Sustainable Community Act: Government Response to our Betting Shop Proposals

Way back in 2009, Ute worked closely with local residents to make a proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act, to try to give Councils more powers to turn down betting shops in areas where there were already a number of bookies. The proposals were agreed at Ladywell Ward Assembly, then passed on by Lewisham to the Local Government Association and from them on to the government. See here for more details.

Well, it's been a long time coming, what with having a new government and all that, but the Department for Communities and Local Government has finally responded.

For those not inclined to read the whole 109-page document, the bit responding to Lewisham's submission about betting shops is on p44-46.

In a nutshell, the government seemed to think that local councils already have enough power in this area and said:

DCLG: "We believe that, instead of the civil service only being focused upwards on providing advice to Ministers, we must drive the focus downwards and outwards to put those resources at the service of communities nationwide. So civil servants will work with the following councils to use their existing powers so they are able to achieve the outcomes they want for themselves, or work further with them to explore the issues raised in more detail."

Hmm, ok, but actually I thought the SCA was supposed to be grassroots up, telling national government what we wanted them to change, not them lecturing (sorry 'advising') us. Hmm.
DCLG's response, with my comments [in brackets] below:

• The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is currently considering with the Gambling Commission whether guidance can be amended to give licensing authorities more confidence to use their existing powers to intervene under the prevention of crime or disorder objective of the Gambling Act,
working with the police where necessary. [Well Lewisham to its credit did turn down some betting shop applications and then lost on appeal at not inconsiderable cost - maybe the magistrates who consider the appeals are using a very narrow interpretation of the grounds for refusal?]

• There is a lack of data on the numbers and concentrations of betting shops pre September 2007, as there was no central collection of figures before the introduction of the Gambling Act. DCMS know the total number of betting shops has remained constant or declined in recent years [not in Lewisham and particularly Deptford it hasn't!] and is working with the Gambling Commission to identify better data on the numbers and locations. But it will be difficult to assess how this may have changed since the Gambling Act came into force in September 2007.
• Concerns about betting shops and problem gambling often relate to their higher stake/higher prize gaming machines. We think this is a main cause of local concerns. The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, which advises the Gambling Commission and the Government on research, education and treatment, has prioritised the development of a programme of work into the risks relating to higher prize gaming machines. [I would say that the main concerns in Lewisham relate to anti-social behaviour outside the premises, particularly in the case of Deptford High Street, and the loss of A1 retail units which can jeopardise the viability of small shopping parades.]
• Local planning authorities have planning powers to use in controlling the number and location of betting shops (though this must be in relation to planning considerations, such as amenity, building mix, parking and congestion issues). Current planning policy encourages local planning authorities to pro-actively manage town centres and subsidiary shopping areas to promote vitality through a good mix of investment. Local planning authorities can use local shop frontage policies for parades of shops to ensure good representation of shops, alongside service uses and thus limit the concentration of betting shops [Not much use if the property is already A2 financial and no planning change of use is required though].

• Under the Use Classes Order, betting shops are classed as A2. Other A2 uses (such as banks and estate agents) and A3, A4 and A5 uses could change to betting shops without planning permission for change of use. It would be possible to alter the Use Classes Order to limit these changes or make betting shops sui generis, so planning permission would always be required for material changes of use. But to do this, we would need to demonstrate that there was a material planning difference between betting shops and other A2 land uses in terms in the impact on the environment. [I think there clearly is a difference here, and if successive governments procrastinate much longer, we'll have little but betting shops and money exchange/money lenders left on the high streets in the most deprived parts of the borough].
• This would increase regulation and face councils with a potentially very large increase in the number of planning applications. It may not, therefore, be cost effective to make a national change. [Very weak argument - planning policy should be there to serve the local community, not minimise paper work for (admittedly over-stretched) planning departments.]
• Lewisham could, however, explore whether they could use Article 4 powers to limit the development of betting shops in particular areas and we would be happy to discuss this with them. [Now this is an interesting suggestion that I hadn't heard of before and I would like to hear what council officers and the Mayor and Cabinet make of this suggestion. Assuming it would be something like Article 4 directives with conservation areas]

So, to sum up, some useful suggestions here, but the response felt a bit like DCLG doing a Michael Winner and saying 'Calm down dear, you've already got all the powers you need' rather than listening seriously to the legitimate concerns expressed by local residents.

