may 2014 annual report vol 45 no. 2 · may 2014 annual report vol 45 no. 2 the model boating pond...

May 2014 Annual Report Vol 45 No. 2

The Model Boating Pond

Heath and Hampstead May 2014_RUN_HHSnews 24/04/2014 12:06 Page A

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Annual Report forthe year 2013-2014

Page

Annual Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Tony Hillier

Fundraising Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Notice of the AGM, Elections to General Committee 6,7

Notes on Candidates for Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Treasurer’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Maureen Clark-Darby

Heath Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Tony Ghilchik

Town Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Frank Harding

Patrick Lewis Forbes - exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Planning Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

David Castle

Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum . . . . . . . . . 16

Alex Nicoll

Simon Lee’s farewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Simon Lee

Hampstead Summer Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Vicky Bobasch

Bulletin Board & Heath Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-26

Contents

The Overall PictureIt is with a mixture of pride and relief that Ipresent the last of my annual reports, sincebeing accorded the honour by members at theAGM on 23 June 2003 of election to the Chairof this remarkable and distinguished Society.Pride, because with the huge andknowledgeable commitment and hard work ofso many members both from within and outsideour Committees, the Society has covered a lot ofimportant ground during the past eleven years.Relief, because in Marc Hutchinson you have anextremely capable and committed candidate toelect as my successor on 19 June 2014.

The Society remains in a strong financialposition with growing membership, and greatstrength across the General Committee and theSub-Committees. I should like once again to paytribute to the hard work and commitment of ourmany committee members and chairmen duringthe past twelve months.

While recorded membership numbers varyduring the year, as new members join and wewait for current members to renew, I can reportthat, thanks to the excellent work of ourMembership Promotion Secretary, Robert Linger,our membership reached a record average of1803 during the past twelve months.

As can be seen from the 2013 Annual Accounts,prepared by our Treasurer, Maureen Clark-Darby, we maintain a highly liquid reserveposition against the substantial demands wenow face, particularly in defence of the HeathPonds. Our unrestricted reserves havenevertheless seen a decline of 18%, due to areduction in unrestricted donations and anincrease in administration expenses. The latter

by Tony Hillier

Heath and Hampstead May 2014_RUN_HHSnews 24/04/2014 12:06 Page 1

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Annual Report (cont)

are a one-off representing exceptional, butmuch needed, expenditure to introduce a morestreamlined and combined database andaccounting system. We are extremely grateful tothe anonymous donor who has contributed£21,000 in the form of a restricted donationtowards our legal expenses to date inchallenging the City’s proposals to buildsubstantial and disfiguring dry storage damsacross both chains of Heath Ponds.

During the period since the last AGM we havewith great regret accepted the resignations ofJanine Griffis and Stephen Taylor from theGeneral Committee. Both have left in order todevote more time to the very important task ofbuilding, and gaining official recognition for,the Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum (seePlanning Activities below). Janine is their newChair and we are delighted that her huge localcivic experience, energy and abilities will nowbe directed to getting critical new planningpolicies adopted for Hampstead. The Societycontinues to be ably represented on theNeighbourhood Forum by David Castle andVicky Harding.

We are enormously grateful to Janine andStephen for their contributions to the work ofthe General Committee over so many years. Weare delighted that Janine remains a member ofthe Town Sub-Committee and that Stephenremains our webmaster. I would also like tothank Gesine Junker, who has left London, forher valuable contribution to the work of thePlanning Sub-Committee.

The Ponds AppealWe find ourselves in the regrettable position ofhaving to appeal to members and the widerpublic for a targeted sum of £100,000. This isneeded to fund our own anticipated legal

expenses to launch a judicial review of theCity’s decision to press ahead with their finalselection of designs to build protection againstembankment collapse in the event of what canonly be described as a “biblical” storm. We areconfident that the subject matter of the decisionwe wish to be reviewed, i.e. because it is anenvironmental matter in the public interest,means that we would have legal protectionlimiting to £10,000 the amount of ouropponents’ (the City of London’s) costs, whichcould be awarded against us.

Any form of litigation is of course a risky andunpredictable business. We are, however,encouraged to proceed by the words of ourPresident, Lord Hoffmann, that we have an“arguable case” (see the January Newsletter).And we have consulted Stephen Tromans QC, aleading Counsel in environmental and reservoirsafety law, who, after an extensive review of allthe papers, including the civil engineering caseprepared by the City, our technical challengesto these, and our legal exchanges with the City,endorses that view.

The nub of the argument is that the City is notcorrect in its interpretation of the meaning ofthe phrase “in the interests of safety” in Section10 of the 1975 Reservoirs Act. In consequencetheir current proposals go beyond what islegally necessary.

We are also convinced of three other vitalreasons for embarking on this potentially costlyaction: -

• We are with the majority of those membersof the public who have seen and appreciatedthe damaging impact the City’s proposals willhave on the visual enjoyment futuregenerations will have of the wild and natural


state of the Heath. Two thirds of those responding tothe City’s recent formal consultation rejected all theOptions proposed by the City.

• We are sure that the City should be persuaded totake more effective steps with the other authorities towarn and evacuate downstream residents, if the“biblical” storm builds to the danger point, becausethis will save more lives than the proposals ascurrently designed. If this was accepted, the legallynecessary engineering safety measures could bereduced and their visual impact mitigated.

• Finally, protecting the Heath from this sort of damageis the core objective for which the Society wasformed in 1897 and why we believe our memberscontinue to support us. We ask all members tocontribute as generously as they are able.

Activities on the HeathMembers will wish to join me in paying tribute toJeremy Wright, who has stood down as the Societyrepresentative on the Ponds Project Stakeholder Group(PPSG). This has been the vital official forum for theSociety and other stakeholders to comment on thetechnical civil engineering, safety and environmentissues raised by the progressive sets of proposals putforward by the City to improve the safety of the Ponds.Jeremy is a civil engineer himself and a member of theBritish Dam Society. His comprehensive understandingof the professional standards and governmentguidelines, which are the collective “bible” of thespecialist Panel Engineers, has been invaluable inhelping all members of the PPSG, as well as theSociety’s Heath Sub-Committee and General Committee,to understand and critique the City’s proposals. Jeremyremains a member of the latter two Committees. The Society is now ably represented on the PPSG byLynda Cook, a member of the Heath Sub-Committee.

Farewell party for Simon LeeOn 6 February 2014 we gave a farewell party at BurghHouse jointly with the Highgate Society to thank the

retiring Heath Superintendent, Simon Lee, for theexceptional skill and understanding he has shownduring his 12 years in this important post. Warmcompliments were exchanged during the formaladdresses: Simon wisely reminded us, mindful of the“elephant in the room”, that disputes about themanagement of the Heath are best discussed on theHeath. We wish Simon well as Chief Executive ofWimbledon and Putney Commons. We welcome BobWarnock as the new Heath Superintendent from hisprevious role in charge of the extensive City Commonsin South London. (For the full text of Simon’s farewellspeech see page 19.)

This year’s Springett lecture was due to be given on 23October 2013 by Edward Milner on “Native Trees of theLondon area in an era of Climate Change butunfortunately could not take place owing to the speakerbeing indisposed at short notice. He has kindly agreedto present this instead in the autumn of 2014.

The completed restoration of Robert Adam interiors ofKenwood House was opened to the public inNovember 2013 as was the Dairy at the eastern end ofWest Meadow, to which the Society contributed £5,125for the restoration of the windows in Lady Mansfield’stea room.

Planning ActivitiesWe have been busily occupied with both local andnational policy issues.

