Nando’s Chickenland Ltd have submitted a planning application for a replacement shopfront, creation of an external dining area and installation of signage at the site of the existing Poundland store in Westow Street. The external dining area will be relatively small, with just 6 tables. Nando’s argue that it will be in keeping with the street scene, and have undertaken to clean it regularly, including outside trading hours. The decision on the application will be based on planning grounds, such as impact on traffic, likely noise levels, and design of the scheme. Similar factors led to the failure of McDonalds’ application on a nearby site in 2019. Nando’s plan a…

Thanks to all for a great meeting of the Crystal Palace Community Association at the Jackdaw in Coopers Yard on 23 November.  The meeting started with a vintage 50s short film, which gave us a glimpse of Crystal Palace’s Upper Level Station before its demolition, as well as some wonderfully eccentric characters and a dog with angel wings (don’t ask!). The Annual General Meeting business saw Mark Green, Teresa Fritz and Len Blomstrand nominated as CPCA Chair, Treasurer and Secretary respectively for the coming year, and last year’s accounts approved. Martin Tempia from the Crystal Palace Park Trust then gave us a detailed and very positive account of its activities…

From September this year Crystal Palace Park has been managed by the Crystal Palace Park Trust.  The Trust holds a 125-year lease on the park from Bromley Council and its contractors maintain the park. The Trust manages all the events in the park, from the big summer festivals to community events.  The one thing it doesn’t control is the multi-million regeneration plan for the park, which will be delivered by Bromley Council. The transfer has helped Bromley Council cut its expenditure on the park.  Now it’s up to the Trust to make sure that it can generate enough money from events, lettings and any other sources of income to achieve…

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans to repair the National Sports Centre’s athletics track, install replacement flood-lighting, reopen climbing walls in the indoor leisure centre and upgrade the fitness gym. Work would continue apace on ‘our vision for the long-term future of the centre’.  However, he warned that ‘the level of redevelopment and repair work required is significant and extremely complex’.  Work on the vision has been in progress for some time.  A consultation was launched by the GLA on the future of the Crystal Palace NSC back in 2018. Then, in March 2020, it announced that £1 million would be spent on design and development work.  The results…