Being nosey

Ute and I had a meeting on Tuesday with the director of Abbey Manor College and the head of their Dressington Avenue site (the John Evelyn Centre). V useful to meet them, find out more about their work and how they felt plans to demolish the sports hall at Ladywell Day Centre would affect them (their students currently use both the hall and the adjacent grass regularly). Abbey Manor College has 2 sites - one in Lee Green and the other in Dressington Avenue. They cater for students who have already been or are likely to be permanently excluded from mainstream education. Students work towards qualifications in various subjects including (hope I get this right) sports and leisure management, graphic design, hairdressing and constructions skills, as well as having classes in basic skills (maths and English).

As a nosey person, it was also interesting to have a look inside a building with such a rich history. A grade two listed building, it's one of the few remaining bits of the vast Ladywell workhouse which once covered all of what is now Slagrove Place, Dressington Avenue and Foxborough Gardens. The picture above is of the dining hall, which is where most of the classrooms for Abbey Manor college are today. The building has been pretty well preserved, but with classrooms 'plonked' in the middle of the hall, and flats in other parts of the building. Other bits of the workhouse that have survived include the Watertower in Dresssington Avenue and the Ladywell Training Centre (the building behind Ladywell Tavern). While searching for a picture of how it used to be, I've found several interesting websites about workhouses and lots of old photos of Lewisham and south-east London. Oh, and I came across another interesting blog about south-east London, see Transpontine.

On Thursday I met up with some students from Goldsmiths who are interested in setting up a 'Green Democratic Society Party'. We didn't have Freshers' Fayre stall at Goldsmiths this year, unlike the previous 3 years, when we got a really good response on the day then didn't find anyone willing to get the group off the ground. Possibly not having a Freshers' Fayre stall was the answer, as its absence was apparently noticed and prompted this group of students to look into setting up a society of their own. I'm trying to persuade them to be a Young Greens society, but we'll see.

From Goldsmiths I went straight on to a short Overview and Scrutiny Committee (full council minus the cabinet) meeting to set up a housing sub-committee (!) to look into how ALMOs and PFI schemes are being set up in the borough and the implementation of the decent homes programme. I am going to be the Green person on the committee and am looking forward to delving more deeply into the ins and outs of housing in Lewisham.

I was back at Goldsmiths on Friday for an event to mark World AIDS Day. There was a speaker from The Positive Place talking about the crucial work they do there and someone from the NUS talking about a recent visit she'd made to southern Africa. One shocking statistic I took away from it was that 200 people around the world die of AIDS every five minutes. Positive Place are waiting to hear if they have got their funding for the next year, which normally comes via the NHS, but they are rather worried how the budget deficits of various PCTs will impact on them.

On Saturday I went to a 'market research viewing facility' off Oxford Street to watch a 'focus group'. All sounds a bit New Labour and not the kind of thing the Green Party usually has enough money for. Basically it was two groups of people who were paid £40 to take part in a focus group on politics. They started off with a general discussion on politics, their view of political parties, if you were prime minister what would you do etc, then they were told that the research was for the Green Party, and asked for their views on the Green Party and various posters and slogans that are being considered. We sat in another room behind a one-way mirror. Very interesting to see how we are perceived by others, and very useful to get others to look at what we thought were good ads/posters, but some of which, in retrospect don't work. Again, it also appealed to my nosiness to eavesdrop on their conversations! Of course, I couldn't possibly divulge what they said!

When I came out of the focus group thingy, I wandered down Oxford Street, which was closed off to all traffic in a special bus and car-free pre-Christmas extravaganza. Lots of street entertainers, lots of promotion of cycling and walking by good going and those organising the Tour de France, which of course is coming to London and (ever so briefly) Lewisham next year. Well, it pops into the borough along Evelyn Street then goes back into Greenwich but it does, nevertheless, pass through Lewisham! Oxford Street is considerably more bearable without the traffic, but the shops still seemed to be selling the usual tat and I wasn't inclined to linger long. Popped in to the art sale at St Andrew's Church on Brockley Road on my way home and got some great hand-made Christmas cards.

