Tomilyn
@tomilyn.bsky.social
books / buildings / bicycles
Writing on urbanism in Lewisham for Salamander News
Writing on urbanism in Lewisham for Salamander News
Pinned
Tomilyn
@tomilyn.bsky.social
· Sep 18
Please to have a new piece of fiction out with The Table Review today! Second in my series of short stories set around Overground Stations, this one starts on the CS4 with very length waits at traffic signals.
thetablereview.org/2025/09/18/s...
#shortstories #booksky #litmags
thetablereview.org/2025/09/18/s...
#shortstories #booksky #litmags
Cracking up at the fake restaurant in architectural renderings for a new tower on Old Kent Road printed on the hoardinds being called Bourgeoisie (and a "Starcups" next door). Subtlety is dead.
Not sure how much open air dining is going to be taking place on one of London's most polluted roads...
Not sure how much open air dining is going to be taking place on one of London's most polluted roads...
January 2, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Cracking up at the fake restaurant in architectural renderings for a new tower on Old Kent Road printed on the hoardinds being called Bourgeoisie (and a "Starcups" next door). Subtlety is dead.
Not sure how much open air dining is going to be taking place on one of London's most polluted roads...
Not sure how much open air dining is going to be taking place on one of London's most polluted roads...
This cycle link has been officially launched today by the council!
New story @salamandernews.org about cycle lane in Deptford: despite not opening till November, it is already abuzz with journeys. It connects to the C4 and C10, and could form part of 'Lewisham spine' cycle path www.salamandernews.org/deptford-chu...
#londoncycling #cyclinginfrastructure #deptford
#londoncycling #cyclinginfrastructure #deptford
Deptford Church Street - Lewisham's newest cycle lane already in use
The protected cycle route is due to be completed in November, but cyclists couldn't wait to start using it.
www.salamandernews.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This cycle link has been officially launched today by the council!
Spent last night plotting some of the Amersham Gyratory Action Group's next steps to make NX streets safer over pints and alcohol free wine @theshirkersrest.bsky.social . Get in touch if you're interested in getting involved in our advocacy efforts!
December 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Spent last night plotting some of the Amersham Gyratory Action Group's next steps to make NX streets safer over pints and alcohol free wine @theshirkersrest.bsky.social . Get in touch if you're interested in getting involved in our advocacy efforts!
Looks like we'll be hearing about a planning application in for the old Post Office building at 199 New Cross Road soon...
It's the unusally modern facade in the Hatcham Park Conservation area along New Cross Road.
(Photo from Google Street view)
It's the unusally modern facade in the Hatcham Park Conservation area along New Cross Road.
(Photo from Google Street view)
December 10, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Looks like we'll be hearing about a planning application in for the old Post Office building at 199 New Cross Road soon...
It's the unusally modern facade in the Hatcham Park Conservation area along New Cross Road.
(Photo from Google Street view)
It's the unusally modern facade in the Hatcham Park Conservation area along New Cross Road.
(Photo from Google Street view)
Passenger incident this morning resulting in the suspension of DLR between Stratford and Canary Wharf and Polar and Canning Town
December 3, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Passenger incident this morning resulting in the suspension of DLR between Stratford and Canary Wharf and Polar and Canning Town
Reposted by Tomilyn
Southwark Council is consulting on the Lower Road cycleway scheme – part of Cycleway 4 and a vital safe cycling route for us in Greenwich.
engage.southwark.gov.uk/en-GB/projec...
Survey closes 14 December.
engage.southwark.gov.uk/en-GB/projec...
Survey closes 14 December.
November 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Southwark Council is consulting on the Lower Road cycleway scheme – part of Cycleway 4 and a vital safe cycling route for us in Greenwich.
engage.southwark.gov.uk/en-GB/projec...
Survey closes 14 December.
engage.southwark.gov.uk/en-GB/projec...
Survey closes 14 December.
TfL trumpets the trebling of cycle lanes in Lewisham over the last three years, but local cyclists aren't likely to notice a huge difference, with most improvements occurring before December 2022.
www.salamandernews.org/lewishams-cy...
@salamandernews.org
www.salamandernews.org/lewishams-cy...