The Society is active with other local amenityorganisations in developing a Neighbourhood Plan. Theresignations of Janine Griffis and Stephen Taylor notedabove were needed to help achieve the right degree ofindependence from any one potentially dominantorganisation, such as the Society. But we will keepmembers regularly informed of this important new body.

We remain vigilant on the matter of planning control ofbasements and, when the opportunity arises, we try topersuade Camden to modify their Core Strategies and

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cycle track


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Annual Report (cont)

Development Policies to give much moreeffective protection to residents againstdevelopers.

We have seen two major long-running basementover-development proposals in particularunanimously rejected by Camden’sDevelopment Control Committee againstPlanning Officers’ recommendations. This hasbeen in response to the strong objectionssubmitted by the Society and very well-informed and professionally-advised localgroups. These were 29 New End, the formerNurses Home, and 8 Pilgrims Lane. Other over-developments are in progress as this is written.

We are seeing a revival of the local fightingspirit on the subject of tightening localbasement control through the planning system.We had the benefit of this year’s Glass-in-Handlecture from the Society’s geotechnical andhydrology adviser Michael de Freitas warningagain of the need to make scientific predictionsin professionally prepared Basement ImpactAssessments about the short term impact ofexcavation in areas with the geology ofHampstead, and to worry about the long termeffects.

We were disappointed that we did not havegreater influence in getting more changes to thePlanning Guidance on Basements, whenconsulted by Camden. We are now puttingtogether a well informed and experiencedworking group to continue this strategy tochange the local guidance. We are hopeful wecan at least gain greater basement protectionthrough the Neighbourhood Plan, which isbeing put together by the Forum.

We remain vigilant on Athlone House, andconcerned about the eventual outcome of the

latest Garden House application approval. Weare pleased that our pressure finally to enforcethe approved restoration of Heath Houseappears to be having some effect.

Hampstead Police Station remains empty andwhether or not it has been sold, to whom andon what development expectation remains amystery. Policing operational cover ofHampstead remains unsatisfactory.

Town ActivitiesThe Town Sub-Committee has been especiallyactive in carrying out their responsibilities forpromoting local cultural history. They havecontinued the programme of holding exhibitionsat Burgh House of prints and paintings ofHampstead held in Camden’s archive. The thirdof these, covering Taverns of Hampstead, wasmounted in the summer of 2013. Knight Frankagain generously supported this event. Thefourth in the series, comprising works by PatrickLewis Forbes, a painter who lived and workedin Hampstead at the end of the nineteenth andbeginning of the twentieth century, is on untilthe end of June.

A series of walks led by Julia Maes, who speaksabout the lives of historic figurescommemorated by plaques, who have lived inand close to the village, have been wellattended and popular.

Work continues to get owner’s consent for a siteto mount a mosaic reproduction of the Victoriansocial realist painting “Work” by Ford MadoxBrown destined for the Mount with generousfunding from the Walmsley legacy.

A new and immensely important campaign hasbeen taken up by the Town Sub-Committeealongside many others nationally and locally toreduce the local damage from HS2. We are


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Society Appeal for Funds

Please give generously to ourAppeal to Save the

Heath Ponds Landscape

The Society considers the City’s proposals to buildmassive structures on both chains of the Heath Ponds“in the interests of safety” to be the most seriousthreat to the wild and natural state of the Heath sincethe Society was formed over 100 years ago. Webelieve these plans are a grossly excessive responseto any perceived danger, and have been based on anincorrect interpretation of the law.

Despite three years of discussion on the technical andlegal details the City has not changed its position.

We therefore find ourselves in the regrettable positionof having to take the matter to judicial review. But wecan only proceed if we have sufficient financialsupport and we rely on you, our members, to help us.

We have written to every member of the Societyappealing for financial support to fund the legal costswhich will be £100,000. Many of you have alreadyresponded generously. If you have not alreadyreplied, please consider helping us. We ask you to beas generous as possible. To give you some idea: anaverage contribution of £75 per member would allowus to proceed. Some may wish to give more, and allcontributions however small will be gratefully received.

Please make your cheque payable to The Heath & Hampstead Society and kindly complete and send it, with the Gift Aidform that will be sent to you, to 22 Maryon Mews,London NW3 2PU.

If you need another Gift Aid form, please contactan officer of the Society.

If you have any queries [email protected]

We are truly grateful for your continuing support.

grateful to Richard Price and JessicaLearmond-Criqui for their hard work onthis topic. We delivered a petition to 10Downing Street with over 700 signaturesasking for the branch link to St Pancrasand HS1 to be either scrapped or put ina tunnel; we particularly seek muchtighter controls to reduce or prevent theHGV traffic over a ten year periodcoming through the vulnerable streets ofHampstead. We also asked for greateruse of rail and canal for removing spoilsfrom tunnelling and works to reducereliance on HGVs. The Society hassubsequently entered into directcorrespondence with HS2 Ltd to seewhat further steps can be taken toprevent the huge amount of heavy trafficdoing permanent damage to HeathStreet in particular.

We remain committed to supportinglocal independent shops through theHampstead Card and through theHampstead Shops Campaign run byJessica Learmond-Criqui. We are asalways grateful to Ann Eastman forhaving created the Hampstead Card andfor her continuing hard work inmaintaining it. We also support theHampstead Business Group whoorganise the very popular winterfestivals in the High Street.

My final comment is to wish the Societycontinued strength and inspiration toprotect the Heath and the marvelousamenities of Hampstead for many, manydecades to come.


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Elections to General Committee

Notice of the Annual General Meeting

Notice is given that the 117th Annual GeneralMeeting of the Society will be held on Thursday19 June, 2014 at 7.30 p.m. at St. Stephen’s,Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 2PP.

The business of the meeting will be as follows:

1. Approval of the minutes of the 116th AnnualGeneral Meeting held on 20 June, 2013 andthe Special General Meeting held on 25November, 2013.

2. Election of Lord Hoffmann as President.

3. Chair’s report for 2013.

4. Treasurer’s report of the Society’s examinedaccounts for the 2013 financial year andadoption of those accounts.

5. Appointment of Messrs. Fisher Phillips,Chartered Accountants, as the Society’sauditors for the current financial year.

6. Determination of membership subscriptionrates for the next financial year.

7. Election of Officers and other members ofthe General Committee.

The following candidates have been dulyproposed for election to the followingpositions:

Officers

Vice Presidents: Martin Humphery

Helen Marcus

Chair: Marc Hutchinson

Treasurer: Maureen Clark-Darby

Secretary: Nigel Steward

General Committee Members

Tony Hillier

Peter Noble

John Weston

Jessica Learmond-Criqui, Robert Linger, GordonMaclean, Douglas Maxwell and Peter Tausigcontinue the terms for which they were elected.

8. Any other business.

Marc Hutchinson

Secretary 15 May 2014

Tony Hillier is a life member of the Society andretiring Chairman having been re-electedannually since June 2003. His association withHampstead began in 1945 as a pupil ofUniversity College School, where he retainsmembership of the governing Council which hejoined in 1977. He has lived in NW3 sincegraduating in “Greats” from Oxford University in1961, until moving to Highgate in 2013. He wasnon-executive Director of the Royal Free NHSTrust from its formation in 1990 until 1998. His

business career began as a banking andmonetary economics trainee at the Bank ofEngland. After obtaining a Masters degree inBusiness Administration from Harvard Universityin 1968, he subsequently worked for manyyears as an Executive Director and DepartmentHead at N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd andsubsequently as Managing Director of GECFinance Ltd. He continues to act from time totime as a shareholder and director in smallbusinesses. (continued on page 8)

Notes on Candidates for Election


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Annual General Meeting 2014

Please join us for our

Annual General Meeting and

Reception

St. Stephen’s, Rosslyn Hill,

London NW3 2PP

Thursday 19 June, 2014 7.00pm

7.00 pm Reception - Wine and light refreshments will be served. Committee members will be on hand to talk about their work.