There is an excellent post over on Crosswhatfields blog about betting shops, the 2005 Gambling Act and the campaign in Deptford to stop betting shop number 10 from opening in the high street.

Photos from Deptford Dame and East London Lines.

El's Kitchen Opens in Ladywell on 30th October!

Eleanor lives next door but one to me. She has put so much work into this over several years now, and I have a feeling it's going to be a big success. Very excited about this, and really hope it is going to fill a hole in the local market. I will certainly be popping in to refuel on 30th in between canvassing sessions.

With 46 Ladywell Road (Nightwatch) finally getting renovated, the efforts of LVIG and the ward assembly in getting the streetscape improvements on the Council's agenda (if not quite within the timeline we were after) hopefully Ladywell Road is on its way up.

Good luck Eleanor!

Good news for Ladywell Road!

After 4 years of Ladywell ward councillors hassling officers, officers threatening legal action against the owner and lots of residents getting in touch with us asking 'What is happening with 46 Ladywell Road?' I am happy to confirm that it has now been sold. I met on site today with the new owners, Ladywell town centre manager, Lewisham's empty homes officer, representatives from LVIG (Ladywell Village Improvement Group) and one or two people keen to get in quick and pitch their business proposals to the new owners.

The new owners are very keen to crack on and renovate the whole building, with a view to letting the upstairs out as flats and the downstairs as a retail unit. Their architect came today and made some preliminary sketches. We talked about local residents being keen to see a good quality shop front, and an A1 retail use, rather than yet another take-away or betting shop. We also touched upon the point that the area is soon to fall under a conservation area. I welcome this fairly open approach by the new owners and hope that by having this meeting with various interested parties early on, the property can be brought back into use in a way that will benefit, rather than bring down, the local shopping parade. Time, of course, will tell, but that's the hope!

It's been a very long drawn out process to get this far, but credit is due to the empty homes officer and the environmental health officer for doggedly pursuing this, along with LVIG members for keeping the pressure up alongside ward councillors.

I look forward to seeing 46 Ladywell Road back in us and if re-elected on 6th May, 63a Loampit Hill, the other most problematic property in the ward, will remain firmly on our radar. Its fate currently resides with lawyers wrangling over probate issues, as I understand it, which seems to be an incredibly protracted and frustrating process.

Brockley Mess - new cafe opened today on Brockley Road

I'm writing this from inside Brockley Mess - the new cafe that has opened today on Brockley Road, in what used to be Moonbow Jakes. I'm really impressed with what they've done with the place - it used to be rather dark and dingy (which suited Moonbows, as it was more of an evening, live music kind of place), but now it's all light and airy, with great colourful tiles and wallpaper, and some huge old black and white photos on the wall (one is of Brockley County School, what is now Prendergast Hilly Fields and the other is of South East London Technical College - Lewisham College as now is).

Brockley Mess is run by the people behind Royal Teas in Greenwich and there is definitely more of an emphasis on food and the day time trade than Moonbows (they're currently only planning to open until 7pm, but might open later at the weekend if demand is there). There are not one but SIX types of cake, all baked on the premises, including a delicious gluten-free and vegan orange one which I tried. They also do a wide range of all day breakfasts, platters to share and even cream teas!

Oh and they have wi-fi (hence I'm writing this now).

I don't normally do quite such shameless plugs for businesses on this blog, but when Moonbows closed it left a gaping hole on this stretch of Brockley Road so I'm really delighted that we've now got a worthy replacement and I wish Brockley Mess every success.

PS: A big thank you to Lewisham town centre manager Liz Bannister who I believe played a role in this all happening.
PPS:It also looks like something will be opening soon in the former Brockley Kitchen site, which will hopefully be one less empty shop a bit further up the road too.

Ladywell Chemist moving to Hilly Fields Medical Centre

We've received formal notification that Ladywell Chemist is moving from 79 Ladywell Road to Hilly Fields Medical Centre, 172-174 Adelaide Avenues, SE4 1JN. This has been on the cards for some time. My understanding is that the existing shop will remain but that the dispensing side of things will move up to the medical centre on Adelaide Avenue. I will check with the owners of the chemist that this is still the case, as I'm keen to ensure that we have a viable parade of shops on Ladywell Road, but moving the pharmacy to the doctors' surgery seems to make sense to me and will be more convenient for patients.

