INTRODUCING PRARA

PRARA is an independent, non-commercial, non-political residents' association representing people living on the roads around South Park. We offer an opportunity for you to meet your neighbours and share your views. Our role is to represent you in matters relating to community affairs generally and particularly those concerning planning, local safety and traffic plans. We are officially recognised by LBH&F with whom we regularly communicate on a wide range of matters.

PRARA is registered as a Neighbourhood Watch scheme and membership of PRARA automatically enrols you in the scheme. Although we have a written constitution, we are flexible and informal. Please click here to see the Constitution. Our standing committee consists of one representative from each of our streets plus a planning expert and a Co-ordinator who chairs the meetings. We meet 3 or 4 times per year and every member of the team is available on email for any queries or observations you may have. We send 3 or 4 newsletters by email each year, updating you on local issues.

Joining PRARA is free but we ask for a small donation to help us with our minimal running costs and the cost of events we put on for members, such as our Christmas party.

Our membership is our strength and it is through you that we can achieve a strong voice in local affairs. We are not a commercial forum and we do not recommend or endorse any commercial enterprises; we speak specifically for you in local matters. Please make sure your voice is heard by joining PRARA and by letting us know what you think about how things are run in our area. You can fill a membership form by clicking here.

To join - contact Luiz Motta, Membership Secretary & Treasurer on luiz.motta@gmail.com or speak to your road representative. Their contact details are on the Contact Us page of the web site.

A HISTORY OF PRARA

The Peterborough Road and Area Residents’ Association (PRARA) is a successor to the Clancarty Road Residents’ Association which successfully lobbied a few years ago for the introduction of Residents’ Parking. PRARA was formed in February 2003 by Peterborough Road resident Patricia Hicks who successfully campaigned against the use of Peterborough Road by heavy vehicles by-passing Wandsworth Road. Previous attempts at traffic management were not wholly successful, but the installation of the rising bollard at the junction of Peterborough Road and Clancarty Road, meant that only the local bus could pass through, and heavy vehicles were unable to use the road as a rat-run.

After this success, local residents agreed to form an association which would also include a Neighbourhood Watch group. A committee was elected, a constitution laid down, and a voluntary donation (initially £1 but currently £5) covered the cost of printing regular newsletters. Local concerns were identified, relevant officials in the Hammersmith & Fulham Borough Council contacted, and PRARA swung into action.

The successes in the first year were:

Bedding-in of rising bollard
Establishment of the Neighbourhood Watch in parallel with PRARA
Improvement of maintenance and content of South Park.

Since then we have:

Created a high profile with all local councillors, the Leader of the Council and our Member of Parliament
Established ourselves as an effective lobbying body
Developed a close and effective relationship with the two Safer Neighbourhood teams that cover the PRARA area
Set up an e-mail system to send out urgent crime alerts to members
Established a relationship with Hurlingham & Chelsea School which reduced problems caused by pupils at the school
Deal with other anti-social behaviour and secured the eviction of a problem family
Mitigated local vandalism
Established relationships with Thomas's School and the Ecole in Clancarty Road
Scrutinised and amended commercial planning applications
Responded to various council consultations
Improved litter collections
Planted trees in South Park in 2003 and 2006
Upgraded the Childrens' Play Area in the park
Improved the basic maintenance of the park
Established a South Park Users' Group which has now become the Friends of South Park
Campaigned and lobbied for the regeneration of South Park with the development of a Master Plan
Supported The Fulham Society
Joined HACAN - the pressure group campaigning against increased noise from and more runways at Heathrow Airport

You can read more about PRARA and our activities in our Newsletters which can be downloaded from the News page.

The improvement of South Park has been a major objective and continues to be a priority. However, since the Friends of South Park was established in January 2009 we have handed over the main lobbying role to that organisation. We continue to ensure that the interests of PRARA's members are taken into account and we are represented on the Steering Group for the development of the park Master Plan. Please see the South Park page for more information.

PRARA holds two Open Meetings each year in which a guest speaker is invited to speak on a topic of local interest. PRARA members also meet socially once a year around Christmas, and at the annual AGM (in May/June each year).

The PRARA Standing Committee meets quarterly, or when necessary.

PRARA now represents nearly 100 households but we always need more members. The more members we have, the greater our influence. PRARA intends to remain at the forefront of opposing anything that will affect the quality of life of its members.

The Newsletters give a picture of the work of the Committee over the last three years, and its achievements.

PRARA's constitution was last revised in 2008. Click the PDF sign on the right to read it.

OUR CONSTITUTION

A POTTED HISTORY OF PRARA’S FOOTPRINT

In the early nineteenth century, Fulham was a village outside London, providing the city with fruit and vegetables from numerous farms and market gardens. By 1900 the area had been covered with terraced housing. Peterborough House and its magnificent grounds became the present Peterborough Estate. Peterborough Road was laid out in 1861; Hugon in 1878; Clancarty and Settrington in 1895 and the houses in Daisy Lane date from 1913 though the lane is much older. Sulivan Road was laid out in 1913 though the houses were not built until the 1920s for Chelsea footballers!

Sulivan Road, Sulivan School and Sulivan Court are named after the Sulivan family who lived at Broom House, which was demolished in 1911 after Charlotte Sulivan died. The grounds are now part of the Hurlingham Club. Sulivan Court was built on the site of Hurlingham's No.2 Polo ground. Charlotte Sulivan founded the Parson's Green Club and gave money to found St Dionis' and St Matthew's churches as well as the original Library in Wandsworth Bridge Road. She sold some of her estate to the council in 1904 which became South Park. The Elizabethan Schools, now the Castle Club, in Broomhouse Lane, was a ragged school and almshouses, founded in 1855 by Laurence Sulivan, Charlotte's father, in memory of his wife Elizabeth.

More information: Fulham and Hammersmith Historical Society - www.fhhs.org.uk

The Fulham Society - www.fulhamsociety.org

The Society was initiated in 1971 after a small group of residents campaigned successfully to prevent the construction of a very large hotel which would have dominated the river frontage near All Saints Church and Putney Bridge.

This threat highlighted the need for an amenity society with a wide local brief. The Fulham Society was formed with a remit covering the area of the former Metropolitan Borough of Fulham - an area from the Thames in the south and west to Hammersmith Road in the north and the border of Kensington and Chelsea in the east.

The Fulham Society's Aim -The aim of the Society is to keep Fulham as an agreeable place in which to live and work for all present and future residents and to improve its amenities. The Society is non-political, a registered charity and affiliated to the Civic Trust.

Fulham's Heritage

Fulham lies within a great loop of the Thames. Until about 1860 its alluvial soil was cultivated largely as market gardens. Thereafter, until about 1910, as the District railway was extended the pleasing brick terraced houses, in which many live today, were constructed on this land.

Civic pride and public generosity also provided impressive public buildings and churches. Some of these developments are of special interest:

The artists' studios at Barons Court
The large Whiteley wharehouses in Avonmore Road
The Gunter Estate in West Kensington
The Peterborough Estate with its 'lion' houses

Earlier gems include:

The mediaeval tower of All Saints Church
The Tudor Courtyard of Fulham Palace
18th century dwellings along the New Kings Road and around Walham Green and Parsons Green

Fulham's Open Spaces

The long river frontage, Bishops Park, South Park, Hurlingham Park, Normand Park, Parsons Green and Eel Brook Common, as well as many other smaller open spaces, contain splendid trees and plants and provide opportunities for leisure and recreation.

NOW AND THEN...

South Park in 1904

Peterborough Road in 1914

Peterborough Road in 2022