Come and learn more about the Society’s activities over the past year.

7.30pm Annual General Meeting

8.30pm Guest Speaker

Sir Simon JenkinsDistinguished author and journalist; Chairman of the National Trust; former deputyChairman of English Heritage. Sir Simon was formerly editor of The Times and the LondonEvening Standard and now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Evening Standard andThe Sunday Times. He has written several books on politics, history and architecture,including England's Thousand Best Churches and England's Thousand Best Houses.


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Notes on Candidates for election (cont)

Marc Hutchinson is a life member of the Societyhaving joined when he moved to Hampstead in2001. He has been a member of the Society’sHeath Sub-Committee since 2005, a trustee on theGeneral Committee of the Society since 2007 andSecretary of the Society since 2011.

Marc is a solicitor and partner in the City firm ofSlaughter and May. He holds degrees in lawfrom University College London and theUniversity of Sydney and specialises in financelaw.

Marc is a keen swimmer and is Secretary and afounding member of the Hampstead HeathWinter Swimming Club, the club that was set upafter swimmers won the legal right to swim in theHeath Ponds without lifeguards. Marc lives inSouth Hill Park and is married to Nica Burns, theowner of Nimax Theatres.

Peter Noble qualified as a doctor, after study atCambridge University and St Thomas' HospitalLondon, and then specialised in psychiatry. Hismain career was as an NHS consultant at theMaudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals and theInstitute of Psychiatry, London.

He is married with two children and has lived inHampstead for over 20 years. Involvement incharity work includes a period of over 10 yearsas secretary and treasurer of the Institute ofSocial Psychiatry. Interests include sailing andwriting about sailing. He has been a member ofThe Heath & Hampstead Society since 1999.

Membership of local groups reflects otherhobbies and includes: Highgate Golf Club, TheGlobe Tennis Club (Belsize Park) and the AcolBridge Club (West Hampstead). He stronglysupports the work of The Heath & HampsteadSociety and their intervention on local issues,such as the City's Ponds Project.

Nigel Steward has been a life member of theSociety since 1980 and first joined the GeneralCommittee in 2006. His contribution has focusedon policing ( Safer Neighbourhood Chair forHampstead Town panel from 2005 – 09 , andbefore then Sector Chair) and also library matters,presently Vice Chair and Treasurer of theCamden Public Library Users Group committee.He was closely involved in the campaign toestablish the new Keats Community Library ofwhich he is a director.

He has also served on the HampsteadConservation Area Advisory Committee, advisingas a solicitor on local planning applications. Herepresented the Society on the City’s Keats HouseConsultative Committee for many years and nowrepresents the Society on the Sexual AwarenessWorking Group, set up by the City of London, totackle security and other issues on HampsteadHeath.

John Weston has lived in Hampstead village for15 years and one of his children remains at juniorschool locally. He is a Creative Director(Advertising) by profession.

He has served on the H&HS Planning Committee2003 -10, General Committee 2007 to present, andhas been the editor of the Society’s Website sinceits inception in 2007 to the present.

He has also served on the HampsteadConservation Area Advisory Committee 2003 topresent; Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee2003 to present; and he was SaferNeighbourhood’s Vice – Chairman for HampsteadTown 2005-2009. He studied Modern History atOxford University and is locally interested inarchitecture, history and birdwatching.


Treasurer’s report for 2013

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The Society is pleased to present its FinancialStatements for the year ended 31 December2013.

The Society reviews its accounting policies eachyear. The trustees are satisfied that the currentpolicies meet the Society’s needs andcircumstances. These policies are disclosed onpage five of the Financial Statements.

The operating deficit for the year was £5,287(2012: surplus £7,468).

In 2013 the Society made an unrealised gain of£718 on its investment. The resulting deficit forthe year was therefore £4,569.

Membership subscription income was down by2% year on year 2013: £13,723 (2012: £13,967).This percentage reduction is due to themembership type mix, rather than a reduction inmembership. Actual membership for the yearincreased.

Interest and dividend income is slightly downfor the year - dividends £142 (2012: £183),interest £622 (2012: £787).

During the year the Society received a legacyfrom the estate of a local resident of £10,000with no special conditions attached. TheSociety received a donation of £21,000 which isring fenced for the Society’s legal costs for theDams Project, of which it expended £16,710during the year.

The Society’s running costs, excludingexceptional costs, increased by 7% in 2013 to£23,463 (2012: £21,866). This is mainly due toan increase in administration costs.

In 2013 the Society continued its work toincrease membership and subscription income.

The Trustees believe that the Society’s Capitaland Reserves are satisfactory at £81,842. Theaccounts are enclosed separately with thisNewsletter and Annual Report

The Society wishes to thank Fisher Phillips,Chartered Accountants, for carrying out theIndependent Examination of the FinancialStatements for 2013.

by Maureen Clark-Darby

Delivering the Newsletter by email

You can receive your Newsletter by email in the form of a PDF so that you can read it onscreen if you prefer.

For those of you who do not keep your Newsletters, it is environmentally more friendly, savingpaper and unnecessary waste. The occasional extra flyers could also be sent via email, if wished.

It would also save the Society a great deal of cost. With postage costs increasing enormouslythis is now becoming a major consideration.

If you would like to try this please let the Editor know at [email protected] can be sent a PDF to try out, to see if you like it. PDFs of the Newsletter can also be seenon the website.


Heath Report

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by Tony Ghilchik

After an unusually mild and incredibly wetwinter punctuated with storms that causeddamage to trees in particular, the Heath israpidly returning to normal with beautiful whitemay and other blossom. The St Jude’s storm oflast October, although not comparable with the1987 hurricane, was the worst since 1990 andleft the Heath with over a hundred damagedtrees. Forty of these were too damaged to save.Although Heath staff were quick to fell thosemost badly damaged and to remove brokenlimbs, some of the largest trunks had to be leftlying on grassland until the ground was dryenough to support the heavy vehicles needed todrag them into the woodlands where they willnot hinder the grass mowing.

The Parliament Hill Lido was another casualty ofthe winter storms when part of its outer wallcollapsed in mid-February.

News from KenwoodOver in Kenwood, English Heritage respondedwell to the consultation on their proposal torestore lost views to and from the Dairy bymodifying their plans so as to leave the threewell-loved Copper Beeches in West Meadow andonly remove the self-seeded trees between thebeeches and the eastern edge of the meadow.Although it was sad to see so many treesremoved in one fell swoop, over the next fewmonths the old farm pond will be reinstated andthe grassland will recover to restore the pastoralsetting around the Dairy to look as it was in theearly 1950’s before the effect of the change fromgrazing by sheep to inefficient mowing finallytook hold. The hedge around the meadow is tobe replanted and will take a few more years tobe re-established but, controversial as it was, Iam delighted that this pastoral setting, so rare inLondon, is being restored.

There will be no concerts at Kenwood in 2014as last year’s series was not a financial successand Rouge Events will not be arranging more.We have fond memories of the old classicalconcerts playing, without loud amplification,from a stage across the Thousand Pound Pondand would be delighted if it proved possible tocreate something similar in future years.

