former reporters for Southwark News, they bought the title in 2002, after the founder Dave Clark died suddenly from cancer four years earlier.

Both directors live in the borough. A dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to cover as much of what is going on as possible and strive to ensure that a community-led, independent newspaper can survive and excel in a market dominated by national and multinational media groups.

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Bermondsey grandmother gets businesses to sign up as safe spaces

system affords big developers like Delancey, even when they fail to meet their affordable housing obligations. We will continue the fight to change this.”

Tanya Murat, from Southwark Defend Council Housing, a group which supported the campaign and legal challenge said losing the legal challenge was ‘always the most likely outcome’.

“This has been an inspiring campaign, which proves that if you fight for more, you can get it. There was no affordable retail space, or trader’s panel or trader’s relocation fund before we began our campaign,” she added.

“We won all these concessions from Delancey, although sadly many traders will still be left out in the cold.

“It is a tragedy that we have lost the opportunity to rehouse more people who rely on council housing for a decent home.

"Southwark has a policy that should have got us at least another 55 social rented homes and even that would have meant less than 200 out of nearly a thousand new homes.

“Southwark must stop caving in to developers like Delancey if we are ever going

VIGIL HELD AFTER ACTIVIST WAS SHOT IN PECKHAM

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

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NEWS 3

mieville family raffle home at £2 a ticket

By Kit Heren kit@southwarknews.co.uk A family in Denmark Hill are raffling their £750,000 house, with tickets going for just £2 each.

Lucy Mieville and her husband James have lived in the house since 2015 and have since had a baby girl. With plans to have another child, they decided to move somewhere with more space.

But instead of going down the normal route, working with estate agents and conveyancing solicitors to sell the property on the open market, Lucy and James decided to raffle it.

A company called Raffle House valued the twobed terraced house with a garden and offered to buy it from the couple. They then opened the raffle process last year. From Raffle House’s point of view as a business, the aim is to make more money selling tickets than they pay for the house in the first place.

For Lucy, it was a chance to avoid the hassle involved in selling the family home and offer someone who might not be able to buy a house a chance to get onto the property ladder.

“You know when you sell a house the normal way, there’s so much emotion tied up in that,” the trainee nutritionist said. “It’s someone’s home and they’re giving it to someone else to make it their home. It’s quite a big deal.”

“I think sometimes that gets lost in the flurry of paperwork and surveys, and bad-tempered viewings and haggling. It’s understandable because all that stuff has to happen but with raffling, someone might win it!

“When I realised that, I thought ‘that’s so great’.

That’s such a lovely thought. I thought ‘the karma that I might get with that would be really good’.”

Raffle ticket sales for the house are open until the end of June. The lucky winner will get £3,000 towards bills.

To find out more go to rafflehouse.com/ dreamhome

4 NEWS

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

East Dulwich’s Columba Blango is European champion

27-year-old is now all set for the Tokyo games

By Kit Heren kit@southwarknews.co.uk

An east Dulwich man has won the 400 metre race at the European Para Athletic Championships, breaking the European record in the process.

Photo by Jon Veitch

Columba Blango ran in the T20 category for people with intellectual disabilities at the championships in Poland on Tuesday night, June 1, coming home in 47.9 seconds - well ahead of the chasing pack.

Columba, 27, had already broken the record in the heats that morning, with a time of 48.54 seconds. He is now first in the Paralympic rankings and is likely to go to this summer’s games in Tokyo.

“I cruised the heat this morning, but I knew tonight I would need to go hard from the beginning in the final,” he said afterwards. “I knew I could pick up from 200m, I just had to keep going and going.”

“I’ve been chasing a time under 48 seconds for a while now, so it is a big surprise for me today. I am so glad I could get it today; it is all part of the process.

“I’ve always dreamt of this moment since I was a kid. I don’t think it’ll be my last time [on the podium], there is much more to come, but I want to enjoy it. I’m going to cherish this moment.”

Columba grew up in south London and still lives in east Dulwich with his family, working in Primark in Peckham part-time while training.

His father, also called Columba, took part in the decathlon at the 1980 Olympics for Sierra Leone. He later moved to London and became a Liberal Democrat councillor in Southwark, and served as mayor of the borough.

Columba Jr. was in intensive care for about four weeks after being born, after suffering blood clots on his brain due to a difficult birth. He was left with speech and cognitive problems.

Columba Jr. was unable to speak until the age of six, but with help from NHS therapists and staff at St John’s Roman

Catholic Primary School in Rotherhithe, he largely overcame his problems. He still has some cognitive issues, which qualify him for the T20 category.

He went on to study Tourism Management at Greenwich University before going back into training alongside work.

Columba Jr, who also runs 200 metres, has an athletics coach but his father said he still takes an active part in his son’s training process.

“I give him strategies, discuss his strength,” he said. “I motivate him, look at his training programme. I comment and give him tips on a few things, on his diet, his sleep, his resting periods.”

“When he has a competition I try to talk him through, to encourage him to go on YouTube to see what other top athletes have done. I talk him through all of that and do a lot of motivational work with him.”

Columba Sr. was not able to join his son in Bydgoszcz for the championships because of Covid-19 restrictions, but would otherwise have been cheering him on from the sidelines.

“I’m sad not to have gone with

Sir Simon is sprightly at seventy

always a priority for his son, despite his clear athletic prowess.

“I have always identified him as somebody who is talented. He was top of sports at school. I decided he will continue his education and do as much training as possible while at school, because you don’t want him to sacrifice his education.

“My whole idea was ‘you’ve got to do both’. School for me was the priority.

Because you will reach the age where you can’t do sports any more and you will need something to back you up.

The academic qualification will be your back up. I encouraged him to do as much as possible in sports but take his studies seriously.”

Columba Sr. said he did the same as a young athlete. “Sports at some point come to an end,” he added. “I’ve seen a lot of top sports people come to the end of their sporting career and because they don’t have any qualifications they have struggled to get on with the rest of life.”

His eldest son is now in the Navy after studying electrical engineering at Greenwich - but is a talented footballer and played at county level as a boy.

“There came a point where I had to make a decision,” Columba Sr. said.

“Football is even worse [than athletics]: you have to be extraordinarily talented and you have to be very lucky.

“This is the line I take with my children: I think about their future.

Sports come to an end, and they have to have that academic grounding - typical African mentality!”

really impressively sixteen were people who have worked with me - so I clearly haven’t put them off too much!”

Sir Simon shared his two-man kayak with his friend of 40 years Paul Buckley, who is a consultant for the Change Foundation and grew up on the Aylesbury Estate. The trip was Paul’s idea.

“He inveigled me into doing this, and naively and innocently I thought ‘oh yes, this would be a good idea,” Sir Simon said.

He had been worried that his training programme hadn’t been tough enough. “I cycle a fair amount and I run a bit, I walk quite a lot - but in terms of the upper body strength stuff which you probably need for kayaking and rowing, I thought I might be lacking.

“I kayaked when I was at university and once in the House of Commons. I hadn’t rowed since I was at uni, so this was all a bit of a test of the old system.

“But I’m happy to say I don’t even have blisters. I’m very pleased with myself, it’s encouraged me to think that these things can be done. Perhaps I’m fitter than I

think!”

The group travelled upriver but timed the trip so they were going with the tide. Sir Simon added that he found the challenge “really enjoyable”.

“You see all the different kinds of London architecture, and then further up the birds, the swans, wonderful trees, nature views.

It was all a great adventure successfully achieved.”

When the group finally arrived in Twickenham, they had lunch at the White Swan. Sir Simon dedicated his efforts to his late father and grandfather, who were both brewers.

“In their honour, because they brewed beer for a living, I celebrated in good English ale.”

Sir Simon turned 70 in mid-May and celebrated with friends and family including six godchildren - at the Grange pub in Bermondsey.

Donate to the Change Foundation fundraiser here: https://donate. giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/simontackles-the-thames

Columba Blango

I’ve always dreamt of this moment since I was a kid him because I’ve been some kind of inspiration for him. I show him my Olympics pictures, my training - how I got there.”

Columba Sr. added that education was

By Kit Heren

kit@southwarknews.co.uk Most people might find kayaking and rowing 25 miles up the Thames from Deptford to Twickenham quite tough - but 70-year-old former Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Sir Simon Hughes said he hadn’t even had any blisters.

Sir Simon was one of twenty people who took to the river in kayaks from the Ahoy Centre in Deptford on a cloudy and overcast day last Friday, May 28. The challenge was to get to the White Swan pub in Twickenham, stopping at the Hammersmith Bridge to get into rowing boats for the second half.

The day was in service of the Change Foundation, a charity that uses sport to help young people in difficult circumstances improve their lives. Sir Simon’s group have raised more than £7,000 so far, with his own fundraising total at £1,910.

“Sixty-five people have contributed to my sponsorship, which is brilliant, of whom

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

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NEWS 5

Dulwich homes open gardens to raise war hero foundation funds

By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk Three stunning gardens in Dulwich’s Court Lane are open to visitors next weekend to fundraise for the Mark Evison Foundation.

All three gardens back on to Dulwich Park, and between them have wildflower meadows, a swimming pond, a circular vegetable bed, plantings and a pond for wildlife, herbaceous borders, roses at their seasonal best, interesting species planting and a blue plaque.

All owners are holding the open gardens to support the Mark Evison Foundation, a charity set up in memory of an army lieutenant from Dulwich who died after being injured in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2009. Mark had suffered a gunshot wound while attempting to get his platoon, the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, to safety following an ambush.

He was described by Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe MBE, as “one of the finest young officers of his generation and a truly remarkable young man” who had been known as ‘007’ by his platoon for his ‘capability, style and charisma’.

He was also known for taking great care of his soldiers and for being hugely talented in a range of fields including music, for which he had achieved a scholarship to attend Charterhouse school.

A diary he kept during his time in Afghanistan was later serialised in a broadsheet newspaper. It revealed he was becoming increasingly worried about the equipment given to his men, lack of radio

signal and communication problems, and lack of medical packs.

His bereaved family set up the charity to offer awards for non-academic personal challenges to sixth formers at London state schools, often in areas of high deprivation.

In 2019 it made 105 individual or group awards of up to £500 to 320 students from 48 schools across 28 London boroughs.

Project applications this year are as diverse as dark sky gazing in the Brecon Beacons, cycling the 240-mile Caledonia Way (Campbeltown to Inverness), creating a Japanese animation, walking to Paris and recording a first music album.

The open gardens are held on Sunday June 13, from 2-5.30pm at 1 Court Lane Gardens, 118 and 142 Court Lane.

There will be tea and home-made cakes at 142 Court Lane, and plant sales at 118 Court Lane.

Combined entry is £8 - start at any of the gardens.

Visit www.markevisonfoundation.org for more information about the foundation.

Lt Mark Evison

Bermondsey leaseholders furious over fire safety charges

By Kit Heren kit@southwarknews.co.uk Residents of a Bermondsey housing block have said Southwark Council has charged them a six-figure sum for fire safety work without giving them proper warning.

Leaseholders in the Devon Mansions block on Tooley Street were told in August 2020 that the council would be installing a new fire safety system in the building and that this would be “chargeable.”

But when a landlord such as the council carries out major works that will cost more than £250, by law they have to consult leaseholders beforehand.

In this case the fire alarm systems were installed over the next month and leaseholders got a notice telling them the cost for the entire block was more than £562,000.

One leaseholder, Janet Wertli, was personally charged more than £1,800 on top of her usual service charge. She added that she found dealing with the council “annoying and frustrating”.

An exception to the rule about consulting leaseholders before major works is if there is an emergency. Southwark Council’s notice from October 2020 told leaseholders they were being consulted about the changes - but also commented that work had already started because a recent fire

safety inspection found that alarms were “urgently required”.

Devon Mansions had been lacking a communal alarm system for years before the new one was installed, leaving residents wondering why the work was now urgent. And Ms Wertli said that her new alarm had been installed before the consultation notice was sent.

Separately, the new works came after the council’s director for housing modernisation said in July 2017 that a new communal fire safety system, consisting of smoke and heat detectors, would be installed in all council-owned residential buildings, and that flat owners would not be charged.

Cllr Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Council Homes and Homelessness said: “In October 2020, we served Section 20 notices to leaseholders at Devon Mansions after a fire risk assessment identified that works were required urgently. This included installing fire alarms to the common parts of the building, which is rechargeable under the terms of lease. Where work is deemed both urgent and necessary, legislation allows us to begin undertaking works before the end of the observation period. In this case, we used a term contractor which had previously been consulted on, with set rates, and carried out a full Section 20 consultation with leaseholders.”

Wake the kids.

Take your Covid-19 test.

Wake the kids again.

Around 1 in 3 people who have Covid-19 have no symptoms and are spreading it without knowing.

That could be a friend, relative, workmate.

It could even be you. Make testing twice a week part of your routine, to help keep people around you safe.

Let’s take this next step safely.

6 NEWS

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

residents in sister block to lakanal to be moved out

By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk The fire safety failures identified in Lakanal House’s sister block are so severe that all residents will have to move out and be rehoused for at least a year while remedial work takes place.

The news has come as a huge shock to the tenants and leaseholds of Marie Curie’s 98 flats, all of whom have been living under a ‘waking watch’ since it emerged in 2020 that the building was affected by similar issues as Lakanal House, the scene of a terrible blaze that claimed the lives of three women and three children in 2009.

Shockingly, the work due to take place in 2022 is, the council has admitted, ‘similar’ to remediation already completed on Lakanal in 2016-2017.

A meeting was held on the Sceaux Gardens estate last Wednesday, May 26, where residents were informed that they would need to be ‘decanted’ as the remedial work required will involve ripping up every flat’s floor and getting behind walls. It is likely all bathrooms and kitchens will need replacing.

In information posted to every single flat in the block the council said all residents will be offered £6,500 to help with moving costs and everyone will have a ‘clear’ offer of temporary rehousing.

As yet there is no confirmation on how far away these homes could be from Camberwell, and what type of housing is available. The council has, however, confirmed they would have the same number of bedrooms.

Leaseholders also have the option of the council buying back their property at ‘market value’.

The council wants to begin the rehousing process immediately, but has admitted the earliest work could start would be January 2022. There is also no clear indication how much the entire project will cost.

The local authority anticipates the most disruptive construction will begin from September the same year and last 52 weeks, meaning the earliest possible completion date is September 2023.

Marie Curie was given an overall risk level of ‘substantial’ at a fire risk assessment survey in January 2021, only downgraded to ‘high moderate’ after the temporary measures were introduced.

Fire safety problems were first identified last year when a resident reported smoke moving between different flats.

While investigations took place by contractors, the council put a waking watch in place and new alarms. Since then the council has routinely assured residents the building is safe.