@salamandernews.org
Lewisham's cycleway network has trebled in size (or has it?)
Transport for London hailed the increase in cycleways in Lewisham, but large parts of the "new" routes already existed.
www.salamandernews.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:01 PM
TfL trumpets the trebling of cycle lanes in Lewisham over the last three years, but local cyclists aren't likely to notice a huge difference, with most improvements occurring before December 2022.
www.salamandernews.org/lewishams-cy...
@salamandernews.org
www.salamandernews.org/lewishams-cy...
@salamandernews.org
"Everything, in the house, awaits the return of people who no longer exist."
The Palace on the Higher Hill, by Karim Kattan, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
The Palace on the Higher Hill, by Karim Kattan, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
November 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"Everything, in the house, awaits the return of people who no longer exist."
The Palace on the Higher Hill, by Karim Kattan, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
The Palace on the Higher Hill, by Karim Kattan, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
Why is Lewisham rolling out unproven expensive 'tech'? Filters built in roads to suck out car pollution, by a one man shop, w/o scientific evidence
Excellent story from @dorothystein.bsky.social on @salamandernews.org
www.salamandernews.org/unproven-unb...
#greenwashing #pollution #lewisham
Excellent story from @dorothystein.bsky.social on @salamandernews.org
www.salamandernews.org/unproven-unb...
#greenwashing #pollution #lewisham
Unproven and "unbelievable": why is Lewisham rolling out Roadvent?
The council plan to install the innovation at a highly polluted site near a school or nursery, but Salamander found no real-world evidence that it works.
www.salamandernews.org
November 7, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Why is Lewisham rolling out unproven expensive 'tech'? Filters built in roads to suck out car pollution, by a one man shop, w/o scientific evidence
Excellent story from @dorothystein.bsky.social on @salamandernews.org
www.salamandernews.org/unproven-unb...
#greenwashing #pollution #lewisham
Excellent story from @dorothystein.bsky.social on @salamandernews.org
www.salamandernews.org/unproven-unb...
#greenwashing #pollution #lewisham
Reposted by Tomilyn
Surrey Canal station is considered a "critical enabler of 8,400" new homes.
But developers aren't waiting.
@tomilyn.bsky.social finds a new neighbourhood forming ...
www.salamandernews.org/surrey-canal...
But developers aren't waiting.
@tomilyn.bsky.social finds a new neighbourhood forming ...
www.salamandernews.org/surrey-canal...
October 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Surrey Canal station is considered a "critical enabler of 8,400" new homes.
But developers aren't waiting.
@tomilyn.bsky.social finds a new neighbourhood forming ...
www.salamandernews.org/surrey-canal...
But developers aren't waiting.
@tomilyn.bsky.social finds a new neighbourhood forming ...
www.salamandernews.org/surrey-canal...
Construction on the A2 today effectively demonstrates how much safer Amersham Road feels w a bit of redesign. Construction is mostly on white marked lines where vehicles not allowed, but when just paint cars speed through dangerously. Today they slow! @london.gov.uk and @lewisham.gov.uk take action!
October 29, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Construction on the A2 today effectively demonstrates how much safer Amersham Road feels w a bit of redesign. Construction is mostly on white marked lines where vehicles not allowed, but when just paint cars speed through dangerously. Today they slow! @london.gov.uk and @lewisham.gov.uk take action!
October 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
My article up on @salamandernews.org about why Blackheath Station Carpark is a perfect brownfield site for new homes, & an example of the pressure and opposition Lewisham faces at even gentle density increases, despite housing crisis
www.salamandernews.org/blackheath-s...
#Blackheath #housingcrisis
www.salamandernews.org/blackheath-s...
#Blackheath #housingcrisis
Blackheath station car park: the perfect site for car-free homes?
Developer Acorn wants to build 45 homes on the brownfield site, but celebrities are leading a fierce opposition campaign, arguing it will harm Blackheath's "traditional low-rise, village character".
www.salamandernews.org
October 25, 2025 at 2:54 PM
My article up on @salamandernews.org about why Blackheath Station Carpark is a perfect brownfield site for new homes, & an example of the pressure and opposition Lewisham faces at even gentle density increases, despite housing crisis
www.salamandernews.org/blackheath-s...