Today I abandoned Ladywell once again and went to the Animal Aid Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre in Kensington, which is an annual pilgrimage for me, then went on to help out Camden Greens with a by-election they have this coming Thursday. Sian Berry, the Green candidate, is one of the Green Party's principal speakers (the closest we have to leaders) and a founder of the Alliance against Urban 4x4s. Fingers crossed.

Not many council meetings between now and Christmas, so time to take stock of first few months as a councillor, try to wrap up any outstanding casework, start to look ahead a bit, binge drink etc.

£10,000 for Ladywell - how should we spend it?

Each ward in Lewisham has been given a £10,000 fund to be spent on community initiatives. Last year there was a pilot scheme with a grant of £5,000 per ward. In Ladywell this was spent on the hanging baskets that were along Ladywell Road over the summer, and the Christmas Tree that has just gone up outside the baker's on Algernon Road.

The question is - what would you like the money to be spent on this year?

We have a few ideas, the local police team have suggested a few ideas for funding youth projects, Gordonbrock School could happily spend the money several times over, we haven't yet approached other local groups such as Hilly Fields Users Group, Ladywell Society, Ladywell Day Centre etc for suggestions, but will be doing so shortly and trying to consult as widely as possible in the time available. (The details of the fund were only confirmed to councillors a couple of weeks ago, and we need to submit our proposals by 15th January and the money needs to be spent by the end of March 2007. )

We could go for one project that takes up the entire £10,000 (more if match-funding is available) or a number of smaller projects. It could be a football tournament, a solar panel on a community building, an outing for young people or elderly residents, equipment for a school or club, improvements to a park, more planters or hanging baskets, a community art project, a wildlife garden, benches . . . .

So, please tell us how you think the money should be spent! (Suggestions only for projects within Ladywell ward please!)

Housing

Hello to Dean , Green councillor in neighbouring Brockley ward who has just started blogging. I certainly share some of his frustrations over housing in Lewisham - not only the shortage of social housing, but the fact that a significant chunk of my casework in my (limited) experience so far has been chasing up seemingly simple repairs like broken glass panes which should have been done within days, but have taken months to get fixed, or jobs that end up being much bigger and more expensive because they are left until they are urgent, even one case of a leaseholder who had been asking the council for over a year to invoice her for work they had carried out on her property! Yes, that's right - it took a year of this resident saying 'I want to give you money' before the council would send her a bill. Have to hope that for every case we get that needs following up, hundreds of repairs have been done within a reasonable time frame, but suspect that there are also hundreds of cases of residents who just give up after ringing the council a few times and nothing happening.

There still seems to be some confusion amongst council officers about who is responsible for what since the reorganisation of housing/regeneration earlier in the year, and the extensive use of contractors for repair work seems to lead to greater comunication problems than when council employees do carry out the work. On a positive note, I've now found a housing officer who seems to get things done, so I'll be hassling him regularly from now on!

We have an Overview and Scrutiny committee tomorrow which is going to set up a sub-committee to look at housing issues, including ALMOs and the implementation of PFI schemes. The Brockley PFI contract (which covers Ladywell) is due to be signed early in the new year - the improvements to the housing stock are welcome and long overdue, but PFI (putting it all on tick) is a very expensive way of doing things.

