Mike loves Lewisham!

Well done to fellow Ladywell councillor Mike Keogh, who reported more graffiti and fly tips via the Love Lewisham site last year than all of Lewisham's other politicians put together, according to the response to a question Ute asked at Full Council. Of all the graffiti/fly-tipping reports sent in by councillors to the site in 2007, 772 reports - or 74% of the total - came from Ladywell ward, and more than half of the total came from Mike, who also sometimes scrubs off and clears up some minor tags himself. This doesn't include the reports made by e-mail or telephone direct to Envirocall or an officer, which of course many councillors also do.

"Question asked by Councillor Michel of the Cabinet Member for Customer Services at the January 23rd Council Meeting:
How many environmental issues in Ladywell ward have been reported via ‘Love Lewisham’ in 2007 (or since the beginning of the financial year 2007/08, whichever is the reporting period)? How many of these have been reported by ward councillors, and how many of the total have been resolved?

Reply:
Information reported through ‘Love Lewisham’ is not currently stored against Lewisham electoral wards. However in 2007:
Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood Teams have made 54 reports to ‘Love Lewisham’ (6.4% of the SNT reports to Love Lewisham)
Ladywell ward members made 772 reports (74% of all reports from Members to Love Lewisham)
We are unable to produce information about resolved issues on a ward basis, although progress can be viewed on the Love Lewisham site for each reported job.
I would like to personally thank Cllr Keogh who is responsible for most of the reports. This is a really good example of how Councillors can work together positively with officers to improve the local environment."

Very nice of Cllr Susan Wise to say that. I also report fly-tipping and graffiti I see in the area, but not at anything the rate Mike does. On the whole, I think the Council is pretty quick to clear up graffiti and fly-tipping from public areas, once reported, but there are a couple of areas where we have ongoing problems (eg the garages at the end of Malyons Road, Mercy Terrace, the alleyway behind the shops on Brockley Road etc) where it's private land and enforcement action against the owners can take longer.

(Amended slightly on 29/01/08 to reflect the fact that lovelewisham is not the only way councillors can report graffiti, and that some report graffiti directly to officers by phone or e-mail, having received an e-mail to that effect from Lib Dem Cllr Mark Morris!)