Map of Grove Park Neighbourhood Forum Area
This is the map of the designated area for the Neighbourhood Forum.
Welcome to the Grove Park Neighbourhood Forum
Who Are We?
The neighbourhood forum is a constituted resident volunteer-led group (in line with the Localism Act, as amended) who have come together to develop a vision for their neighbourhood and write a Neighbourhood Plan.
The Forum was originally designated in 2014, and redesignated in 2019. The Grove Park Neighbourhood Forum designation will run until the 20th Oct 2025.
Neighbourhood Plan Area
The area covered by the neighbourhood plan is shown on the map here. It covers the entire ward of Grove Park, and parts of Whitefoot and Downham.
How the Neighbourhood Forum Started
In 2011, when developers applied to demolish the historic Baring Hall Pub (built in 1882) in the centre of Grove Park and replace it with a block of flats, many local residents and campaigners came together with the Grove Park Community Group and the campaign successfully saved the pub from demolition.
The process of saving the Baring Hall Hotel highlighted the general absence of an overarching planning policy for Grove Park and the lack of a vision for improving the town centre.
This was greatly exacerbated by the fact that there was a long-running dispute between Network Rail and other bodies over who was responsible for maintaining the deteriorating bridge that supports Baring Road over the railway line.
The Prince’s Foundation
In what was to be the first of a series of community and stakeholder meetings, the Community Group invited The Prince’s Foundation to facilitate a Community Design Workshop in February 2012 for the area around Grove Park station in response to a number of issues:
- Grove Park’s potential to be a thriving local centre
- The quality of the public spaces and provision for pedestrians, people with disabilities and cyclists
- The vacant Baring Hall Hotel and parades of shops
Over 100 people attended and took part in the Workshop.The Design Workshop provided a basis for taking our plans forward which included steps to improve the appearance of the town centre and the setting up of a Neighbourhood Forum. It is the forum which is creating a Neighbourhood Plan that must tie into existing national, regional and local authority planning policies.
Baring Road and Downham Way Public Realm Improvements
The results of the Community Design Workshop enabled us to successfully lobby for the council to apply for £1.2m from TfL and the Community Benefit Fund for significant improvements to the town centre. Lewisham Council were able to then prepare a consultation document called Baring Road and Downham Way Public Realm Improvements which provided a basis for consultation on improving the street scene. Detailed drawings are being drawn up and we are now waiting for their implementation.
Neighbourhood Forum to date
Another key result of the Community Design Workshop was the agreement to begin the process of setting up a Neighbourhood Forum and creating a Neighbourhood Plan and in the summer of 2014 a consultation leaflet went to every home in the area. Basing his decision on the consultation, the Mayor of Lewisham designated Grove Park as both a neighbourhood forum and a neighbourhood area at the Mayor and Cabinet meeting of October 22nd 2014.
For more information on The Neighbourhood Planning process see document: Quick Guide to Neighbourhood Plans
This is a contact page with some basic contact information and a contact form.
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