Ponds update – the City consultationLess satisfactory is the City of LondonCorporation’s reaction to their InformationGiving and Consultation exercise over the 12weeks to 17 February on their Ponds Project.Of the two parts to the process, there wasplenty of information to raise awareness on theengineering aspects of the proposals but littleon the fundamental legal basis for them or onthe scientific or technical aspects, and offeredcomparatively minor variations between theoptions being consulted on. The originalconcept was to add water storage in the middleof each chain in order to have to do very littlework down-stream. Each of the two optionspresented for the Highgate and the Hampsteadchains has not only enlarged this central storagebut with only a small reduction, a very longway from eliminating, work elsewhere. Wecannot support any of the options as we believethem based on incorrect legal advice on themeaning of ‘in the interest of safety’ and arethus more than is legally required, and moredamaging to the Heath than necessary.

During the consultation over 4,000 peoplevisited the displays on the Heath and talked withstaff there, and over 800 people talked to staff atother spots in the surrounding area; there was adirect mailing of almost 80,000 postcards to localhouseholds and businesses plus information inthe local press, via websites and social media.


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From this about 1,000 comments were recordedat the Heath displays plus over 1,000 peoplecompleted the more detailed questionnaire withlittle preference for any option but over 60% ofresponses being marked ‘extremely dissatisfied’ –ranging from 60.36% to 66.55% for each of thedifferent options – with a majority of thecomments expressing concern over theexcessive scale of the project and/or on thelegal basis on which it was based.

The City went for quality over price whenchoosing a contractor for the construction andBAM Nuttall are now working with Atkins indeveloping the scheme which will be going forplanning approval in early summer. For this,BAM Nuttall have been drilling some 20 boreholes around the ponds to investigate the soilstructures and digging around 30 trial pits tofind suitable soil for doing the work with theminimum of disruption.

Improvements at East HeathThe lower fairground site opposite DownshireHill consists of old bomb rubble and ash fromBattersea Power Station and, as a result, hasalways looked a drab, unloved, area. As part ofthe improvements to the area it was hydro-seeded by spraying with a mixture of grass seedand mulch and the initial effect has been anexcellent greening of the area. This processwill be fully evaluated later in the year, after thesummer weather, the fairs and the AffordableArt Fair have all taken their toll, to see if itneeds repeating. When reworking the site to fitmore cars into the East Heath car park byevening out its shape, it proved not to bepossible to fit the lower fairground into the areaexcluding the car park, as originally proposed.So, to avoid still needing to remove the carpark’s back fence completely when the fair was

on, this dividing fence has been redesigned toinclude ‘pole gates’ which can just be opened toallow the fairs to spread into the car park area.

The Springett Lecture Finally, it has not yet been possible to fix a datefor a re-scheduling of last October’s SpringettLecture, which had to be cancelled at the lastminute due to the speaker’s illness. EdwardMilner, an award-winning TV producer onenvironmental issues who knows the Heath welland has led our spider walks for many years, iskeen to give his talk about ‘Native Trees of theLondon area in an era of Climate Change’. Weare in the process of arranging for him to givethe 2014 Springett lecture this October.

Dick Bristow

1929 - 2014

We were sad to hear that Dick Bristowdied earlier this year. He served on theHeath Sub-Committee and on the MainCommittee for many years in the 1990s andrepresented the Society on the City’s HeathConsultative Committee in 2001-2.

His family were builders, and longestablished residents in Golders Green,where Dick was born. Dick’s professionalcareer was in banking and he lived inHampstead Garden Suburb opposite theHeath.

He was a man of great charm and humourand will be greatly missed by all whoknew him. We send our most sincerecondolences to his family.


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by Frank Harding

I write this report with Spring very much in theair; the blossom is on the trees, gardens areshowing off their early colours – and it is notraining. In Hampstead we have been fortunateto have avoided the excesses of the recentwinter flooding but continue to sympathise withthose who were directly affected.

HS2The major concerns of the members of theTown Sub-Committee since the end of 2013have been the impact on North West London ingeneral and Hampstead in particular of theGovernment’s plans for the development of theHigh Speed Rail line to Birmingham andbeyond. In my last report I explained thepreliminary view we had taken on theproposals insofar as they affected the stabilityof period buildings in Hampstead itself fromthe passage of heavy goods vehicles over theHeath, the traffic flows in Camden and to andfrom NW London to the West End and the City,and the environmental pollution that would becaused over the 10 year construction period. Inrecent weeks we have submitted a petition tothe Prime Minister and our thoughts on thescheme to Government, have had meetingswith local Councillors and discussed our viewswith Camden and made proposals as tochanges which might be made to the scheme –we have suggested that the delivery of materialsto and spoil from the construction site shouldbe by rail or the canal.

We have noted with relief that it is proposed toremove the link between HS1 and HS2 atPrimrose Hill and trust that that change will notbe overturned as development of the overallscheme progresses.

We continue to monitor developments and arepleased that other groups in the area are takinga similar line to ours, namely that, if HS2proceeds, the arrangements for the removal ofspoil should be such as to avoid the lorriescoming through Hampstead and should takeaccount of the needs of residents, their visitorsand those who pass through Camden by roadto be able to continue to do so during theextended construction period.

PlaquesProgress is beingmade to arrangefor additionalplaques to be putup to commemoratewell- known peoplewho have lived inHampstead. We wouldhope to be able to unveil two or three newplaques over the next few months.

A pair of walks around Hampstead to note theplaques already in place and to learn moreabout those to whom they are erected was leadlast year by Julia Male. These were repeated inApril and were very well received by thosewho participated in them.

Hampstead Rediscovered IVThe fourth in our series of exhibitions ofartworks of Hampstead which opened at BurghHouse in April will continue until 29 June sothere will still be time for you to go and see it.This show contains paintings by Patrick LewisForbes. Knight Frank has again generouslyprovided sponsorship. More information on theopposite page.

Town Report

One of the Society’s plaques


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In each of the previous exhibitions the paintingsby Patrick Lewis Forbes attracted a great deal ofinterest and praise and it was considered hedeserved an exhibition of his own,selected from the large collection of hisworks held by Camden.

He painted his first watercolour ofHampstead in 1890 and later lived andworked as an artist in six addresses inHampstead from 1892 to 1920, capturingso attractively many local Hampsteadscenes. For a period he was theSecretary of the Hampstead Art Societyand exhibited 11 paintings at the RoyalAcademy. He was born in Calcutta in1860, brought up and educated inAberdeen and died in Worthing in 1939.

However, even locally, little has been knownabout him and any art reference work has onlythe briefest of mentions.

This exhibition has redressed this asa result of further research into hislife and work, including contacting hisdescendants and relatives. We do,however, appeal for any informationanyone may have about him to helpprovide a fuller picture of his life andworks.

We are most grateful to Knight Frankfor their generosity in sponsoring thisexhibition.

For more information, [email protected]

Patrick Lewis Forbes - exhibition

Old Hampstead Rediscovered IV – A True Hampstead Artist.

Burgh House until 29 June 2014 Open Wednesday-Friday and Sunday, 12-5pm, admission free

The fourth exhibition by The Heath & Hampstead Society with paintings from thecollection of Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre.

Kindly sponsored by Knight Frank.


The Weekly Members Briefing Panel is held inprivate and does not publish its considerations.It is not clear if Local Councillors can have anyeffect on the decisions made in this Panel.

With a few exceptions the strategic objectivesand policies of Camden’s Local DevelopmentFramework (L.D.F) - the latest name forCamden’s planning policies - are wellconsidered. What is unfortunate is that thesesensible objectives are frequently ignored,because, and I quote: “an application may beapproved if the overall benefits of a schemeoutweigh the possible negative impacts”.

