Helping to shape Deptford’s destiny was top of the agenda when the Convoys Wharf Community Liaison Forum met this month. Local people attended a workshop where they were asked to identify their priorities to ensure the new developments integrated well with the needs of the existing community. Destination Strategy expert, Dan Anderson, of Fourth Street explained that to make the most of the place developing exercise it was important to decide the role the community would play.

Building a place that delivers a strong sense of community was top of the agenda at the Convoys August local experts meeting. Professionals from across the local community came together to discuss the Destination Strategy, a document which seeks to ensure that the development is a place that is inclusive for all. Those who attended the meeting included the Ahoy Centre, Lewisham Local and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

More than one hundred people from London and the South East took part in a public tour of the Convoys Wharf site. The group, who applied to join the tour online, was interested to learn about one of London’s largest developments as well as the history of the former Tudor dockyard. Leaders of the Convoys Wharf project explained the vision of the architect Sir Terry Farrell and led a tour of the historic Olympia Building. The group was also shown the area that Sayes Court CIC will be using for horticultural training on the site.

The historic jetty at Convoys Wharf has found a new role with its first ever building taking shape. A modular structure has been located on the site, which is exciting progress for the new Jetty Park. The building, which will begin as a marketing suite for the new project, will go on to become a restaurant/café. Once completed the entire Jetty Park will comprise of one and a half acres of public accessible land and will deliver an area for cultural and community events, a new river bus stop for the Thames Clipper and cycle parking.

A new exciting jetty park, opening up the river front for the people of Deptford, has taken a step forward with Convoys Wharf announcing that work has begun on the project. The 1.4 acres of new publicly accessible open space will be located on the current derelict jetty, which will be restored and turned into a lively public living space suitable for hosting cultural and community events.

Lewisham College students are keen to get involved in the Convoys Wharf project. At their annual Skill Build event the young people learned about the many opportunities that will be offered during the construction of the development. Having asked challenging questions and given their views they learned about the many and varied skills and professions that will be involved. They were keen to find out about the possible apprenticeships, work experience and new jobs that will be available on the site. Convoys Wharf would like to thank Bob Noseda of Lewisham College for hosting the event. For more information about apprenticeships, work experience and jobs that will be available at Convoys Wharf’s contact cw@whatyouthink.co.uk.

Ensuring the new Convoys Wharf development integrates well with Deptford will be the topic for discussion at a breakfast for local experts in May. Convoys Wharf is hosting the event, which will include representatives from Lewisham College, Coventry University, The South East London Chamber of Commerce. The attendees will be asked to draw upon their wide breath of experience to give valuable insights as to how to keep the site grounded in Deptford and reflect its history, how to raise public awareness of the site and how best to work together with local organisations such as Deptford Market.

Sustainable and environmentally friendly construction was top of the agenda when the Convoys Wharf team attended the Enfield Circular Economy Construction Forum in June. The event included a tour of the Building Bloq site, where different environmentally friendly building techniques are displayed, and also provided the opportunity to discuss sustainability ideas with experts and other developers. The Convoys Wharf team are reflecting on how best to include the many suggestions and techniques they saw in the project to enhance its green agenda.

A new public park which will transform the Thames jetty at Convoy;s Wharf was the focus of July’s community forum. More than 60 people attended the event which began with a presentation from the park’s designers. The local residents were then able to ask questions and feed in their ideas for the public space. The event was the best attended Community Forum to date and included representatives from local groups and businesses as well as a large number of local residents.

We are happy to announce that after much research, consultation and engagement with the community, the Convoys Wharf Cultural Strategy has been approved! The full report can be found on our website by following this link. The cultural strategy outlines the approach for cultural and creative programming across Convoys Wharf.
We would like to thank everyone involved in this process for their hard work and dedication to producing a fantastic Strategy, which will benefit local communities for years to come.

We are delighted to announce that we have been working with UCL on a partnership over the past few months, looking at ways we can collaborate with the university on Convoys Wharf. We are grateful to be working with Professor Kalliopi Fouseki, who is a professor in Sustainable Heritage Management as well as being the Chair of Examinations at the Bartlett.
From the 6th to 17th March Prof Fouseki taught The Bartlett’s postgraduate students an intensive Module on Heritage-led Urban Regeneration and Sustainable Development. As part of this Module, this year the students are working in groups on a development project with the aim to propose recommendations for an ‘inclusive

Convoys Wharf is currently in consultation with various groups about how best to introduce meanwhile use into the site. This is when the land, which is awaiting development, is given a productive purpose.
Space & Stories have been appointed to lead this. They are experts at finding creative ways to use a space. Their experience on other sites have included bringing in fashion walkways, creating special sets for films as well as providing spaces for other community focused uses.

More than 70 Deptford youngsters attended a prize giving for the design of their favourite playground in SE8. At the event there was an exhibition the fantastic artwork, produced by the competition’s entrants. Local children had the chance to meet the Convoys Wharf design experts, who explained how their ideas will be used in a project. All the children received a certificate and goody bag for taking part, with the winners of each category being presented with amazon vouchers for their winning entrees.

On Wednesday 22nd February, Convoys Wharf led 23 members of the local community on a site tour, bracing the cold weather. The attendees included representatives from The Albany, South East London Chamber of Commerce, the University of Greenwich, Lewisham College, Goldsmiths and many more.
Convoys Wharf Chief Project Manager, Jonathan Sarfaty led this tour outlining the exciting opportunities and benefits that the development will have on the local community. Convoys Wharf are always eager to show people around the site, to help people visualise the potential of the development.

Convoys Wharf experts have met with over 35 community members to give their ideas on how best to use the site while the development is being built. Spaces & Stories, the operators who have been appointed to run a variety of projects, were speaking at the quarterly community forum. Their suggestions, which aim to include local people, range from hosting fashion shows to using it as a film location. Priority will also be given to community led projects and encouraging apprenticeships. Local groups had the opportunity to ask questions to raise questions and voice their concerns.

120 primary school children from Lewisham helped shape the area’s next playground by taking part in a Convoy’s Wharf’s
“Design the Most Fun playground in SE8” competition. The local youngsters filled in questionnaires explaining the games they
like to play. They then created their own playground by drawing their ideas on a plan in the shape of a ship that would have
been built at the former yard in Henry VIII’s era.

The future shape of the historic Olympia building, at the centre of the Convoys Wharf
development, has been given a helping hand by Lewisham’s Deputy Mayor, Brenda
Dacres, and representatives of more than 25 local community groups.

Following extensive research and suggestions from the public, the first phase of names have been shortlisted in respect of some of the streets and public places at the new development at Convoy’s Wharfs…