#Blackheath #housingcrisis
www.salamandernews.org/blackheath-s...
#Blackheath #housingcrisis
Car dependency is not the answer for our climate- and this doesn't even account for tire particle pollution!
Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds
Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds
Analysis of 800,000 European cars found real-world pollution from plug-in hybrids nearly five times greater than lab tests
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) pump out nearly five times more planet-heating pollution than official figures show, a report has found.
The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by European carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive – unlike fully electric cars – while still reducing emissions. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Car dependency is not the answer for our climate- and this doesn't even account for tire particle pollution!
"I smiled blackly through the windscreen, my mind on the neon lights of the West End. That illuminated cemetery."
Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad
Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad
October 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"I smiled blackly through the windscreen, my mind on the neon lights of the West End. That illuminated cemetery."
Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad
Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad
Lovely existing 4 and 5 story buildings in Blackheath, & carpark where millionaires launched a celebrity campaign saying building a 5 story building and 3 story townhouses would ruin historic Blacheath...(don't worry, the farmers market wouldn't go in the development). What's Jude Law so afraid of?!
October 5, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Lovely existing 4 and 5 story buildings in Blackheath, & carpark where millionaires launched a celebrity campaign saying building a 5 story building and 3 story townhouses would ruin historic Blacheath...(don't worry, the farmers market wouldn't go in the development). What's Jude Law so afraid of?!
Really enjoyed this thoughtful piece of reporting on the eviction of small businesses in Elephant and Castle at @londoncentric.media. Retaining businesses was one of the regeneration promises, but backdated electricity bills used to wiggle out of the deal
www.londoncentric.media/p/elephant-c...
www.londoncentric.media/p/elephant-c...
Did the evicted Elephant and Castle restaurants stand a chance?
One topic has really dominated the London Centric inbox this week: The eviction of a group of Caribbean, South American, and African restaurants in south London’s Elephant and Castle by developers in ...
www.londoncentric.media
October 5, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Really enjoyed this thoughtful piece of reporting on the eviction of small businesses in Elephant and Castle at @londoncentric.media. Retaining businesses was one of the regeneration promises, but backdated electricity bills used to wiggle out of the deal
www.londoncentric.media/p/elephant-c...
www.londoncentric.media/p/elephant-c...
A treat to visit a similarly urbanism minded friend in Dublin, and get new cycle & pedestrian infrastructure and freshly planted street trees pointed out on a sunny weekend walk.
September 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
A treat to visit a similarly urbanism minded friend in Dublin, and get new cycle & pedestrian infrastructure and freshly planted street trees pointed out on a sunny weekend walk.
Please to have a new piece of fiction out with The Table Review today! Second in my series of short stories set around Overground Stations, this one starts on the CS4 with very length waits at traffic signals.
thetablereview.org/2025/09/18/s...
#shortstories #booksky #litmags
thetablereview.org/2025/09/18/s...
#shortstories #booksky #litmags
September 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Please to have a new piece of fiction out with The Table Review today! Second in my series of short stories set around Overground Stations, this one starts on the CS4 with very length waits at traffic signals.
thetablereview.org/2025/09/18/s...
#shortstories #booksky #litmags
thetablereview.org/2025/09/18/s...
#shortstories #booksky #litmags
New story @salamandernews.org about cycle lane in Deptford: despite not opening till November, it is already abuzz with journeys. It connects to the C4 and C10, and could form part of 'Lewisham spine' cycle path www.salamandernews.org/deptford-chu...
#londoncycling #cyclinginfrastructure #deptford
#londoncycling #cyclinginfrastructure #deptford
Deptford Church Street - Lewisham's newest cycle lane already in use
The protected cycle route is due to be completed in November, but cyclists couldn't wait to start using it.
www.salamandernews.org
September 18, 2025 at 10:29 AM
New story @salamandernews.org about cycle lane in Deptford: despite not opening till November, it is already abuzz with journeys. It connects to the C4 and C10, and could form part of 'Lewisham spine' cycle path www.salamandernews.org/deptford-chu...