However, if anyone does have any concerns about the proposed move you should write to:

The Chief Executive
Family Health Services Appeal Unit
NHS Litigation Authority
30 Victoria Avenue
Harrogate
North Yorkshire, HG1 5PR
Tel. 01423 535280; Fax 01423 522 034
email: mail@fhsaa.nhs.uk
Website: www.fhsaa.nhs.uk/fhsaasha

Any representations should be received by 31st December 2008.

Sustainable Communities Act - making it work for us

The Sustainable Communities Act is the result of a determined 5-year campaign by a wide number of organisations, ranging from Friends of the Earth, trade unions, the Women’s Institute, Shelter and the Black Environment Network to the Countryside Alliance. Together they made up the Local Works Campaign.

Significantly, it’s the first piece of legislation that is specifically designed to be bottom up rather than top down. ie local communities can use it to tell Councils what they want, Councils tell the Local Government Association (LGA) and the government then has an obligation to work with the LGA to try and reach consensus. So this most definitely isn’t another piece of legislation imposed on us from the government, but a tool for us to use to make the government act on our concerns. But we do of course need to use it.

Theoretically, we can use this new law to find ways to halt the decline of some of our smaller shopping parades, to save post offices and pubs or prevent yet more betting shops, take aways and supermarkets from opening and draining money from the local economy. It could be used to make sure any new developments help to make our community more sustainable and better equipped to cope with the challenges of a transition towards a zero-carbon society, not ever more at the mercy of a globalised economy.

The challenge of course, is to make sure that local people are aware that this legislation exists and how to use it. Councils are also required to opt in to it. Tonight I am proposing a motion at Full Council calling on the Mayor to instruct officers to take the necessary action for the council to opt in to the Act, and to set out how he will convene the citizens' panels with which the Council must agree which proposals to present to government. I imagine this panel will somehow fit in with (and maybe give some teeth to) the existing ward assemblies. Given that the bill received cross-party support during its passage through parliament, I'm not anticipating much opposition to the motion, but am keen to use it to highlight locally the new legislation and the powers it brings.

I am also organising a public meeting in the town hall on Wednesday 29th October, with Steve Shaw from the Local Works campaign, to talk about how communities can use the act to protect their community from unwanted developments or to push to make it more sustainable in some way. The Deputy Mayor has also kindly agreed to come along and talk about how Lewisham Council plans to use the new legislation. The meeting is in the Council Chamber at 7.30pm. All are welcome. If you wish, you can also sign up to the Facebook Event which will help us to get an idea of numbers.

All Change on Ladywell Road

Ladywell Road has seen a number of changes over the last few weeks and there are a couple more hopeful developments in the pipeline.

Firstly, of course, was the long-awaited re-opening of Ladywell Tavern. Ute and I had Sunday lunch there a few weeks back and it is a great improvement - a much more relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere - the kind of place you could happily go and read the Sunday papers by yourself and have a coffee, without feeling intimidated. The new owners are very keen for it to be part of the community and tentative plans are already afoot with Ladywell Village Improvement Group (LVIG) to host a Ladywell Beer Festival there at some point in the future. Good food and decent wine and beer too.

Next up, Oscars has now opened on the site of the former International Minimart. Once again, a complete transformation. Part deli, part cafe, serving paninis, cake and ice cream, plus a range of decent bread. Beautifully done, with a lovely garden to the rear and nice touches such as the mosaic by the entrance. Good luck to local resident Petra who is behind Oscars and also active in LVIG.

Thirdly, YOGIS newsagents changed hands this week, with the previous owners moving to Lee Green after 30 years running the business. The new owner, Kaidaya, is keen to make a few changes and expand the shop to the rear. I dropped off a copy of the results of the survey that LVIG did about Ladywell Road, but now might be a good time for lots of people to go along and ask him if he is thinking of selling some fruit and veg (and then supporting him if he does!).

Shop Local in Ladywell Bags
There are a very limited number left now - just a dozen or so scattered between a few of the shops. Most of the money has been collected and banked now and a second order will be placed soon. Feedback so far has mostly been asking for longer handles for the next batch - anything else? Although we didn't make any profit out of the first batch, we did prove wrong all those who said it wouldn't work and the scheme couldn't compete with the bags sold at supermarkets etc etc!

