Official opening of Pavilion and cafe plus community cricket

Here is another post that should have been written many weeks ago.

The Pavilion building, as people may recall, had an extensive renovation to bring it back into use. The efforts of Lewisham Greenscene have to be applauded. First, the dry rot within the building was far more widespread than had originally been expected, going right into the rafters. Then, just as things appeared to be improving, it was discovered that the foul water drainage ( sewage pipework to you and me) had collapsed a long time before and this would be a hugely expensive job to put right.
Thames Water contractors dug a very deep vertical shaft right in the middle of the front garden to Grow Mayow, the community garden behind the Pavilion . The deep shaft then continued horizontally under Mayow Road to link with the mains sewage system. For a while, the entrance gate by the Pavilion was closed to all park users due to this major work.Without this work there would be no chance of public toilets in the park and using a Portaloo is not the most exciting experience.
Iris and Erika run the community garden so  their garden and their activities were overturned for many months in order for the deep excavations and essential repairs to take place.
With the sewage system back in working order and the work on the Pavilion nearly complete, Lewisham shortlisted for potential businesses to run a cafe on the ground floor of the Pavilion. Twin sisters Jess and Laura of Brown and Green Cafe were chosen and they opened their cafe in early August.
The sports changing facilities on the top floor of the pavilion were kitted out and ready for our cricket home teams.

Finally, on 31st August, came the official opening of the Pavilion, together with the start of  a one-week cricket festival. Here are photos of the official opening with  Councillor Rachel Onikosi delivering a speech, Susan Wise cutting the ribbon, Councillor Alan Hall,  plus the cafe owners Jess and Laura with their children.

 It was good to see a large, supportive crowd of people. Among the gathering was Peter Ranken, without whom the long process would not have started. His interest in cricket, meetings with Mike Gatting and the English Cricket Board, applying for grants to create a cricket square and plans for the Pavilion, paved the way to what is now a valued building, two home cricket teams and a wonderful cafe.
Many thanks to Martin Hyde for these photos.

FOMP AGM Tues 19 Feb 2013

The FOMP  Meeting which was due to take place on 19th January 2013 was postponed on the day because cold weather and icy pavements do not attract people to meetings.
The rescheduled FOMP Annual General Meeting  will be followed by a General Meeting and will  take place on Tuesday 19th February, staring at 7pm for a prompt finish at 8.30pm.
The AGM will be kept short.
The General Meeting will include discussions on the proposed Pavilion renovation, sports activities, the bowls club, the orchard and the Pavilion Triangle garden and thoughts for future activities.

Are there events you would like to see in the park?
Would you be interested in organising a community event?
This year also sees the 20th anniversary of the Friends group, which began life in 1993 as Mayow Park Users Group.

Thank you to Cllr Susan Wise for providing this photo of the cheque for the pavilion. The photo was taken at the pavilion, on the same day as the Green Flag was raised in Mayow Park.

Funding for pavilion refurb

.Thank you to Judith from Glendale for her hard work  in putting in the bid for the funding - she is in the photo, 2nd from the right. Thank you also to Sport England without whom there would not have been funding to apply for.   Many local people are looking forward to the improvements that will now happen as a result of the funding.

GOOD NEWS - funding for Pavilion refurbishment

We've been waiting to learn about what will happen to the Pavilion in Mayow Park and now we have some good news. Lewisham Council, in partnership with Glendale, have secured £65,000 from Sport England 'Inspired Facilities' (National Lottery funding) to renovate the pavilion with sports changing rooms upstairs and a café on the ground floor for the general public. The facilities will also include public toilets. The café will be able to serve as an information hub and community space.

The bid was supported by the Friends of Mayow Park as well as local schools and clubs using the cricket facilities in the park. Match funding will be provided by Lewisham Council to complete the project. The development of the pavilion will transform the unsafe, derelict building into an attraction, whilst conserving some of the attractive features.

The refurbishment will help to encourage sustained participation in sport, providing a permanent facility for cricket matches and other sports played in the park. We look forward to seeing it well used by our home cricket team, Streatham & Marlborough as well as others.