Venue: Kinveachy Gardens, SE7
Date: Thursday 13 June 2024
Present: (8) Christine (chair), Steve (secretary), Catherine, Alan, Mickey, Gulle, Hazel, John.
- Welcome : Christine welcomed a smaller gathering than recently, possibly owing to a clash with the quiz at the Bugle Horn.
- Apologies : (3)Vanessa, Rose, Natalie.
- Minutes of AGM: Accepted. There was some confusion about the extent to which squatters have been in the 20 Thorntree Road house.
- Parks updates:
a) The Safer Neighbourhood Team meeting jointly with Friends of Charlton Park had to be cancelled at short notice as the SNT were not available. Update: It has been rearranged for Sunday July 28th at 5pm, probably in the Old Cottage Café in Charlton Park. All members welcome.
b) Gulle had attended the recent Parks Forum meeting. Claire Lambert reported that massive cuts will be made to the council budget – some £1million to parks budget. There will be management restructuring with grounds maintenance and the Rangers to be merged, and redundancies. Friends groups were encouraged to use social media to reach local people, and keep telling people what we’ve done and achieved.
c) The Open Day with sheep shearing in Maryon Wilson on June 1st was very well attended. We made just over £12 from Gulle’s sales.
d) There is one more meeting, on Friday June 28th (6pm-7 at St Thomas’) before the Picnic in the (Maryon) Park two days later (1pm-6). We will have a stall, setting up from midday and any bric-a-brac and plants are welcome. Note that books do not seem to sell well.
e) 500 copies of an updated version of our Friends leaflet have been printed and will be ready for the Picnic in the Park. Thanks to Natalie and Christophe for their help.
f) Nothing more had been heard of the proposed communications mast at the corner of Cemetery Lane. No formal proposal for planning permission has yet been submitted to the Council.
6.Community Garden report: (See previous post):The Open Day in April was a success with over 80 visitors and £200 raised for the work of the Community Garden and Forest School. At the ‘Picnic in the Park’ event in Maryon Park, the Community Garden will have a plant sale. The number of visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays has increased since the weather has improved. The Garden suffered from its first serious vandalism with two sheds and a shelter damaged. Repairs costs are over £700.
- Treasurer’s Report:
The current balance after paying for 500 leaflets and making a small sum from the Open Day is £465.11. - Any other business:
a) London Rivers Week, starting on June 22nd, is a week-long annual campaign inspiring the public to celebrate all of London’s rivers and the many projects taking place to protect them.
b) A new film called ‘Wilding’ is now on release, based on the book by Isabella Tree about “restoring nature and hope”. See trailer on You Tube.
c) There was a suggestion to cut back some of the growth round the derelict toilets, although others felt that revealing more of the building would be a mistake. A counter-suggestion was to apply for a Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund award in the next round to use the shell of the building as a simple shelter. (see attached photo from Valentine’s Park, Ilford).
d) At the next Clear Up we will work on clearing some of the overhanging growth on the north side of the hill down from Kinveachy Gardens to Pound Park Road. - Diary dates:
Picnic In The Park: Sunday June 30th 1pm-6.
Clear-Up and Litter-Picks: First Saturday of every month from 10am. (July 6th, September 7th (none formally in August).
Next Friends meeting: Thursday September 19th at Kinveachy Gardens, 7.30pm.
Steve Tongue, secretary
Email: FriendsofMaryonparks@gmail.com
Friends Of Maryon Park and Maryon Wilson Park 