Does this mean that a large development thathas negative affects on an area will be approvedbecause it provides more dwellings, or a largerCouncil Tax annual income, etc.? Surely thepurpose of the planning system is to preventany negative effect caused by building work(particularly in Conservation Areas). It would bevery sensible, but not very likely, if the- shortlyto be revised- Camden Planning Policiescategorised those objectives which had to bemaintained and those which were negotiable.

It must be added that local Councillors arefrequently willing to give advice to objectors onhow to make progress and achieve changes oreven a refusal to the many unacceptableapplications that are made. However, themajority of the quite considerable effort neededto fight a planning application must be madeby the neighbours and those affected.

TreesDespite a very wet 2013, applications for fellingtrees are still being made by insurancecompanies when cracks, even a small as 1mm.,are being reported by home owners. It appearsthat certain companies employed to advise

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by David Castle

Planning Report

Over the last three months since the previousNewsletter the Planning Subcommittee havecarefully scrutinised 135 applications forplanning permission for building-work orchange of use in the Hampstead, Redington-Frognal, Fitzjohn’s/Netherhall, and South HillPark Conservation Areas. Of these we haveobjected to Camden for the 33 applicationswhich we consider to adversely affectHampstead or neighbouring properties.

There are so many applications in both ourarea and the rest of Camden that Councillors,who only meet in the Development ControlSubcommittee for one evening meeting at threeweek intervals, can only consider about 4% ofall applications and obviously these would bethe large, important, or difficult cases.

It is important to note that planningdevelopment control officers have delegatedpowers to approve or refuse planningapplications. They are also able to negotiatechanges to a planning application (which theydo less frequently than we consider theyshould) and it is at this time that objectors havea chance to affect the outcome of a decision ifthey act quickly enough.

However, there is a weekly Members BriefingPanel made up of three Councillors (one eachfrom the main political parties) andDevelopment Control officers (who considerthose applications which have beenrecommended for approval) which can decidethat a case go to the Development ControlCommittee for determination at a publicmeeting. The Development Control Officers willthen publish a lengthy summary of the issuesinvolved in the development and the objectionsreceived, and make a firm recommendation tothe Councillors to approve the application.


15

insurance companies automatically advise fellingof all garden, neighbouring and street treesprior to investigating whether the cracking is ofconcern, and what the real causes of crackingare. Hampstead is automatically assumed to beon “London Clay” with maximum safe distanceof tree species from buildings being employed.If only it were so simple! The Society is workingwith Camden Tree Officers to ensure thatapplications to fell or pollard trees are refusedin unproven cases.

We believe that trees are an important part ofwhat makes Hampstead special and beautiful,enhance our environment and contribute tobiodiversity.

Trees are also an important anti-floodingmeasure. The risk of flooding is increased bythe presence of hard surfacing, removal of largevolumes of water-absorbing soil for basementconstruction, particularly outside the footprint ofan existing house, and blockage or diversion ofthe flow of groundwater. These add to run-offand increase the pressure on public drains.Trees, however, capture rainwater in theircanopies and root systems, thus slowing itstransfer to the ground and to the drains.

Trees also help balance the surface and theground-water, preventing building heave andsoggy gardens. This is why those who originallybuilt Hampstead’s streets and houses plantedwillows, oaks and poplars along the old streamand spring lines, and over marshy ground.Applications for large basements and extensionsare therefore additionally scrutinised by our treeofficer Vicki Harding for their effect on floodingand on trees, with objections made asnecessary.

Heath House.This listed house, which has been unused for aslong as most of us can remember, has nowbeen covered in scaffolding and protectiveplastic and is undergoing repair. This is onlyweeks after our campaign to make the ownersrepair the house and we feel justified inclaiming that we played a part in ensuring thatthis listed house is now being repaired.

The Old White Bear Public HouseCamden are to be congratulated for refusing anapplication for change of use of this popular(and very old) pub to a single house. Howeverthe story is not over as the owners have closedand locked the doors. Probably they intend toappeal.

15 Gayton CrescentBuilding work has been taking place on thisprominent detached house for some yearswithout planning permission. The Heath andHampstead Society and many neighbours havebeen pestering Camden for a long time and, ifthe national press are to be believed, Camdenhave at last issued an Enforcement Notice tomake the owner remove the rear extension. Atthe time of going to press we were not able toobtain information from Camden or establishwhether the enforcement included thereinstatement of the railings on the corner andthe removal of the parking area. Ridiculously,the owner can appeal against enforcement.

Finally, for those of you who would like moreinformation about the role of the PlanningSubcommittee and information about theplanning system, trees, basements, etc. pleaseconsult our web-site atwww.heathandhampstead.org.uk.


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The Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum hasrapidly gained momentum in the past fewmonths. It has held a series of public meetingsintended to raise awareness and gatheropinions about the issues that are important tolocal residents and businesses. It is now goingthrough the necessary steps to obtaindesignation from Camden Council.

Membership of the Forum is open to all wholive and work within its boundaries, whichinclude Hampstead Village and the South EndGreen area. The body is being set up under theLocalism Act of 2011, which gave localcommunities the ability to have more influenceover designing their futures, and in particularover planning policy in their areas.

The Neighbourhood PlanThe principal purpose of the Forum will be towrite a Neighbourhood Plan, which will sitalongside Camden’s own strategy documents andwill carry more weight than Conservation Areastatements and other planning guidance. However,many communities are taking the opportunityto write broader plans that seek to crystalliselocal aspirations on issues that are not strictlyplanning matters, such as traffic and transport.

Involving the whole communityThe process will take several years, and the keyto success will be engagement with all parts ofthe community in order to capture the vision oflocal people about the future of the area.Unless Camden is satisfied that there has beena very high level of engagement, it will notapprove the eventual Plan. Ultimately, the Planmust be approved by an independent planninginspector and be backed by local residents in areferendum.

The new Committee and first AGMThe Forum was formally incorporated at its firstAnnual General Meeting on 6 March, attendedby about 80 people at the HampsteadCommunity Centre. The committee was elected,and a constitution and proposed areaboundaries were approved.

Janine Griffis, a former member of the H&HSGeneral Committee, has been elected Chair ofthe Forum, and the Vice-Chair is David Castle,who chairs the H&HS Planning Subcommittee.Stephen Taylor is Secretary, Stuart Flude isTreasurer and Alex Nicoll is Communicationsofficer. Other elected members are Carissa Bub,Bob Buhr, Vicki Harding, Fiona Reeve, MelissaRemus Elliot, Kimry Shlacter, Ellen Solomons,Ben van Bruggen, Laurie White, SebastianWocker and Jeremy Wootliff. Local Councillorsare ex-officio members, and the committee alsobenefits greatly from the advice of a number ofpeople with particular areas of expertise.

Hampstead is far from alone in North Londonin embarking on this journey. The HighgateNeighbourhood Forum was designated byCamden and Haringey Councils in 2012 and isnow in the final stages of preparing its Plan.The Fortune Green and West HampsteadNeighbourhood Development Forum has

Hampstead Neighbourhood ForumBy Alex Nicoll

Proposed area boundaries


17

published a final draft of its Plan. Closer athand, efforts are under way to create separateforums in the Redington Road/Frognal,Fitzjohns/Netherhall and Church Row areas.Councils are required to initiate formalconsultations before agreeing to designateindividual forums.

Finding out what people wantSo what sort of future would Hampsteadpeople design for themselves? The HampsteadForum is still in the very early stages of findingóut the answers to this question. However, wehave gathered some strong initial opinions. Weheld an intense Sunday afternoon gathering ofabout 50 people at Burgh House, followed byanother brainstorming session after the AGM.

