Noise! Don't suffer in silence!
When I was jogging this evening (yes! second time this week and, er year) a car alarm was going off on Malyons Road and there was a message on the windscreen from a resident saying that it had been going off all day. I called the Noise enforcement team who hopefully by now have disabled the alarm. Apparently what happens is they go to see the car, if they can’t gain access to disable the alarm, they serve a notice on the car and after an hour they are able to call in contractors to turn the alarm off. Could have been dealt with earlier, if it had been reported to the noise team.

lovelewisham, hate abandoned shopping trolleys
I've been using the lovelewisham website regularly to report graffiti and flytipping, and the team are generally responding quite quickly. We've managed to get most of the shop shutters on Ladywell Road cleared of graffiti now, still working on a few others and I will try to get round some of the shops on Brockley Road and Loampit Vale with the permission cards in the next few days. The Safer Neighbourhood team have also been handing out graffiti clean-up cards to residents and businesses whose premises have graffiti, as one of the priorities set by the local neighbourhood panel is to tackle signal crimes, such as graffiti. Contact details for Lewisham Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

There is an ongoing problem with shopping trollies being abandoned along Marsala Road. It's on my cycle route to work so I report them fairly regularly, but if anyone knows who is dumping these trollies (I suspect it's only a couple of culprits at most), the council enforcement officers would be interested to know!

Minor success: Residents on Adelaide Avenue might have noticed that the flashing traffic cone that had been on the island at the bottom of the road for several years has finally been replaced with more permanent signs, which look a bit tidier. I conacted the Highways Department about the traffic cone and pointed out how long it had been there, and they responded within a week.

Any transport issues you would like me to raise on your behalf?
The next Lewisham Transport Liaison meeting is coming up in a few weeks. This is the opportunity to raise any gripes about trains, buses, stations etc with TfL and the operators. Post a comment or e-mail me if there's anything you would like me to mention. I've recently been in touch with SE trains about a couple of Ladywell Station issues (the side gate being locked - security and to reduce fare dodgers, apparently) and the possibility of getting a cash machine there (they've investigated it and the banks weren't interested, though I've since found out that Ladywell Post Office may be getting a cash machine (inside the shop) soon, which will be handy.

National Allotments Week
This week is National Allotments week. There was an article on BBC news online about the waiting lists for allotments in inner London, which mentioned Lewisham and another about the London Assembly Environment Committee investigating whether the number of allotments is declining. Lewisham Greens have worked closely with allotment holders at St Norberts allotments in Brockley in the past to protect the site from developers. Despite the reassurances which have been given I am also concerned that if the new school is built on the Ladywell Leisure Centre site that the temptation will be too great for the school to expand onto the allotments behind (Romborough Gardens?). Lewisham Council has a list on its website and info on it allotments, all of which have waiting lists, of from 1 month to 7.5 years. Some of the non-council owned sites, such as St Norberts may just have some vacancies. Don't know if it's still the case, but at one point the Green Party was the only national party that had any policy on allotments.

Lewisham Peace Fair and Lewisham Peace Council
A Peace Fair, to launch Lewisham Peace council, is to be held on Saturday 9 September 2006 in Ladywell Fields between 3 – 7 pm.

“An afternoon and evening of good music, food, and debate, to launch the Lewisham Peace Council”

For further info contact David or Kate from Lewisham and Greenwich CND e-mail: info@lgcnd.org.uk, Phone: David on 020 8857 1095 Mobile: Kate on 079 77255 745.

Jersey Tiger Moths in Lewisham!
A colony of Jersey Tiger Moths have apparently set up home in Lewisham in Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, Forest Hill. They are not usually found round here and it is thought that they may have made their way up the wildlife corridor along the railway lines from the coast.

Climate Change Lobby
Friends of the earth are asking people to lobby their local MP to call for a Climate Change Bill to be passed in parliament. Joan Ruddock has been quite good on this in the past (which is considerably more than can be said for her party as a whole and the government, imho, but then I would say that!), but it's always worth keeping up the pressure.


Picnic at Woodlands Farm
Greenwich Greens have invited Lewisham Greens and supporters to a picnic at the Woodlands Farm Trust, this Sunday (20 August 2006), 3.30pm, 331 Shooters Hill, Welling, all welcome. 89 bus stops (second stop after the top of hill)10 yards from entrance.

If you are a supporter of Lewisham Green Party, and would like to be kept in touch with events, you can join our supporters list by sending an e-mail to: lgpsupporters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. The list is generally restricted to monthly updates. Of course, if you want to get more involved, you can also join the Green Party ;).


New Links
I've added a few more links to the sidebar, including to Ladywell Society, Lewisham and Greenwich CND, Lewisham Town Talk and the European-wide petition against nuclear power. Also found a good discussion forum on Brockley, though no thread for Ladywell as yet.