Lewisham Gateway

As we've had a number of enquiries from residents about the town centre development, I thought it might be useful to post a more detailed statement agreed by the Green group (minus Dean who is on strategic planning committee so didn't take part in the discussions) on the Lewisham Gateway application:

The Green Group supports in principle the regeneration of Lewisham TownCentre to improve the pedestrian links from the rail station to the town centre; to make the river more accessible and a key feature in the towncentre; and to provide high-density housing given that good public transport links make this a suitable site for accommodating Lewisham's growing population. We believe that making Lewisham a more attractive shopping venue will help encourage more people to shop locally and reduce the number of journeys to other town centres and out of town shopping centres. We also welcome plans to improve bus facilities to help accommodate the expected increase in bus usage. However, we have a number of serious concerns about the current proposals that need to be addressed: -

• We support the Mayor of London's demand that detailed traffic modelling is required to determine whether the "low H" shape road layout is appropriate.


• We support Lewisham Cyclists in demanding a number of specific measures to meet the needs of cyclists, including road safety improvements, improved cycle routes through and around the Gateway, crossing provision for cyclists, and increased secure cycle parking for residents.


• We call for a significant reduction in the overall number of car parking spaces, given the location next to Lewisham's main public transport interchange. We would welcome a car-free development, with no automatic right to a residents' parking space, but the provision of a car club for residents. We have serious concerns that a development with extensive car parking provision will merely add to traffic problems, and exacerbate the already poor air quality in the area.


• We call for exemplary standards in sustainable design and construction, and are extremely concerned about the lack of ambition and lack of detailed information in the current plans regarding renewable energy. Ideally, we wish to see such a landmark development be a carbon neutral development, but at the very least, we expect to see the renewable energy targets in the Mayor's London Plan strictly adhered to.


• We are concerned that currently only 20% of housing is proposed to be affordable, way below the Mayor of London's overall target of 50%and Lewisham's target of 35%. We call for the level of affordable housing to be significantly increased, and with an appropriate mix ofsocial housing and intermediate housing, in line with the policies on affordable housing within the London Plan.


• We support high density housing on this site in principle, but this is subject to being convinced by full daylight, shadowing and wind reports and the buildings being of high quality and sustainable design. We also require further clarification about whether the proposed level of housing density can all be accommodated, given the range of different facilities planned for this site.


• We support proposals to remove parts of the rivers from concrete channels and place them in a natural setting, but we share the concerns of the Quaggy Waterways Action Group, that the opportunities for improving riverside access have not been maximised, and the plans need to be modified to improve upon this. It is important that there is no overall loss of public open space, and specifically that levels of accessible green space should at least be comparable to existing levels.


• We support improved shopping facilities, but do not wish to see Lewisham just becoming more of a "clone town", and therefore wish to see start-up premises for small businesses included in the overall plans. We want to see planning conditions used to ensure a diversity of retailoutlets.


• We are very concerned by the loss of the children's play area in the Shopping Centre. We support the Mayor of London's demand that provision needs to be made for children's play space, but believe indoor as well as outdoor play facilities are required.

For more info also see the official Lewisham Gateway site and a site set up by opponents to the scheme.

53rd best Green Blogger

Lots of mtgs and casework lately, plus relatives visiting and ward newsletter to deliver, so not so many posts in past couple of weeks. Only 2 meetings this week though, so hopefully I will be able to catch up on backlog of things to post here. Thanks to everyone who helped with delivering newsletters - the ward has been pretty much covered now, with one or two bits left.

Recent(ish) news from blogosphere - attended a Lewisham bloggers meet-up at the Jolly Farmers, organised by Andrew Brown. 9 bloggers turned up, some politicos, some not. Others have long since already blogged about it, so I won't bother repeating it, just read here, here or here. V interesting - thanks to Andrew for organising it.

Jim has published his long-awaited list of 100 Best Green bloggers - and I'm a disappointing 53rd! I guess my blog is a bit parochial compared to George Monbiot's, Caroline Lucas's et al, but I am hoping to make it into the dizzy heights of the top 50 next time round!

Green Party News - belated congratulations to Derek Wall who has been selected as our new male principal speaker, to work alongside Sian Berry, our female principal speaker. I'm sure he'll do a good job.