Walkabout
Finally, I don't think I've mentioned that way back at the beginning of July I organised a walkabout in and around Ladywell Road with Deputy Mayor Heidi Alexander, highways officers and representatives from Ladywell Society and LVIG. It was a really useful to have Heidi there as well as officers, and for residents to explain their concerns and hopes for the road. Perhaps as a result of our previous walkabout and various casework enquiries (or perhaps just a happy coincidence), highways have submitted a bid for £250,000 to TfL to make improvements to the area along Ladywell Road. We will find out in November if they have been successful. If they are, highways will carry out a feasibility study and possibly do a consultation to coincide with the Ladywell CPZ consultation next spring. Highways issues raised on the walkabout included:

• the railings
• traffic speed
• the need for a safe crossing at the end of Algernon Road
• uneven paving (the patch outside the drycleaners that has been roughly tarmaced over for ages is waiting for Thames Water to come and sort it out. Every two weeks or so highways come along, inspect and fine Thames Water, but they still haven't sorted it).
• parking: residents' parking and the need for short-term parking for shops

Other issues raised included:

• long-term empty premises such as Nightwatch and the Snack Bar which bring down the rest of the street
• the run-down state of Coral's building with empty flats above (with all the money they are draining from the local economy, you'd think they could at least restore the top half of the building and rent the flats out really)
• the possibility of a Christmas market by the station, like Brockley had
• the garages site on the corner of Malyons Road (planning permission was granted a few years ago for flats and retail premises, but no approaches have been made to planning yet to do this)

Ta-dah!

300 'Shop Local in Ladywell' bags, featuring the winning design by 5 year-old Jemima Jones from Gordonbrock Primary School arrived today. I'll be working over the next few days to get these on sale in local shops and they are also likely to be on sale at Hilly Fields Fayre and other local events. They are a good quality organic cotton produced by a fairtrade organisation in India. More details to follow.

That was the good news for today, Ute will be posting later with some not so good news for Brockley Road . . .

Ladywell Survey - headline results

The new Ladywell Village Improvements Group (still provisional name!) have now analysed and summarised the results of their recent survey of residents' views of shops and services along Ladywell Road. They received an impressive 251 responses to their survey, which in many cases confirmed what we expected, though the high percentage of residents who feel safe in Ladywell was a welcome surprise:

• 93% of respondents lived in Ladywell
• 82% of respondents use the shops on a regular basis
• §
• §Respondents want better provisions for Fruit & Veg
• §
• §Coffee Shop, Butchers and Deli also feature for new business to open
• §
• §
  47% of respondents would like to see the General Appearance of Ladywell improved
• 80% of respondents replied they feel either fairly safe or very safe in Ladywell, with 20% of respondents not feeling safe.
  
• Most respondants gave the existing shops in Ladywell a score of 3 out of 5

This is valuable market research which a couple of potential new businesses to the area are already making use of, and which the group intends to feed back to existing businesses and the Council. The steering group are putting together a draft constitution for the new group and will soon be calling for nominations for committee posts and advertising the date of the AGM. Details to follow.

With many thanks to Hellen, Cynthia and Debbie for all their hard work in putting this together.

82% of all 251 respondents use the shops in Ladywell regularly.

With a focus on existing businesses in Ladywell, 48% of respondents would like to see them sell largely fruit and vegetables.

In terms of new businesses that respondents would like to see, Fruit and Veg, Coffee Shop, Deli and Butchers were all popular.

Potential new businesses could strengthen their business plan by combining business categories.

47% of respondents would like to see the General Appearance of Ladywell improved.
(* Other includes: litter, cleanliness, police patrolling, less take-away’s, less hairdressers, paving renovation, speed bumps…)

80% of respondents replied they feel either fairly safe or very safe, with 20% of respondents not feeling safe.

Overall assessment of provision of shops and services in Ladywell.

Post Office Closures - Ladywell safe for now, but 171 others in London threatened

Today sees the start of Royal Mail's consultation on the 'restructuring' of its service in London, which includes proposals to close 171 post offices within the capital. Mr & Mrs Patel of Ladywell Post Office on Algernon Road were concerned that their post office was one of those earmarked for closure and were pleased to find out in the last few days that it isn't currently threatened. However, three other post offices within the borough in Hither Green, Lee and New Cross are. For the complete list of post offices facing closure, see this London Area Plan Proposal on the Royal Mail's website.

I struggle to see how the closure of so many post offices both within London and nationally fits into any kind of government programme on sustainable communities. Local post offices are an essential part of the community and do much more than sell stamps. The closure of so many branches will seriously hurt elderly and vulnerable people, for whom post offices play an important social as well as practical function. Those without a car will be particularly affected, while those with cars will be more likely to drive, rather than walk to their nearest post office increasing pollution and congestion. Yet again, as with the ongoing hospital consultation, no serious consideration seems to have been given to the impact this will have on carbon emissions. And when people do get to the post office they will face even longer queues. Sadly, it is yet another nail in the coffin for many local shopping parades.

