THE NORWOOD SOCIETY

Chairman?s Report for 2007/8

1. Since being elected as Chairman for 2007/8 a lot seems to have happened, and there has been a lot of activity, particularly in the area of planning. I will try to identify the main issues that have arisen.

2. Firstly our otherwise excellent Website has tended to remain unchanged since we introduced it several years ago. A good Website has to be flexible and kept up-to-date, and over the past year a lot has been done to make it not just informative but also full of interesting information about Norwood and its history. To begin with a large number of reviews of books about Norwood and its vicinity was extracted from past reviews, and from elsewhere, and included under books and publications on the Website ? usefully indexed in a way that provided quick access. A lot of these reviews had to be typed, or retyped to suit the Website layout, and we have received several compliments about the result. The second phase was a thorough review of the first 37 copies of the Norwood Review, and the extraction of those articles which are still of current interest. Unfortunately all of them (some 40 or so) had to be typed on the computer, but once again, thanks to the skills of James Slattery-Kavanagh, our Webmaster, they have now appeared under the heading ?From past Reviews, and elsewhere?. Several more recent articles have been included to introduce variety. A further programme, perhaps in the Autumn, could carry on looking at old Norwood Reviews and finding some more good articles about Norwood written by people who spent a lot of time on research into local history.

3. A further improvement has been the re-introduction of what is called a ?blogging? facility on the Website. The purpose is to make sure that forthcoming events and current news are included, and this can now be done by the Secretary (after some tuition by telephone!) without involving the services of the Webmaster. It is a continuous process, and some website managers have given up and left long outdated information on the screen. We want to make the Norwood Society Website an object of pride, perhaps even admiration, but it requires a watchful eye and occasional changes of approach to keep it of interest. As we have to pay for our Website we want of course to get good ? perhaps exceptional ? value for our money.

4. We have also had a long hard look at our list of publications, what stocks we have of them, and whether they need to be updated or replaced. This last year two members have contributed local history books, one by Betty Griffin on Bigginwood, and another by your Chairman on Thomas Ross of Kilravock House. We maintain a good stock of the Emile Zola and the Story of Norwood books, and are being asked frequently about Alan Warwick?s ?The Phoenix Suburb?. We have some stock of ?Down at Beulah? but no longer have a supply of ?The Trail of Norwood? and ?Glimpses of Norwood?. The last two are being considered for reprinting, with some changes to the ?Trail of Norwood?, which is a guide to a walk around Norwood. We are looking for a striking cover for both publications. We are also considering a reprint, in softback form, of ?The Phoenix Suburb? and are currently obtaining estimates and consulting the holders of the copyright.

5. Looking at the old (1960-67) Norwood Reviews it is obvious that there were at one time grand ideas for the Triangle, none of which has reached fruition, to some extent because of the division of the area among more than one local authority, but also because of the cost of rerouting roads. The struggle now is to use the power of the Conservation Areas to ?preserve and enhance? the area. This means that we do our best ? I have to say mainly on the Croydon side because we have members on the Conservation Area Panel ? to ensure that the Planning Department does not get carried away by ultra-modernist ideas, by concentration on blocks of flats and other high-rise developments. There is no doubt however that the interior of the Triangle is becoming more and more residential in character, and that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep shopfrontages and the retail and other types of activity generated by them. But on the plus side the Conservation Area status of a large area of Upper and South Norwood means that there can be no overnight destruction of a building with character and history ? a separate planning application has to be made.

6. There have been several planning applications which have attracted a lot of publicity, and have been given prominence in the Norwood Review. One was the delisting and proposed destruction of Gayfere in Grange Hill. The delisting could not be reversed, but the scheme to destroy the building was refused by the Planning Committee after hearing cogent argument from Peter Austin (the Society?s Chairman until recently). A further application which retains Gayfere, but extends and converts it into flats, and builds houses on each side of its approach, has however been approved. The story of Cumberlow and a proposed development of 151 flats is not easily told in an abbreviated form, but the Society gave evidence at a public enquiry and it was refused. The site however was cleared before the Council could take action to keep William Stanley?s house, and we can expect a further application. The site has also now been included in an extension of the South Norwood Conservation Area (an extension energetically promoted by the Society) and so any scheme that now comes forward has to be shown to preserve and enhance the character of the area. Both of these schemes have taken up a good deal of time and I have felt under pressure on occasions, as I am sure Peter Austin has as well.

7. Our membership has remained fairly stable during the year, and we are increasingly using Email, where possible, to keep in touch with them. No increase in membership subscriptions is proposed, mainly because our administrative costs are kept to a minimum. It is sad that the Croydon Society had to close down because of a lack of active members, and it is therefore all the more important that our members should, wherever possible, put themselves forward for an active role.

8. During the year Peter Austin, who represents the Society on the Crystal Palace Park Dialogue organised meetings so that members could hear the views of representatives of the London Development Agency, and discuss them at a separate meeting. The current position is that planning applications (described as a ?Master Plan?) have been lodged with Bromley Council for various developments of the Crystal Palace Park site, and these will be considered carefully by your new Committee. Many other ideas are being put forward for improvements to the Park ? some good, some bad ? but so far the only planning applications being considered are those submitted by the London Development Agency. It remains to be seen whether there will be others, and what form they might take. One thing is certain, however, many people have a close and abiding interest in what happens to the Park, and there will obviously continue to be lively discussion of whatever is put forward.

9. In conclusion I want to thank Anna Lines, Richard Lines, Keith Holdaway and others for the help they have given me in this, my first year as Chairman of the Society. It has been a busy year, and it looks very much as if we will have to maintain our high level of activity for 2008/9.

Eric Kings


Chairman