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See below for news on:Lambeth/GLL Consultation on Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre (added 12.09.14) New Time Capsule Buried (added 20.03.14) Interview with Candice Towler-Green in Weekender Magazine (added 01.03.14) Dismantling of Brixton Rink Complete (updated 01.03.14) Scrollable Panorama of Leisure Centre and Rink (added 26.01.14) Twelfth Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 29.01.14) Lambeth Official Opening - 10th Dec 2013 (updated 12.12.13) Redskins First Home Game Back at Streatham (updated 28.11.13) Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre is Open (updated 28.11.13) Farewell to Brixton Ice Rink (added 17.11.13) The Ice is Made (added 06.11.13) Article on Redskins' Time at Brixton (added 06.11.13) Re-use of Brixton Ice Rink Site (added 26.10.13) Ice and Leisure Centre Opening Date Revised to 18th November 2013 (added 05.10.13) Leisure Centre Fit Out in Progress (added 19.09.13) Website for New Leisure Centre (added 19.09.13) Ice Rink Manager Appointed (added 22.08.13) Additional Funding for Leisure Centre Fit-out Ratified (added 25.08.13) Zamboni Arrival 12th August 2013 (added 17.08.13) Site Visit 13th July 2013 (added 14.07.13) New Website for Residential Development (added 14.07.13) Eleventh Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 17.06.13) Preservation of Art Deco Panels (updated 22.05.13) Leisure Centre Topping Out Ceremony (updated 27.03.13) Update on Leisure Centre Progress (added 28.02.13) Tenth Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 24.01.13) Streatham Direct Thameslink Service Saved (added 22.01.13) Ice Rink Article in Streatham Society Newsletter (added 21.11.12) Streatham Hub Public Meeting 14th November 2012 (updated 23.11.12) Road Works on Streatham High Road (added 24.10.12) Boundary Commission Revised Proposals for Streatham (added 21.10.12) Ninth Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 14.09.12) Permanent Bus Interchange Open (added 19.08.12) Update on Development Schedule (added 27.07.12) Train Consultation affecting Streatham (updated 22.01.13) Eighth Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 15.07.12) Seventh Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 15.06.12) Presentations from Public Meeting Now Online (added 29.05.12) Last Part of 1931 Rink Building Gone (added 25.04.12) Redskins Win and Avoid Relegation (added 19.04.12) Sixth Streatham Hub Newsletter (added 06.04.12) Brixton Approved as Skate UK Centre (updated 16.03.12) Streatham Hub Public Meeting 22nd February 2012 (updated 20.03.14) For older news see Campaign News - Archive VLambeth/GLL Consultation on Streatham Ice and Leisure CentreLambeth Council, working in partnership with GLL, the company commissioned to run the centre, are holding a consultation to get feedback about Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre. There are two separate questionnaires aimed at adults and children who use the centre regularly. They want to know what you would like to see more of, what you think should be improved, and how you would like to get more involved. Ways to get involved are
The consultation ends at 5 pm on Friday 10 October 2014. Back to Top of Page New Time Capsule BuriedA new time capsule was buried near Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre on Wednesday 12th March 2014 by Councillor Lib Peck and Diane Towler-Green MBE with pupils from Granton Primary School. There is a Lambeth news article here and photos of the plaque here. Back to Top of Page Interview with Candice Towler-Green in Weekender MagazineThere is an interview with Candice Towler-Green about skating and the new Streatham rink in the February edition of Lambeth Weekender Magazine. Back to Top of Page Dismantling of Brixton Rink CompleteThe dismantling of the Brixton Rink in Pope's Road has is complete (see pictures here). Lambeth Council is to invite bidders to enter a public competition to run the space left by removing the building. There is an article about it in the Brixton Blog here. Back to Top of Page Scrollable Panorama of Leisure Centre and RinkThe Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre website here now has 360 degree scrollable photographs of the different levels inside the Centre. It defaults to the ice rink level (1) but you can switch to the lower levels using the bar on the left. Back to Top of Page Twelfth Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued their twelfth newsletter about the project VINCI Newsletter No 12 - January 2014 Back to Top of Page Lambeth Official Opening - 10th Dec 2013Lambeth's official opening of Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre took place on Tuesday 10th December 2013, with invited guests, demonstrations by Streatham skaters, swimmers and gymnasts and a performance by champion gymnast and Dancing on Ice star Beth Tweddle and her partner Daniel Whiston.
