Bic Basher

The Forest Hill Society campaigned for the return of the Charing Cross service on the FH line back in 2009 when it was axed and it appears very unlikely that any Southern service will return to that section of track due to Southeastern requiring all of the slots after HS1 was launched from St Pancras. However, once the work at London Bridge is completed, the interchange will be a lot easier thanks to the track and platform separation between Thameslink and Southeastern services.

It'll all be worth it once the new London Bridge station opens as the Charing Cross and Thameslink platforms will be totally separate. I'm sure when we get closer to the time, arrangements should be put in place for Southern tickets to be valid on the Jubilee line to Southwark (for Waterloo East), Waterloo and connections to Charing Cross.

neilson99 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It says in the press releases very clearly that > services from Charing Cross will not call at LB > from January 2015. I'll eat my hat if they ever > reinstate them. This would be a great opportunity > for Local councillors James Barber and Renata > Hamvas to go after in local coalition for their > constituents. As part of the station upgrade works, no trains will be able to call at London Bridge for Charing Cross for a year, followed by a year of no trains to Cannon Street. I doubt Southern will ever return to Charing Cross as they simply don't have the slots since Southeastern required all of them after HS1 opened.

DJKillaQueen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm with SJ....all these changes/ closures are > market forces in action. We don't go to shops to > buy books anymore....I buy all mine online because > they are cheaper and I can get whatever I want, no > matter how obscure. Old established retailers need > to change their business models to reflect that, > or they will die. > > The other factor is disposable income. The local > demographic of Rye Lane do not have the kind of > disposable income required to sustain the kind of > niche (or more expensive chain) shops that > everyone seems to crave for LL or Bellenden Raod. > Again, just another cold hard fact. Too many > people are struggling financially at the moment. Not to mention the supermarkets. Why would you go into Smiths for a RRP hardback when you can go into Tesco and buy the same book for under ?10. Morrisons will become the defacto chain 'Newsagent' in Peckham from next week, it also sells a limited selection of chart and back catalogue paperbacks.

In the unlikely event you use Oyster PAYG, both routes cost ?1.60 each way per journey during the peak or a Zone 2 only travelcard is valid.

You'll be pleased to know that the 176, 185 and 197 are serving Forest Hill in the direction towards Dulwich.

The Forest Hill traffic camera is online where you can see for yourself where the road is closed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/london/trafficcameras/transportforlondon/0000103756

As an aside, alternatives to Forest Hill station. P4. From Lordship Lane Estate (in Dulwich Common) or Lordship Lane/Wood Vale to Honor Oak Park station. Buses run every 12 minutes and takes approx 10 mins, but is prone to delays on a normal day. 176/197 from Lordship Lane to Sydenham station. As these routes are diverted via Sydenham Hill and Kirkdale, this will see journeys take between 5-10 mins from Dulwich library instead of the usual 15/20. There is a side entrance to Platform 1 which is easy to reach from Cobbs Corner by taking the first left at the roundabout then right.

Applespider Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Suspect they send it out to those who live nearby > or those who use their Oyster cards on bus routes > likely to be affected. > > It was only two years ago that the road was > entirely closed for several weeks while they > worked on that stretch of road. I wonder if this > is an entirely new instance or a poor repair job. > Suspect the traffic will be nasty from the Plough > onwards at peak times until it's fixed. It's a new leak not connected to the collapsed sewer which was on London Road outside Sainsburys, however I've noticed water trickling down from the top of Devonshire Road by WHSmith for months now, yet nothing has been done about it until now. As for the email notification, I believe this is taken from Oyster users who use the rail station or the local routes which pass Forest Hill station, so if you use the 176, 185 or 197 but go in the other direction, you'll still get an email if a registered user. TfL have given me notifications in the past about the ELL opening from Forest Hill, the South London line extension from Peckham Rye & Denmark Hill and changes to the 12 bus when it converted back to double decker.

This will affect those of us who commute from Forest Hill station who live at the Grove end of LL. This I think has been the third time Forest Hill has been severely affected by work by Thames Water, although I give them credit this time round for being able to keep traffic flowing, yet once again, I'll have to use Sydenham and bus it back from Kirkdale from tomorrow.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My gripe with Smiths is the prices they charge in > train station and hospital shops. It takes the > absolute p!ss! > > The Forest Hill one is pretty crap, but they have > not long (maybe a couple of years) had the post > office upstairs, so I can't see it being closed > anytime soon. The Forest Hill PO at WHSmith has been open since 2008. WHSmith as a business makes a profit of over 5% from their travel shops, which include rail stations, airports etc. The Retail section makes a tiny profit, yet clearly they need to improve on that by streamlining the amount of stores they have. They can't convert the store in Peckham to PO use as it's already based in the High Street and just too far to replace the Rye Lane PO which is expected to be a franchise.