#londoncycling #cyclinginfrastructure #deptford
#londoncycling #cyclinginfrastructure #deptford
Reposted by Tomilyn
UK could raise nearly £2bn by taxing SUVs in line with European countries, study shows
UK could raise nearly £2bn by taxing SUVs in line with European countries, study shows
Thinktank says an ‘SUV loophole’ means UK buyers pay up to 20 times less tax on biggest models than in neighbouring nations
Taxing Britain’s SUVs in line with other European countries could raise almost £2bn a year for the public finances, research has shown.
The Transport & Environment thinktank has urged the government to use the autumn budget to bring in a levy on the largest vehicles, which it said would reflect the damage they caused to the environment and infrastructure. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:27 AM
UK could raise nearly £2bn by taxing SUVs in line with European countries, study shows
Offered to be a cycle buddy to a colleague and neighbour who's nervous but curious about commuting by bike, with strike as perfect opportunity to break the routine and try.
Alas, the lift being out at Greenwich foot tunnel still has put her off, as we would have to carry bikes several flights.
Alas, the lift being out at Greenwich foot tunnel still has put her off, as we would have to carry bikes several flights.
I've spent the day travelling around TUBE STRIKE LONDON talking to commuters and strikers and have been left unsure if "commuter chaos" is what I've actually been seeing. www.londoncentric.media/p/tube-strik...
Tube strikes in a Lime bike era
Strikes are set to disrupt the Underground network until Friday, with the RMT telling London Centric further action could be on the cards. But is the impact being blunted by new forms of transport?
www.londoncentric.media
September 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Offered to be a cycle buddy to a colleague and neighbour who's nervous but curious about commuting by bike, with strike as perfect opportunity to break the routine and try.
Alas, the lift being out at Greenwich foot tunnel still has put her off, as we would have to carry bikes several flights.
Alas, the lift being out at Greenwich foot tunnel still has put her off, as we would have to carry bikes several flights.
I wrote up a few of the excellent options for #openhousefestival and some bonus sites not listed.
Surprising how few participating sites there are in Lewisham, despite a lot of great architecture. Still, grab your cycle and see some very cool self-builds.
Surprising how few participating sites there are in Lewisham, despite a lot of great architecture. Still, grab your cycle and see some very cool self-builds.
19 buildings and events in Open House 2025 in Lewisham.
@tomilyn.bsky.social takes you through the highlights.
www.salamandernews.org/your-guide-t...
@tomilyn.bsky.social takes you through the highlights.
www.salamandernews.org/your-guide-t...
Your Guide to Open House Festival 2025 in Lewisham
The borough has 19 buildings or events in this year’s Open House Festival, held from 13 to 21 September and celebrating the unique built environment of London.
www.salamandernews.org
September 6, 2025 at 4:01 PM
I wrote up a few of the excellent options for #openhousefestival and some bonus sites not listed.
Surprising how few participating sites there are in Lewisham, despite a lot of great architecture. Still, grab your cycle and see some very cool self-builds.
Surprising how few participating sites there are in Lewisham, despite a lot of great architecture. Still, grab your cycle and see some very cool self-builds.
Today Lewisham Council has cancelled planned part-time pedestrianisation of #Deptford High Street, focusing instead on graffiti removal.
7:30pm on a perfect Friday evening and Spring, and with cars lining both sides of Deptford High Street cyclists struggling to move through. Fingers crossed for pedestrianisation...
September 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Today Lewisham Council has cancelled planned part-time pedestrianisation of #Deptford High Street, focusing instead on graffiti removal.
"Life had been unkind to her, but I didn't come to this country to be a parable, an example or comparison. I didnt take the long journey to be put in a museum for English people to come to remind themselves that life could be harder."
The Seers by Sulaiman Addonia, an absolutely transfixing text
The Seers by Sulaiman Addonia, an absolutely transfixing text
August 26, 2025 at 5:50 AM
"Life had been unkind to her, but I didn't come to this country to be a parable, an example or comparison. I didnt take the long journey to be put in a museum for English people to come to remind themselves that life could be harder."
The Seers by Sulaiman Addonia, an absolutely transfixing text
The Seers by Sulaiman Addonia, an absolutely transfixing text