Here is a link to Photos of the Official Opening. Back to Top of Page Redskins First Home Game Back at StreathamStreatham Redskins first home game back at Streatham took place on Sunday 24th November 2013. There is a match report here. Back to Top of Page Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre is OpenStreatham Ice and Leisure Centre opened on Monday 18th November 2013. Training Ice, Club Ice and Hockey transferred immediately. Public access is being introduced gradually. The Public Skating Times are shown here. Here is a link to photos of the First Week Back at Streatham. Back to Top of Page Farewell to Brixton Ice RinkBrixton Ice Rink closed on 17th November 2013. It has served us well but the time has finally come to move back to Streatham. The brand new Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre opens on 18th November 2013. Here are links to pictures of the Last Redskins match at Brixton (9th November 2013) and the Last Week at Brixton Rink (10th-17th November 2013). Back to Top of Page The Ice is MadeThe ice has been laid at the new Streatham rink. Here are links to Internal Pictures and Ice Making Day One (1.34Mb PDF). Back to Top of Page Article on Redskins' Time at BrixtonThe Pro Hockey News website has published an article on the Streatham Redskins' time at Brixton here including a picture gallery. Back to Top of Page here.Re-use of Brixton Ice Rink SiteWhen the new rink opens on 18th November and the temporary ice rink closes the structure will be dismantled leaving a cleared site. The council owns the land and will be discussing its long-term use with local people in the spring and summer of 2014. However, in the short-term, before this site is redeveloped, it could be used to support employment and enterprise in the town centre. The site should be available for at least 18 months. Lambeth Council will be holding a meeting to discuss possible uses on Wednesday 6th November. There is more information here. Back to Top of Page Ice and Leisure Centre Opening Date Revised to 18th November 2013Lambeth council have announced that the date for the opening has been revised to 18th November 2013. The Press Release includes reassurances on two points:
Back to Top of Page Leisure Centre Fit Out in ProgressLambeth and GLL have confirmed that the operator fit out of the new Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre started on time on Monday 9th September. This will be a phased process involving specialist teams (e.g. IT systems, gym equipment installers, AV/ PA specialists). There will be more activity in terms of physical furniture delivery and loose fit out towards the end of the 8 week period. They also stress that this is a period of high activity on site, subject to ongoing programme review and delays may still occur, but at present everything is on schedule for the planned opening on 4th November 2013. [Date later revised to 18th November - see above.] Back to Top of Page Website for New Leisure CentreThe new Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre now has a website here. There is a special section for the Ice Rink here. Back to Top of Page Ice Rink Manager AppointedEmily Simmons has been appointed formally as the Ice Rink Manager for the new Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre. Emily was previously manager at the old Streatham rink and has been managing the Brixton temporary rink for Planet Ice. She has now started her new role full time with GLL preparing for the move back to Streatham. We wish her every success in her new position. Back to Top of Page Additional Funding for Leisure Centre Fit-out RatifiedIn 2007 a sum of £935,000 for ‘loose equipment’ was agreed between Lambeth council and GLL. This budget has been subject to review. The review concluded that since 2007 elements of the specification have become outdated and need to be improved. The necessary enhancements to the specification will improve the user experience, reduce maintenance costs and make the centre more profitable, increasing the level of return for the Council and GLL. An initial decision was made in March to authorise an additional £351,710 of expenditure to fit out the Centre, from a surplus fund held by the Council and GLL. This decision was ratified by Council officers on 14/08/2013. The report and information relating to this decision are available on the Lambeth website here. The total forecast cost of the fit-out is £1,372k. Back to Top of Page Zamboni Arrival 12th August 2013The two Zamboni ice resurfacing machines were delivered on 12th August 2013. They are both now inside the rink. The next steps will be the construction of the ice barriers and laying of the ice. Back to Top of Page Site Visit 13th July 2013On 13th July 2013 there was a site visit to the Leisure Centre for representatives of ice and leisure user groups, to walk