Woolwich Ideas Exchange: Thanks for coming and thanks for the ideas
Many thanks to the many people that came along last Thursday night to the first Woolwich Ideas Exchange event. The new discussion format was hosted by John Fahy in the very smart surroundings of the Cornerstone Cafe with lots of great ideas contributed by people who want to make Woolwich a better place.
Some of the very many ideas contributed included:
- Less betting shops
- Less discount shops
- Use of empty space to support local businesses
- A cinema to stop people going elsewhere to spend their money
- More controls on busy traffic outside the Royal Arsenal
- A bigger, better market like Brockley
- Better integration of the Arsenal into the town centre
- More independent businesses
- Renovation of shop fronts
- Save Woolwich Grand
- Allow pop-up shops
- Improve covered market, both structurally and the stalls on offer to attract more artisan local producers
- Redevelop or demolish the indoor market
- Extend Boris Bikes to the area
- Keep the green park by the river and stop it becoming a concrete jungle
- Local spiritual groups need to be better controlled and better relations between them
- No late night drinking in the square
- A belief that we can do better
- More street food, events, arts and crafts in the covered market
- Refurbish public market with multiplicity of independent, small stalls
- Good pubs & food outlets
- Restore & retain historic character buildings
- Remove social demarkation between Royal Arsenal and rest of Woolwich
- Develop covered market in line with “Brixton Village”
- More opportunities to meet the neighbours and community. “There is so much diversity but we all seem so separate.”
- Bigger police presence
- More events like the fireworks and tall ships that bring the community together
- Adult skateboard lessons so all can join in at General Gordon Square
- Foot tunnel party when it reopens
- Dating event for soldiers and civilians “I live in a town full of soldiers and I am still single.”
- Plays on the platform – midnight theatre at the station
- A farmers’ market
- More restaurants (not curry houses)
- More decent pubs
- Utilise Woolwich’s cultural mix to the maximum – not doing so currently
- More publicity of the great changes taking place already
- A versatile events space with multiple uses
- More links with Plumstead
- Less preaching in town centre
- Make Thames Path more appealing
- Boats during the day
- Cafe on the waterfront
If you would like to have your say about any of those ideas or contribute your own, you can do so in the comments below.
Hopefully there will be another event in the new year and even more people will get to come along and their ideas too.
Photos by Chris Mansfield
Here was the reaction on Twitter after the event too:
https://twitter.com/ClareFDaniel/status/398574212048097280
https://twitter.com/ClareFDaniel/status/398585446181392384
First Woolwich Ideas Exchange
The first Woolwich Ideas Exchange will be held on November 7th as part of a monthly tweetup in town.
The excellent Woolwich Coffee Lounge have hosted a number of excellent tweetups and for the next one, the venue switches to the wonderful Cornerstone Cafe in Major Draper Street, behind the Dial Arch pub.
- When: November 7th, 7.30pm – 10pm
- Where: Cornerstone Cafe
- What: Woolwich Ideas Exchange followed by drinks & gossip at the Woolwich Tweet up!
Come along and bring your best ideas for how to make Woolwich better!
If you can’t make it to the event and want to contribute your ideas before or after, you can use the comments section on this blog post or you can tweet with the hashtag #woolwichideas
What is the Woolwich Ideas Exchange?
The Woolwich Ideas Exchange is a new forum in which people who want to contribute towards a positive agenda for the future of our town can come together and put forward their best ideas for how to improve Woolwich.
It will be an informal event with a fun format and from it we hope to see some great ideas emerge for the continued development of SE18. The idea is from local Woolwich Riverside councillor John Fahy but the event it will be completely non partisan and all are welcome to come along and get involved.
Woolwich Ideas Exchange 