My Surrey Square Park
The site is dedicated to the memory of Joseph Foley
Please note that the site is updated and modified irregularly.
This page is about the Surrey Square Park (Google Map) and how I experienced it from its inception in the late 80s to 2021, when I retired from direct engagement with a local supportive group, the Friends of Surrey Square Park.
This page is about the Surrey Square Park (Google Map) and how I experienced it from its inception in the late 80s to 2021, when I retired from direct engagement with a local supportive group, the Friends of Surrey Square Park.
Henceforth, all additions will be made through the blog section and, apart from some occasional rearranging of the existent material, the site will remain mainly as a resource for information and sociological interest to any interested party.
Henceforth, all additions will be made through the blog section and, apart from some occasional rearranging of the existent material, the site will remain mainly as a resource for information and sociological interest to any interested party.
Surrey Square Park is small, but it is the only green space of any size existing between Burgess Park and the Old Kent Road (Bermondsey). It is a tiny speckle of green in South East London and the area in which it stands is so densely populated that it looks, to us that live around it, like a green oasis.
Surrey Square Park is small, but it is the only green space of any size existing between Burgess Park and the Old Kent Road (Bermondsey). It is a tiny speckle of green in South East London and the area in which it stands is so densely populated that it looks, to us that live around it, like a green oasis.
There are larger parks at some not enormous distance, namely the Burgess Park, but the Surrey Square one is our garden, the place where you stroll down in slippers and where you know the neighbours and the dangers.
There are larger parks at some not enormous distance, namely the Burgess Park, but the Surrey Square one is our garden, the place where you stroll down in slippers and where you know the neighbours and the dangers.
The park, as it first appeared in the Southwark Unitary Development Plan (July 2007 and subsequently re-branded "Local Development Framework" and the 2019 Amended Policies), and in the Southwark Plan 2019-2036 For adoption (February 2022), shows that the area is legally classified as "Borough Open Space" and formalised as one of local importance for nature conservation in 2007 (page 31) and 2010. Also, the latest (2022) plan reiterate that the open space is one of the local "Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs)" (schedule ID page 572 of the Southwark Plan 2019-2036 For adoption (February 2022))
The park, as it first appeared in the Southwark Unitary Development Plan (July 2007 and subsequently re-branded "Local Development Framework" and the 2019 Amended Policies), and in the Southwark Plan 2019-2036 For adoption (February 2022), shows that the area is legally classified as "Borough Open Space" and formalised as one of local importance for nature conservation in 2007 (page 31) and 2010. Also, the latest (2022) plan reiterate that the open space is one of the local "Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs)" (schedule ID page 572 of the Southwark Plan 2019-2036 For adoption (February 2022))
There are also referrals in the 2012 "Southwark Open Space Strategy" and in parts of Southwark "Local Plan" policies (there have been many revisions of the original 2007 plan and developments are continuously progressing).
There are also referrals in the 2012 "Southwark Open Space Strategy" and in parts of Southwark "Local Plan" policies (there have been many revisions of the original 2007 plan and developments are continuously progressing).
To the park users it means that the area cannot be built on (apart by the Council itself, and they too would need a lot of legislative fiddling to be able to do this legally) and that within the Park administration the local Ecological Officer has to be consulted when changes are made.
To the park users it means that the area cannot be built on (apart by the Council itself, and they too would need a lot of legislative fiddling to be able to do this legally) and that within the Park administration the local Ecological Officer has to be consulted when changes are made.
Some images of the place (2010) can be seen from the abutting buildings.
Some images of the place (2010) can be seen from the abutting buildings.
In spite of the small size, the park is much needed because it is surrounded by dense conurbations of mostly large Council estates and throughout its history it has been cared and protected by residents in different forms and through various organisations.
In spite of the small size, the park is much needed because it is surrounded by dense conurbations of mostly large Council estates and throughout its history it has been cared and protected by residents in different forms and through various organisations.
This popular interest may account for the Surrey Square Park nearly miraculous preservation in spite of many attempts to reduce or even erase it.
This popular interest may account for the Surrey Square Park nearly miraculous preservation in spite of many attempts to reduce or even erase it.
The"Friends of Surrey Square Park" (FoSSP) are the latest incarnation of this interest; it is a dedicated group of local residents that volunteer some practical activities for the park maintenance, keep watch over it (and the Council offices that should care for it) and engages in lobbying and fund-raising to improve it.
The"Friends of Surrey Square Park" (FoSSP) are the latest incarnation of this interest; it is a dedicated group of local residents that volunteer some practical activities for the park maintenance, keep watch over it (and the Council offices that should care for it) and engages in lobbying and fund-raising to improve it.
The Friends of Surrey Square Park (FoSSP) are also very much part of a movement about green urban renovation that have seen developing (or some may say re-emerging) in recent years and there are many green initiatives large and small encompassing biodiversity, art, food cultivation, etc. in which the Friends are interested collectively or individually.
The Friends of Surrey Square Park (FoSSP) are also very much part of a movement about green urban renovation that have seen developing (or some may say re-emerging) in recent years and there are many green initiatives large and small encompassing biodiversity, art, food cultivation, etc. in which the Friends are interested collectively or individually.
We are however experiencing times of deep economic and social decline, and the future of these movements is at the very least questionable.
We are however experiencing times of deep economic and social decline, and the future of these movements is at the very least questionable.
To document some happenings in our beloved green oasis I have built a section on the "events, activities and history of the park" and if anyone has photographs or material related to the subject and would like to share, please send me copies and I will try to include it somewhere with proper acknowledgment.
To document some happenings in our beloved green oasis I have built a section on the "events, activities and history of the park" and if anyone has photographs or material related to the subject and would like to share, please send me copies and I will try to include it somewhere with proper acknowledgment.
In the site, much interest is devoted to the wildlife that can be encountered in the park and environs.
In the site, much interest is devoted to the wildlife that can be encountered in the park and environs.
This, in fact, was the original inspiration for this site. At the moment, however, only a specific stub page with a "Species List" is focused on the topic (in addition to the remains of a previous site that dealt primarily with a specific section of the park).
This, in fact, was the original inspiration for this site. At the moment, however, only a specific stub page with a "Species List" is focused on the topic (in addition to the remains of a previous site that dealt primarily with a specific section of the park).
The Friends of Surrey Square Park also produced a poster highlighting some of the many delights that can be encountered even in such a small green oasis:
The Friends of Surrey Square Park also produced a poster highlighting some of the many delights that can be encountered even in such a small green oasis:
The page is interactive
The page is interactive