However, more in-depth surveys have discovered gaps between properties, ageing pipes, and issues with risers and bathroom ducts.

The revelations beg the question why has it taken until now for the same problems that affected Lakanal to be identified in Marie Curie.

In a FAQ sheet delivered to leaseholders the council says improvements to Marie Curie were made in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The document appears to suggest that it is only because of a planned major

Lakanal House today

We are almost identical blocks. We feel blindsided by the news because we were under the impression that the major works would have corrected the compartment issues, post-Lakanal

Dayana, Thais and Felipe Francisquini, pictured with Dayana’s partner and Felipe’s father Rafael. He was not in the flat at the time of the fire. He watched helplessly as the block was engulfed by smoke. works programme, and going above and beyond legal requirements, that the same issues have come to light.

The letter explains: “There had been previous fire safety works undertaken on Marie Curie to address gaps issues from the properties to the communal areas back in 2009/10, which had been identified following the tragic fire at Lakanal.

“Although the outcome of the investigation into the smell of smoke was deemed to require no further action, the council wanted to ensure that any possible risks were identified and for this reason an internal fire survey was instructed to be carried out on an empty property within Marie Curie.

“This highlighted the gaps issues, which need to be addressed. Currently there is no legal requirement to undertake internal, detailed intrusive surveys which would involve removing panels, fixtures and fittings or cupboards for example.

“However, the council has now implemented a new process whereby internal, detailed intrusive surveys are required for new major refurbishment schemes, as long as the building can be empty do so.”

One leaseholder, Aaron Tan, said the developments showed ‘major failings’ on the part of the local authority.

“We are almost identical blocks. We feel blindsided by the news because we were under the impression that the major works would have corrected the compartment issues, post-Lakanal,” he said when writing to this newspaper.

Cllr Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for homelessness and council housing, said: “Southwark Council’s most important commitment to our residents is that we will do everything in our power to keep them safe in their homes.

“Unfortunately, sometimes this means giving residents bad news, and last week, we had to inform residents in Marie Curie block in Camberwell that, in the future, they will need to move out of Marie Curie while we carry out major essential works, including fire safety improvements, to their homes and block.

“This follows intrusive investigations carried out since late last year, when the smell of smoke was reported travelling between flats.

“At that point the council, in consultation with the London Fire Brigade, introduced additional fire safety measures including fire wardens and communal alarms, and we have kept residents updated ever since.

“The block remains safe thanks to the extra measures we introduced.

“I can understand that this must be hugely worrying for residents in Marie Curie, especially after months of living through a pandemic, and we know the memory of the tragedy at Lakanal in 2009 exacerbates their fears.

“I would like to reassure all residents that we are here to answer all their questions and guide them through the next steps.

“I want to thank residents for their patience, understanding and resilience during a difficult time for them.”

Marie Curie

Michelle Udoaka and baby Helen

Catherine Hickman

The Lakanal House fire, July 2009

Lakanal House fire - the tragedy that foreshadowed Grenfell The blaze that ripped through Camberwell’s Lakanal House on July 3, 2009, was not only a tragedy but a serious failure of duty.

Six people died, including a 20-day old baby, and it was subsequently found that all of them could have been saved if they had been told to get out rather than stay put.

An inquest also discovered the building’s materials had been made less safe during refurbishment work and emergency workers did not have accurate information about escape routes.

It was the worst tower block fire seen in living memory until Grenfell. Many

of the issues highlighted at the Lakanal inquest in 2013 could have - and should have - ensured the Grenfell fire never came to pass. Yet lessons were not learned.

In 2017 charges against the council were successfully brought by the London Fire Brigade. Just months before the blaze broke out at Grenfell, Southwark pleaded guilty to the breaches. The local authority was subsequently fined £270,000 and told to pay costs of £300,000 for the failings.

In 2019 we reported that since then the council had spent £62 million - a figure now far higher - on fire safety across its housing stock.

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

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NEWS 7

Cladding scandal: how one man had his home repossessed Exclusive

By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk A homeowner whose Bermondsey Spa flat was repossessed after he was unable to sell it due to cladding delays says he was eventually left with just £6,000 from the sale of the £680,000 property.

John - not his real name - told the News he was scared telling his story would impact on his career and the business he had set up.

He had bought a 25 per cent stake in a shared ownership flat in Davoll Court a decade ago with a friend. At the time, entering into the scheme was the only way they could afford to get on the property ladder.

But after his co-owner moved abroad for work the relationship soured and he claims she refused to continue paying her share of the mortgage.

After shouldering twice the cost for several years, eventually he was incapable of continuing and began to fall into arrears.

He says that despite having a perfect record, and paying his share on time, Hyde refused to give any leniency for the difficulty of his situation and instead began to pursue aggressive action.

“I was taken to court by Hyde and they gave me three months to sell up and clear the debt or, I was told, it would be repossessed. This was in 2019. We found a buyer and then the day it was meant to

be signed off I was told by Hyde that the buyer’s mortgage provider wouldn’t lend him the cash for the flat.

“Another lender then refused also. I’d already sold my furniture by this point and was ready to move out.”

Lenders had refused to give mortgages for the purchase because the block had not yet received its EWS1 certificate; a document that confirms what fire safety remediation has been completed, including cladding removal, and that the building is now safe.

Although cladding had already been removed in the aftermath of Grenfell, national delays in these specialist surveys and a shortage of surveyors qualified to conduct them have left homeowners in limbo.

“The courts ordered me to sell but they may as well have told me to grow wings and fly,” he said. “We were physically incapable of selling it.”

In the meantime his arrears and interest were building up, he was put on furlough during the pandemic, and then his

mortgage provider started the eviction and repossession process - something that could have been avoided had the agreed sale not fallen through.

“All I knew was that I was at the bottom of the chain,” John explained.

“I just wanted it off my shoulders but even after the flat was repossessed by my lender I was still liable for rent and service charge.

“Hyde would not buy back my share or help with the service charge. That was not an option.”

A buyer was eventually secured for the property. Once valued at £680,000 it was put on the market for £450,000.

John’s initial investment in the property had been £350,000. Taking into account the percentage share he owned and the arrears built up, along with other costs, when the sale completed around a month ago the final cheque John received in the post was a mere £6,000.

“I would never recommend anyone go into shared ownership now,” he told the News.

“It’s a first time buyer scheme and therefore there is an assumption that you can sell at some point. “£6,000 is all I’ve been left with. I hitched my horse to the wrong cart.

“Throughout I tried to get help and find a solicitor but my situation was just so complicated there seemed to be nothing they could do.

“When I bought it Bermondsey was a perfect location for work, I had a roof over my head after renting and I saw it as an investment in my future.

ELITE FISH BAR 020 7237 6409

“It was a big deal for me to buy a home, I’m working class and from the north coast of Northern Ireland.

“I was on furlough during the pandemic and trying to set up my own company and I honestly do not think anyone would have cared if I were homeless.

“The government needs to compel Housing Associations and building freeholders to do what is required to allow people to sell.

“They need to work much quicker as this issue has been going on since 2018.

“I’ll never buy again.”

Susan Stockwell, Hyde’s chief customer officer said: “We’re very sorry that John had his home repossessed. This was not Hyde’s action, but action taken by the lender.

“John was living in a shared ownership property and was not paying his mortgage or his rent.

“We worked very hard with him so that he could avoid having his home repossessed. However, we can’t influence the actions a lender takes.

“We wrote to John earlier this year and explained he continued to be liable for rent under the terms of his lease, even though his home had been repossessed, while the lender was in the process of selling the flat.

“We’re not the freeholder of Davoll Court and so we’re not responsible for obtaining an EWS1 form for the building.

“Additionally, we’re a not-for-profit organisation and charity and we don’t buy flats back from leaseholders and shared owners.”

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

southwark angels Helping in crisis

By Kit Heren

rotherhithe Primary plans to hold a prom Rotherhithe Primary School is looking to raise money to hold a prom for Year 6 children to compensate for missing out on so much school time in their last year before leaving.

Teaching assistant Donna Powell said: “Due to the pandemic, our precious Year 6 children have missed out on so much during their last two years of primary school i.e. trips, residentials, production, SATs and many more things.

“So as you can see Covid-19 has taken so much away from them, even having to spend a lot of time at home, without friends. As it has also been for so many children around the

world. Many of the students have had to grow up very quickly and support their families during this difficult year – they each deserve a evening of fun given the year they’ve had!”

Money will go towards decorating the hall, hiring a DJ, organising catering – and giving children a small leaving present.

The school originally wanted to raise £500 but had already got to £505 by Friday afternoon, just a few days after launching the fundraiser.

Any extra money will go towards the Year 5 children’s residential school trip next year, Donna said.

Donate to the fundraiser here: https://uk.gf.me/v/c/xnrc/help-rpschildren-have-a-fun-time-after-covid

1,000 mile ride after daughter saved

A former Dulwich Lib Dem councillor has begun a 1,000-mile cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for the doctors and nurses who cared for his young daughter when she nearly died of kidney failure.

James Barber's daughter Hebe was two when she suddenly stopped eating and drinking in 2006. James and his

wife Nicky rushed her to hospital, but there were no beds. They took her to St George's Tooting but her condition continued to get worse.

Hebe was transferred to Evelina London Children's Hospital, where it was found she was suffering from acute kidney failure, caused by the E.coli bacteria. She had to undergo urgent dialysis, otherwise she could have died.

James Barber and daughter Hebe

James said: “Hebe spent five weeks on the dialysis machine before eventually her kidneys started working again and we began to get our little daughter back.”

“It was not just thorough and professional, but the care Hebe received was personal," he added.

“By the time we arrived at Evelina London, we’d already been to two hospitals, so we knew just how serious it was. For everything they did to stabilise her and reverse the damage that had been done to her kidneys, we’ll be forever grateful.”

Hebe has had a check-up once every year at Evelina London since the dialysis.

She turns 18 next year so will no longer be under the hospital's care.

James said: “We still see some of the same staff that cared for Hebe when she was two years old when we go for our outpatients appointments. It’s so wonderful to see them. It really feels like a very extended family.”

James plans to cover 74 miles per day over two weeks to make the journey from the tip of Cornwall to the north-eastern edge of Scotland.

The former Lib Dem councillor for East Dulwich added: “I used to cycle to work but that’s about it. I’ve never tackled anything like this before so it is going to be a real challenge for me personally.”

Sharon Green, one of the nurses that looked after Hebe in 2006, still sees Hebe when she comes in for her check-ups.

Sharon said: “We’ll miss seeing Hebe and her family once she leaves the care of Evelina London, but it’s so great to see her doing so well since her first time here.

“We all wish James the best of luck for his challenge. We’re all behind you.”

Donate to the fundraiser here: https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/JamesBarber8

New Millwall academy for sixth form girls Millwall is launching a new football academy for sixth form girls, alongside a local school.

Bacon's College in Rotherhithe is working with Millwall Community Trust to set up the academy, which will combine football coaching with A-level and BTEC qualifications.

Lionesses full back Sian Fitzpatrick will be head coach of the new academy, which will be based at Bacon's Academy. Anyone wanting to take part must live in London and be going into year 12 in the new academic year in September.

Millwall Community Trust football and sports development manager Dean Palmer said: “We are excited about the prospect of working with Bacon's College and developing a post16 education and football academy

within the college.”

Chris Pyke, head of PE at Bacon's College, added: "From September 2021 we are extremely excited to partner with Millwall Community Trust to provide an all-female Sixth Form football programme that will combine high quality coaching with academic study at Bacon's Sixth Form College.

"We know that there is huge interest in football within our college community and are looking forward to the prospect of welcoming fantastic female role models into the PE department and wider life of the college" Trials are on Friday, June 4 at 3.30pm at Bacon's College. Email Dean Palmer on dpalmer@millwallcommunity.org. uk to register. Places will be offered based on footballing ability and predicted GCSE results.

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

NEWS 9

Five young artists have put up striking new works of art in Bankside, as part of a project run

by Tate.

The project, called Better Boundaries, was run by business development group Better Bankside alongside the art gallery. Koby Martin, Blk Moody Boi, Zeinab Saleh, Hannah Hill and Megan Visser are the five artists who took part. The works are all large wall or floor images.

The artworks will stay for at least a year in Southwark Street, Gambia Street, St. Felix Place, Canvey Street and Great Suffolk Street.

The point of the project is "reconnecting people with each other, their local area, and art," Tate said in an announcement.

Koby Martin's work aims to explore the history of performance, particularly men who acted female roles when women were not allowed to act, using the Ghanaian symbol of a Siamese crocodile to illustrate unity.

Mr Martin said: “Art in any form has

the ability to heal, restore, uplift and drive the spirits of us humans in many ways. It is therapy. My aim is to express that in my work and what better way to do this than to share my work with communities of people emerging from a pandemic.

All of the artists were given an established artist as a mentor by Tate to help them develop their ideas and discuss the art industry.

One of the mentors, Julia Vogl, said: “I make public art because I believe it has the power to develop pride in local communities, to create a sense of safety and belonging, to bring people together physically and to add beauty to a place. Beyond Boundaries has offered me a chance to help empower young artists to take on these values.

Nicole Gordon, Better Bankside CEO, said: “Young people have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic so we are excited that this collaboration with Tate Collective was able to open up creative opportunities for young artists.”

Photo by Tate (Sam Day)

new public art

Hannah Hill, Sharon Walters, Dreph, Koby Martin, Megan Visser, Julia Vogl

from ten volunteers to over 100 - the story of the expanding community hub

A Southwark charity is opening two new centres, changing its name and launching a report on its work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The group formerly known as Central Southwark Community Hub is now called Spring Community Hub, after it won funding to open another centre in Southwark and a third in the outer east London borough of Havering. The name was chosen because of its association with growth, renewal and energy.

Camberwell-based Spring Community Hub runs a food bank, a children’s holiday club and puts on sessions on skills and building your confidence.

It also helps people get back to work and gives support on social issues like benefits, housing and immigration status.

Demand on the food bank roughly quadrupled during the first lockdown, from 200 parcels a month before Covid-19 to 200 a week for two months.

Spring Community Hub provided 5,230 food parcels from March 2020-March 2021, according to the new report.

Southwark Council used Spring Community Hub as a partner to take food to people isolating or shielding who were unable to afford it. The charity also provided food parcels on behalf of Southwark Pensioners Centre during the first lockdown and set up a delivery service - in addition to running five food bank services a week.

The charity has been given funding to set up the new centres in Southwark and Havering because of its work.

The charity picked its new name after speaking to the people it supports, its staff and volunteers. Together they chose Spring because its meaning represents different parts of their work.

A spring provides water for life, it is a season associated with growth, hope and renewal and it symbolises energy, power and progress.

