6th December 2024

As residents will be aware, there has been flooding in the park for some time now.

This is a compilation of recent posts on social media:-

"Various tests have been conducted, confirming that the water is not mains clean water due to the absence of chlorine and ammonia, which suggests it is groundwater." Ground water is water that comes up from the ground and is not the same as surface water (rain)

We have established that there are 2 Abstraction Boreholes and 1 Observation Borehole. The main problem is now working out who owns them before they can be capped.

Here is part of an email we have sent seeking urgent resolution of this problem:-

Flooding in Warren Avenue playing fields is a longstanding issue.
The playing fields are owned and administered by Lewisham but wholly within the borough of Bromley (historically the borough boundary ran through the middle of the playing fields but now it goes round the perimeter)
Flooding occurs whenever the pumping station in Valley Road periodically stops abstracting groundwater. This causes the water table to rise and the park to flood. Currently, the pumping station has been off for some time and will not come back online until 2025 (at some unknown point) because of maintenance issues
Flooding comes up through at least two bore holes and possibly three. Two bore holes are visible next to the footpath and it is believed there is a third nearby hidden in the brambles/scrub in the corner of the field
The solution is in theory simple – simply cap off the bore holes
Implementation is difficult because it has not been established who owns the boreholes. It is either Thames Water or the Environment Agency. These two organisations are in discussion with each other to try to determine ownership
The key issue is that the flooding is tremendous and only going to get worse and when it freezes it will be impossible to use the footpath.

What we need

We need the environment agency and Thames Water to urgently determine who owns these boreholes and to get on with remediation very quickly

Massive proposal for flats on Goan Ground next to Millwall Ground – 20 June 2019

One of our members spotted a huge development (312 apartments) being proposed for the Goan ground. At the moment it looks purely speculative – possibly to ramp up ‘hope value’ for the land. However, it is still very concerning:

Ravensbourne Rivers
The site at Ravensbourne Avenue is nestled in a quiet residential area in the heart of Bromley. Formerly used as a Sports Pavilion, the site spans approximately 27,500sqm and is in close proximity to Ravensbourne station, which backs onto Beckenham place gardens [sic].

The current proposal seeks to accommodate the construction of 312 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, all of which will be private gated for additional security. In addition, there is a generous space that will accommodate a variety of commercial buildings, which will benefit the community by offering local amenities such as a Gymnasium, Spa and Convenience Store.

We are not aware that this is yet a planning application, but clearly things are in hand.

In the meantime, a notice (made out in the wrong name) has appeared on the fence:

NOTICE TO SECURE THE REMOVAL OF AN OBSTRUCTION
SECTION 137 HIGHWAYS ACT 1980
London Borough of Lewisham
To: River Ravensbourne Rivers Limited
FORMAL NOTICE: to secure the removal of an obstruction from a public right of way. We are satisfied that the obstruction is within the scope of section 137 of the Highways Act 1980.
Status and location of the highway: Public Right of Way across Warren Playing Field running south east to north west from Ravensbourne Avenue towards Calmont Road
Location of the obstruction: Warren Avenue Playing Field. Also known locally as Goan Playing Field
Description of the obstruction: Metal Palisade Style Fencing
You have been named as a person who
may be responsible for the obstruction; or
is the owner of part, or all of the obstruction; or
for the time being has possession or control of the obstruction, or
may be required to remove the obstruction
The Authority requires you to remove the obstructions within 28 days of the date of this notice If you are responsible for the obstruction, you should write to the Authority to confirm that the obstruction has been, or will be removed and the proposed date of removal.

Signed Date 13/06/19

Playing field next to river Ravensbourne – 15 September 2017

The playing field sometimes referred to as ‘Goan’ or ‘Times’, being names which referred to previous owners, has recently been in the spotlight as it has been partially fenced.

RVPS has seen documents dated 7 August 2017 from the Land Registry showing that the current owners are three individuals living nearby and certainly not The Times newspaper group which is suggested by the new sign on the new gate.

We do not know why fence has been erected although as this was done on or around 17 August 2017, ownership could have changed after 7 August.

Criminal damage in Warren Avenue Playing Fields – 19 August 2017

We have reported criminal damage to the bench near the bridge over the river Ravensbourne and near lamppost number 19 in Warren Avenue Playing Fields, which bizarrely has been sawn in half. See the pictures above.

Anti-terrorist patrols – 1 April 2015

We have learnt from patrolling police officers that the Warren Avenue Playing Fields and Beckenham Place Park have been identified as locations from which possible terrorist attacks might be launched. Apparently, they are considered suitable sites from which hand held anti-aircraft missiles might be launched.

To counter this possibility there will be regular patrols by armed police (look out for Mitsubishi Shoguns with yellow circles in their windows). Intelligence suggests that terrorist ‘foot soldiers’ will cache the anti-aircraft missile, which will be retrieved later and used by a specially trained terrorist. Residents have been asked to look out for anyone behaving suspiciously, and in particular for anyone concealing a large box which would hold the missile.

Anyone with information can e-mail lcymanpads@met.police.uk (London City Airport man-portable air-defence systems).

Update – 7 April 2014
Residents will be aware that we have all been fed up with the litter problem in the park together with an absence of general park maintenance. We have written a large number of daily reports, sending them to Lewisham to complain. The first report and the most recent report at the time of writing can be found by clicking the links.

Update – 27 January 2014
YouTube videos have been posted below showing all the litter in Warren Avenue Playing Fields on 27 January 2014 which we are trying to get rid of.

Warren Avenue Playing Fields – 20 January 2014
The state of Warren Avenue Playing Fields has been an absolute disgrace recently. This has been caused by a change of contractor (Glendale were fired) and a change of personnel at the company to whom the management of the site has been delegated by Lewisham. Pictures of all the problems on the playing fields can be found on our Flickr photostream.

We have sent all these pictures to Lewisham and are hopeful that action will now be taken. We have agreed with Lewisham to review the situation in a month.