Help needed delivering Green News

Our next edition of Green News will be back from the printers on Friday, and any help delivering them around Ladywell would be very much appreciated. We are having a group leafletting session on Sunday 2-4pm followed by drinks at Life Cafe. Contact me for details.

Beckenham Place Park, Green Chain Walk and dinosaurs

Took the train to Beckenham Hill on Sunday, explored a bit of Beckenham Place Park then went along the Green Chain Walk to Crystal Palace Park to see the dinosaurs and finished up in the White Hart pub. Very enjoyable day out. Have to confess I had never been to Beckenham Place Park before and it came up as an item in the Sustainable Development committee meeting and I thought I should go and take a look. Next stop on my tour of parks I've never been to in Lewisham will be Chinbrook Meadows.

What should Ladywell Playtower be used for?

One of the questions in the questionnaire about the proposals to extend the St Mary's conservation area (mentioned in 24th October entry), asked what the Ladywell Playtower and Coroner's Court buildings should be used for. I suggested that it would be good if some of the site could be used to house a local history museum. Lewisham does not have a local history museum and local archives are apparently stored in a basement in New Cross (possibly the Art House, but don't quote me on that) which has occasionally been flooded. A couple of years ago, Citibank offered the use of the old watermill building to house a museum, but nothing came of this.

I know the local history society are keen to see some kind of museum set up and one of their members suggested that the inside of the Coroner's Court (which is a grade 2 listed building) is unique and would make a good museum. I think everyone would like to see as much of the Playtower as possible restored, as together with the Coroner’s Court it is an important local building that makes a positive contribution to the character of the area. That said, I would not object to some housing being built at the back of the Playtower, to help fund the restoration of the rest of the building for community use, but the front and as much of the building as possible should be preserved.

Anyway, I got some feedback from the conservation officer today, saying that other people had suggested turning part of the site into a musuem. As of Friday, the Playtower is a grade 2 listed building, which will give it added protection. Following feedback from people who thought other streets in Ladywell should be included in the conservation area, such as Embleton Road and Vicar's Hill, the conservation officers are now looking at proposing a separate Ladywell Conservation Area, rather than extending St Mary's further west than the bridge.

Incidentally, while looking for a good picture of the Playtower, I found a rather good website called Derelict London - worth a look.

Pretty fair article about the Green Party in yesterday's FT, give or take the odd reference to beards. (Thanks to Natalie for forwarding this link.)

Reminder: Ladywell Forum this Thursday (tomorrow)

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our first Ladywell Ward Forum. Focus is on youth provision and we hope this will be a chance for local people, youth services, the Safer Neighbourhood Police team, housing associations and us to share ideas about what youth provision is needed in the area.

Ladywell Ward Forum
Thursday 9th November
Crofton Park Baptist Church
Brockley Grove
7.00pm - 9.00pm

Hope to see you there!

New School: Mayor does welcome U-turn

I've just got back from tonight's Mayor and Cabinet meeting where the Mayor took the decision to back down from building a new secondary school on the site of Ladywell Leisure Centre and opted instead for Lewisham Bridge Primary School as the new preferred site. This was following the motion proposed by Greens in July and supported by full council, which asked the Mayor to look again at alternative sites. It was a brave decision for the Mayor to make, and I welcome the fact that he has at last listened to the views of local people and the majority of the council. This means that there will not now be a 3 or more year gap in swimming provision in the borough and that Ladywell Leisure centre can stay open until new facilities are built.

The decision is dependent on a number of hurdles being cleared, including the revocation of the approval given by the Schools Organisation Committee to build a new school on the Ladywell Leisure Centre site. There will also now be a full consultation on the closure of Lewisham Bridge Primary school and the opening of a new school on that site. The council will also ask the Secretary of State to waive the competition requirements in order to help them meet the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) timetable. (Normally, when a school is built, there has to be a 4-month period during which interesed parties can bid to run the school. If this is waived, then we can opt straight for a community school, rather than having to open up the process to allow people bid to run it as an academy. My preference is certainly for a community school, not an academy.)

