There has been much liaison with various campaigns throughout St John’s. The fly tipping in Lucas St is a continuous project to keep on top of. We are currently helping to run the Friends of Friendly Gardens whilst their current Chair is recovering from illness. We support the Deptford Railway Meadow with publicity for their gardening/open days. We bring attention to the good work that goes on in Kath’s Place and try to promote fundraising in the area where we can. Florence Road Residents having been supported by SJS are going from strength to strength with their activities, which include at least two street parties, murals being painted and the making of a film with local residents as well as ‘Weight Cameras’ being installed. We continue to liaise.
A petition was recently started, supported by our local MP and Councillors, regarding the cut in services to our trains at St John’s Station: https://chng.it/s8m5ZJNm Please sign if you haven’t already! St John’s Station Steering Group Committee was re-established in October 2021, with our local MP Vicky Foxcroft as Chair. With the help of our Cllr Stephen Penfold, we hope that this group will meet more regularly.
Funding was applied for collaborative efforts with Friends of Friendly Gardens, St John’s Garden (Greening), Art Projects and St John’s Church Concert (Lewisham Borough of Culture). Trees were planted through crowdfunding and a donation from the Queen’s Green Canopy. A Street Party to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee was held in Cliff Terrace. Funding applied for, for a ‘Rain Garden’ and more trees (SELCHP) were also successful. We look forward to seeing improvements in the parks and beyond. The art project ‘Trashy Happy Times’ was taken to People’s Day and as workshops in local schools which were all successful. The concert ‘The Battle of Lewisham’ (collaboration with St John’s Church) will take place on Saturday 18th March 2023.
‘St John’s Litter Pickers’, has continued to meet monthly, in the warmer months, to clear up our area. We were part of the ‘Lewisham Strategic Waste and Environment Focus Group’. With the proceeds given to us, helped purchase a couple of litter picking sticks. We are still currently investigating other ways to fund the Public Liability Insurance as it is a major part of SJS annual expenditure.
St John’s Garden, was again entered into Deptford X Trail along with the two bridge murals.
In September, SJS again took part in the Brockley Front Garden Sale. It continues to raise our profile in the locality, and beyond as well as raising much needed funds for the running of SJS.
We are now part of the Lewisham Community Lottery so you can buy a lottery ticket to support the society and have now joined the ‘London Forum of Amenity Societies’.
The Planning Sub-committee has been successful in monitoring and commenting on all planning applications in St John’s and we are now being approached by residents beyond the St John’s area, for support and advice. We hope that our approach is friendly, fair and helpful. We are seeking consistency in approach from Lewisham Planning Department.
SJS Greening Committee which was established last year is proving to be a success. Six ‘Greening Conversations’ have been organised in The Brookmill Pub with more to come. We thank the Brookmill for their ongoing support with the talks.
Electric Vehicle charging points that we were promised at the initial consultation for CPZ some years ago are still being chased. We now notice that there are now 3 in the area. Still not enough and no dedicated parking. As a result they are often blocked by parked cars from being used for their purpose.
The Christmas Advent Window Trail in St John’s was again a success. 7 households took part and were well attended and enjoyed by all ages. A drop off point for Christmas Trees was established – an idea instigated and followed up by Cllr Stephen Penfold.
The website www.st-johns-soc.org is updated regularly. The Facebook page and Twitter account are used extensively to promoting our events and news. We have recently introduced an Instagram Account @StJohnsSE8 (95 followers and 174 following). Current followers included Facebook (548 ‘likes’ and 608 ‘followers’), Twitter (251 following and 335) followers. Mailing list (over 250). An increase since the last SJS AGM.
The St Johns Society maintains a mailing list of interested parties. If you want to be included on the list please email the chair chair@st-johns-soc.org or use the form on the St John’s Web Site. Please get in touch if you feel you could contribute to our group or indeed would like to join us on a more regular basis. The SJS Newsletter (No.21) sponsored by ‘Source the Area’ has again been produced and delivered to around 700 households.
I’m very much looking forward to the year ahead and the exciting work the St. John’s Society continues to do in and around the area.
Litsa Breingan
Chair
The St. John’s Society 2019 –