Please click on the link below or copy and paste the URL directly into your Internet browser to view our musical Christmas e-card. The card is best views on a computer rather than a mobile device as it requires Flash player. Also, don’t forget to have your volume turned on and make sure you close the card from Santa in order to view the message below!

Christmas card: http://surreycanal.com/christmas2011/

This year we have made a festive donation to the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, a registered charity established to safeguard the future of the sports facilities at Surrey Canal: London’s Sporting Village and we hope you will too. This Christmas the Foundation would like to raise £10,000 so please dig deep as every penny counts.

Just Giving: http://www.justgiving.com/SurreyCanalSportsFoundation2011

We hope you have an enjoyable festive break, from all of us at Renewal.

The notion that waste can be turned into energy seems as fanciful as turning water into wine. But this is no modern day miracle: it’s a proven technology that has the potential to provide a significant amount of UK PLC’s domestic energy needs while reducing the nation’s over dependency on landfill.

Waste into energy technology can limit pollution and methane emissions, providing a low-carbon alternative source of energy. It produces large amounts of heat and power for district networks and is commonly used in Scandinavia. Although there has been some opposition to it in the UK as it can reduce the encouragement for reusing and recycling waste, it can also provide a good clean energy solution.

At the Surrey Canal development in a neglected corner of South-East London, a closed loop waste to energy system will provide hot water to 2,400 homes via a district heating system. Developer Renewal Group has received outline planning consent from Lewisham Council for this project.

The process begins with the sorting and collection of domestic waste. Instead of choosing a conventional rubbish collection process, with attendant refuse vehicles accessing the site, the developer has elected to install an automated underground vacuum waste system procured from Envac that demonstrably increases recycling rates.

Jordana Malik, head of communications at Renewal Group, said: “Our 30-acre site has restricted access by two railway lines and will be a very densely built site. So on one hand we needed a solution that would work within those constraints, while on the other Lewisham Council are keen to support efforts to improve recycling rates in the Borough, which the system does.”

At Wembley City, where Envac has installed an operational system, recycling rates are 50%. Julian Gaylor managing director at Envac UK, said: “Twenty five% is the norm in London boroughs, and that rate falls to as low as 10% in dense, urban environments where the majority of properties are apartments.

“We have found, to encourage use, it’s vital to make it easy for people and a strong educational process and backup is needed. Our system is built into the fabric of the building on high-rise structures and residents simply sort their refuse into different types, for example paper, tin, plastic and food waste, and drop it into the shutes where it’s carried away and recycled.”

The next stage in the process at Surrey Canal will be the processing of the waste – once what is recyclable has been extracted – into energy. Herein, the developer and Envac have partnered with neighbouring Lewisham power plant, SELCHP, to feed waste directly into the facility from which to generate energy for the entire community to use.

“The outcome of the process will be zero waste to landfill,” said Gaylor, “and every resident will benefit directly through hot water, via a disrict heating system, generated effectively from their own refuse.” The energy generated will also be utilised in the community aspects being developed at Surrey Canal, including a comprehensive sports village and a multi-faith centre.

Malik says the cost to install the Envac system will be more than conventional refuse collection charges – and that issues such as residents will pay Council Tax despite there being no rubbish to collect is challenging – but a direct cost equation cannot easily be made. And can one put a price on quality of life, and a reduction in CO2 emissions?

Ensuring the waste and district hearting systems exceed residents’ expectations is a further challenge. “Many people we have consulted remember systems that didn’t work or broke down,” said Malik. “Our aim is to deliver a system in 2021, when Surrey Canal will be completed, that is still as relevant then as it was when it was procured in 2011. In that sense we have to try to ‘future proof’ as best we can.”

The hurdles to be jumped are significant for the four partnering agents – Renewal Group, Envac, SELCHP and Lewisham Council – but the upshot of their combined place-making efforts at Surrey Canal, should the ambition be realised, will be an exemplar 21st century sustainable community, where the water is not turned into wine but heated from the residents’ own waste.

Full link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/energy-to-waste-closed-loop?newsfeed=true

If you are waiting for the Surrey Canal scheme to happen don’t forget there are lots of amazing reasons to love New Cross today. Goldsmiths students have made this beautiful film which highlights some of the treasures that can be found!