We found that a top priority is to maintain theatmosphere of a living village. This does notmean just keeping it the same. All communitiesdepend for their vitality on embracing change.For example, many residents think it is veryimportant to encourage greater diversity amongHampstead’s shops and businesses. They saythat businesses that are not part of nationalchains need to be given a fair chance to thrive.

Three central themes of 'Living Hampstead'have emerged:

• enhancing and preserving a beautifulenvironment;

• developing a sharing, caring community;• dealing sensibly with traffic and transportissues.

Environment: intelligent planningAn important part of the Forum�s role must beto preserve the beauty of the area. The fact thatHampstead is a Conservation Area, with theplanning disciplines that this involves, means

that the environment already has significantprotection. Nevertheless, residents haveconcerns.

Some issues are already well rehearsed,particularly that of the addition of basements toproperties. Another issue that has been withHampstead for more than a century has beenthat of encroachments on to the Heath. If thereis any issue that has long been able to mobiliseopposition to construction projects, it is thisone. And the Forum will not take a differentposition: the Heath is widely seen as a vital andwonderful part of our neighbourhood.

Many residents feel strongly about trees. Theybelieve regulations should be more stronglyenforced, and that more attention should bepaid to renewal and mapping. On housing,while protecting the area�s heritage is crucial, alarger amount of affordable homes is needed.Public spaces could be better cared for and de-cluttered. Some people want to encouragemore street life, with stalls and markets. Somewould like real ‘play streets’ for children.

Community: share and careA sense of being connected is seen asimportant to Hampstead’s future in severalways. The word implies being linked throughdigital networks, but it also means ordinaryhuman contact. Building more connectionswithin the community – both residents andbusinesses -- will help people to look out foreach other, to build better services for eachother, and to know each other better ascustomers and providers.

For example, in some streets residents havegrouped into email networks that help them tocommunicate if neighbours are ill or in need ofhelp. A further example is the recent creation


18

of smart-phone apps that enable local people toexchange information and opinions.

One section of the community that needsparticular attention is the elderly, especiallythose who live alone. The view was expressedthat there needs to be better care for those withAlzheimers/dementia.

Business is a vital element of the localcommunity. Residents strongly want to see agreater variety of shops and businesses. To helpthis happen, it is necessary to consider whatwould help them to flourish. Lower rents andtaxes would be an important element, but notthe only one: they also have to be able to takedelivery of their goods, and customers and staffhave to be able to reach them easily.

More broadly, the area needs to ensure that itcontains centres of excellence that provideservices for all, such as Camden Age UK’sHenderson Court resource centre. Anotherimportant element of community life is a senseof security, and this requires confidence in thepresence and accessibility of the police. Theclosure of Hampstead police station –something that the community fought for manyyears – has highlighted the fact that this issueremains unresolved.

Transport and traffic: a smart approachHampstead is part of one of the world’sbiggest, most visited and most cosmopolitancities. It is a distinct neighbourhood and village,but it is not isolated from the rest of London –and nor should it be. Public and privatetransport, as well as commercial traffic, areessential lifelines.

This issue provokes strong and diverse opinions.Some people would like to see roadspedestrianised, or reserved for residents. Others

see transport as a normal part of life – and of aneighbourhood’s vitality. There are two issues onwhich there is general concern: heavy goodsvehicles (HGVs), and the school run. HGVs areseen as damaging streets and trees, andunsuitable for Hampstead’s small roads: deliveriesshould be made in smaller vehicles. The schoolrun is viewed as contributing an inordinateamount of traffic – suggested remedies includestaggering school opening times, encouragingschool buses and cooperation between parents.

Among more specific ideas to come frombrainstorming sessions were: a network toconnect local young people with employmentopportunities; encouragement of vacant shopsbeing used as pop-ups; a place forskateboarding; better and safer pedestriancrossings; encourage enforcement of the lawson dog mess; be clearer about what styles,methods and materials are acceptable forbasement excavation and what are not; open upthe space around the plane tree in Oriel Place;generate guidelines for successful street parties;establish an artist/writer-in-residence scheme.

Though the ideas put forward so far represent agreat start, there will need to much moreengagement and evidence-gathering before eventhe broad lines of a future Neighbourhood Plancan emerge. We are still in the process ofanalysing the results of our last event, a livelycommunity tea party held at St Stephen's on the27th of April with treats supplied by Gail's ArtisanBakery. There will be more events to come.

Learn more about the Forum at our website,www.hampsteadforum.org. If you havequestions or would like to help, email us [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter @HampsteadForum andlook out for our leaflets.

Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum (cont)


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I recall that my first ever visit to HampsteadHeath was before I started working for the CityCorporation when I was invited to meet the thenChairman of the H&HS Martin Humphery alongwith Jeremy Wright for a coffee at Martin’s house.Our conversation covered a wide range of topics,not least the absence of a Management Plan, butI sensed a slight reticence about my “parks”background in Cheltenham.

What did this “parkie” from Cheltenham knowabout managing one of London’s most iconicopen spaces! Many of you may not be awarethat my formative years were spent at MerristWood Agricultural College, where as a child Ihelped on the farm, spent many a day climbingtrees, swimming in the many lakes and helpingmy father care for this large rural estate.

After leaving Martin and Jeremy I made my wayto East Heath and pulled into the car park, arather dejected looking area, somewhatremoved from the Grade 1 Listed parklandsetting of Pittville Pump Room that I was thenmanaging. It was early evening time and a hotday the area was bustling with people.

I remember walking down to the Mixed Pondcauseway and watching the swimmers bathingin the pond. I walked up across Parliament HillFields, through Lime Avenue and back acrossPriors Field taking in that view with thesunning sinking down looking across Londonto St Paul’s (with no Shard). I’m sure many ofyou recall your first encounter with the Heath,for me it immediately felt like a very specialplace, not a Hyde Park or Bushy Park, but areal piece of countryside in the City.

I read Farmer’s book about the history of theHeath that the Society had kindly given me, itwas revealing to learn about the East Parkproposals and the “parkification” of the Heath

by the LCC. I had an inkling of why there wasconcern about this fairly young and veryenthusiastic Parks Manager!

In my early days as Superintendent there wasmuch to do, not that there ever isn’t, clarifyingstaff roles and responsibilities, together withmeeting a host of local people all eager toshare their knowledge and of course theirparticular concerns.

One of person who gave up many hours towalk me through the site was David Sullivan. Iowe him a great debt, before the days of GPShe had meticulously recorded the advance ofsecondary woodland across the site, he wrotewith Kit Ikin a series of papers, for eachdistinct area of the Heath giving a clear accountof its particular merits followed by detailedmanagement prescriptions. His work was sadlythwarted by the lack of action by the GLC.

These ideas helped me start to frame the basisof how the Heath needed to be managedcompartment by compartment, but with an

Simon Lee’s farewell

Simon Lee’s farewell speech to the Heath & Hampstead Society after twelve years asHeath Superintendent


20

overarching plan. Of course I was ably assistedin bringing forth proposals, particularly by MegGame (who I was delighted to have poachedfrom Ken’s Greater London Authority) andDavid Bentley.

I soon learned that managing the Heathrequires something of a diplomatic role. AsChurchill once said this is the “art of tellingpeople to go to hell in such a way that theyask for directions”. I’m not sure I could everbe said to have mastered such an approach,but, people their passions, idiosyncrasies andsometimes singular view is what makesHampstead what it is and it requires a certainapproach to be able to try and get people toreach a consensus.