around the building and discuss logistical issues affecting users. The latest set of pictures includes photos taken on the visit, including internal views of the ice rink and main swimming pool. The stained glass panels that were preserved from the original Streatham pool are already in situ (the Art Deco flower panels from the old ice rink have not yet been mounted). Back to Top of Page New Website for Residential DevelopmentThere is a new website for the Streatham Hub residential development, now called Streatham Park, at www.streathampark.co.uk. Back to Top of Page Eleventh Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued their eleventh newsletter about the project VINCI Newsletter No 11 - June 2013 Back to Top of Page Preservation of Art Deco PanelsThe art deco flower panels from below the windows of the old Streatham Ice Rink were preserved for inclusion in the new leisure centre. They will be mounted internally on the wall in the entrance lobby to the new ice rink. They have been renovated and will be repainted before installation. Four options for the colour scheme are being considered, and are shown in Plaque Options 1-4 (4Mb PDF). Back to Top of Page Leisure Centre Topping Out CeremonyThe Topping Out Ceremony for the Streatham Hub Leisure Centre took place on 15th March 2013. A Topping Out is a celebration of the completion of the structure of a building. Ceremonies have varied from country to country, age to age and building to building. In this case, it comprised infilling a pocket left in the seating slab above the Ice Rink with a small amount of concrete. It was performed jointly by Councillor Lib Peck (Leader of Lambeth Council) and Diane Towler-Green MBE (four times Ice Dance World Champion and Head Ice Dance Coach at Streatham/Brixton). Guests included Chuka Umunna MP, councillors and officers from Lambeth Council and representatives from Tesco Stores, GLL and Vinci Construction. There are some photos here. Vinci Construction produced a leaflet about the ceremony which is here. There was an article in South London Press on the day, written in anticipation here. An article with pictures of the event was published in the Tuesday 19th March edition but is not online at present. A version of the same article appeared in the Lambeth Post on Thursday 21st March and is online here. Back to Top of Page Update on Leisure Centre ProgressThis information comes from Gary Meeds, Regeneration Project Manager at Lambeth. The works are progressing on schedule. The roof lining is going well. The target date for the building to be watertight is 18th March. Most of the block-work partition walls are up so the internal structure of the building is taking shape. The block-work and concrete finishes are of high quality. Samples of flooring and tiles are now being looked at. The swimming pool tank is currently full of water to test for leakage. It will be tested again after tiling. The ice area and pools should mostly be complete by mid-July, followed by a period of checking in August. The target date for handover to Lambeth/GLL is 9th September. There will then be the agreed 8 week period of fitting out for operation, ready to open to the public on 4th November 2013. Back to Top of Page Tenth Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued a tenth newsletter to local residents VINCI Newsletter No 10 - Jan 2013 Back to Top of Page Streatham Direct Thameslink Service SavedThe government announced on 21st January 2013 that the “Wimbledon Loop”, including Streatham, will keep 4 direct through-London trains per hour, without passengers having to change at Blackfriars as was proposed. The announcement is here. The DFT consultation on the proposals (see below) received 3500 responses with 2200 in favour of retaining the route. This is very good news for Streatham and the new ice rink and leisure centre. Back to Top of Page Ice Rink Article in Streatham Society NewsletterThere is an article about the history of Streatham Ice Rink and particularly the Ice Hockey Club in Streatham Society News No 210 - Autumn 2012 the quarterly Newsletter of the Streatham Society. The article starts on page 15. It is the first of a two-part series by Allan Palmer, a long-standing supporter of the Club, and is made available here by kind permission Brian Bloice, Chair of the Streatham Society. Back to Top of Page Streatham Hub Public Meeting 14th November 2012A Streatham Regeneration Project Update meeting was held on Wednesday 14th November at The Hideaway. The meeting started with an introduction by Matt Magee of Tesco Corporate Affairs, followed by a presentation by Steve Diggines, Project Director from Vinci Construction UK. He summarised the “story so far”, illustrated by photographs. Key events have included:
In the first 12 months there have been 300,000 person-hours of work,
with no reportable incidents.
