Work And Play Scrap Store reopens

The Work and Play Scrapstore in Tooting takes exciting, clean, re-useable materials (such as card, trimmings, sequins, fabrics and plastics etc) donated by businesses and offers them to members as inspirational educational, creative and environmentally-friendly resources.

Scrap Materials

Scrap Materials

Work and Play are now open in new premises in Hazelhurst Estate, 13 Blackshaw Road, SW17 0DA. They’ve also reopened membership. Fees for membership are from as little as £9 per annum depending on type.

The Work and Play Scrapstore has been operating in the Tooting area for over 20 years and are a member of Scrapstores UK. Work and Play is a voluntary organisation and registered charity.

 

The Diamond Jubilee Bridge

Connecting Battersea & Fulham

Last night, during the week of the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, the planning committee at Wandsworth resolved unanimously to grant consent for the Diamond Jubilee Bridge connecting Battersea and Fulham. This is an important milestone and a great step in the right direction towards realising our vision. We would like to thank Hotel Rafayel and Palace Investments for their continued support and Expedition Engineering, Beckett Rankine and the planning department at Wandsworth for their instrumental advice and input.

Jubilee footbridge

Jubilee footbridge

The next step is the committee meeting at Hammersmith & Fulham next month.

Power Station ‘pop-up’ Park

A family afternoon, including the chance to get fit with some zumba, will be held in the new Battersea Power Station ‘pop-up park’ on Sunday (June 9).

Battersea Power Station

Battersea Power Station

The park is opening at weekends all through the summer

This Sunday’s event is organised by local community group STORM. As well as zumba from 2pm to 3.30pm, there will be free candy floss and games for the children. People are being encouraged to take picnics and enjoy a family day out.

Access to the temporary park is via a new pedestrian walkway underneath Grosvenor Railway Bridge. This means local people can walk along the river from Battersea Park into the power station site. There is no on-site parking.

The Pop-Up Park is open to the public at weekends until September, events and construction schedules allowing.

 

Diamond Jubilee Bridge – an update

Jubilee footbridge

Jubilee footbridge

It has been a rollercoaster few months but the proposal for a footbridge over the Thames alongside the Wandsworth railway bridge is now recommended for approval by the planning authority.

LB Hammersmith & Fulham expect to put the scheme to their committee in July, again with a recommendation for approval, and then the application will be referred to the Mayor for a final decision.

The £22m bridge will take cyclists and pedestrians between Chelsea Harbour and Lombard Road, Battersea. Projected costs are in the order of £20m.

Founder of Providence House dies aged 91

It is the end of an era for Providence House.

Around 1960, Elizabeth Braund first started the youth work in the old Providence Chapel before today’s housing estates were built.

Elizabeth Braund

Elizabeth Braund

In 1970 she opened the present building on Falcon Road to consolidate the work with young people and families. Providence House still functions today on the Falcon Road as a flourishing centre for community activities and responding to changing social needs.

In 1975 the new adventure to Dartmoor began, with the opening of East Shallowford Farm in 1976.

On Monday 20th May 2013, Elizabeth passed away at her home, East Shallowford, just 3 weeks short of 92 years.

Her legacy is in the lives of countless Battersea and Wandsworth families.

Elizabeth wrote many books, one of which Young Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (Prisca) tells the story of Providence House, “Ethelberta” a children’s story written for the BBC Children’s Hour and numerous articles for The Evangelical Magazine and other Christian periodicals.

Read obituary here: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Editor-helped-inner-city-children-experience-farm/story-19121138-detail/story.html#axzz2Un4ZsidJ

Great Battersea Bake Off

cupcakes

Calling all bakers and cake lovers of Battersea! We invite you to come and take part in the Great Battersea Bake Off – part of the Fabulous Feast event taking place on the pavements of the HIll. Bring your best baked delights to the Hill on Saturday 18th May where The Dessert Deli’s Laura Amos will be judging the winner.

macaroonsThis baking competition will be split into 2 categories: one for children up to the age of 16 and one for adults. The children’s category are challenged to bake 6 delicious fairy cakes (the more decoration the better!), and adults entering the competition must conjure up their best chocolate brownies.

The judging will take place at 4pm on the food festival day: Saturday 18th May. Deliver your baked entry to the stall signposted “Great Battersea Bake Off” between 11am and 4pm for a chance to WIN!

Good luck bakers!

Fabulous Feast St Johns Hill

The Fabulous Feast is taking place on St John’s Hill in Battersea from Monday 13th to Sunday 19th of May 2013. This is 7 days of food & drink celebrations, during which the restaurants, pubs, cafes, bars and delis all offer a special £15 menu. If ever there was a time to try a new cuisine, drinking spot or eaterie, then surely this is the week to do it!

The main event is on Saturday 18th May from 11am til 5pm when a big food festival will take place on the pavements of the Hill. There will be a large selection of farmers market stalls, producers, makers and cake bakers for you to eat your way up the Hill and fill your shopping basket too!

If you would like to learn more about food & drink, then don’t miss the Saturday event as the traders of St John’s Hill will host LIVE food & drink workshops, cooking lessons and demonstrations throughout the day.

Lots more info about the event can be found on the street website: http://stjohnshill.co.uk/

Council Tax

The average council tax bill in Wandsworth will still be the lowest in the country following proposals published today to freeze the council’s own share of the bill.

While the council’s levy will remain unchanged, it is having to pass on increases from other public organisations whose funding makes up part of the bill. This includes the cost of refuse disposal by the Western Riverside Waste Authority.

If agreed by councillors on March 6, bills will go up by 22p per week from April – an overall rise of 3.1 per cent. This represents only the second increase in ten years while many other household costs during this time have virtually doubled.

Borough residents pay around half the council tax bills that other Londoners have to pay. Wandsworth’s Band D bill for 2012/13 was £684, compared to a London average of more than £1,300.

A study looking at council tax levels over the past 20 years shows that Wandsworth Band D payers are £10,054 better off over that period than taxpayers in Merton, £11,741 better off than Kingston taxpayers and £12,108 better off than Richmond’s.

Is Wandsworth Council Tax Too Low?

a Wandsworth Playground

Are Wandsworth shutting playgrounds to keep the tax low?

Critics say Wandsworth has been cutting services to keep the tax artificially low – such as One O’Clock centres, Libraries and Playgrounds. What do you think?

Yoga Classes

We’ve found the following Yoga classes in the Battersea area

  • Francesca teaches a blend of Hatha and Vinyasa yoga, as well as Yoga for Pregnancy and Birth, and Postnatal Yoga

  • Mondays, 7-8pm Dynamic Yoga 
    at EAT PLAY LOVE cafe, Battersea Park Road
  • Tuesdays, 11am-12pm Dynamic Yoga (all levels, creche available for babies/toddlers at an extra £3.50)
    at EAT PLAY LOVE cafe, Battersea Park Road.
  • Tuesdays, 6.30-7.30pm, Pregnancy Yoga
    at EAT PLAY LOVE cafe, Battersea Park Road.

Classes start up on Jan 7th 2013.

Empower Yoga

Empower Yoga

Email hello@empoweryoga.co.uk or call +44(0)754 5161 515 for info or to register