Apparently yesterday was a simply misunderstanding:
Southern Railway: This was a misunderstanding as the member of staff at Forest Hill had been reminded to close the ?additional? gates (i.e. not the new ones in the ticket office but the gates to the side) on platform 1 but assumed this also meant platform 2.
In answer to JohnC, the Forest Hill Society is trying to get access from the Perry Vale car park to the station. this is inevitable if the platform is to be extended for 12 car trains. Unfortunately nobody is currently willing to invest in the necessary work and they are going ahead with plans to make the station less accessible.