Goldsmiths: About south east London

The film can be viewed on You Tube at the Surrey Canal: LSV channel

Full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyl0T3Ur870&feature=feedu

Last week, a Lewisham Council planning committee approved in principle the Surrey Canal Road development and a commitment by developer Renewal to plug a funding gap for a station there.

The plans still need to be signed off by the Mayor of London, but if Boris Johnson says yes, the station’s finances look secure.

Located at a public transport interchange for buses and taxis, it will form part of the East London Line with four trains per hour on the spur connecting Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction.

News of the funding has been celebrated by politicians and rail users, many of whom signed a petition totaling nearly 6,000 names for the station – which is expected to be used by 1.3 million people a year.

Lewisham Deptford MP Joan Ruddock, who had backed the campaign, said: “I’m absolutely delighted.

“It’s a great tribute to the commitment of Renewal to the area that they’re prepared to step in.”

She said: “This is really vital to our transport needs.

“Increasingly people are finding that road congestion is a major problem. Public transport is absolutely essential.”

Michael Abrahams from the Forest Hill society has recently seen his own area boosted by being added to the East London Line.

He said: “What was needed is massive regeneration there so it’s very good to hear that the developers are going to be putting money into the building of it.

“The line is being built and I understand space has been left for the station, so actually building it shouldn’t be difficult.”

He added: “The main benefit we had is very regular services through Forest Hill and the surrounding areas. It does make a difference to how people perceive the area.

“The same will be true on the East London Line phase 2.”

Lewisham’s Deputy Mayor Councillor Alan Smith said: “I welcome the investment in this area and I’m particularly glad that we are going to get a new station at Surrey Canal Road.

“The government has reneged on a plan to build a station so we are pleased that Renewal have stepped in and will work with the council to make it a reality.”

Full article: http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/9310051.Surrey_Canal_Road_station_agreement_welcomed/

Lewisham borough council has approved, subject to a section 106 agreement, a resolution to grant outline planning permission for the Surrey Canal Triangle redevelopment scheme.

The 30-acre site around Millwall Football Club’s New Den stadium us being developed by regeneration specialist Renewal and will feature 2,500 homes, a new station, community facilities, a new park and open spaces.

Also core to the plans is a new regional centre of sporting excellence, to be developed with input from Sport England and other national sporting bodies. As part of the consent, the council has ensured the continuation of the Den stadium and its operation.

Full article: http://www.estatesgazette.com

Previous winners in this category include the Olympic Park masterplan and  the London River Park. Wish us luck and we will keep you updated as to how we get on!

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the man behind the London Planning Awards

If you are in and around the Surrey Canal area keep an eye out for our very own Deptford X poster by Ivaylo Guerogiev which is one of 10 pieces of poster art in and around Lewsham for the duration of the festival, making it the biggest poster art campaign in London.

Ivaylo Gueorgiev's poster on Trundleys Road, SE8

The poster appears on Trundleys Road, SE8 next to the Surrey Canal regeneration site.

Trundleys Road SE8, the star marks the poster site

Check out Deptford X for full listings and make sure you go and see some amazing art over the next couple of weeks.

Surrey Canal: London’s Sporting Village is proud to support Deptford X 2011.

The festival runs from 23rd September to 2nd October 2011 and is curated by lead artists Hew Locke and Indra Khanna.

Keep an eye out for the artwork on the billboard site onMain programme

Follow Deptford X on twitter: @deptfordx and on facebook.

The Surrey Canal scheme will use the Envac vacum waste collection system to collect waste and link to  SELCHP in order to provide heat and power to the whole development.  We will be at SELCHP on the 18th September demonstrating how the link will happen so come and say hello!

There will be self guided tours of the SELCHP plant which are completely free and there is no need to book. SELCHP will be open from 10am until 4pm (last entry for tours is at 3pm).

Address: SELCHP Energy Recovery Facility, Landmann Way (off Surrey Canal Road), SE14 5RS

Overview of the SELCHP plant: SELCHP summary 15082011