The closures are being driven by a combination of factors, but in particular changes to the way Government pays benefits (a lot more is done through banks rather than post offices now, meaning post offices have lost a vital source of income) and the EU drive to liberalise and privatise postal services, despite a Green campaign at the European parliament against the proposals. Both of these have undermined the financial viability of many post offices.

The consultation runs until 2nd April. Views and comments on the proposals should be sent to:
Anita Turner

Network Development Manager
C/o National Consultation Team
FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44

Please note that your comments will not be kept confidential unless you expressly ask them to do so by clearly marking them ‘In Confidence’.

Going Local

I've just added a new link to my Brockley/Ladywell blogroll - Going Local is a new blog by Brockley resident Tom charting his 'adventure in localism' as he attempts to start shopping and living more locally, inspired in part by having read Tescopoly by Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation.

Your designs wanted! Ladywell Bag Competition

OK, after a certain amount of negotiating, Ladywell is soon to get its own 'shop local in Ladywell' fairtrade organic cotton (or possibly jute) bags. There was some criticism of the design of the other shop local bags by commenters on this blog and elsewhere. We have taken that on board, and are going to have a competition for local residents to come up with the design to go on the side of the Ladywell bags!

We don't have a great deal of time to come up with a design, unfortunately, as the bags need to be ordered along with another batch in time for Fairtrade Fortnight, so I need designs by the end of next week, ie 18th January. Designs should be bold and clear and in no more than 3 colours and the words "Shop local in Ladywell" need to appear somewhere in the design.

So if you would like to see your design printed on 500 bags and become the must have accessory in Ladywell in 2008, get your felt tip pens out and creative juices flowing and please send your designs to me by the end of next week. E-mail: cllr_sue.luxton@lewisham.gov.uk or post them to me c/o Governance Support, Lewisham Town Hall, Catford, SE6 4RU. Prize for winner: a free bag and lots of local kudos. There is no lower or upper age limit: entries from children and adults all welcome.

Bags will be on sale in local shops and hopefully will be sold by an about to be formed 'Ladywell Shops' group (more on this v soon)

Lewisham Council's Budget - all Green amendments accepted

Ute or I will post more comment on last night's council budget meeting soon, but for now, in brief, all our budget proposals were accepted by the Mayor. These included a number of proposals to deliver additional investment in environmental initiatives and practical measures to promote local shops and businesses while reversing £1.6m of proposed cuts in frontline services for Adult Social Care.
"Lewisham's Green Party councillors last night persuaded the Mayor to make radical changes to his budget.

This means extra eco-friendly measures such as school solar panels will become reality, along with ideas to support locally-owned shops.

It also means shelving the mayor's plans to break up a groundbreaking scheme that helps traumatised refugee children to integrate into our schools. The Mayor promised to listen to what the Children and Young People committee recommends.

But the Greens would not have supported the budget if the Mayor had not agreed to make important changes to his plans for services for some of Lewisham's most vulnerable adult residents.

Green Party finance spokesperson Cllr Ute Michel said:

"Last week we said the Mayor should think again about removing adult social care services from many current users. Just hours later he agreed to do just that. Without his promise to consult with an open mind, the Greens could never have voted for this budget.

"Before that change of heart, the review would have been massively biased in favour of cuts, because the council would have had to find £1.8m of savings. Last night that pressure was lifted and now service users have a far better chance of being listened to."

Green group leader Cllr Darren Johnson added:

"We will now fight for the consultation to be not about penny-pinching but about empowering vulnerable residents to lead full lives in our community just like everybody else."

Green Party proposals accepted by the Mayor:

For the environment

* A pilot green waste wheelie bin collection for 5,000 households
* £10,000 ringfenced to promote recycling, energy conservation and other sustainability schemes
* £60,000 to install solar panels and energy efficiency measures in five schools within the Energy Action Zones
* Vouchers for hundreds of families to purchase 'real' nappies to cut down on the huge waste caused by disposables

For local businesses:

* A cheaper recycling service
* Exploring the potential of a high-tech local shoppers' loyalty card
* Thousands of locally-branded cotton shopping bags to be sold by local traders, cutting down on plastic and expressing shoppers' community pride"