PARKNEWS www.crystalpalacepark.org Edition 7 September 2007 MORE PARK - YOUR PARK! Crystal Palace Park Plans Move Forward Welcome to the seventh edition of ParkNews, providing all the latest news about plans for and events in Crystal Palace Park. After almost a year of design work, shaped by the views of the local community, the London Development Agency (LDA) will shortly seek approval for its long-term vision for Crystal Palace Park. In October 2007 the LDA will submit an application for outline planning permission for the Park masterplan, produced by landscape architects Latz + Partner, to the London Borough of Bromley. Consultation on the masterplan proposals has been extensive and has sought the views of traditionally excluded groups; including disabled groups; young people; Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; the elderly and faith communities. These were taken into account as part of Europe’s largest park consultation programme. An exhibition of the masterplan will be held between 18 – 31 October in the old booking office at Crystal Palace Station. This will be an opportunity to see and discuss the masterplan in full. There will also be a number of workshop to discuss specific elements, and many opportunities to meet and discuss the plan with the masterplanners. One of the masterplans main aims is to produce a vision for the Park that enhances wildlife biodiversity, conserves the historical landscape and incorporates sustainable design features to improve the much loved local amenity. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) produced over the summer has examined the potential impact of the masterplan on the Park. Since the removal of the unsightly turnstiles and the bridge from outside Crystal Palace station, the transformation of the Park continues apace with the London Development Agency about to start the refurbishment of the mechanical and electrical plant National Sports Centre and the reopening of the children’s farm (Capel Manor) to the public in late October. We are always happy to hear from you with comments or suggestions on ParkNews, details can be found on the last page. If you have missed earlier editions of ParkNews, they can be downloaded from our website www.crystalpalacepark.org. Palace Terrace When the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park was relocated to Sydenham Hill this relatively unknown part of London was thrust into the spotlight. The Crystal Palace was an amazing feat of engineering and it was the UK’s first exhibition and shopping centre where ordinary Londoners could see artefacts from all over the world. The masterplanners have sought to echo the history of the original Palace with a 21st Century interpretation. The plans for the Palace Terrace include providing a meeting place for Londoners - a community space where family orientated events such as farmers’ markets, art and craft stalls and cultural festivals could take place - and potentially an ice rink. The multifunctional area would be serviced by water, electricity and toilet facilities, making it easier for community groups to host events in the Park. This will encourage more visitors to the surrounding area. The proposed planting of semi-mature trees would show the scale of the original Palace and re-create some of the grandeur of the past. In between the trees, spaces will be reserved as ecological corridors that will improve the Park’s biodiversity and enable the movement of animals. Housing Estates Tour Hidden Treasure The museum traces the history of the Crystal Palace from its inception and building at Hyde Park, to the move to Sydenham as well as related events and activities spanning 82 years until its total destruction by fire in 1936. The museum is situated in the former Crystal Palace School of Engineering, established in 1872, and was one of the few buildings left after the fire of 1936. Next to the museum stands the base of Brunel's South Water Tower and on the museum terrace can be seen an original cast iron column from the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace Museum is a registered charity and is independently run by volunteers. Admission is free and the museum is open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays from 11.00hrs to 16.30hrs. Guided tours of the park take place on the first Sunday of each month (check details on 020 8676 0700 on the preceding Saturday). New Museum The Museum is also available by appointment during weekdays for private and school visits with talks given by museum staff. Please leave a message on the answer phone or send an email to arrange a private visit. The Crystal Palace Museum Anerley Hill SE19 2BA Tel/Fax: 020 8676 0700 Email:?info@crystalpalacemuseum.org.uk Web:?www.crystalpalacemuseum.org.uk News Digest Capel The former children’s farm in Crystal Palace Park is set to reopen. Capel Manor, an animal husbandry and horticultural college, is investing £500,000 in restocking and refurbishing the farm. The farm will also provide local students of all ages the chance to learn animal care skills. The farm will be open from October 2007 to the general public, free of charge. Visit the website (www.capel.ac.uk) for more information. NSC Refurbishment To ensure the swimming facilities remain open at Crystal Palace, the London Development Agency is spending £5 million updating the mechanical and electrical systems and updating the changing facilities at the National Sports Centre. The swimming pool at the National Sports Centre is set to close from early November 2007 till June 2008 For more information please contact the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on 020 8778 0131. Television Tower National Grid Wireless Ltd, who own the television transmitter tower located in the Crystal Palace Park, will soon be submitting a planning application for the transmitter to incorporate changes needed for the switchover from analogue to digital. The proposed changes include some new build requirements and a new cable support structure up the centre of the tower, to take cables from the ground level building to the new antennas proposed at the top of the tower. National Grid Wireless is conducting a consultation on these proposals, and intends to send letters to interested groups in the near future. If you would like to receive a copy of this letter, please provide your contact details to National Grid Wireless by email: community.relations@ngridwireless.com or phone: 0845 6014 815. The Crystal Palace Park “Talk to Us Bus” visited five local housing estates between 17 and 23 August 2007. The road show was part of a tour designed to inform residents about the proposals for the Park, prior to submission of the planning application to the London Borough of Bromley. The purpose