The option being suggested at the moment is a single 3-16 through school, with the primary school being reduced to one form entry rather than 2 form, and the secondary school being 4 form entry. Lewisham Bridge is officially a 2 form entry school at the moment, although it has on average 20 spare places per year, which means either very large classes, or small but expensive class sizes. With a through school, parents would have the choice of their children staying on at the school at 11, or applying to other secondary schools. A 3-16 school is fairly unusual in the state sector, but common and successful in the independent sector. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to find out more about the pros and cons of through schools versus separate primary and secondary schools, although Frankie Sulke, the director of the Children and Young People's Directorate, made a fairly strong educational case for them at the meeting.

I recognise that many parents at Lewisham Bridge Primary School have concerns about the impact these plans will have on their children, and the existing school community. Those of us who fought so hard to save the pool now need to work towards making sure the best possible school is built at Lewisham Bridge, with the minimum disruption to the education of existing pupils at the school. Lewisham Bridge is not a perfect site, but on balance I believe it is better than Ladywell Leisure Centre. It also offers the opportunity to replace the existing primary provision on the site with more modern, fit for purpose facilities.

The full report on the school sites can be found here.

Finally, well done to Max Calo and everyone else who worked so hard on the Save Ladywell Pool Campaign! Mission accomplished?!

Climate Change Demo

Took part in the climate change demo yesterday. Didn't quite get up in time to meet Lewisham and Greenwich cyclists at the Cutty Sark at 9.15pm, so did the Ladywell to Canon Street train ride instead, then unfolded my bike and joined the ride as they were just turning onto the Strand ;). Difficult to say how many cyclists took part, probably between 300-500, but it was great fun and definitely got noticed. Big bike rides like this and Critical Mass are always a good way to see London - you never get to see the tops of buildings from the pavement or when you are worried about getting knocked over by a van/bus etc, so en masse cycling is a great chance to take in the views. We went down the Strand, over Waterloo Bridge, along South Bank, over Westminster Bridge, around Parliament Square (several times, to say hi to Brian Haw and savour the moment of being allowed to protest there), down Whitehall, past Trafalgar Square and various other streets via Oxford Street to end up at the Climate Change Rally in Grosvenor Square outside the US embassy.

The square was packed and there were speeches from Green MEP Caroline Lucas, Lib Dem Norman Baker, would-be Tory MP and editor of the Ecologist Zac Goldsmith, Labour MP Colin Challen and George Monbiot, plus music from Seize the Day. Met up with loads of Greens from all over the country, a friend from Worcester who I hadn't seen in a couple of years, Lewisham WDM and Oxfam campaigners and even a 'Green Lib Dem' from Greenwich.

After the speeches we marched/ambled to Trafalgar Square. The square was packed and there wasn't room for bikes, so I had to chance it and lock my bike to some railings alongside a load of police and hope it would still be there when I got back (it was). The Trafalgar Square rally was organised by Stop Climate Chaos, a coalition of NGOs, as part of their I count campaign. Whereas the US embassy rally, organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change had lots of worthy speakers, the Trafalgar Square rally was going more for pop culture appeal and featured Razorlight, KT Tunstall and some bloke off the telly called Simon Anstell, whose risque jokes went down like a lead balloon with a crowd full of Christian Aid campaigners and eco-activists. I count is looking like it will be to the climate change campaign what Make Poverty History was to the drop the debt campaign, ie probably a good thing overall, which will get loads of publicity, but not everyone's cup of tea.

Big Green Party presence in the square (nice to have more banners than the SWP/Respect for once!), and at times people were clamouring for our membership forms and Green Energy Works leaflets, which was certainly a first ;).

And after the demo? Well, I, er, went to Blackheath Fireworks of course!

