The Hatcham Society Newsletter

Hatcham x Black History Month

You may have already seen the stunning Ancestry.com adverts on George Arthur Roberts which is narrated by his great-granddaughter Dr Samantha Harding. George was Britain's first black firefighter based at New Cross fire station and Samantha will be joining us on October 30 at 7pm for our society's first live online talk.

Samantha will speak about George's bravery during the Blitz which earned him a British Empire Medal, his beginnings in Trinidad and his legacy. He was also a founding member of an anti-racism campaign group headquartered in South London.

The talk is free! So grab a glass of wine and enjoy the event where there will be opportunities for questions at the end. RSVP here and you'll be sent a link to the event.

Half term food for kids in Lewisham

No child to go hungry in Lewisham! The brilliant Mayoress of Lewisham, three active members of the Evelyn Community Store foodbank based in Deptford, have been working tirelessly to ensure no child goes hungry during this half term. Please consider donating to their JustGiving page so can they continue their good work into 2021. Go here to donate

Eckington Gardens (Hatcham's only park)

Eckington Gardens needs your help! The Friends of Eckington Gardens, a resident-led volunteer group, are looking for more members. Shereener Browne has been at the forefront of the Friends group for the past few years. Read more about what she and her group have been doing for Hatcham's only park on our blog. If you have any ideas for the park or any desire to keep it a welcoming place, please join their group

Sainsbury's fence victory

The planning inspector has ruled that the fence put up by Sainsburys off New Cross Road has to be removed because....there was no planning permission for it.

The Hatcham Society previously campaigned to get the fence removed because it obscures the view of the road, putting pedestrians at risk from cars blindly turning.

Now, we have to wait patiently for Sainsbury's to take down the fence......They had two months from August 19th to take it down which was last week.

You can read the Planning Inspector's riveting decision letter here