It is a fascinating quirky place, where else canyou go to listen to a bag-piper blowing forthstood on an empty bandstand, while you enjoya cup of coffee surrounded by dog walkerswhilst admiring the iconic views of London’ssky-line. Who else would drink only irondrenched water taken from Goodison fountain!The great people of Hampstead have somestrange habits! Diving into a freezing pond onChristmas Day is another quite unusual custom!

Managing the Heath is actually relatively easy,managing the passion and diametricallyopposed views that exist on almost everysubject of Heath management is the tricky part.From cross country running to croquet, frombathing to brambles, everyone has a view!

But I’ve been fortunate in having support fromone of the most knowledgeable groups of localpeople, all of whom sit on the Heath statutoryConsultative Committee. Your wise counsel hasbeen invaluable in helping me to reconcile thedivergent views and to always seek to take a

common sense approach in the best interest ofthe Heath.

When I look back at some of the issues wehave worked together on, the diversity andbreadth of work is startling. At the Lido weensured that the primary function of this listedbuilding was preserved for future generationsto enjoy, our stainless steel liner has improvedthe swimming experience. At Whitestone Pondwe transformed this neglected gateway to theHeath, thanks must go to Juliette for spurringus on. We robustly reviewed cycling – twice!We started a programme to restore the HillGarden Pergola and we refurbished play areasfor the benefit of children. Together weimplemented difficult budgetary reductions.

Above all you supported and encouraged us toimplement our ambitious work programmes toensure that the woodlands, grasslands, hedgesand scrub of the Heath is retained.

You joined me to represent variousconstituencies in numerous Groups andForums, not least Heath Hands, one of thegreat success stories, a Group I am enormouslyproud to have been associated with. I still missBobby, how could anyone ever say No to her!

Through pedestrians, cyclists, fisherman,athletes, bowls players, cricketers, footballers,swimmers - or should it be bathers - on issuesfrom flag raising to support on the SexualActivities Working Group (I’ve dined out on thisGroup a few times) you have been there. Yourpassion and energy to be involved in the Heathis your greatest attribute, even though at timesit can feel a bit daunting. Thank you for allyour support. I am delighted that Bob Warnockhas picked up the mantle in managing theHeath, please do give him your continuedsupport, I know he is eager to meet you.

Simon Lee’s farewell


21

I’ve also been privileged to work for the CityCorporation, its custodianship of the Heath hasin my opinion to be admired. My Chairmenhave all been total stalwarts, giving of their timeand helping to pick up the baton in defendingthe Heath both internally at Guildhall and alsowhen needed amongst the local communities.What other organisation devotes so muchmoney to the upkeep and good governance ofpublic open spaces.

But my greatest thanks has to go to my team,not just my managers, whose loyalty, patienceand endurance has been tested on manyoccasions, but also seeing staff develop andrealise their full potential. Last night I was sat inthe office drafting out some ideas on what tosay and I wandered into the front office.

The Tree Officer David Humphries was poringover some old photographs, some of Michael’spostcards, and some TfL posters. He challengedme on where they were. I thought LimesAvenue, but it was actually at the top of JudgesHollow, showing a triple row of planted trees.What are they for I enquired? Well, he said, Ihave to go and see someone tomorrow about aBeech tree and concerns they have about itoverhanging their boundary and I want to takethese along to try and impress upon him howimportant these veteran trees are in terms of theHeath landscape. He then showed me somepaintings by Constable of the same area that hehad researched. Sadly he advised that of thetriple row of trees that once existed only onerow now exists, including this ancient Beech.

This not only demonstrated to me the passionwith which he seeks to protect the landscape ofthe Heath which is so apparent in all staff, but

also the ever changing face of the Heath. If westopped worked today and walked away in 50years the Heath would be all secondarywoodland. Intervention is critical and thislandscape is forever changing.

My father a simple man, a grower, a gardenerand a man who loved the outdoors, he taughtme one critical thing in life, accept and embracechange, don’t be afraid of it. Setting things inaspic is a dangerous route, conservation is vital,preservation of a landscape is its ruin.

Finally ladies and gentleman, none of what Ihave undertaken in helping with thecustodianship of this wonderful landscapewould have been possible without Alison.[Simon’s wife] I’m a very fortunate man to havesuch her support, particularly bringing up mythree lads.

It is has been a fascinating and rewardingjourney, so in moving to Wimbledon andPutney Commons, where interestingly we sharealmost the identical Foundation Legislation (ofcourse the Heath Act was passed first on the29th June 1871 and W&PC in August that year),I take with me an enormous amount oflearning. Being slightly older and hopefully, alittle wiser, help leave that site richer in itsdiversity, both ecologically and socially.

My mantra, stolen from Mr Welbank, will be thesame as that on the Heath: this is not a park, itis not a park!


2222

Hampstead Summer Festival By Vicky Bobasch

Hampstead SummerFestival will be evenBigger and Better….

If you were around forlast year’s Festival you’ll know what a great dayit was. This Summer it will be even bigger andbetter and completely unmissable.

Save the dateThe Big Day is July 6th when stalls on HeathStreet will waft the smells of delicious foods fromall around the world to tempt your taste-buds. Achess tournament takes place at HendersonCourt. Then as you progress up the hill therewill be donkey and unicorn rides, falcons, circusperformers and musical entertainers. And, at thetop, at the highest point in London, the famousArt Village, a Sport and Fitness Zone and a smallfunfair.

A popular family attraction will be the balloonrace. You can buy a biodegradable balloon for£2, attach your name on a card, and the cardthat is returned to Hampstead from the furthestdestination wins a prize. Last year the winner’sballoon drifted all the way to France!

If you are anxious to see the Wimbledon Final,you don’t need to miss the fun tostay at home in a darkened room.On the contrary, you can watchwith other enthusiastic fans as thetennis will be shown on a giantscreen with all the atmosphere ofHampstead’s own Henman Hill.

Festival Events continue throughoutthe week, including Poems on theUnderground in the Library on July9th, and other fun evenings such asa pub quiz, which will be listed inthe Festival programme.

Important funding for two charitiesThe purpose of all this fun is quite seriousthough. The Fair brings in thousands of visitorsto Hampstead to support our local traders, andall the profits from the Fair go to two localcharities, Age UK Camden Henderson CourtResource Centre and Keats Community Library.These two amenities provide vital services for allour community, from literacy classes to computerclasses for beginners, and activities to keep theelderly active. The Festival is an importantsource of funding for these two charities. Lastyear the tireless organisers raised £20,000 andthis year the target is to do even better.

Keats Community Library is organising a raffle forthe Festival with over 40 prizes donated by localshops and services. Tickets cost £1 each and youcould win a voucher for a meal in Cote, orAubaine, a hamper from Melrose and Morgan,tickets for a wine-tasting evening fromHampstead Providores, a £50 voucher towards airtickets from the Flight Centre, a manicure fromthe Beauty Boutique, a magnum of champagnefrom Jeroboam’s…..and lots more lovely prizes.

To buy tickets call in at the Library, Keats GroveNW3 2RR .

HampsteadFestival 2013


23

Bulletin Board

23

Keats CommunityLibrary

10 Keats Grove NW3 2RRTel 0207 431 1266

Library Events Calendar Summer /Autumn 2014

May 30th Susanne von Launearly music recitalFenton House

July 6th Hampstead Summer Festival Heath Street

July 9th Poems on the UndergroundLibrary

Oct 2nd Diana Brekalo - Piano RecitalRosslyn Chapel

Oct 11th Autumn Book Sale Library

Oct 16th Neil Titley – a dramatised talk on Oscar Wilde Library

Nov 13th ‘Never Again; First World WarReadings and Poetry Library

Dec 18th Festive Literary QuizLibrary

Tickets will be on sale in the library.