Full Council Meeting, Wednesday 1st November

The agenda for Wednesday's full council meeting looked relatively light and I thought we would get through things quickly, but that was not to be. I proposed the following motion, seconded by Darren Johnson:

“This council agrees with the Mayor of London’s reaction to the conclusions of the Energy Review (set out in “The Energy Challenge” published by the Department of Trade and Industry in July). The Council specifically endorses the Mayor of London’s stance that investment in massively reducing energy demand through improving efficiency and decentralising generation, together with a major increase in renewable energy is the way forward for London rather than a new generation of nuclear power stations.”

Labour councillors, who are normally whipped on most votes, were given a free vote, and they seemed to get quite excited at this taste of freedom and couldn't resist the urge to make speeches. There were a few technological problems and we didn't have the usual clock ticking down to show us how much of our 5 minutes alloted time we had left, so I charged through my speech fearful of getting cut off mid-way, though in the event I think the chair was a little lenient on timings anyway. The Deputy Mayor, Heidi Alexander, supported the motion, while suggesting it wasn't a Lewisham issue, while the Mayor, Steve Bullock voted against and revealed himself as a bit of a James Lovelock groupie. Lib Dem Cathie Priddey made a good speech in favour, Labour Cllr Alan Hall proposed a bizarre amendment to sabotage the motion by removing all references to nuclear, but then when that failed he supported it anyway. In the end, the motion was passed by 35 votes to 15, with Greens, Lib Dems and Socialists voting for, Tories against and Labour split for and against.

I do believe that the issue of nuclear power is of direct relevance to Lewisham residents, because if billions are spent on a new generation of nuclear power stations, there will inevitably be less money in the pot for renewable energy schemes in the borough, including microgeneration, which I think is a key way to reduce dependence on an ultimately inefficient centralised energy supply and to reduce fuel poverty. In addition, the more nuclear power stations we have, the more trains we may have going through Lewisham transporting nuclear waste.

The Mayor of London’s submission to the Energy Review can be read as a pdf file here. In it he argues that a 60% cut in CO2 emissions is possible by 2050 through decentralised energy and without nuclear power.

Other business: Lib Dems proposed a motion calling on the cabinet member for housing to be sacked for incompetence. While we shared their concerns about failings in the housing service, we weren't convinced that the motion was particularly constructive or in the best interests of the borough. When our (probably less than perfect) amendment to the motion fell, we abstained from the final vote and the motion fell. The other Lib Dem motion, proposed by Cllr Sera Kentman called on the council to increase its support to supplementary schools. Greens supported an amended version of this motion, which deferred the decision on the amount of extra money to be discussed in the round with the rest of the budget proposals. By the end of all the speeches and wrangling over these 2 motions, I was heartedly sick of the endless references to how good the yellow/red party was in Islington/Camden/Southwark/Lambeth (delete as applicable) - way too much political point-scoring. You would never get me trumpetting the achievements of Greens on councils in Kirklees/Norwich/Brighton/Oxford (delete as applicable) ;).

Main source of amusement at the meeting was the decision of the two Conservative councillors who previously sat between us and the Lib Dems to move over to the Labour side of the chamber. Apparently it wasn't intended as a snub to the Greens, or a hint for us to use less environmentally-friendly deodorant, but to do with a recent falling out between them and the Lib Dems, who have started delivering Lib Dem Focus leaflets in the Tory stronghold of Grove Park, how very dare they :).

Loampit Vale Consultation

I spent some time earlier this week putting together my response to the Loampit Vale development consultation. While the development is just outside the ward, it will have a significant impact on many residents, not least those living at that end of the ward eg in Algernon Road who are likely to be affected by construction traffic and an increase in traffic post-development, as well as all those whose children are at Lewisham Bridge Primary School and those who use the current Ladywell Leisure centre. Below are the comments I sent back, studiously ignoring the rather restrictive tick boxes and small space for comments on the consultation form.