Felicia Boshorin, the charity's founder

and CEO, said: “I never expected one of the reasons people would come to our door would be because of a global pandemic. And I never imagined we’d be able to support thousands of people like we have.

“We were only able to because of an influx of volunteers, donations and funding across our community. It has, at times, been incredibly difficult to keep all the plates spinning but knowing we have so much love and support to help us has made the past fifteen months a really inspiring time.

Before the pandemic we had around ten volunteers. Since it began we’ve had more than 100 people give up their time to support us.

“Our report is really a thank you note to all of the people who’ve helped us and become part of our community. We have always prided ourselves on being a safe, friendly place where people can get the food and support they need to live their lives and keep their families fed.

“We are now supporting a lot more people and families and we know, sadly,

Felicia Boshorin CEO of Spring Community Hub

there will be an increased need for us when furlough ends. As we began helping more people, and not just based in Southwark, we knew we needed to change our name.

“We think Spring Community Hub is a bright, positive name after an incredibly difficult year for so many people. We are still very much rooted at the heart of Southwark but we are now ready to grow and help more people out of food poverty.”

Southwark Council leader Cllr Kieron Williams added: "I would like to personally thank Spring Community Hub for the remarkable contribution they have made to our borough’s response to Covid-19, bringing people from across the local community together to support those who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

“They have been a real beacon of hope and success during a difficult time. I look forward to continuing our work together to strengthen our community and improve the lives of many more local residents.”

Bermondsey Joyslide to return 100 years on A new Bermondsey 'joy slide' to replace the slide given by the former owner of the Peek Freans biscuit factory is already in place and nearly finished, a hundred years after the original was built.

The new joy slide was designed

by Fergus Carr, the architect greatgreat-grandson of the factory owner, and has been in the works for several years.

It is now in place in St James' churchyard on Jamaica Road and is already being enjoyed by local children, according to the vicar.

Plants and soil are still to be added to the outside of the slide.

Canon Gary Jenkins said that the

slide is smaller than the original because it is designed to be used by younger children.

"But the aim is the same: to provide joy and enjoyment to the youngsters of Bermondsey," he added on his blog.

The slide is set to have an opening ceremony on June 30, Jenkins said.

The Mayor of Southwark, Mr Carr and local schoolchildren are all expected to attend.

The first joy slide was built when Fergus's great-great-grandfather Arthur Carr, owner of the biscuit factory, noticed children using the steps of St James' church as a slide.

It stood from 1921 until the 1980s, but then was pulled down after being vandalised.

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

No social housing in Bermondsey block

By Kit Heren kit@southwarknews.co.uk A new development is being proposed in Bermondsey without any affordable housing.

The block, on the corner of Crimscott Street and Willow Walk, would contain nine flats but none would be let out at social or intermediate rent.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s planning policy says that developers should include at least 35 percent affordable housing in new housing in the city, in a bid to prevent people on middle and lower incomes being priced out of the capital.

The New Southwark Plan, the council’s framework for development, says that buildings with nine flats or fewer should have 35% affordable housing if it is financially viable.

In this case, Site Specific, the company that has applied for planning permission, said it would not be financially viable for them to include any affordable housing in the development or offset this elsewhere.

The company pointed out the relatively small size of the development, at half a hectare, and said that it was more Photo by @Kells_Kells

Camberwell blaze sees 25 firefighters race to the rescue

focused on spaces for commercial rent.

A consultant for Site Specific said in the planning application: “The applicant has fully explored the ability to provide affordable housing on-site and/or provide an off-site contribution in line with the above policies yet the financial viability of the proposal has limited any ability to provide such a contribution in this circumstance.”

The nine-storey development would also be much too high for the neighbourhood, according to the council’s long-term plan for developing the area around the Old Kent Road.

Buildings on Willow Walk should be no higher than four or five storeys, according to the plan, while Crimscott Road should be seven or eight storeys.

Some local residents appear to be against the proposed development, speaking out against the lack of affordable housing and the height of the buildings. Some 44 comments on the application were against the development. Five were in favour, citing the high quality of the design among other factors.

The application was submitted in May and is now being reviewed by planners at Southwark Council.

Motorcyclist injured in collision

By Katherine Johnston

By Katherine Johnston

katherine@southwarknews.co.uk

katherine@southwarknews.co.uk

A motorcyclist was hospitalised after a collision with a car in Camberwell on Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters tackled a fire in a Camberwell Green takeaway on Tuesday afternoon.

Operators received more than 40 calls after the blaze broke out at 1.30pm in a shop with flats above.

It was brought under control an hour later with the help of four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Dowgate, Clapham and Lambeth fire stations.

Four people had escaped before the brigade arrived and, fortunately, there were no reports of injuries.

The extraction system from the ground floor to the five-storey building’s roof was destroyed with part of the ground floor was also damaged.

The cause is now under investigation.

A video from the scene shows smoke billowing out the terraced building on the south-east side of the green.

Police have confirmed the rider’s condition is believed to be ‘not lifethreatening’.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 1pm on June 1 after reports of the collision near the junction of Kennington Park and Brixton Road.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 1:05pm to reports of a road traffic collision involving a motorcyclist on Camberwell New Road.

"We sent an ambulance crew and a medic in a car to the scene.

"A man was treated and taken to hospital as a priority."

Temporary road closures were lifted later the same day.

Surgeons save grandmother’s vision with help from robot at Guy’s

By Katherine Johnston

katherine@southwarknews.co.uk Guy’s and St Thomas’ surgeons have removed an eye tumour using a robot in a groundbreaking ‘world first’ procedure which saved an 85-yearold grandmother’s vision.

Irene Milton had a recurrent basal cell carcinoma on the inner corner of her right eye and was previously told she would have to have her eye removed in order to treat the cancer.

The operation, the first time it has been attempted in the world, was undertaken by surgeons from Moorfields Eye Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Robotic surgery enables surgeons to perform precise procedures in a minimally invasive way, so patients can recover

quicker.

Jean-Pierre Jeannon, consultant head and neck surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ operated on Irene with Asit Arora, robotic head and neck surgical lead at the trust and adjunct senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences.

The procedure means Irene, from Bradford, will not need any radiotherapy.

She said: “I am so pleased at the outcome – I haven’t lost my eye and they got the cancer out. It’s such a relief, I’m over the moon.

“It’s nice to know that you’re never too old to have anything done, especially pioneering surgery.”

Jean-Pierre Jeannon said: “We’re delighted for Irene that her surgery went so well. Her tumour is gone and she has

kept her sight.

“It’s the first time in the world that the robot has been used in this way for orbital surgery, and we hope we can treat more patients in the same way. The success of this procedure is testament to the collaboration between our team and our colleagues at Moorfields.

Claire Daniel, consultant oculoplastic surgeon and lid oncology lead at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “Irene has done really well after her surgery and it’s very exciting to be able to provide such a great service for our patients affected by cancer. This is truly a world-leading advance in orbital surgery, which we will build on in the future.

“We have developed a highly specialised periocular cancer unit thanks to our excellent collaboration with Guy’s and St Thomas’, enabling us to share our expertise in treating these very difficult cases.”

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

£100m government loan secured to speed up canada water regen

By Kit Heren

kit@southwarknews.co.uk British Land, the developer of the Canada Water masterplan, has been given a £100 million infrastructure loan from the government.

The point of the loan, which comes from government agency Homes England, is to speed up the Canada Water development, which could see up to 3,000 new homes built on the Rotherhithe peninsula over the next fifteen years.

British Land won planning permission for the development last year in the face of some local opposition. A legal campaign by Rotherhithe residents to block the masterplan for environmental reasons failed at the end of 2020. Others raised concerns about the impact of the scheme on Canada Water tube station, which was regularly

very crowded before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thirty-five percent of the new homes will be “affordable”, in line with London housing policy.

The £3.3bn scheme will also include a new “town centre” and investment in local public transport, and up to 20,000 new jobs.

Homes England interim boss Gordon More said the masterplan was an “incredibly important” step to boost the economy after Covid-19.

“We’re determined to use our resources to galvanise projects across the country and play our part in the country’s economic recovery,” he added.

The announcement came on the same day as British Land posted its second billion-pound annual loss in a row. The developer cited the impact of Covid-19 on its retail property empire. But this year’s £1.08bn loss was slightly lower than the £1.1bn deficit it reported in 2020, before the Covid crisis hit.

NEWS 11

COV I D- 19

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Southwark the six highest in London for ‘gentrification’ according to new report

By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk Southwark has seen the sixth highest level of ‘gentrification’ out of all London boroughs according to a new report from the Runnymede Trust and CLASS.

The research, conducted over a year, found that in the borough local authority housing stock decreased by 18,000 between 1994 and 2020, out of 3,000 Heygate residents only 82 were offered secure tenancies, and in the most expensive areas of Southwark house prices rose by £900,000 between 2010 and 2016.

Southwark used to have the highest number of social housing tenants but now comes second, surpassed by Hackney. Despite the decline, around 40 per cent of the borough’s residents are in social housing.

Dr Halima Begum, the trust’s chief executive said: “Regeneration should not come at the expense of local ethnic minority working class communities.

“As this past year has shown us, they are essential to the functioning of daily life and have given up so much to keep our city running the past year.

“We must protect them at all costs.”

The report recommends that private sector rent controls are introduced, all developments within opportunity areas have at least 50 per cent social housing, community land trusts are

expanded, and that regeneration schemes have ‘right to return’ pledges for tenants. Many of these are already backed by various London authorities - including Southwark Council.

Others, however, such as rent controls over the private sector require intervention from central government.

CLASS director Ellie Mae O’Hagan said the result of these long-term trends were that working class Londoners were increasingly being pushed out to the edges of the city.

“Whether we were born in London or moved here, most Londoners want to live in a city that belongs to everybody,” she said.

“But today, working class and ethnic minority Londoners are being pushed to the margins of the city as a result of the failure of local authorities and central governments to take care of our communities.

"This report must mark a turning point in how governments manage gentrification.

“Rent control must be introduced immediately, followed by a social housing programme as big as our efforts after the second world war, so that every Londoner has the chance to put down roots, raise a family and build a community in safety."

The three most gentrified boroughs over the last two decades are, according to the report, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Newham, while the and three least gentrified areas are Havering, Bexley and Bromley.

You’re much safer indoors if you keep windows open, because Covid-19 particles are blown away.

Let’s take this next step safely.

12 NEWS

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

L-R: Vernon Neve-Dunn, Burgess Sports founder, Neil Coyle MP and Alejandra Teixido, CEO Burgess Sports

Jimmy mizen walkers triple their fundraiser

By Kit Heren

kit@southwarknews.co.uk A fundraiser for a charity that aims to educate young people about the perils of knife crime has raised more than £3,300.

Millwall Lionesses goalkeeper Kelly Webster did the annual 21 Bridges

23-years-old man charged with murder of pensioner in New Cross

walk last Sunday, May 30, in memory of Lions fan Jimmy Mizen, who was killed in an altercation in a bakery in 2008. Supporters of the Jimmy Mizen Foundation, the anti-knife crime foundation set up by Jimmy’s parents, have been walking the route every year since 2013.

Kelly and her fellow walkers have

By Katherine Johnston

katherine@southwarknews.co.uk A man has been charged with the murder of a 74-year-old man in New Cross.

Twenty-three-year-old Jack Forde, from Wild Goose Drive near Queens Road, appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Monday, May 31, charged with murder.

The critically injured victim was found by paramedics at an address in Wild Goose

five sentenced over revolver

By Katherine Johnston

katherine@southwarknews.co.uk Five men have been sentenced after police officers found a revolver in a car in forest Hill.

During the trial at Woolwich Crown Court the judge and jury heard that armed police, working under surveillance, had discovered the weapon inside a blue Toyoto Prius in Wood Vale on July 4, 2019.

The gun was test-fired by an expert and found to be in working order and capable of firing live ammunition.

Reece White, aged 22 and from Brixton, pleaded guilty on October 5, 2020 to possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

Nathaniel Corbett, 26 and Michael Adebambo, 27, were also found guilty on Friday, April 16. The men, both from Clapham, were handed eight years.

Siraatillah Ford, 22, from Stockwell was found guilty on April 16 and will be sentenced at a later date.

A further two men were also found guilty of transferring a firearm on April 16 and sentenced to nine years: Jordan Adams, aged 29, from Lewisham and Nail Johnson, 28, from Orpington.

A 24-year-old man, arrested on July 4,

2019, was found not guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life on Friday, 16 April at Woolwich Crown Court.

Detective Constable Iain Logan, of Specialist Crime South, said: “I’m really proud to have been part of the team that has put six very dangerous individuals behind bars for a significant amount of time.

“More importantly it’s the pride of knowing that thanks to the efforts of the team, and colleagues from our Firearms Command, a working and capable gun has now been destroyed and will no longer be available to criminals.”

Anyone with information about someone who may be carrying a weapon or is involved in violent crime is urged to contact police immediately or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

raised £3,341 at the time of publication - far higher than her original £2,000 goal and more than triple the amount the walk raised in 2020.

Donate here: https://gofund. me/7a0e2584 She thanked everyone who donated after the walk, saying she was “absolutely blown away” by the “amazing support”.

Drive at 4.55am last Wednesday, May 28, and pronounced dead at 5.57am.

A post mortem later found the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, chest and abdomen.

Forde was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene.

Police confirmed he and the victim were known to each other.

Although they have not yet named the victim, his family members have been informed.

Show your support for park cafe helping local children

By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk Bermondsey MP Neil Coyle visited Burgess Park’s Clubhouse cafe on Friday.

The cafe has recently been taken over by children’s charity Burgess Sports, with all profits going toward providing activities and food for children living nearby.

Coyle said: “It’s great to see a community-spirited, communityfocussed organisation that is successfully running a café here in

Burgess Park.

“Burgess Sports’ clubs are an asset, helping keep children healthy at a time when, at some schools, 90 per cent of the children attending don’t have any outdoor space of their own.

“The activities in the park are important in making sure that children can exercise, and to helping tackle the child obesity problem in London, which is crucial to children’s futures.”

He added: “The value of this café is wider than just a cup of tea, as much as this tea is great!”

Jordan Adams

Michael Adebambo

Nail Johnson

Nathanial Corbett

Reece White

Siratillah Ford

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

NEWS 13

ADVERTORIAL

Important information about COVID Vaccinations in Southwark Getting your first vaccine

If you are due your second dose

If you are eligible for your vaccine and have not had it yet, please book an appointment as soon as you can to help protect you, your loved ones and community. As well as being able to book an appointment at selected pharmacies or vaccination centres across London through the national booking system, (www.nhs.uk or call 119) there are appointments available at Southwark GP vaccination sites. Please check which site covers your GP practice and contact the site to book. Details are below.

