Many local residents are collaborating with organisations like the Lee Manor Society to plant more street trees. This is helping green our local streets and reduce air pollution. It’s an expensive business putting in new trees so if you’re lucky enough to have a newly planted tree near you, it’s important to help it survive in the current hot weather. So, we are urging you to water these trees every few days with a watering can holding at least 5 litres of water, more if you can manage it.
You may wish to check with your neighbours to see if others are doing this also and agree to share the job. Most street trees are planted with a plastic pipe to pour the water into which goes into down to the tree’s roots. If there is no pipe, then water the area around the tree (not the trunk) as it’s the whole root ball that needs water most.
Top tips:
– The best time to water is in the early morning as this helps to minimise evaporation and gives the tree water to use throughout the day.
– If morning time isn’t possible for you, then water in the evening. Try to avoid watering in the hottest part of the day though.
Manor House Gardens is in line to benefit from nearly £10,000 in NCIL grants
Lewisham Council is proposing to give NCIL grants to six of the 13 applications it received. The final decision rests with the Mayor and Cabinet when it meets next month.
The Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) is cash the Council receives from developers, similar to Section 106 levies. This time it had £27,950.93 available for Lee Green, but received applications amounting to just over £110,000.
The six projects which have been recommended are:
£7,500 to upgrade the play equipment in the Manor House Gardens playground. This includes a replacement cradle swing.
£6,000 for the Christmas tree and lights on the forecourt of Hither Green station, for the next two years.
£6,000 to fund an inter-generational gardening project on the Newstead estate. The aim is to increase the knowledge of planting, garden maintenance, growing vegetables and recycling among residents and children.
£6,000 to Lee Fair Share, to fund weekly Coffee, Cake and Company sessions, including weekly Chair Exercise sessions.
£2,450 to the Lee Manor Society and the Friends of Manor House Gardens to renovate the large bed at the north end of the Gardens, near Manor House library.
The Big Bed in Manor House Gardens which needs rescuing.
All six projects were endorsed by a meeting of the Lee Green Assembly last week, but still need final approval before work can begin.
Lewisham Council is planning to stop supporting the local assemblies in the borough, as an economy measure. The staff who have helped run them are facing redundancy.
The assemblies were introduced in 2007 for people to voice their concerns and to help identify solutions. There was one for every ward, including Lee Green.
Local assemblies are community-based open forums aiming to actively involve, consult, empower and learn from residents and those working and studying in Lewisham Council’s local wards.
They’re your chance to:
find out what is happening in your ward
discuss and share what matters to you
work with your councillors and others to identify solutions and shape the future of your neighbourhood
Initially, Lewisham provided £25,000 a year to each assembly. It also funded a secretariat who helped organise and promote the assembly meetings and provided other support. The cash has already been withdrawn and now the Council wants to cut the administrative support as well.
If the cuts go ahead, local people will be free to keep the assemblies going but without Council support.
Jim Mallory, Chair of the Lee Green Consortium, said “I am sure none of us is in any doubt that the Council faces tough decisions, many of which will still have to be taken despite a new Government. However, my concern is that there doesn’t seem to have been any consultation about a proposal that is in essence at the core of the Council’s commitment to consultation.
“As Assemblies were intended to help overcome the democratic deficit, their loss would be regrettable, no matter what any understandable shortcomings they might have.
We have been delving into the Society archive and discovered some old photos. They include pictures of the Cedars, the grandest country house in the Lee area. You can see the pictures here. We will add more photos soon.