-- moved topic --

UncleBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Both stores have been very badly run for years - > would prefer it if they were re-furbed and > properly managed rather than closed. WH Smith in > Forest Hill not much better. I think Forest Hill's PO franchise and location next door to the rail station has saved that branch.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks Bic Basher. So a franchise will provide > the same or better service. What we have locally > so far is the sub-model? Yes, except for the main Crown PO at 72 LL. The nearest franchised PO is Forest Hill on the top floor of WHSmith. With the closure of WHSmith in Peckham, I think it's safe to say that it won't be replacing the Rye Lane PO.

Big signs have gone up at WHSmith on Rye Lane announcing the closure of the store. Nearest store is Lewisham with no mention that Forest Hill is only 2 miles away.

ultrauk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If the main PO branch on LL is closed we are > doomed. The poor woman who runs the small PO > counter next to the Plough Pub is already run off > her feet & customers are queueing down the shop > aisle as it is. And a lovely woman she is too. Very helpful and patient when I'm applying for things. What's important in this debate is the difference between a sub and franchised PO. The subs are independent businesses which receive fixed and variable payments based on their performance from the Post Office. These PO's include the PO's by Dulwich Library, Dulwich Village and Forest Hill Road. They don't offer all the services of a main branch. Franchises are sub-contracted by PO Limited to provide the same level of service as a Crown PO or improved services of which WHSmith is the main provider, although other businesses can apply, such as the independent discount shop retailer in Penge. Crown PO staff who decide to move across will be paid by the franchisee, however as seen at Forest Hill, most if not all staff decided to take redundancy, which led to WHSmith hiring post office staff from launch.

I can't see how the existing site could be used for dual operations. Penge's PO has enough space for this, Peckham High Street's was split in two to allow a retail outlet (Payless) to trade next door while the PO shrunk to a four counter outlet. If the PO does become a franchise in ED, it's more likely it'll move into an existing retail outlet with enough space for dual trading on LL. The Co-op and Londis spring to mind. This would allow the existing building to be sold/leased to another independent retailer.

If it's anything like Penge PO, it'll be replaced by a franchised convenience store, but is now a discount store with a post office bolted onto the end of it. The WHSmith franchised PO's, such as the one in Forest Hill are probably the best example of the model the Post Office likes. For example, the PO in Forest Hill is open until 5.30pm on Saturdays unlike ED.

I wondered why so many people were going to the ground this afternoon. The train to ED was packed on my way back from Peckham.

TfL are reporting on Twitter that Walworth Road has fully re-opened for buses.

Apparently something to do with The Grove/Harvester pub which closed last year. Dulwich Common is solid though, although from my vantage point, LL in both directions is open.

Hi Jan, Sorry to hear about your incident at the Sainsburys Local, may I suggest that you use the ATM instead the grocers/PO next door to Sainsburys, this is a PO one which is free to use. It's probably the safest cashpoint along there being inside and supervised by the grocery staff. There's another indoor ATM at Costcutter, but they charge for transactions.

Lowlander Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And if you must drive to the PO and park outside, > there's a post office at the top of LL by > Sainsburys where you'll never have to queue for > more than 5 minutes. Except between 1-2pm weekdays when the sub postmistress goes on her lunch break.

If as expected, the DfT decide to award TfL the Southeastern part of the metro franchise in the summer, we may see the management of the station change to London Overground in 2015. This won't affect Peckham Rye or Queens Road Peckham which will be managed by the new integrated Thameslink and Southern franchise.

nowittyname Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In favour of the Co-op being open 24/7 - I believe > it is now the only place in East Dulwich, or on > Lordship Lane anyway that charges keys for key > meters for electricity, gas (and water?) - that's > as far as I know - some time ago I gave a lift to > a young woman with a toddler whose husband was > being kept in Kings, having managed to knock > himself out with a moving box as they were moving > in. > > She had got back late, and couldn't find anywhere > along Lordship Lane to charge their meter key > (house dark and cold) - had to take her to Peckham > Road, the nearest place she could do this - > located on the bit that is not the most reassuring > place to be for a woman at night. Apparently the > Texaco garage at Goose Green and the Costcutter > used to do it but stopped, and apparently the > Co-op is the only place that still has the social > awareness and sense of caring to do this. It's > not a money-spinner, so good for them. Londis which is also 24/7 is a Paypoint retailer as far as I know.