The nationally agreed gap between the first and second dose of the vaccine for COVID-19 is between 11 to 12 weeks. Your second dose will be the same vaccine as your first one. Everyone who has had their first vaccine has a second vaccine reserved for them. Appointments for second dose vaccines are being offered to everyone who is due to have one. Please wait to be contacted with your appointment. If it is 11 weeks since your first dose but you have not yet been contacted to book your second appointment, please call the site where you had your first dose. Details are below.

Additional walk-in vaccination slots and ‘pop-up’ clinics are being added regularly. No appointment is needed at these clinics. Please check www.selondonccg.nhs.uk for updates.

If you had your first dose at a hospital please contact them directly about your second dose.

Guy’s and St Thomas’: CovidVaccineBookings@gstt.nhs.uk and King’s: kch-tr.covidvaccine@nhs.net or call 020 3299 6586

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

teenager is charged with the shooting of sasha in peckham

Sasha Johnson

By Kit Heren

kit@southwarknews.co.uk A man has been charged in connection with the shooting of young mother and Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson.

Eighteen-year-old Cameron Deriggs, of Bromley Hill in Lewisham, was charged with the attempted murder of Sasha, who was shot in the head in Peckham on May 23. Four other men were arrested on Wednesday and released on bail on Friday, May 28 as police continue their investigation.

Deriggs appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday (May 29)

and was remanded in custody. He will stand trial at the Old Bailey on June 25.

Detectives continue to appeal for anyone with information to come forward by calling police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 and providing the reference 1172/23MAY. Mother-of-three Sasha, 27, remains in hospital in a critical condition after being shot in the head at a house party on Consort Road.

Police said there is nothing to suggest the shooting was a targeted attack.

Another man sustained a superficial knife wound in the attack, officers said.

All five suspects arrested last week

were aged between 17 and 28, and were arrested in Peckham.

Superintendent Kris Wright, from the Central South Command Unit, responsible for policing in Southwark and Lambeth, said at the time: “These arrests are the result of instinctive local police work, combined with fasttime intelligence gathering, and shows the effectiveness of the various police teams in the Met working together.

“Local officers, supported by specialist teams, will continue to be in and around the Peckham area in the coming days and I continue to urge anyone with concerns to engage with them”.

2019, since then it has closed down 406 lines, arrested 793 ‘lineholders’ and issued 1,368 charges for drug supply, modern slavery and weapon possession.

According to Met data, in the same period 253 people were rescued from exploitation and 21 people have been charged with 38 modern slavery offences.

Increasingly, the focus is on catching those at the top who rarely leave London or risk handling drugs, instead using children and vulnerable adults to do their dirty work.

Deputy assistant commissioner Graham McNulty, said: “I am incredibly proud of the results of this intensification week, achieved by the Met’s dedicated, hardworking officers.

“We have taken dozens of organised, violent criminals off the streets of London and closed almost 30 county lines.

“However, most important to me is the fact we have protected 249 children and vulnerable adults who were exploited by these gangs.

“I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to the hundreds of officers involved in making the week a resounding success.

“Results like this do not just happen overnight, they are down to months and months of meticulous planning and hard work by officers in every borough in London.

“I’d like to make it clear that this week was an intensification of the excellent work that is going on 24/7, 365 days a year across the Met to tackle county lines.

“We will not be taking our foot off the gas and will continue to target those bringing misery to communities.

“The majority of the public may believe

county lines does not have a wider impact on the communities of London, but the consequences of this type of criminality should not be underestimated.

“We see a significant amount of violence, often chaotic violence involving young people, linked to county lines. That’s why disrupting the supply of drugs through all routes continues to form a central part of our work to tackle violence on the streets of London.”

The Children’s Society is now working with officers to protect vulnerable children being manipulated by gangs.

Kelly Lewington, the charity’s London area manager, said: “Criminals groom children into county lines with offers of cash, friendship, status, drugs and alcohol, then threaten them with horrific violence if they dare report this.

“By identifying signs of exploitation, police officers can play their part not only in building evidence against those who cynically exploit children but also in helping to ensure these young people get the help they desperately need.

“These children may have been manipulated, abused and traumatised by those exploiting them, which can lead to them appearing angry and aggressive and not necessarily behaving in the way people might expect of victims.

“We have delivered training to Met officers and custody staff to support them to look beyond the obvious in recognising and responding to exploitation - including as part of our Look Closer campaign during this week of action.

“Look Closer calls on all members of the public, as well as parents and professionals, to look out for and report signs of exploitation to the police.”

More than 240 victims rescued in huge county lines crackdown

inquest: ‘unlawfully killed’

By Kit Heren

kit@southwarknews.co.uk The two victims of the November 2019 London Bridge attack were "unlawfully killed", the inquest into their deaths has found.

Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were stabbed to death by Usman Khan at a criminal rehabilitation event at Fishmongers Hall on the north side of the bridge on November 29.

A six-week inquest into the events surrounding their death finished last Friday, May 28, after in-depth interviews with other people who had been at the scene, including some who had witnessed their deaths.

The inquest also found failings by police and MI5 over how Khan was managed after being released from prison. He was let out on licence in 2018 after being imprisoned for eight years for terrorism offences.

Coroner Judge Mark Lucraft may also now make a separate report setting out recommendations for preventing future deaths of this kind.

Police giving evidence at the inquest said that Khan strapped eight-inch knives to his hands before attacking Merritt and Jones shortly before 2pm at the event.

They both died at about 2.30pm, despite receiving treatment from other people at the event and paramedics.

Khan inflicted serious stab wounds, on two other people, but they both survived.

Others received minor injuries.

Three men from the event bravely pursued Khan out onto London Bridge as police arrived. Khan was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest, which was later discovered to be a “hoax”, made of a “slimming belt”, a battery charger and X-Box components. He was shot several times and died shortly afterwards.

A separate inquest into Khan's death also began on Friday.

Appeal: do you recognise these men?

By Kit Heren kit@southwarknews.co.uk Police have released photos of two young men in an attempt to work out who stabbed a teenager near Tower Bridge in April.

We reported at the time that a nineteenyear-old was found with stab injuries by

City Hall in the early hours of April 11.

His condition was not considered lifethreatening.

Two men were arrested on April 24 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and were later released on bail as officers continued to investigate.

Call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting 127/11APR with information.

Results like this do not just happen overnight

By Katherine Johnston katherine@southwarknews.co.uk More than 240 children and vulnerable adults have been rescued from county lines exploitation this month alone.

The Met was one of the forces to take part in an intense crackdown between Monday, May 17 and Sunday, May 23.

It says the nationwide collaboration, targeting 27 drug dealing ‘lines’ between the capital and regions, resulted in 190 arrests, 119 children and 249 vulnerable adults referred for safeguarding, and the seizure of class A and B drugs and weapons including four firearms and seventeen knives.

Alongside 8kg of class A substances officers also seized £126,000 in criminal cash and assets including £80,000 of watches and numerous vehicles.

Around thirteen victims are suspected of being trafficked or exploited as modern slaves.

A hallmark of how county lines gangs operate is the targeting of children or people with mental health or addiction difficulties, who are then groomed into distributing drugs and controlled with high levels of violence and intimidation.

The gangs also take over the homes of vulnerable adults - known as ‘cuckooing’ - to use as a base for their activities.

The Home Office funds the Met’s specialist team tackling county lines, Operation Orochi. Set up in November

21/OD

I’m happy to be vaccinated and that it’s safe. I’d encourage anyone eligible to get theirs, protect themselves and others.

Bamidele, Southwark care manager @lb_southwark

facebook.com/southwarkcouncil

@southwarkcouncil

southwark.gov.uk/covidvaccine

16 OPINION

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

Comment We need to do the same as President Joe Biden

A

cross Southwark and Lambeth we have brilliant high streets and town centres, full of independent businesses who make each neighbourhood special and serve their communities. The Covid-19 pandemic has been very difficult for many local shops with online sales from multinational giants like Amazon soaring, increasing by more than a third year-onyear. With many ‘non-essential’ shops shut under coronavirus regulations and more people working from home this was completely understandable.

Now that the lockdown is easing, however, it is important that we support the businesses in our high streets and shopping parades by shopping local wherever we can.

The last national revaluation of business rates saw the government increase the costs on local London businesses, whilst reducing costs

from

Westminster

helen hayes

MP for Dulwich & West Norwood for local businesses elsewhere in the country. At the same time, the government continues to fail to create a level playing field in terms of tax for our local high street businesses, compared to both online businesses like Amazon and other global multinationals.

US President Joe Biden has proposed a plan for a global minimum rate of corporate tax as a once in a generation opportunity to stop tax avoidance by large multinationals.

Companies like Amazon and Google hardly pay any tax in the UK. They undercut British businesses who pay their fair share of tax and leave our high streets struggling.

President Biden’s plan would mean an additional £13.5bn a year extra to invest in public services and make sure we have thriving

high streets and town centres at the heart of our communities.

Last week, the Labour Party forced a vote in Parliament calling on the Government to support this plan when the G7 meets next month. The Tories voted against this amendment, shamefully siding with tax avoiders over British businesses and communities.

Last week I asked Boris Johnson during PMQs why the UK was the only G7 nation not to support a global minimum rate of corporate tax. In answering, he once again failed to stand with our local businesses who so urgently need our help at this challenging time.

All of us will be poorer if the government continues to fail the small businesses which make our communities unique and special.

Determined to be more representative Kieron Williams Southwark Council leader

T

his week marks the four-year anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack – a horrific act which took the lives of eight innocent people and injured almost 50 others.

The memorial service was a deeply sad and moving moment.

As I stood alongside London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Bishop of Southwark and representatives of our emergency services and local community my heart went out to all those who have been left grieving. I was reminded too of the incredible bravery of those who intervened that night to save the lives others.

There are so many reasons to be proud of our borough but one of the greatest has to be our community’s rejection of hate. The terrorists who attacked on that awful night sought to divide us, but in the wake of the attack our community came together, to condemn the attackers and offer our support to all those affected. As Leader of the Council I am determined to keep bring our community together, to make Southwark a better and fairer place for everyone in our community.

Last week we saw another tragic anniversary that has impacted on our borough in a very different way. The murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis last year sparked protests around the world against

READERS’ VIEWS

Exclusive: Dozens of businesses sign up as 'places of safety' for children after Bermondsey grandmother's campaign Well done Yvonne and well done to all businesses that have said yes to being a safe place in the area.

Kelly Webster, via Twitter

Our estate, our community, our kids. Taking a stand & ALWAYS helping to start those difficult conversations - so very proud of our Yvonne.

Lisa McQuillan-Dalton, via Twitter

I remember when this was not needed - Bermondsey used to be one of the safest places in London. Well done to those businesses though.

Bermondsey Pie & Mash, via Facebook

View from Westminster: Tories’ post COVID plans are truly pathetic, says Neil Coyle Indeed, the government has other values, priorities and interests than justice for the people who provide their pay & power. Thank you Neil, for refusing to join in the conspicuous silence over the Tories’ deliberate failure to end our cladding scandal.

Accladin Sane, via Twitter

racism, injustice and inequality. In Southwark we listened carefully and reflected on the changes we need to make here in our own community, and so we launched Southwark Stands Together. This programme was built to make sure that at every level, and in everything we do, we remain actively anti-racist, fair, representative, and supportive of all our people – and that we work together to do that.

Having listened, we are taking real action to address inequalities that people told us they are deeply worried about. Including action to reduce the number of children who are unnecessarily excluded from school and to make the use of ‘stop and search’ by the police fairer, both being issues that disproportionally and unfairly affect our Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. As well as action to make sure local boards of school governors and of local charities, as well as the top of the workforce of our council are more representative of the local community they serve.

Last week I also announced my new leadership team for our borough who will be standing shoulder to shoulder with you as we as we cautiously emerge from lockdown. They are a Cabinet team who reflect the rich diversity of our borough. Together we will continue to deliver on the issues that matter most; keep our community safe from COVID, tackling

the housing crisis, supporting our local economy, greening our borough to deal with the climate emergency and delivering a new Youth Deal.

I am particularly excited about our new Youth Deal to support the next generation of Southwark residents.

Our children and young people have been hard hit by this pandemic, with their education disrupted and a jobs market that looks especially hard for young people starting out in the world of work. Our Southwark Youth Deal is creating real opportunities for local young people, helping them into jobs, apprenticeships, paid internships or with scholarships to go to university. As well as investment in our youth services, adventure playgrounds and young people’s mental health services too.

We are shaping our Youth Deal by listening to, and hearing from, young people themselves. That is why we will launch Southwark’s new Youth Parliament next month, to ensure there is a formal, trusted route for Southwark’s young adults to engage with the council at the highest levels.

Whoever you are in the borough, whatever your background, I hope you can see that we mean it when I say that this council is on your side, and we will build the views, aspirations and values of residents into everything we do.

Only then can we move forward together.

Southwark is sixth worst borough for child poverty Devastating that the boroughs I live and work in are #1 and #6 for child poverty. We need a Universal Basic Income now Katherine McAlpine, via Twitter

New Peckham housing block named after Southwark historian John Beasley Congratulations to Mr John Beasley who also wrote a history of the South London Mission some years ago.

South London Mission, via Twitter

Bermondsey man rescued after jumping into Thames to save dog Whilst I understand his reasons, please anyone reading this, if you ever see anyone in the Thames or an animal, call for help. DO NOT jump in, it’s incredibly dangerous with unbelievably strong currents especially around London Bridge!

Throw a buoyancy aid in if you can, but don’t attempt rescues, or the Rescue boats will be looking for more bodies 9 times out of 10. Remember poor Jimi Rose Villiers Read, via Facebook

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

www.southwarknews.co.uk/letters

OPINION 17

Why wasn’t work at Lakanal’s sister block prioritised sooner? And what will it take to get the government to tackle the problem?

N

early two years ago we marked the 10th anniversary of the Lakanal fire.

This week we write that residents in its ‘sister block’, Marie Curie, will have to leave their homes for at least a year due to the severity of its fire safety problems.

Six lives, an inquest, criminal charges and more than a decade later, after tens of millions has been spent by Southwark Council on fire safety and several years after ‘similar’ work was completed on Lakanal but never on Marie Curie - how did we get here?

Three women and three children died in Lakanal waiting to be rescued, repeatedly being told to ‘stay put’. One victim was a 20-day-old baby.

More than 40 recommendations highlighting fire safety failures, made to the government in the aftermath of the tragedy, were essentially forgotten.

Government promises to tackle the issues that led to the tragedy, whether unsafe building materials or out of date advice from the emergency services, were shelved.

Had action been taken, would 72 people have lost their lives at Grenfell?

Both tragedies are horrific and have left permanent mental scars on those who witnessed them, as well as destroying families, homes, and livelihoods.