of the road show was to demonstrate how the masterplan has incorporated the ideas and Phasing When the original park was built in the 19th Century it was fenced off for the duration of the two concerns from community consultation. The bus was parked at key locations within each community (such as housing association offices) and residents were invited to come onto the bus where staff answered any questions and offered detailed information about the project. Over 1500 residents visited the bus and approximately 700 copies of ParkNews 5 and 6 were handed out year construction period. Today the Park is a vital ‘green lung’ for the local community and the phasing strategy seeks to keep the maximum amount of parkland open to the public providing more information about the scheme. Visitors included residents from all age groups and men and women from a diverse range of ethnic and religious backgrounds. Prticipants responded positively to the proposals affirming their support and expressing their interest in the regeneration aspect of the scheme. at all times. The entire masterplan is estimated to take between 15 and 20 years to complete. The key factors influencing the timescale of the project are the desire Earlier this year the London Development Agency appointed a Museum Development Officer to investigate the possibility of a Crystal Palace visitor centre and other services for understanding the Park’s history. On appointment, Laura Samuels sought to widen her remit beyond the history of the Sydenham Crystal Palace to encompass the interpretation of the entire Park. This included the ecology of the Park, the Dinosaurs models and geological installations, environmental sustainability, for the Park to be sustainable and minimise the ecological impact of any construction work. sport at Crystal Palace as well as Joseph Paxton’s vision. It also envisaged a diverse range of visitors to the Park, such as school groups, foreign tourists, and amateur historians amongst others. Working closely with the Museum Task Group, which is made up of representatives from local historical societies and museum experts, Laura produced a park wide Interpretation strategy. This strategy includes: • Moving the museum from its present site to the hilltop Natural Habitat The Park is a rich habitat for wildlife. Planning for each stage of the masterplan has • Reopening the Victorian subway under Crystal Palace Parade to the public as part of the new museum • Incorporating a viewing platform into the museum building to allow 360 degree views across London and Kent • Potentially providing interpretation points throughout the Park including the Crystal Palace station and the Prehistoric Monster Models A full copy of the report will be available from www.crystalpalacepark.org at the end of October. have minimal impact on the Park’s plants and animals. Timescales to implement the masterplan need to be long been carefully guided by the enough to ensure that the ecology consultants to ensure wildlife has time to adjust. that proposed changes will The park’s inaugural Disability Forum meeting took place on 9 August at the Phoenix Community Centre in Upper Norwood. The aim of the forum is to ensure that the views of people from the local community with specialist physical and learning needs that use the Park are incorporated in the design. The intention is to hold regular meetings of this group throughout the planning process. In the first session, an informal discussion group, participants welcomed the proposal to set up a more permanent forum and were keen to continue their involvement in the process. The group’s views were fed back into the masterplan, along with those of the representatives of different disability groups and access advisors from the five boroughs who were also present to voice their concerns, interests and ideas. While overall the group was positive they expressed some specific concerns: • the current lack of access and mobility around the Park, particularly with regard to disabled parking and wheelchair provisions in public facilities including toilets and the café. • a lack of seating areas around the Park, particularly benches and chairs positioned at reasonable distances and level pathways for wheelchairs. • more accessible information, for example • boards with buttons telling you how to find your way around the Park; writing in large script for people with visual impairment • a guide with symbols instead of words for those with learning difficulties. A few mentioned the need for more varied textures on paths for the blind to feel their way through the Park. They expressed an interest in offering more activities for local disabled people to stimulate ownership of the Park such as creating a sustainable garden centre where they could grow plants used in the Park landscaping. In general, it was noted that a wider mobility scheme was needed for the Park. Further meetings of the forum will be held throughout the planning process. Disability Forum Consultation Overview For the past year the consultation team has been out and about gathering the views of local residents on the emerging masterplan and feeding them back to the designers. Some highlights of the consultation include: • Distribution of 228,000 copies of a regular newsletter (ParkNews) door-to-door and 24,000 by post to stakeholders • More than 3,000 visitors to public workshops and other audience-specific and weekend events • Over 300 attendees at 13 different workshops for BAME groups • Distribution of around 1,000 information packs at Christmas roadshows • An average of around 1,000 unique visitors to the website every month since its launch • School visits involving over 3,000 children from nine different schools and 250 of their parents • Establishment of a disability forum to ensure that the Park is fully accessible • Visited in excess of 150 local traders from Sydenham Road, Penge High Street and Norwood Triangle 23rd September Paxton’s Legacy Historical Tour Time - 1pm and 3pm Meeting point – Outside Crystal Palace Park Information Centre 8th – 11th October Mata Amritanandamay¥ Dev (Hindu Saint) 19th -28th October Fun Fair 21st October Southeast London Warlords Wargaming Show 26th October WWE Wresting 27th October London Teams International Weightlifting Every Friday Crystal Palace Park Walking Group Time – 9.45am Meeting point – Outside Crystal Palace Park Information Centre What’s On Contact us For further information please call the CPP Consultation Team on 020 7357 6894 or email us at cpp@localdialogue.com Visit our website www.crystalpalacepark.org This magazine is also available in text form. Translation services are available upon request in the following languages: • Polski • Somali • Türkçe • Please contact us on 020 7357 6894.