The library is open to everyone. It is easy toregister for a KCL library card to borrowbooks. We have over 20,000 items.

For more details about events, orvolunteering, look at the website:

www.keatscommunitylibrary.org.uk

[email protected]

www.keatscommunitylibrary.org.uk

Hampstead TheatreEton Avenue

London NW3 3EU

Become a Friend of Hampstead TheatreAmongst the many benefits Friends receiveare:

• Priority Booking • advance notice offorthcoming productions • Quarterly e-newsletter • 10% discount at Theatre bar

For details of membership schemes seewww.hampsteadtheatre.com/support-usor contact Sally Wilson, tel: 020 7449 4155.

sallyw@hampstead theatre.com

For more information contact:

[email protected]

Tel: 020 7449 4161www.hampsteadtheatre.com

www.hampsteadtheatre.com

Belsize Park Film Society

(formerly Hampstead Film Society - Pleasenote change of name - everything else

remains the same)

Meets on Tuesday evenings at 7pm

Hampstead Town Hall, 213 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 4QP.

Entrance £5 at the door.

Find out more about forthcomingprogrammes

on Twitter - https://twitter.com/socfilm

Email: [email protected]


24

Bulletin Board - Society news

Don’t forget to use the

Hampstead Card

The current list of businesses taking part inthe scheme can be found on the Society’swebsite, and can be downloaded from there

www.heathandhampsteadsociety.org.uk

Benefits offered are granted at the traders’ discretion.The Society cannot be held responsible for changes interms or availability of any discounts or offers

Royal Gold Medal for Joseph Rykwert Congratulations to Society member, JosephRykwert - celebrated architect, critic,historian and writer - who has won the RIBARoyal Gold Medal 2014,

Given in recognition of a lifetime's work, theRoyal Gold Medal is approved personally byHer Majesty the Queen and is given to aperson or group of people who have had asignificant influence 'either directly orindirectly on the advancement of architecture'.

Joseph Rykwert has written numerousinfluential works of architectural criticismand history, published over a sixty-yearperiod and translated into several languages.His work has changed the way modernarchitects and planners think about cities andbuildings, and how historians view thearchitectural roots of the modern era.

The Society is fortunate and privileged thathe kindly wrote several articles for thisNewlettter on houses of architectural interestin Hampstead.

Members' email addressesAre you missing out?

Keeping members informed of thelatest news and events.

Email is invaluable for letting membersknow of vital issues between Newsletters.It has been particularly important inrecent weeks, with campaigns:

• to save Athlone House, • the Old White Bear Pub • the Pond Landscape on the Heath • the new Neighbourhood Forum

And to bring you other useful information,such as walks, talks and events.

If you did not hear about these it isbecause we do not have your email

address.

The Society is increasingly using email,especially with the spiralling cost ofpostage. If you have not given us youremail address you may be missing out onimportant local and Society news andinitiatives. So, if you have not already doneso, please do send your email address tothe Society at:

[email protected]

Make sure you include your name andstreet address so that we can identify you.

This will also enable us to update ourMembership Records and simplify our

communications with you.

Thank you.


25

Bulletin Board The Proms at St Jude’s 2014, June 21 - 29

Burgh House Museum, Buttery,Bookstall

Exhibitions, talks, concerts and classes Burgh House, New End Square NW3 1LT

www.burghhouse.org.ukTel: 020 7431 0144

Open Wed - Fri, & Sun, 12 - 5.00pm(Saturdays by appointment)

Regular clubs and classesinclude the Bridge and Scrabble clubs;Drawings and Water-colour classes; Choir withPatrick Allies; and The Garden Historians atBurgh House.

Support the Friends of Burgh House For more information or to join the Friends,

tel: 020 7431 0144

Music Programme: theopening evening concert onSaturday 21 June will be Puccini’sLa Bohème, performed by NevillHolt Opera.

On the Last Night, Sunday 29 June, sopranoLesley Garrett takes the stage. Other highlightsinclude Handel’s Esther, Tasmin Little violinwith Piers Lane piano and the Endellion StringQuartet with Michael Collins.

The Litfest takes place over the weekend of21 and 22 June, featuring the redoubtableLynn Barber and multi-award winning EdnaO’Brien, among other fascinating authors.

There are lots of great guided walksaround the Suburb and the City. Plus thepopular free lunchtime concerts andfamily events specially suitable forchildren.

Lunchtime events: Doors open12 noon Concerts start 12.45pm

Evening concerts: Doors open7pm Concerts start 7.45pm

Refreshments, Wine and beer, hot and colddrinks and a tempting range of food areavailable from noon and from 7pm. in thelicensed refreshment marquee, beside StJude’s Church.

Support the Festival as a Friend orBenefactor

Find out more about supporting the Festivalby becoming a Gold, Silver or Bronze Friend,or a Benefactor, and about the whole nine-dayprogramme, online. Box office is now open.

www.promsatstjudes.org.ukh

Raising Funds For Toynbee Hall AndNorth London Hospice.


2626

Walks are normally held on the first Sunday ofevery month except January. Most start fromBurgh House, New End Square. London NW31LT – 10 minutes walk from Hampstead TubeStation (for map see www.burghhouse.org.uk

NB: parking is extremely difficult locally, especially inspring and summer. West Heath car park (behindJack Straw’s Castle) is more likely to have spaces thanthe East Heath car park.

Starting times are either 2.30pm or 10.30 am(9.30 for birds), depending on season andsubject matter.

Walks last approximately two hours. They donot necessarily follow made-up paths; you arerecommended to wear suitable footwear asconditions may be rough or muddy.

You will be invited to make a minimumdonation of £3.00 per adult, to be collected atthe beginning of each walk, to help supportfuture development of the walks programmeand to promote the Society's activities generally.

Children are always welcome so long as theyare suitably shod, can walk reasonabledistances and are accompanied by an adulttaking full responsibility for them.

Please note starting times and meeting points

Further information from walks organiser,Thomas Radice, mobile: 07941 528 034 or email: [email protected]

1 June 2.30pm (meet at the Flagstaff, byWhitestone Pond) Identifying trees on WestHeath led by Bettina Metcalfe, local treeenthusiast and member of the InternationalDendrology Society, who has been leadingtree walks for the Friends of Kenwood

6 July 2.30pm (meet between the OldKitchen Garden and English Heritage staffyard, east of Kenwood House). The wildlifeand management of Hampstead Heath led byCity of London Ecologists

3 August 2.30pm (meet at the cattle troughand flower stall, Spaniard’s Road, near theSpaniard’s Inn) Sandy Heath and the HeathExtension led by Lynda Cook, member of theH&HS Heath Sub-Committee

7 September 9.30am (meet at Burgh House)Birds of the Heath led by John Hunt (formerChairman of the Marylebone BirdwatchingSociety), and Sash Tusa

5 October 2.30pm (meet at the Café, GoldersHill Park) Identifying trees in Golders HillPark led by Bettina Metcalfe (see previousdetails)

2 November 10.30am (meet at the entranceto the Old Kitchen Garden east of KenwoodHouse). The Heath and Kenwood - how theyrelate to each other. (Walk leaders to beannounced)

7 December 10.30am (meet at BurghHouse)The history and topography of theHampstead Heath ponds led by MarcHutchinson, Secretary, Hampstead HeathWinter Swimming Club; Secretary of the Heath& Hampstead Society and member of theHeath Sub-Committee.

Heath Walks 2014


may 2014 annual report vol 45 no. 2 · may 2014 annual report vol 45 no. 2 the model boating pond...

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