The impact is far reaching. The cladding and fire safety scandals have rippled out much further.

Leaseholders are stuck in homes they cannot sell, and homeowners are being saddled with huge bills for remedial work for which they are in no way responsible.

Yet the tragedies at Lakanal and Grenfell, and the extent of the issues remaining in social housing blocks, remind us that those who are least able to exercise choice in where they live, and who have the least power over their homes and lack resources are still the most vulnerable.

Social housing should be a safe haven - not a death trap. No amount of new alarms or ‘waking watches’ can make a building feel safe. Why wasn’t this work prioritised sooner?

CRYPTIC PUZZLE Clues Across

4 Pour out nothing revolutionary, and sounded pleased (6) 8 Sign the document to gain attention (7) 10 The king’s daughter curtailed her brothers (7) 11 He set out for the ones near at hand (5) 12 In one way ties down without possessing regular movements (5) 13 Re-cancel a cheque’s acceptance (9) 16 On strike, we sigh about what is of greater importance (9) 19 The department has nothing for the storehouse (5) 20 Thanks to the range of knowledge obtained (5) 22 Swindles about light chalks (7) 23 Beat the man for touching (7) 24 Seen at different material (6)

Clues Down 1 Feeling rotten on September 1st with a head cold (6) 2 Go back to the French for an amorous lock (4) 3 Better boon too for the famous question (2,2,2,3,2,2) 5 Somehow resent uniting around for a dull result (13) 6 Falling back to surrendering again (8) 7 Want of practice is found in the great actress (6) 9 Watering place in a European country (5) 14 He never forgets a trunk call (8) 15 Prepares about a hundred decrees (6) 17 Have confidence in the people administering the property (5) 18 Stay in some sort of mental balance (6) 21 Keen to be a member (4)

QUICK PUZZLE Clues Across

4 Given piquancy (6) 8 Uses (7) 10 Idea (7) 11 Precipitous (5) 12 Go in (5) 13 Aliens (9) 16 Going without (9) 19 Confidence (5) 20 Very unpleasant (5) 22 Explanations (7) 23 Most sacred (7) 24 Stylish (6)

Clues Down

1 Animals (6) 2 Part of church (4) 3 Recompenses (13) 5 Hymns sung as clergy enter church (13) 6 Ponder (8) 7 Discourages (6) 9 Fashion (5) 14 Adjust (8) 15 Gazed (6) 17 Break (5) 18 Appointments (6) 21 Pip (4)

Solutions to last week’s crossword Cryptic

ACROSS: 4 Switch 8 Related 9 Cruise 10 Isolation 11 Here 13 Stabs 14 Bemused l6 Average 18 Oboes 19 Lead 21 Encounter 22 Outfit 23 Detract 24 Thymes Down: 1 Sensitive 2 Early bird 3 Depth 5 Warn 6 Tribes 7 Heeled 9 Cores 11 Husbandry 12 Reverence 15 Agent 16 Almost 17 Earthy 20 Dover 21 Eire

Quick Puzzle

ACROSS: 4 Shrimp 8 Temples 9 Locate 10 Ferry boat 11 Mess 13 Stops 14 Riposte 16 Overeat 18 Cargo 19 Felt 21 Essential 22 Endive 23 Started 24 Siding Down: 1 Deceptive 2 Spare part 3 Herbs 5 Hoot 6 Images 7 Please 9 Latin 11 Monastery 12 Stagnated 15 Raise 16 Offers 17 Eluded 20 Rests 21 Even

18 OPINION

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

SOUTHWARK’S BUDDING JOURNALISTS How mental health and self-harm have been triggered by lockdown

In April we spoke to some Year 8 students studying journalism at Bermondsey’s Compass School. Below you can read some of their reporting - and who knows, this may not be the last time you see their work in these pages.

By Lottie O'Hara Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or recreating existing ones during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety during the lockdown.

Pink tax, gender pay gap; the current problems of our ‘modern’ society

By Greta Pezzolato and Leslie Brigette Castillo-Caicedo

More than 100 years ago, women were treated as inferior and suffered great inequalities.

Today our environment has improved and we have achieved many rights for women; for example, the ability to vote.

However, we are not at full parity.

Data shows that the gender pay gap in the UK causes an overall wage difference of 23 per cent. This often means that women are paid much less than men even though they are in the same job.

Despite the gender pay gap and many other factors, many people, including women and young girls, believe that feminism is not necessary. Many other women think that this is sad and concerning as sexism and disparity affects us all.

Indeed, in 2018 YouGov found out that only 34 per cent of women in the UK consider themselves feminist.

Many people have started to see feminism in a negative light as they think that parity has been achieved.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in 2011: “Men are getting a raw deal.

Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots.”

People often think that just because women can drive and vote, parity is achieved. However, women still face many barriers.

Often, women have to pay much more than men for the same products such as shampoos, deodorants, razors and earplugs. This is called the pink tax.

This huge economic inequality often happens because of the colours of the product and the packaging. Products designed for women are often pink or purple, these colours cost more than black or blue, which are the colours that we often see on men’s product packaging. Pink tax products can have a difference of just 50p or as much as £15.

However, not everyone thinks that feminism is not useful anymore. In her interview with us, M said: “Of course we still need it. Many people believe that we have parity but this is not true because there are still many cases in which it is not totally achieved”.

Prejudice is constantly present in

politics. Indeed, women politics are really rare as people often think that they are too weak and emotional to make important decisions for the country. In the British government, only 34 per cent of MPs are females; whereas, only 35 per cent are councillors. There have been changes since the 1918 Act (when women got the vote) but there is still room for improvements as the seats in the British Parliament are mainly occupied by men.

Many women are still unable to identify themselves as feminists. This is due to the negative connotation that some people have of today's feminism.

People have been led to believe that feminism means that women are superior to men, rather than equal to them. One of the best ways to improve things is to further educate ourselves, to see with our own eyes that feminism still matters.

What should be done to change our society? From closing the gender pay gap to encouraging women to become more active in politics. Because our environment can defeat stereotypes, biases, and bigotry by teaching and educating ourselves.

More than 42 per cent of people surveyed by the US Census Bureau reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in December, an increase from eleven per cent the previous year.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused exceptionally challenging and worrying times for all of us. The effects of social distancing, lockdown, the loss of loved ones to the virus and the overconsumption of stress-inducing media reports is taking a huge toll on our mental health and wellbeing, one survey by Mind, a mental health charity, explains. It also says that the people suffering from the bad mental health toll will continue to have lasting effects long after lockdown is over.

In the survey we learn about Anna.

She is seventeen and lives at home in Northamptonshire with her parents. Anna was diagnosed with OCD aged eleven, and spent time in a psychiatric hospital three years ago to manage her eating disorder.

Despite not leaving the house to exercise during the pandemic, Anna was incredibly worried about catching coronavirus and passing it on to her family. While she wasn’t that concerned about this at the start of lockdown, she felt her worsening OCD symptoms were making her overthink it, and that the constant stream of negative global news increased her anxiety.

Two other interviewees also discussed their mental health and personal experiences. One person said that they had a negative yet positive experience. "It

was both negative and positive, negative as I hated home-schooling but positive as I got to stay home the whole time!"

The other person explained that they had a positive experience as they were able to occupy their mind. They both explained that one of their family members had fallen ill and were being taken care of, this then had a big impact on their mental health during the lockdown.

One of the people I interviewed explained how before the pandemic they had already had difficulties with their mental health which they had help with at the time. The same person then had distant relations die due to Covid-19 which had affected them negatively.

They both then explained how most people's mental health would have been affected due to a lack of social interactions and that they feared for the future generation. "I worried for my children being indoors and not being able to socialise, and I worry that in the future the next generation may suffer will mental health."

Some people use social media to talk about their mental health. They use certain phrases or words to seek help, or to get attention from others who are going through the same thing as them. One of the phrases which is commonly used is, 'the shower is going to sting'/'the shower tonight will sting'; this explains self-harm and how hot water stings open wounds.

Some people also show short videos/ cropped photos of their self-harm to raise awareness.

People share their stories on social media, and show how much they've improved from a few months ago/a few years ago. Some people also use certain apps, or games which keep track of their self-harm; they aim for a certain amount of days/time. If they continue to self-harm then they change and update the app. This app is called Calm Harm.

Young girls speak out about their experiences of sexual harassment

By Tye Hulbert Young girls have finally started to speak out about their personal experiences with sexual harassment and being approached by older boys and men on the streets of their local areas.

So many young girls from the age range of eleven to eighteen are targeted and approached by sexual predators, almost every day, in their local areas. Every young girl spoken to for this article said they felt somewhat 'scared' or 'uncomfortable' walking the streets in fear of it happening again. “I still think about it and can picture it so clearly in my mind, from the day it

happened,” said one of the interviewees, who asked not to be identified. Her words vividly summarise the longterm effects these events have on some women’s everyday lives.

According to a survey by UN Women UK, 97 per cent of women aged eighteem to 24 say they have experienced some form of sexual harassment. It is difficult to find data on girls aged eleven to eighteen as not many of them speak up about it. However, from what the interviewees of this article have stated, it is clearly a problem.

From name-calling to being whistled at to rape, hundreds of thousands of girls are affected long term in so many different ways from sexual harassment.

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

what’s on

www.southwarknews.co.uk/arts

ARTS 19

in Southwark

Unearthing The Roots of Photography Photographs are ten a penny now, in fact, cheaper, but there was a time when the family camera only came out for holidays, Christmas and family events. And even then, who actually wondered how pointing a lens at something and clicking a button would turn that something into a photo? In the 19th century there were a lot of people trying to work out how to actually do that, and that is the subject of the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s latest exhibition, writes Michael Holland.

Unearthed: Photography’s Roots takes us right back to the beginning before bringing us up to the present day. The experimental stages involved using salt, egg, silver and all manner of weird combinations to get pictures onto paper, and eventually these intrepid go-getters worked out various ways of producing photographic images.

Early photos replicated the art world of still lifes, some becoming more and more artistic in their endeavours to find an audience. William Henry Fox Talbot and Roger Fenton were great proponents of this genre of

Antiques Market.

Unearthed takes us through the first colour photographs and explains when photography was accepted as an art form, with examples of allegorical work depicting war and oppression in totalitarian regimes via natural imagery; some created when landscape photography could be a capital offence.

Robert Mapplethorpe, someone who has attracted controversy throughout his career, moved away from same-sex partners have sex as his models to using images of flowers with sensual undertones as an alternative for collectors who were not keen to have same-sex partners in erotic poses above the fireplace.

The exhibition ends with photographs taken using the latest advancements and further experimentations with still life. photography, but the star of the show is the work of gardener Charles Jones who wanted to immortalise his finest specimens.

Using a plate-glass camera, with no

formal training, Jones’ photographs reveal a highly sophisticated understanding of composition and the photographic process. Jones was able to turn the humble turnip and

potato into things of beauty. He never displayed or published his works but more than twenty years after his death in 1959 his photographs were found in a box in Bermondsey

Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, SE22 until 30th August.

Times: Wednesday–Sunday, 10am–5pm.

Admission: £16.50, £8.

Advance booking essential: www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

Tower Bridge opens its doors and its bridge Tower Bridge is open. And, yes, that is exactly what it was built to do - open and allow ships to get further up the River Thames and into the Pool of London to load and unload cargo. But now, after a long time closed, it is once again open to visitors, writes Michael Holland.

Tower Bridge is one of the world’s most iconic, most recognised and most photographed landmark, but with Covid-19 decimating the population as well as devastating the tourist industry, the past year has been tough.

Now, however, with strict Covid safety in place, Tower Bridge has opened its doors for people to learn everything to do with the bridge, about those who designed and built it, and those who worked on it. Or just to walk across the famous walkways between the two towers.

I visited with my mum who, although born and bred within sight of the bridge, has never been inside. In fact, she revealed that she did not even know you could visit. Her looks of amazement and astonishment were a joy to behold, and I could sense her excitement as we made our way over from the Bermondsey side to reach the

exhibition entrance in the north tower; she was moving much faster than her 89 years usually allows and she didn’t even need to stop for breath.

Once inside we were taken up in the lift, greeted at the top and introduced to a short film about the day to day work that is involved in keeping this famous attraction up and running. All the staff were extremely knowledgeable about the history and running of the bridge.

Soon the alarm bell was ringing and the visitors quickly made their way along the walkway. But this was no emergency, this was the signal that the bridge was opening to let a sailing boat through. As we reached the glass floor we could see the gates being closed to stop the flow of traffic below. Once the bridge was clear of cars and pedestrians we watched the bascules rise, seemingly within touching distance of where we now stood looking down.

It wasn’t long before the boat made its way through, with many on board waving out to us on the bridge, and once safely on the other side the bascules were lowered. It was an exciting spectacle.

Moving on, there was information about the architects, and the bridge’s

I visited with my mum who, although born and bred within sight of the bridge, has never been inside. In fact she revealed that she did not even know you could visit history, with many places along the tour to stop and take in marvellous views of London. When we had had our fill we took the lift down and followed the blue line, replete with plaques commemorating former

workers, until we arrived at the Engine Rooms. And this truly was the heart of Tower Bridge. Huge, shiny monsters of Victorian engineering rattled and rolled just like they did when the bridge was constantly opening and

closing. Now they are just for show as the steam that powered the bridge lifts was changed to oil and electricity in the 1970s. Even so, these are beautiful to see.

All in all, visiting Tower Bridge is a wonderful experience. You can even check the times of the bridge lifts in advance when you make your booking: www.towerbridge.org.uk Open Daily. Admission: £10.60, £7.90. (£1 to Southwark residents with ID) Times: 9.30 - 6pm.

20 HISTORY

www.southwarknews.co.uk/history

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

History

100 years old: the story of Southwark bridge

Southwark Bridge pictured in 2019 during the ‘Illuminated River’ public art display, which saw four of London’s iconic bridges lit up each night Sandwiched between the functional Cannon Street Rail and Millennium Bridge (the Wobbly one!) stands Southwark Bridge.

While not nearly as famous as its neighbours, London and Tower Bridge, this rather undervalued London landmark celebrates a special anniversary this week: its centenary, writes Neil Crossfield...

An earlier bridge, designed and built

by John Rennie, had opened in 1811.

This mainly cast-iron structure was a triumph of engineering in its day and is mentioned by Dickens in both ‘Little Dorrit’ and ‘Our Mutual Friend’.

However, it was never a success, partly because those crossing were required to pay a toll, and nearby London and Blackfriars Bridges were toll free. Facing financial ruin, the original Southwark Bridge Company first rented and then sold it to the Bridge House Estate in 1866. This organisation traces its origins back to 1097, when a tax was raised to help repair London Bridge. It continues to look after the bridges in the City of London to this day.

