Numbers are limited so you do need to register in advance.  If you are interested in going along, please email Nadia Chowdari (nadia.chowdari@southwark.gov.uk) at Southwark Council to secure a place.

The park itself is expected to remain closed until around the end of May.  This is to allow the grass a chance to establish itself once it has been seeded.  We understand that the playground for older children, near Chumleigh Gardens, should be open by Easter.

There is mixed news about progress to date.  The bad news is that the project, and therefore the park reopening, have been delayed by the discovery of two huge diesel tanks buried beneath the park between Wells Way and Camberwell Road.  At some stage, diesel had leaked from the tanks, contaminating the surrounding earth.  This unwelcome discovery has meant that costly additional work has been needed to clear the tanks and de-contaminate the surrounding area.  Southwark Council have assured us, however, that the leaked fuel has not posed a threat to public health.

As a result of the discovery of the tanks, and the additional work required to remove them and decontaminate the earth, the completion of the transformation project is running late.  The park won’t now re-open in March, as previously intended.  We are hopeful, however, that the park will be open again by the beginning of summer 2012.

EQRA has asked Southwark Council whether the section of the park east of Wells Way can be opened sooner.  Sadly, this won’t be possible.  Once all of the work is complete, the grass seeding will need to be done.  It is now too late to do this before next Spring, therefore ‘our’ side of the park will also not be able to reopen any sooner.

On a brighter note, the playground for older children will open as soon as it is ready.  This playground is close to the café at Chumleigh Gardens.

Our photos of the park transformation works can be viewed on Flickr, click here

Julia Edwards, a landscape architect from Southwark’s public realm division will be there to talk about the possibilities.

TUESDAY 6 DEC 7pm – 8pm

AGENDA

Refreshments from 6.45pm - Opinion boards for FOBP priorities

1.  Welcome and apologies for absence

2. “Natural Play” in Burgess Park – Guest speakers Paul Hocker from London Play and Garry Martin from Southwark Play

3. Minutes of last AGM November 2010; Annual report by FOBP Chair – Sue Amos; Finance report by FOBP Treasurer – Susan Crisp

4. Proposed amendment to the constitution

5. Election of new committee – Ruth Miller Nominations for the committee to be made at the meeting

*** New committee members welcome ***

6. Revitalisation update – Southwark Council, Ruth Miller

Progress update including BMX track update

7. AOB & Refreshments

“Wild and Edible” is from 1.30pm until 4pm, the meeting point is at the Burgess Park Food Project site at Glengall Wharf – this is in the small section of Burgess Park on the opposite side of Trafalgar Avenue from the main park.

The Friends of Burgess Park website has more information, at http://www.friendsofburgesspark.org.uk/25.html

The car park will be out of use until summer 2012. When the car park is re-instated, there will no longer be all day parking.

Obviously this is a major inconvenience to our members – however, no pain: no gain, as they say.

EQRA has questioned the duration, extent and timing of the closures: which are more drastic than we expected. Certainly the prospect of the long summer holidays with no large open space is not appealing and may have knock-on consequences for our own estates.

It all boils down to cost as it makes sense financially to have all the big machinery doing the earthworks in the park at once. It is also cheaper, simpler and potentially safer to close off the entire area, rather than create a maze of constantly-changing hoardings.

Lastly, it was explained at the most recent stakeholder meeting, all seeding in the park must take place in September – so timing is critical. If the works aren’t completed by next spring (including planting etc), the Mayor’s money will have to be returned to City Hall as there is a strict deadline for the completion of the project.

Southwark Council issued the following message :

“Dear Resident, Work will soon start on the next stage of improvements to Burgess Park as part of the Revitalisation Project. Our contractors are set to get to work, carrying out improvements to the lake, creating better entrances, and removing redundant roads and pathways. When the work is complete visitors to the park will also see:

• Two new wetland habitats created for the redesigned lake
• 164 extra trees
• An exciting new over fives play ground
• A newly created lawn and wildlife garden (St. George’s gardens)
• New ‘rain gardens’ that capture surface water drainage at entrances
• New seating and signage
• New landscaping to the central lawn

It’s planned that contractors will be on site from the end of May. They will be getting the site ready for the works by putting up hoardings and fencing over a five week period. Over this time access in to the park will gradually be reduced. From 20 June onwards several parts of the park will be closed until the completion of the project in March 2012.  However the following will remain open throughout the works:

• Park Life cafe and Chumleigh Gardens areas
• Sports facilities (tennis, Astroturf, rugby and cricket)
• Cobourg Road wildlife area
• St. George’s Church
• Old baths and library
• Adventure playground
• Surrey Canal Walk and spaces to the east of Trafalgar Avenue

We will keep you regularly updated with progress of the work via our website and facebook pages. If you have any questions about the works please do not hesitate to contact the project manager, Ruth Miller at ruth.miller@southwark.gov.uk.”

Other events on the day include :

• Surrey Docks Mobile Farm
• Puppet Theatre show
• Dog show with free micro-chipping
• Free sports taster sessions in Tennis, Boxing, BMX and more…
• Find out more here

DATE :  Saturday 14th May

TIME : 11:30 – 4pm

Cinema screening at 8:30pm – more info here

The workshop runs from 12 midday until 4pm at Art In The Park, at Chumleigh Gardens (near to the café) in Burgess Park.  All are welcome, although children under 8 must be accompanied.

Removal of trees and scrub land is the first stage of a £6million regeneration project, funded by the Creation Trust and the Mayor of London, which which will be carried out over the next year.  This phase of the project has been met by a handful of protesters attempting to disrupt the work.  However, the park plans have been the subject of extensive consultation over the past year to 18 months, with events and exhibitions in the park itself as well as presentations and discussions at EQRA meetings.  The plans have changed as a result of comments put forward through the consultation process – for example we understand the line of cherry trees along the canal path are being retained, as is the Wells Way underpass.

The project will transform Burgess Park.  In place of the current disjointed, random patchwork of open space, interrupted in places by decaying, disused roads, we can look forward to a better-designed park with improved pathways, new flower gardens, a fitness trail, better wildlife habitats and an enlarged lake, as well as a net increase in the number of trees and the amount of scrub land.

While it is inevitable that the park works will be disruptive, we look forward enthusiastically to a year from now, when we should see a much improved Burgess Park.

Everyone is welcome, although children should be accompanied by a parent or carer.  Why not join in?

Meet at the top of Surrey Canal Walk, in the section of the park between Trafalgar Avenue and Glengall Road (more-or-less behind the Galleria) at 1pm (until 3pm).

To download an information leaflet (.PDF format), click here