1. In principle, do you agree that these sites should be developed for a high density, high quality mixed use scheme which includes new homes, new shops and community uses and a new leisure centre?
I don’t think a simple yes/no answer is appropriate here. Yes, in principle I agree with the above, but if Lewisham Bridge Primary School is chosen as the site for the new secondary school, then I think the first priority should be to make sure sufficient space is available, which may well mean including some of the adjacent land along Loampit Vale into the school site. We shouldn’t have a primary and secondary school squeezed into an unfeasibly small site, in order to build housing alongside.

2. Do you think a mixture of housing including one, two and three bedrooms and above should be provided on these sites?
Yes. While I recognise that there is a demand for more family houses in the borough, this site’s proximity to public transport and the town centre means that high density development is more appropriate.

3. Do you think the new pool should have six or eight lanes?
8X25m absolute minimum.

Ladywell Leisure Centre has a 33m pool with 6 lanes. A 6-lane 25m pool would be an unacceptable reduction in capacity. Given that there will be a increase in the area’s population with the new housing developments, plus the new pool will be more conveniently located for many more people near the transport hub, I would argue that the minimum we should be building is the equivalent size of the Ladywell pool, ie 8x25m. I understand this is also what the swimming club would like for galas. However, I have some doubts that this capacity will be sufficient, and would like to see further evidence to convince me that it is. Given that only 38% of Lewisham children reach the KS2 target for swimming, and just 11% in the north of the borough, we need to do everything we can to get more people taking their children swimming and increasing the use of borough swimming facilities.

I would also like to know if the council has looked into the funding possibilities for an Olympic sized swimming pool, given the lack of them in London and Lewisham’s proximity to the Olympic site?

4. Would you like to see conventional single sex or mixed 'village-style' changing facilities?
What a bizarre question to ask at such a preliminary stage in the consultation process! For the record, a mixture of both would be useful, to accommodate families and those who would prefer single sex facilities.

5. How do you think we could involve children and young people in the design of the new pool?
Talking to them and listening to them, having a consultation discussion with them before/after their swimming class, organising competitions for artwork to be displayed at the new centre, asking them to plan a ‘healthy menu’ of food that the café and vending machines should sell, looking at the renewable energy and energy efficiency features in a science class, getting them to design their dream leisure centre using a computer simulation programme, involving the swimming clubs, local Guides and Scouts etc.

6. Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?
Yes. Residents in my ward have expressed concerns to me on a number of points.
Firstly, they are keen to see all the facilities lost at Ladywell Leisure Centre replaced. This includes diving boards, the Turkish baths and sauna, a crèche, meeting rooms, and facilities for Lewisham Hospital to do hydro-therapy sessions. They are also worried that the swimming pool will be sited in a basement with no natural light. So please can we have natural light into the swimming pool, but with a degree of privacy from people looking in?

I would also like to see healthy fairtrade and organic food in any café and vending machines, not the junk food currently touted at Ladywell Leisure Centre. Also, easily accessible drinking water fountains and secure bicycle storage.

Residents are also worried that the leisure centre will not replace all the facilities that have been lost in the borough over the last few years. Specifically, residents have told me they are concerned that there are no ‘dry’ facilities planned eg squash and badminton courts and archery, which there were at Crofton Leisure Centre. However, I understand that Crofton Leisure Centre will be re-opening to the public in 2008, which alleviates some of my concerns, and if a secondary school is built on Elmira Street, there is also the potential for a sports hall there with facilities open to the public.

The development as a whole should incorporate the very highest possible standards of energy efficiency and produce a significant percentage of its energy needs on-site using renewable sources. Given the short time scale we have to reduce our carbon emissions by about 80% to avert global disaster, no development would be better than a development that failed to do this. It should also include brown or green roofs and grey water recycling. It should be a car-free development, given its proximity to public transport, with residents of the new homes understanding that they have no right to a residents’ parking permit. There should be a car club, for residents to use when public transport, walking or cycling are not possible. As for any retails units, I would like to see small local and independent retailers rather than the usual clone town Britain suspects.