By the beginning of the 20th century the old bridge was no longer fit for purpose as it was only 42ft wide and its steep gradient made it difficult for horses to pull fully laden carts over it.

Eventually, the Bridge House Estate proposed that a new wider bridge be built. Designed by architect Ernest George and civil engineer Basil Mott, the new structure incorporated five steel arches, supported by granite piers. These arches were designed to

line up with those on nearby London and Blackfriars bridges making it easier for boats to navigate the Thames.

Erection began in 1913, with the work being carried out by William Arrol & Co, a famous engineering firm which had also built the Forth Bridge, Tower Bridge and the huge gantry at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, used in the construction of the RMS Titanic.

Although building continued throughout the First World War, progress was slow, hindered by the lack of materials and manpower.

During construction the bridge was closed to vehicles, but temporary pedestrian footpaths were kept open throughout the whole project. After the war finished, traffic congestion in the City again became a great problem, which resulted in a concerted effort to finish the bridge, it being one of the first major public works to be resumed after cessation of hostilities. The final cost, borne entirely by the Bridge House Trust, was some £375,000. The bridge was now 12ft wider and 7ft lower in the centre, making it far easier for horses to manage the crossing.

King George V officially opened the new bridge on June 6, 1921. The royal carriage drove through the streets from Buckingham Palace accompanied by a troop of the 2nd Life Guards. Large enthusiastic crowds had gathered along the route. Newspapers at the time reported that the King wore the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet and the Queen was attired in a costume of silver grey. Flags and bunting adorned the bridge as the royal party entered

Southwark Bridge by Grace Lydia Golden, painted 1922 - The image shows the marquee erected for the grand opening by King George V

its northern approach in Queen Street, where a large marquee had been erected. On arrival, the King was met by the Lord Mayor of London, the Bishop of Southwark and many other dignitaries and presented with a large 15-carat gold key. The King then made a speech in which he pronounced that ‘civilisation meant communication’ and suggested that anything which assisted the free movement of trade within the City and the London Metropolitan area would have benefits for the whole country and the wider Empire. He also noted that ‘everyday, more than a million people have to be brought into this famous square mile and be taken out of it again’.

The Port of London was still extremely important to the British

economy at this time and Southwark’s many wharves and warehouses would have played a crucial role in its day-today operations.

After the speeches the monarch, somewhat bizarrely, used the golden key to press an electrical switch which caused a small barrier to open on the northside of the bridge. The King and Queen then became the first people to drive over the bridge in a vehicle. A Pathe’ newsreel filmed on the day reveals that even then the City of London was far richer than it’s Southwark neighbour as the gates on the south side of the bridge are seen being opened manually by two burly police officers! The procession continued across the bridge until the royal carriage arrived at St Saviour’s

library on the corner of Union Street and Southwark Bridge Road, where the King was given printed addresses by the Mayor of Southwark and the Warden of the Great Account. The procession then made its way back to Buckingham Palace, via the Borough to St George’s Circus and then over Westminster Bridge.

Though this was a grand affair, it does not appear that the spectacle of the opening did much to encourage people to use the bridge and rectify the traffic problem. Just a few months later in September 1921, The Herald reported that there was still little traffic using the new bridge. Its correspondent noted that while the other bridges were busy, most of the people using Southwark Bridge were sightseers.

Cab drivers and carters complained that the location of the bridge was out of the way and getting through the City was still a problem.

LCC trams ran over the bridge from at least 1923 but still the bridge remained underused. In 1941 the northern approach of the bridge sustained severe bomb damage which necessitated the use of a temporary prefabricated ‘Hamilton’ bridge until this was removed in 1955. It was designated a Grade II listed building in 1995 and underwent a major restoration project in 2009. Although it is still the least used Bridge over the Thames, this rather elegant structure is looking good for a centenarian and no doubt will continue to link the Borough of Southwark with the City of London for many years to come.

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

www.southwarknews.co.uk/history

And some interesting facts...

HISTORY 21

History

The Graphic - June 11 1921

Illustrated Police News - Feb 9 1895 Southwark Bridge will light up this weekend to mark its 100 year anniversary.

Throughout June 4-6 the bridge will be bathed in pulsing white light.

Giles Shilson, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Bridge House Estates Committee, said: “It may not have the history of London Bridge or Southwark Bridge in numbers The original Southwark Bridge, built

by John Rennie, was a three-span cast iron bridge, the centre span of which, at 240 ft across, was said to be the widest ever built. It was constructed from 6,000 tons of iron from Rotherham, South Yorkshire and boasted a 29ft wide roadway with 6ft 9 ins footways on either side, compared to the 35ft roadway and 10ft footpaths of its successor.

The new bridge, designed by architect Sir Ernest George and engineer Sir Basil Mott, was constructed from steel, with five arches, to align with the bridges on either side – Blackfriars Bridge and Cannon Street Railway Bridge – easing passage for river traffic.

The present day bridge is 800ft long, with spans of between 123ft and 141ft.

The surface area of the bridge covers around 46,000 sq ft, the equivalent area to around three and a half Olympic

the glamour of Tower Bridge, but for the past century Southwark Bridge has played a vital but unsung role in carrying generations of Londoners across the Thames into and out of the City.

“For nearly 1,000 years, Bridge House Estates has been bridging the gap for Londoners – both literally and, more recently, in terms of our

work tackling social disadvantage and economic divides across the capital.

“We work 365 days a year to keep our five bridges in good shape – at no cost to the taxpayer – while our charity funding arm, City Bridge Trust, gives out over £25 million a year to projects supporting some of the most vulnerable people across the capital.”

The Sphere - April 9 1955

swimming pools.

The bridge was given a £2.5 million facelift by Bridge House Estates in 2011, when more than 1,000 tonnes of abrasive material was used to blast the

Southwark Bridge in verse In somewhat more flowery language than that used by its modern-day namesake, The Sun newspaper of 1819 paid this rhyming tribute to the original Southwark Bridge, a ‘stupendous structure’ which, it said, ‘appears almost to float in air’: “The Gods, to visit Man, in times of old, “From Heav’n in flaming chariots downward roll’d, “But now the visit is returned by Man, “He treads ethereal height on iron span, “Where none before but airy sylphs could fly, “Now rears the Southwark Bridge its head on high.

“Old Thames looks up to view the lofty flight, “And see the structure pierce the realm of light, “While shadows fall upon his silvery stream, “That ne’er before had lost the day’s bright beam.”

Southwark Bridge 1969 LMA

bridge back to its bare metal framework, before 13,000 litres of paint were used to repaint it in its original colours, yellow and – its own special shade and one you won't find in B&Q – Southwark Green.

Blasts, bombs and tragedy Both Southwark bridges have seen their fair share of drama including, little remembered today, a gas explosion at the southern end of the old bridge shortly before 2pm on Friday, 1 February 1895. The Illustrated London News noted ‘the utmost consternation and alarm was caused’ to the hundreds of foot passengers crossing, while ‘the horses attached to omnibuses and other vehicles became affrighted’.

The Penny Illustrated Paper reported: “The explosion was preceded by rumbling, and then after the terrific report (series of explosions), the covers of the manholes and the paving flags were lifted to a considerable distance and broken in pieces.”

Five people were injured but mercifully none killed. The cause was suspected to be a discarded match or sparks from a horse’s shoe igniting gas from a leaking pipe. One of those thrown into the air by

the blast, James Price, successfully sued the South Metropolitan Gas Company for negligence, and received £12 in damages.

During World War Two, new Southwark Bridge did not escape unscathed as London took a pounding from the Luftwaffe, sustaining serious damage at its northern end during a raid in 1941. It would be fourteen years before the bridge was fully repaired, with two temporary structures bridging the gap in the meantime, raising the gradient to ‘assume the appearance of a hump’, reminiscent of the old bridge’s days as ‘the curse of the carman’.

Perhaps the darkest moment in the history of Southwark Bridge came in the early hours of Sunday, 20 August 1989 when 51 people lost their lives after the pleasure boat Marchioness sank after being struck twice by the dredger Bowbelle, shortly after passing under the bridge.

Digging up history In Tudor and Stuart times, Southwark was a den of sin, home to such nefarious activities as bear-baiting, prostitution and unlicensed acting, and traces of two of its famed former theatres emerged from the ancient soil in the late 1980s.

Excavations beneath the car park of Anchor Terrace, in Park Street, revealed the site of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre, which the southern approach road to the modern Southwark Bridge passes over. The larger portion of its footprint remains buried but a reconstructed Globe was built around 200 yards away and opened in 1997.

Nearby, the site of the Rose Theatre – which also staged works by Shakespeare and other luminaries such as Christopher Marlowe – was due to vanish under an office block but a campaign led by 20th century acting giants including Lord Olivier and Ian McKellen saved it for posterity, and it survives, as a reborn theatre venue, in the bowels of the new building.

Construction work on the new Southwark Bridge had itself unveiled archaeological finds of a more recent

vintage when, in January 1915, workmen discovered on the river bed the foundation stone tablet from the old bridge, dating from almost a century earlier when, it read, work had begun ‘at the glorious termination of the longest and most expensive war in which the nation has ever been engaged’.

That proved to be a premature boast, as shortly after the tablet was inscribed, Napoleon escaped from exile in Elba and it took the Battle of Waterloo to finish him off. Also discovered was a glass bottle, encased in concrete, containing 15 gold, silver and copper coins dating from 1797 to 1815.

Southwark Bridge in popular culture The old bridge, referred to as ‘the Iron Bridge’, is mentioned by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and Little Dorrit. Its successor features in the classic 1964 film version of Mary Poppins and in 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which Harry and members of the order are seen flying towards the bridge on broomsticks.

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

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PUBLIC NOTICES 25

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (HOPTON STREET)

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (STONEY STREET, PARK STREET)

(TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC )

(TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC AND CYCLE LANE CLOSURE)

1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable McGee to carry out a series of crane operations, it made, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering in part of the above named road.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in Hopton Street, between Falcon Point and it’s blocked end.

3.

The alternative route for affected traffic (not applicable)

4.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

5.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

6.

The works will be in operation for between the 14th June – 2nd July.

7.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network & Parking Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

Dated this 2nd June 2021 Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Traded Services Environment and Leisure 160 Tooley Street, PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: 5156/LBSCR11265

1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable Forefront/SGN, BT,LBS Development Control, UKPN and Thames to carry out works it made, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering in part of the above named road.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in: (a) Stoney Street, between Southwark Street and Park Street (b) Park Street, cycle lane, located between Redcross Way and Stoney Street (c) Stoney Street, between Park Street and Rochester Walk (d) Stoney Street, between Rochester Walk and Winchester Walk (e) Stoney Street, between Winchester Walk and Clink Street

3.

The alternative route for affected traffic (2a) (2b) (2c) (2d) Park Street, Redcross Way, Southwark Street. Borough High Street, Bedale Street, Cathedral Street, Winchester Walk.

Stoney Street, Clink Street, Pickfords Wharf, Cathedral Street, Montague Close, Tooley Street, Borough High Street, Southwark Street. (2e) Southwark Street, Borough High Street, Bedale Street, Cathedral Street, Pickfords Wharf. Pickfords Wharf, Cathedral Street, Winchester Walk or as indicated by the signs displayed.

4.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

5.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

6.

The works will be in operation for (2a) (2b) (2c) (2d) (2e) 14th June – 30th July, and will be carried out in phases.

7.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network & Parking Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

Dated this 3rd June 2021

Statutory Notice Closure of St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School, Larcom Street, Walworth, London, SE17 1NQ

Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Traded Services Environment and Leisure 160 Tooley Street, PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: (2a) (2b) (2c) (2d) (2e) 5778/W117652120-02391

Notice is given in accordance with section 15 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (as amended by the Education Act 2011) and the School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of Schools) Regulations 2013 that the Governing Body of St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School, Larcom Street, Walworth, London, SE17 1NQ, in consultation with the London Borough of Southwark and the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (SDBE) has published proposals to discontinue St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School with effect from 1st September 2021.

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (RUBY STREET, MURDOCK STREET) TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC AND TEMPORARY WAITING RESTRICTIONS

Should the decision to close St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School be taken, all children attending St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School would be offered places at alternative schools in line with parental preferences and/or within the area for September 2021. The School currently has 94 children on roll.

1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable works to be carried out by, Pooch Construction, it intends to make an order the effect of which would be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above name roads and also to introduce waiting restrictions as detailed below.

The Governors of St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School are publishing the proposals.

Southwark Council will decide whether to implement the proposals and close St John’s Walworth Primary School.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload in: (a) Ruby Street, at it’s junction with Murdock Street for a distance of 28m in a southerly direction (b) Murdock Street, between No’s 24 to it’s junction with Old Kent Road.

The proposals are not related to any other school organisation proposals that have been or are about to be published.

This notice is an extract of the complete proposals. A copy of the complete proposals can be viewed on the school website at https://www.stjohnswalworthprimary.co.uk/ , a paper copy of the proposal can be requested via email to: ric.euteneuer@southwark.gov.uk.

3.

(a) Ruby Street, Eastern side, extend the existing double yellow lines located at the junction with Hyndman Road, southwards along the kerb line for a distance of 24.25m (b) Ruby Street, Western side, between Hyndman Street and Murdock Street remove 14.87 of existing double yellow lines

Within four weeks from the date of publication of this proposal, any person may object to or make comments on the proposal by emailing them to ric.euteneuer@southwark.gov.uk. Or in writing to: Ric Euteneuer, Principal Strategy officer (School Place Planning) Education Access and Statutory Services Children’s and Adults’ Services Southwark Council 160 Tooley Street London SE1 2QH Responses must be received by 5pm on July 5th 2021.

Signed

Whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to wait, including waiting for the purpose of loading/unloading “at any time” in (a)

4.

The alternative route for (2a & 2b) Old Kent Road, Hyndman Road.

5.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, insofar as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

6.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

7.

The restriction will come into force on the 18th June 2021 – 17th December 2022.

8.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network & Parking Management on 0207 525 2014.

Dated this 3rd June 2021 Usha Singh, Chair of Governors 7th June 2021 Explanatory Notes Southwark Council will need to take the decision on whether or not to close St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary school within two months of the end of the representation period (i.e. by 5th September 2021). If the Council fails to take the decision within this time, it will pass all relevant material to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA), which will itself take the decision.

Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Traded Services Environment and Leisure 160 Tooley Street, PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref:

To place a notice, please email em@southwarknews.co.uk or call 07798 833758. Deadline is 12 noon on Tuesdays

26 PUBLIC NOTICES

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (AS AMENDED) PLANNING (LISTED BUILDING AND CONSERVATION AREAS) ACT 1990 The planning applications listed below can be viewed on the planning register at https://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/ You can use facilities at your local library or 'My Southwark Service Points' to access the website.