The project is on schedule for the leisure centre and ice rink to open on 4th November 2013. The key events to come include:
The presentation also included information about the opportunities for employment,
and the emphasis on local jobs and training, including apprentice open days,
work placements and Construction Youth Trust events.
Open recruitment will start in August next year. Conversations with local agencies
are starting now to ensure engagement with school leavers and the long term unemployed.
A number of legacy items are being preserved:
Topics raised from the floor included:
The presentation is available online in the "News and Downloads" section of the Vinci Streatham Hub project website here. The link is towards the bottom of the page. The same page has contact details for Peter Muncaster the Stakeholder Manager and the two presenters. We understand that the latest version of the leisure centre plans will be made available there in the near future. Back to Top of Page Road Works on Streatham High RoadThe A23 road-widening works associated with the Streatham Hub Development have started. They are described here. Back to Top of Page Boundary Commission Revised Proposals for StreathamThe initial Boundary Commission proposals abolished the current Streatham constituency and divided the four Streatham wards between three new constituencies. Following widespread opposition to this proposal, they have now issued revised plans to put all four Streatham wards into a new Clapham & Streatham constituency. There is now another opportunity to comment on the revised proposals during an eight week consultation which is running from 16 October 2012 to 10 December 2012. It is worth writing in to support the revised proposal – it still might be changed again if there are objections from neighbouring areas. There is more discussion of this including links to a map, the report and the feedback form here. There is an article in the Streatham Guardian here. Back to Top of Page Ninth Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued a ninth newsletter to local residents VINCI Newsletter No 9 - Sept 2012 Back to Top of Page Permanent Bus Interchange OpenThe permanent bus interchange is now open! It is complete with drivers’ facilities and a new bus stop near the exit. In all the discussion of the phasing over the years it was clear that this would be the first part of the development to be complete, so this is a notable milestone. Back to Top of Page Update on Development ScheduleThis information comes from Lambeth and GLL and I have permission to circulate it. The construction of the new Leisure Centre and Ice Rink is progressing rapidly. The basement is well under way. The expected future timetable is:
All is on schedule for the centre to open as planned in November 2013. Back to Top of Page Train Consultation affecting StreathamNetwork Rail have proposed that the “Wimbledon loop” Thameslink trains terminate at Blackfriars from 2018. Passengers wanting to get to and from Streatham from stations north of Blackfriars (such as Farringdon and St Pancras) would have to change at Blackfriars.This affects train access to the new rink and leisure centre. The Department of Transport is now consulting on the merger of three train franchises and this proposal forms part of the consultation. The documents for the consultation and the address for responses are here. The consultation documents are rather long. This issue is on page 30. There is a description (paragraph 7.21) and two consultation questions (Q18 and Q19). There has been press coverage including in the Standard and Streatham Guardian. If you have views on the impact of these proposals either on yourself personally or on the ease of access to the rink and leisure centre for others, please respond to the consultation and answer questions 18 and 19. UPDATE: The response to the consultation was overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the direct route, and the government announced on 21st January 2013 that the “Wimbledon Loop”, including Streatham, will keep 4 direct through-London trains per hour (see above). Back to Top of Page Eighth Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued an eighth newsletter to local residents VINCI Newsletter No 8 - July 2012 Back to Top of Page Seventh Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued a seventh newsletter to local residents VINCI Newsletter No 7 - June 2012 Back to Top of Page Presentations from Public Meeting Now OnlineThe presentations from the Public Meeting held on 22nd February 2012 are now available on the Vinci Construction website in the News and Downloads section here. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page there are 3 links to