How to comment on this application: You should submit your comments via the above link. Comments received will be made available for public viewing on the website. All personal information will be removed except your postal address. Online comments submitted without an email address will not be acknowledged and those marked 'confidential' will not be considered. Written comments can be submitted to; Southwark Council, Chief executive's department, Planning division, Development Management, PO Box 64529, London SE1 5LX. Reason for publicity. The applications are advertised for the reasons identified by the following codes: AFFECT - development affecting character or appearance of a nearby conservation area; OR development affecting setting of a nearby listed building(s); DEP - departure from the development plan; EIA - environmental impact assessment (these applications are accompanied by an environmental statement a copy of which may be obtained from the Council - there will be a charge for the copy); MAJ - major planning application; STDCA - development within a conservation area; STDLB - works to or within the site of a listed building; 138 RYE LANE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 4RZ (Ref: 21/AP/1692) Retrospective planning permission for cafe/bar (Use Class A3/A4) over ground and first floor with ancillary manager's accommodation at second floor, and installation of a new shopfront and rear fully gazed bi-fold doors at ground floor. (Within: Holly Grove Rye Lane Peckham CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Glenn Ruane 020 7525 5447) 185 TOWER BRIDGE ROAD LONDON SOUTHWARK (Ref: 21/AP/1813) A new build five story building with a basement, adjoining a grade II listed building. Including a commercial unit at basement and ground floor, and residential units from 1st -4th floors.

(Within: Tower Bridge CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Martin McKay 020 7525 1818) GARAGES TO THE REAR OF 112 FORT ROAD LONDON SE1 5PT (Ref: 21/AP/1788) Removal of Conditon 4 - Highways works as a requirement of Planning Permission (Within: Thorburn Square CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Matthew Adebayo ) 62 PECKHAM HIGH STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 5DP (Ref: 21/AP/1802) Roof renewal; installation of new hardwood timber sash windows are made to the house, and a timber-framed dormer is created to the rear roof and new period-inspired shopfront

(Within: Rye Lane Peckham CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Athena HyltonThompson 020 7525 2161) 29 CHAMPION GROVE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 8BN (Ref: 21/AP/1815) General renovation and refurbishment throughout the property including minor alteration to the existing layout, removal of chimney-breast internally, the addition of a small window to the rear elevation and inclusion of underfloor heating at all levels. (Within: Camberwell Grove Conservation Area CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Catherine Jeater 020 7525 5375) 43 TRAFALGAR AVENUE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 6NP (Ref: 21/AP/1801) Installation of a garden room to the rear of the back garden. (Within: Trafalgar Avenue CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Athena Hylton-Thompson 020 7525 2161) 30 GRACES MEWS LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 8JF (Ref: 21/AP/1828) Conversion of existing property with 1 x 2 bed flat, 1 x 1 bed and 1 x studio flat into 2x3 bed with existing 1 bed and studio flat retained.

Construction of a single storey rear extension along with additional bed room to the top flat.

New entrance doors, new bin store and bike parking. (Within: Camberwell Grove Conservation Area CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Ibrahim Azam )

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (GILKES PLACE) TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC 1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that in the interest of public safety, it intends to make an order, the effect of which will be to temporarily prohibit vehicular traffic at the junction of Gilkes Place and Gilkes Crescent.

2.

The effect of the order is to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering Gilkes Place from Gilkes Crescent and from entering Gilkes Crescent from Gilkes Place.

3.

Access to Gilkes Place will be maintained from the junction of Dulwich Village. Gilkes Crescent will be accessible from the junction of East Dulwich Grove.

4.

The alternative route for access to Gilkes Crescent is Dulwich Village, East Dulwich Grove, Gilkes Crescent. Access to Gilkes Place will be maintained from Dulwich Village.

5.

The restriction will be in place from the 18th June 2021 following a Section 14(2) notice.

6.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network & Parking Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

52 CHOUMERT ROAD LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 4AX (Ref: 21/AP/1793) Excavation of existing concrete floor treatment in the rear garden; removal and relocation of a cherry tree in the rear garden; construction of a single storey garden room with the design to incorporate a green roof and recycled PVC Cladding. (Within: Holly Grove CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Anthony Roberts 020 7525 5458)

side elevations Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Tracy Chapman 020 7525 1948) Dated: 01 Jun 2021 - comments to be received within 21 days of this date.

STEPHEN PLATTS - Director of Planning and Growth

76-78 CAMBERWELL ROAD LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 0EG (Ref: 21/AP/1647) Change of use from a 14-unit HMO (Hostel) (Sui Generis) into 5 self-contained flats (C3 Use Class), (comprising 1x two bedroom flat at lower ground floor level, 1 x two bedroom flat at ground floor level, 1 x two bedroom flat at first floor level, 1 x two bedroom flat at second floor level and 1 x two bedroom flat at third floor level. Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Richard Craig 020 7525 0436) CLANDON BUILDINGS BOYFIELD STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 0SD (Ref: 21/AP/0946) Installation of gas supply pipes on rear and side elevations. Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Tracy Chapman 020 7525 1948) ALBURY BUILDINGS BOYFIELD STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 0SB (Ref: 21/AP/0947) Installation of gas supply pipes and rear and

READ IT HERE FIRST Check out our website for the latest breaking news, and the chance to see more photos and videos of the stories you have read in your Southwark News...

Dated this 3rd June 2021 Ian Law Traffic Manager Southwark Council Environment and Leisure Network Management PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref 5779

To place a notice, please email em@southwarknews.co.uk or call 07798 833758

www.southwarknews.co.uk

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

www.southwarknews.co.uk/sport

SPORT 27

28 SPORT

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

Photo by Mark Sandom

‘key win’ boosts momentum

Amar Virdi

By Mark Baldwin sport@southwarknews.co.uk AMAR VIRDI finished with 4 for 96 as Surrey took 33.5 overs on day four to complete an emphatic innings and 47-run victory against Gloucestershire at the Kia Oval last weekend and propel themselves into LV= Insurance County Championship contention.

Gloucestershire, starting the final day still 191 runs adrift on 124 for 5 in their second innings, after being forced to follow on, were dismissed for 268 despite excellent resistance from Jonny Tattersall who remained unbeaten on 86 from 136 balls.

Miles Hammond added only seven runs to his overnight 38 before looking distraught to be given out caught at the

wicket for 45, sweeping at Dan Moriarty, and the 25-year-old left-hander, who made 77 in the first innings, batted for almost six and a half hours and 280 balls in the game.

Off spinner Virdi had match figures of 7 for 142, while slow left-armer Moriarty added 2 for 82 to his first innings 6 for 60 – which was his fourth consecutive haul of five wickets or more in just his third firstclass appearance.

Surrey’s 22-point win puts them third in Group 2, just six points behind Gloucestershire, who took only two bonus points from a first defeat of the championship season but who remain leaders of a fiercely-contested six-team conference with three games to play.

Those are an away fixture against Leicestershire followed by two home games at Cheltenham in July, against

Middlesex and Hampshire, while Surrey are still to play Hampshire away and second-placed Somerset at home. The top two from each of the three groups will form Division One and those six counties will play for the championship title in August and September.

Hammond’s dismissal from the first ball of the sixth over of the day was quickly followed by the downfall of Tom Smith for 1, lbw to one from paceman Jamie Overton that kept low.

Both Matt Taylor (15) and David Payne (14) lofted Virdi to long on, after some defiant blows, while Tattersall swept and swung Moriarty for four and six and also drove Overton beautifully through mid off for another of his ten fours as he moved from his overnight 15 past a deserved halfcentury.

Last man Dan Worrall then helped Tattersall, who swept Will Jacks for another six, to add a merry 56 for the final wicket, hitting five fours in his 24 before being bowled by a good one from Moriarty.

“It was a fantastic performance by the whole team,” Virdi said. “And this is a key win for us because it was against the side top of the group and because it now gives us great momentum going into the start of the T20 Blast and then into our final two championship group games later on.

“It was a big toss for us to win at the start but then Hashim Amla led the way brilliantly by batting time on that pitch and also with his captaincy.

“It was great for me to bowl again in partnership with Dan [Moriarty] and, as bowlers, we complement each other and enjoy winning games for Surrey. We

also kept things tight in their first innings, as well as taking wickets, and that was important in that we were able to enforce the follow on knowing that we would almost certainly not have to bat again on the final day.”

Gloucestershire captain Chris Dent added: “We showed a bit of fight today and the guys who batted out there today did a really good job. Surrey played the better cricket over the four days but we are still top of the group and there is a lot for us to play for.

“We have to learn and improve, and put those lessons into practice if we have another match on this type of pitch later in the season. For now we have to make sure we turn up with our heads held high on Thursday, when we start our next match against Leicestershire.”

Khan do for Dulwich as 16-year-old makes mark Dulwich 192-7 (50) beat Worcester Park 95 (28.2) by 97 runs

By John Lewis Sport@southwarknews.co.uk DULWICH GOT back to winning ways in Division 2 of the AJ Fordham Surrey Championship, with a comprehensive victory by 97 runs at home to Worcester Park last weekend.

Dulwich elected to bat, but found scoring difficult against accurate bowling in challenging batting conditions, losing Ollie Sykes and Frankie Brown to make it 27-2 in the

14th over.

Matt Marfani joined opener Ollie Steele and they continued to bat circumspectly, with the score not reaching 50 until the 24th over. The pair had added 41 when Marfani fell for 25, made off 37 balls.

Will Bancroft helped Steele add 27 for the 4th wicket, but he and Michael Harms fell in successive overs to make it 98-5 after 36 overs.

This brought in skipper Jon Lodwick, who attacked the bowling from the start. He and Steele had added 46 in ten overs when Steele finally fell for 59 with the score on 144 after 45.2 overs. He had faced a mammoth 147 balls, but his innings was vital in keeping an end secure

and laying the foundation for what was to come.

The remaining 4.4 overs saw a further 48 runs added, including 21 off the last over. Lodwick scored 35 of them to finish on 62 not out, off just 50 balls, with four sixes. Nick Gunning was run out and Simon Harwood also remained undefeated as Dulwich closed on 192-7 off their 50 overs.

With conditions easing, Lodwick and Harwood were unable to exert the same pressure as their rivals, and runs flowed freely as the Worcester Park batsmen went for their shots. The 50 came up in just nine overs, 15 less than Dulwich had taken, though not all the runs had

come off the middle of the bat.

But crucially they had lost skipper Richard Rawlings and both the Hill brothers in the process, all to Harwood.

Spin was introduced as early as the tenth over, in the shape of sixteenyear-old leggie Ahmed Khan, who had earlier taken a stunning catch in the gully to dismiss Rawlings. He took a wicket with his second ball to reduce them to 50-4. ]The fifth wicket pair added 23 before Khan took two wickets in successive balls in his fifth over, and he repeated the feat in his ninth.

He bowled his ten overs straight through, including five maidens, to finish with the excellent figures of

5-16.

Gunning then took the ninth wicket and Harwood returned to claim the tenth and finish with 4-26 off 6.2 overs. Worcester Park had lost their last four wickets for three runs to be dismissed for 95 off 28.2 overs. The only prolonged resistance had come from Scott Kent, who had faced 66 balls for his 39.

Dulwich remain second in the table as leaders Bank of England also won. This weekend, Dulwich make the long journey to Farnham, who are currently languishing in ninth place, though this may not reflect their true merit as their first three matches all fell victim to the weather.

Pic by Roy James

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

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MILLWALL 29

‘Battle for the Capital’ set for July start

London Olympians’ last competitive game was in July 2019

Two-year wait over for Burgess Park club

By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk SOUTHWARK-BASED British American Football club the London Olympians are looking forward to a “tasty season” after the release of ‘The Battle for the Capital’ fixture list.

The new 2021 regional format announced by the British American Football Association will pitch all four London clubs against each other in a one-off season.

Starting in July, after two years of waiting due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Burgess Park-based Olympians will take on each opponent - the

London Blitz, London Warriors and Kent Exiles – twice for a total of six games over three months.

The first game on July 11 will see the London Olympians travel to the London Warriors in their first competitive match since July 2019, following last season’s cancellation as the country responded to Covid-19.

Following this prolonged period of stagnation for the sport, the desire to get back on the field is intense.

“I am so happy for this season to begin – at last,” offensive coordinator coach Murray Dumas said: “It has been a long time coming and our group is extremely challenging, but exciting times lie ahead.”

Olympians team captain and offensive lineman Victor Olamide added: “With arguably the strongest conference in the country, there is no easy way to play out these games.

“An opener as good as a National Championship game leads us into back-to-back grudge matches with a Blitz team that we went toe-to-toe with in our last game played.

“Then, finishing the season off with a Championship sandwich with Warriors wedged between two shots at the Kent Exiles for good measure, it’s going to be a tasty season.”

Meanwhile, the club have made a number of recent signings. Offensive line James Watson previously played

for Bury Saints. He said: “I can’t wait to get playing with the Olympians. I’m enjoying the training, the teamwork and the offensive mentality and cannot wait to walk out on that pitch in the team colours.”

Former Brighton Panthers defensive back Libra Campbell-Peel added: “After spending time with the Olympians and experiencing their openness to new talent, I believe this is a great place to bring my skill-set after uniball”.

Another offensive line, Frank Rose, was previously a rugby player. “I’m really happy to be signing with the Olympians for the 2021 season, with a great coaching staff. I’m hoping to mark my stamp on the field. [It’s] a

very competitive, athletic team to be involved with.”

Running back Adam Spero joins the team as a Rookie.

“Joining the Olympians has greatly improved my love for the sport, and being part of a strong team culture,” he said. “I’m looking forward to running fast and putting some big hits on.”

The club recently got confirmation that they would be moving to Southwark Athletics Centre in Southwark Park for their team training each Sunday, starting from June 13.

Meanwhile, they are still looking for players. Anyone interested can email: recruitment@olympiansfootball.org.

Millwall Lionesses promoted to fifth tier as FA approve application Sports Reporter sport@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL LIONESSES have confirmed that they have been promoted to the fifth tier of the women’s football pyramid from the sixth tier after their application was approved by the Football Association.

Lionesses boss Katie Whitmore is ‘delighted’ with the news

That also means a change of region, from the Eastern Region Women’s Football League (ERWFL) Division One South to the London & South East Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division, for the 2021-22 season.

The move will see the Lionesses take the next step up the pyramid, as well as

playing their league games in an area more local to their roots.

Millwall Community Trust (MCT) CEO Sean Daly said it was a “great day” for the club.

“Since the Millwall Lionesses came back under the banner of the MCT, we have always strived and worked hard to get the club back to the levels it rightly deserves,” he said. “And I’m glad that the FA have taken into account the work both on and off the pitch when they reviewed the application.

“This is a great day for both the first team of the Lionesses, and the youth set-ups, who see the first team as part of their footballing pathways.”

Katie Whitmore, the Lionesses’ firstteam manager, is looking forward to

"continuing our journey".

“The squad that have been with us over the last two seasons have worked incredibly hard in exceptionally difficult circumstances, and I’m delighted that our previous results have contributed towards the promotion to tier five,” Whitmore said. “I want to thank them for all their hard work and I look forward to building, and working with, a squad that is capable of continuing our journey.”

In a statement, the Lionesses added: “As the club leaves the ERWFL after two seasons, we would like to express our gratitude to all those involved with the Eastern Region and accepting our club when the Millwall Lionesses were re-established.”

Scott lucky

30 MILLWALL

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Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

But flying wingback knows others are less fortunate

Scott Malone was always going to be in demand after career-best numbers last season

EXCLUSIVE

By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk SCOTT MALONE admitted he feels “fortunate” after he sealed a permanent move to Millwall from Derby County last week - as other players scramble this summer to secure clubs.

Malone, 30, was heading out of contract with the Rams at the end of June and pointed to the example of one of his ex-team-mates who hasn’t been able to find a club for almost a year.

Wing-back Malone and former England international Tom Huddlestone were in the same Derby squad that reached the play-off final under Frank Lampard in 2019. But Huddlestone was released last summer at the age of 33 and didn’t play a game last season.

There are over 100 players out of contract after leaving Championship clubs this summer, including Frank Fielding, Shaun Williams and Shane Ferguson who were released by Millwall.

Malone was never going to be in that category after he matched his careerbest six goals in a season. Boss Gary Rowett also made it clear he wanted a permanent move for a player he first coached at Burton in 2010.

Malone knew where he wanted to be in 2021-22, but that doesn’t mean he

doesn’t think about others with less certain futures.

“It [the decision on the move] was made a few weeks before the season finished,” Malone told the News. “It was, ‘we want to keep you’. I was just really concentrating on finishing the season well. I’d played well all season, I didn’t want anything to affect my mind-frame, to be honest.

“And then a few days after the season finished it was pretty much all agreed and all signed.

“It’s my third time back at the club now and I love it there. It’s a unique club, it really is. The lads are great, I’ve loved my time there the last two stints.

“Everything was there and is there for me to go and play well again, so why disrupt that?

“The first season at Derby went well, we got into the play-off final and everything was good. But then my second season there, my last season, it went a bit wrong. I wasn’t in the team.

“I think now I’m getting back to playing my best football. I‘m happy with that so long may it continue.

“It [completing a transfer at the start of the summer] takes the stress out of it. I’m in a very fortunate position because with Covid there are so many free agents available, so many good players out of contract that are probably sitting there now thinking, ‘what am I going to do?’

“You look at one player, for instance, Tom Huddlestone, that I played with

at Derby. He was out of contract last summer and didn’t play football all season.

“You have to take these things into consideration. He’s one of the best midfielders I’ve ever played with. I know he’s a little older now but in my opinion he could walk into most Championship teams in the middle of the park. He’s that good. And yet he didn’t play football all season.

“If you look at it like that then I can say I’m very fortunate to be in the position I‘m in.”

The fact that Rowett is his manager was also a factor in agreeing the move.

“I had him at Burton, he was the assistant. It was in League Two and I was playing as a winger, really, though I was at left-back. So he knew I could do that,” Malone said.

“When I came in he said, ‘I want more attacking from you. You’ve got to do the defensive side as well but I want you to be the attacking wing-back that I want’.

“I think that suits my game. In the end it was a good fit.”

Malone now considers himself one of the leaders in the dressing room.

“Definitely, 30 years old and with the amount of games I’ve played in the Championship,” he said.

“Especially after losing Willo and Fergie, they’d been here for so long.

“This will be my fifth season with Millwall, so that puts me up there with the longest-serving, if you can call it longest-serving over three periods.

“Coops [Jake Cooper] has been there a while, Hutchy [Shaun Hutchinson].

I‘m in the handful of longest-serving so I‘d like to say I‘m one of the senior lads in the changing room.

“The goal return I was happy with.

I’m a little bit disappointed I didn’t get more. I can think of chances in my head now that I should have taken, really.

“I think I should have been on eight or nine if not double figures given the chances I had.

“But saying that, the games return – 43 in all – that’s something I am proud off. Especially coming off the back of my last season at Derby.”

Malone and his family were heading off to Portugal this week for a wellearned break.

The squad had just two weeks fully off last summer after the suspension of football during which time they had to train on their own. That meant from the start of pre-season training in 2019-20 to the end of the campaign in July, more than a year with no time off.

Malone explained the challenges of that and then the quick turnaround to 2020-21.

“It was getting going last season [2019-20] and then having to stop but then you didn’t really stop,” Malone said. “Even though we spent the best part of two months at home it was, ‘you need to keep fit, we’re not sure how long this is going to go on for’.

“We had running programmes at home which wasn’t ideal because you

end up having to run down the local park, run on pavements, that’s even harder. That was mentally testing.

“So we’ve only really had two weeks off the last eighteen months. It took its toll towards the end of the season.

“For a lot of last season you’re just playing off pure adrenaline. You didn’t really train mid-week. If you were away on the Wednesday and then the Saturday you couldn’t train. You had to travel into the training ground for recovery and then you’re off travelling again.

“It was six months of just playing games. It was tough.”

Millwall are approaching 7,000 season ticket sales for 2021-22. The last time Malone played at The Den with a full capacity available was in a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth in December 2014.

“I think the club are hoping for a pretty full Den for the first game,” he said. “I think that would be pretty amazing.

“It would be the loudest I’ve ever heard it in my four seasons there.

“That should really push us on. We can’t wait to have them back.

“Away from home as well, even if we’re not at The Den, the atmosphere of an away day, you can’t beat it.

“That’s what football’s about, the fans.

You look at the play-off games, even the noise on the telly, it’s all different.

Even watching a neutral game gets you excited.”

Southwark News, Thursday June 3 2021

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MILLWALL 31

Boss thrilled with Guv’nor deal

Alex Pearce is the major influence in Millwall’s dressing room

‘Not many players can bring what he brings to the group’

EXCLUSIVE

By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL’S THIRD signing of the summer might not have set a lot of pulses racing – but boss Gary Rowett said it would have been “absolutely impossible” to replace Alex Pearce’s leadership if the club skipper had left this pre-season.

Pearce, 32, signed a new contract with the Lions last week. Rowett also secured Scott Malone and George Long on free transfers from Derby and Hull as he reshapes his squad for the 2021-22 season.

Pearce was signed by Neil Harris

on loan from the Rams in January 2019 before a permanent move the following summer when he was made club captain.

Former Ireland international Pearce has a battle to gain a first-team place next season, but Rowett has outlined just how influential the defender is.

Rowett said Pearce “spearheads” the “culture” at the club. Pearce’s team-mates have spoken about his leadership qualities, and Rowett explained how tough it would have been to replace that if he had decided not to take the contract offer.

“Absolutely impossible, really,” Rowett said. “You judge players on everything. You have players that are quite quiet and therefore have to perform to their very best level on

Millwall youngster set for biggest test

By John Kelly

johnk@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL CENTRE-back Alex Mitchell is set for the biggest game of his career when Bromley face Hartlepool United in the quarterfinals of the National League playoffs this Saturday.

Bromley secured their place in the endof-season shootout on the last day of the regular league campaign with a 1-0 win at home to Notts County last Saturday.

Mitchell, 19, played the full game as Ben Williamson scored the only goal in the 64th minute.

Even then, Bromley, who started the day ninth, needed two teams above them to slip up.

Mitchell said last week he felt that

would happen, and his prediction was right as Wrexham could only draw 1-1 at Dagenham & Redbridge, while Eastleigh lost 2-0 at Solihull Moors. Both tumbled out of the top seven at the death.

Bromley are away at Hartlepool, with Notts County hosting Chesterfield in the other quarter-final.

If Bromley get through they will travel to Stockport in the semi-final. Torquay are the other side in the last four.

Meanwhile, bottom side Barnet defeated champions Sutton 2-0 in their last game of the season.

Sam Skeffington – who is leaving the Lions this summer – started for Barnet, while Isaac Olaofe couldn’t add to his sixteen goals this season but he finished his successful loan spell and could be in demand in the next campaign.

the pitch.

“You get other players who bring lots of different things to the table as well as their performances on the pitch.

“Al knows he’s not going to start every game, he’s not going to play every minute. But he wants to and that’s why he’s been such a good professional.

“He’s got such great leadership. If I have an issue, Pearcey sorts it out in the dressing room. Most things don’t get to me because Pearcey sorts it out in the dressing room.

“George Evans talked about a great culture here. Some of that is myself and my staff, and a vast majority of that is the players. Pearcey spearheads that.

“It’s absolutely vital and I‘m really pleased he’s going to be here next year.”

Shaun Hutchinson, Jake Cooper and Murray Wallace are likely to be ahead of Pearce in the pecking order at the start of next season.

Hayden Muller could also be pushing for a place in the side, while Rowett is also a fan of Ryan Leonard in a centre-back slot.

But Rowett says Pearce has the hunger to gain his place in the team.

“Your squad evolves and you need that competition for places, those different elements in your squad,” Rowett said.

“That comes in lots of different forms, Pearcey understands that.

“But the reason he’s been such a top

performer over the years is because he’s got a real desire to go and prove himself all the time.

“What you do is you get a bit more sensible as you get more experienced and you realise you can’t play every minute.

“But not many players can bring what he brings to the group. You hear all the other players talking about it, speak about what he’s about in the dressing room.

“And sometimes that’s hard to portray unless you’re on the inside of the team and on the inside of training.

“He’s a great guy, Pearcey, I‘ve got a lot of respect for him and a really good relationship with him.

“I’m pleased we’ll be working together again next year.”

Lions could make border trip

By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk GARY ROWETT has revealed Millwall could return to Scotland for their training camp this pre-season – and potentially play a friendly against his former assistant.

The Lions had a week-long training camp at the Oriam sports centre in Edinburgh last year.

They had scheduled a game against Hearts but it was called off after restrictions over the border changed.

Millwall could face Hearts – who have just been promoted to the Premiership – and Callum Davidson’s domestic cup double winners St Johnstone.

In five pre-seasons under Neil Harris, Millwall went to a training camp on the Algarve in Portugal, but uncertainty over travel means the Lions could simplify their logistics by staying in the UK. “At the moment, we’re looking at maybe going back to Scotland,” Rowett told the News. “We went there last year and had a really good training camp.

“The whole flying with the team and Covid and what’s not going to be open or open, it’s a massive challenge.

“You’ve got about six or seven camps in Portugal that I think everybody is going to try to get on.

“So at the moment it probably looks like we’ll stay in the United Kingdom. But we haven’t finalised

that yet.”

The Lions have already set up a friendly at Gillingham on July 27.

And Rowett could be set for a reunion with his former right-hand man.

Rowett said: “We’ve got a potential option of playing someone like Hearts or playing against Cal’s team, St Johnstone.

“We’ll look at all those opportunities.

“Look, sometimes you’re away for four or five days and it doesn’t really matter where you are. It’s about players being together and creating that atmosphere of building a squad.

“Wherever we do that we’ll try our best to get it right.

“We’re pretty much halfway there.”

inside

Sport Southwark

Play-off push a must

‘It’s there for us if we do everything we possibly can to get in’ EXCLUSIVE

By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk SCOTT MALONE has set some big personal and team goals for next season – saying Millwall must challenge for the play-offs after consecutive top-half finishes.

Malone, 30, sealed a permanent move to the Lions for the second time in his career after a successful season in which he scored six goals in 43 games.

That’s the most number of games he’s played in a campaign across a twelveseason career, and it was the third time he has scored six goals in a season.

Malone joined Millwall for the first time in May 2012 from Bournemouth before leaving for Cardiff two-and-a-half seasons later.

He returned to The Den on loan last summer before agreeing a free-transfer move from Derby last month.

Malone won the club’s goal of the season for his strike against Sheffield Wednesday in February, and he is aiming to continue his fine form next season.

“I think I need to match the goal tally, that’s the biggest one, especially if I play in the wing-back role again,” Malone said.

“That’s something I need to do.

“Games as well. I need to play the same amount of games, especially as, hopefully, next season will be back to

Two-year wait over for Olympians Page 29

Boss doesn’t rule out adding to midfield EXCLUSIVE

By John Kelly johnk@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL BOSS Gary Rowett has hinted the Lions could be in the market to boost their midfield this summer after the departure of two experienced players at the end of last season.

Scott Malone in action against Brentford - who won the playoff final against Swansea last weekend a bit of normality. A little bit longer between games so you can rest and train a little bit more, that will be nice. Any less games would be a negative.

“For the team – and I know everyone says it, you probably have about twelve, fifteen teams saying the same thing – we have to be looking to get top six.

“You say that every year, but realistically we’ve had an eighth-place finish, eleventh-place finish over the last two seasons. You have to now be really, really pushing for the play-offs. You have to be in there or if you’re not you can’t be too far away.

“That has to be the realistic aim next season.

“But you’ve got so many players out

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of contract, especially Championship players – something like over a hundred Championship players that can go on a free, it’s scary – you don’t know what anyone’s squad is going to look like.

“You don’t know how many players the Premier League teams coming down are going to lose, who they’re going to replace them with.

“That’s the beauty of the Championship.

You look at Barnsley this year, they didn’t win for the first six games. You can’t tell me after the first six games you’d have put any money on them being sixth at the end of the season.

“It’s there for us if we do everything we possibly can to get in. I think it’s there for us.”

The Lions released Shaun Williams while Ryan Woods returned to parent club Stoke. The latter told the News last season that the “numbers” involved might make a permanent deal difficult.

Millwall currently have Ryan Leonard, Billy Mitchell, Ben Thompson, Maikel Kieftenbeld and George Evans on their books.

The first three all missed large chunks of the season due to injury, while the latter two only joined in January.

Rowett is pleased with those options but hasn’t ruled out adding to them.

“We’ve always seen George Evans as playing in there,” Rowett said. “Maikel and Billy Mitchell in particular are those sort of defensive destroyers that can break forward and do the other side of the game.

“Then you’ve got the likes of Thommo who can play a little bit further forward.

“So I think we’ve got quite good numbers in there. You’ve got to remember as well we’ve got Lenny who has been out injured.

“Lenny can play as one of two or one of three in there as well as in the back three and wing-back. So we’ve got some good versatility.

“Whether we add something more attacking in there will remain to be seen.

“Numbers-wise we’re actually okay, we might just add to other places that might push one of those players a little bit further forward as well.”

George Evans The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2014 was 83.5%