Back to Top of Page Last Part of 1931 Rink Building GoneThe remaining back part of the original Streatham Ice Rink has been demolished. The building has now completely disappeared. See pictures (20th-22nd April 2012) here. Back to Top of Page Redskins Win and Avoid RelegationStreatham Redskins beat Slough Jets 11-2 in their final game of the season and so avoided National Ice Hockey League One South relegation. It ensured a happy end to what has been a turbulent season because of the move to Brixton half-way through. There is coverage in the Streatham Guardian here and on the Redskins website here. Back to Top of Page Sixth Streatham Hub NewsletterVINCI Construction have issued a sixth newsletter to local residents VINCI Newsletter No 6 - April 2012 Back to Top of Page Brixton Approved as Skate UK CentreThere is an article on the NISA website here saying that Brixton Ice Rink has been awarded Skate UK (Learn to Skate) Approved Centre Status by NISA the sport’s national governing body. Back to Top of Page Streatham Hub Public Meeting 22nd February 2012The Streatham Hub Public Meeting organised by Tesco and Vinci took place on Wednesday 22nd February at the Hideaway. There was a presentation by Andrew Boyle, Tesco Development Project Manager, followed by a question and answer session. In addition to Mr Boyle, the panel for the questions comprised Steve Diggines (Project Director, Vinci Construction), Tony Fletcher (Tesco Corporate Affairs), Cllr. Nigel Haselden (Lambeth Cabinet Member for Regeneration) and Derek Prentice (Lambeth Head of Sports and Recreation). Andrew Boyle started with a slide listing the companies involved in the project. These include Halcrow Yolles (the “only company to have built an ice rink above a swimming pool”), and CIMCO (the “number one ice rink contractor”). The presentation included a time-lapse visualisation of the construction taking place. The bus layover, which has already moved to behind the church, will move to its permanent location near the station in autumn this year. The Ice Rink and Leisure Centre superstructure will be finished by March 2013, followed by internal fit-out. The project is on course for it to open on 4th November 2013. It was re-emphasised that the Tesco store will not open until after the Leisure Centre. Work on the residential parts of the site will continue until about March 2014.
The stained glass panels from the pool are being restored for inclusion in the new pool. The art deco flower motifs from the front of the ice rink have also been preserved and will be included, but it has not been decided where they will go. There is concern that the agreement with Transport for London about the works on the High Road has not yet been signed. Negotiations are continuing. It is a long process that they hope is nearing completion. During the Q&A session many issues were raised. The most contentious was the absence of a sauna/steam room in the Leisure Centre, which was questioned by a number of local residents. The Lambeth representatives said there were management problems with saunas and their policy was not to include them in new leisure centres. Concern was also raised about whether there were enough toilet/changing facilities for wheelchair users and other disabled users. Both Lambeth and Tesco representatives said they were committed to equality and the arrangements were under review. Another concern was the lack of daylight in the pool. The architect explained that the ice rink had to be on top because of the span required. They would have liked to put in more glazing but there was a conflict between transparency and privacy. The issue of NISA approval of the new rink was raised. Lambeth have heard from NISA that they no longer have a system of Regional Centres of Excellence. They have Approved Centres and will be happy to approve the new Streatham rink. They will also approve the Brixton temporary rink. Questions were asked about the absence of a public square. There is still some public space around the Church but it was reduced several years ago when it became necessary to put in a dual-lane ramp to the underground car park, and has been eroded further because the Church has built a nursery school that needs to be protected. A number of residents living close to the site complained about the vibrations from the demolition. The Vinci representatives promised to talk with them individually. The impact of the development on other shops in Streatham was raised by the Town Centre Manager. A previous promise of 3 hours free parking at the Tesco, to give shoppers time to go to other places on the High Road, will be honoured. Many users of the closed leisure centre have drifted away and concern was raised about how they would be contacted and user representation improved. Lambeth are revamping their user groups in other leisure centres. There will be one for Streatham later this year and they will writing to previous leisure centre members and advertising in local papers. Other information that emerged in response to questions included
Although there was quite a lot of hostility over various issues in the Q&A session, there were also a lot of positive responses, both to the provision of information and the speed at which things are now progressing after all the previous delays. There may be another similar meeting to present progress on the project later in the year. The presentations from the meeting are now available on the Vinci Construction website in the News and Downloads section here. At the bottom of the page there are 3 links to
Back to Top of Page For older news see Campaign News - Archive V |
Page last updated: 12th September 2014