In addition, while I accept that a significant percentage of the housing will be sold to pay for the social housing, I believe that we should be striving for as high a percentage of social housing as possible, which is where Lewisham’s greatest housing need lies.

I would also stress the need to consult fully and at an early stage with residents south-west of the proposed development re the impact that construction traffic, diverted traffic and any overall potential increase in traffic may have on their lives. Residents on Algernon Road in particular have expressed concern to me. I am also concerned that the existing poor air quality along Loampit Vale will deteriorate further.

Finally, while I appreciate that there were probably very specific reasons why the consultation document questions were worded as they were, many residents have felt that the questions were either unduly restrictive and either too vague or focussing on minor details rather than the bigger picture. Please can we have consultation documents that give residents sufficient space to say what they think, and a space for comments if they don’t want to just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I appreciate the need to analyse results in an efficient manner, but when questions are so narrow and restrictive, residents feel they are being tricked in some way.

Tidal-powered Lunar Clock

Read about this in the London Paper the other day: plans for the world's first tidal-powered lunar clock. If the Aluna Project is realised, it will see a huge sculpture 5 storeys high, made from recycled glass and lit up with the energy from the tidal water of the Thames being built near East India Dock. The green hippy part of me likes the idea of a clock telling natural time and us 'reconnecting with nature's rhythms'. Depending on how people get to the site to visit it, it sounds like quite a sustainable project too. The article quotes a Carl Honere, author of "In praise of Slow" saying the project is "a call to arms against the tyranny of the digital clock" which will "help our speedaholic culture decelerate". At the risk of being accused of being a fluffy green, I rather like the sound of that.

Application for travellers' site withdrawn

I've just been informed that the planning application to build a travellers' site in Dressington Avenue is being withdrawn.

The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Heidi Alexander has acknowledged that the council’s usual procedures were not been followed in relation to consultation with current users of the sports hall. Officers will now be working with them to "identify suitable alternatives".

This doesn't mean that the application won't be resubmitted in the future, but the Deputy Mayor has undertaken to consult with local residents prior to any new application being submitted.

As I'm on a planning committee I've not taken a position on this application, but Ute (Cllr Michel) has been liaising with the Deputy Mayor, local residents and users of the centre.

Ladywell Forum - did you get a flyer delivered?

Hopefully everyone in Ladywell ward will have received a flyer this weekend advertising the forthcoming forum. I know that Adelaide Avenue was done, as I got mine yesterday. It would be helpful if you could leave a comment saying if your street did/didn't get flyers delivered. Just in case, forum details again are:

Ladywell Ward Forum
Thursday 9th November
Crofton Park Baptist Church
Brockley Grove
7.00pm - 9.00pm

Focus is on youth provision and we hope this will be a chance for local people, youth services, the Safer Neighbourhood Police team, faith groups and us to share ideas about what youth provision is needed in the area.

Electoral services organised the flyer delivery for us, which was a big relief as we thought we were going to have to deliver them ourselves. We have a Green News which will be ready in a few weeks, but we were told we couldn't deliver a council leaflet at the same time, and as a small party we didn't have the people power to do two deliveries to the whole ward within the space of a month.

I'm not going to Iceland!

Fancy an easy bit of online eco-warrioring? Take a look at thisGreenpeace campaign against Iceland restarting commercial whaling. I genuinely would like to visit Iceland and see the hot springs etc, and have even got as far as the shall I take 3 days to get there by boat or fly dilemma, but it's definitely on hold for now.

Richmond's plans to charge gas guzzlers more for parking

Richmond council's plans to link the cost of resident's parking permits to the emissions their cars produce has received massive publicity over the last few days and is a brave move. While anything which makes people think twice before buying a 4x4 or some other ghastly gas guzzler is to be welcomed, drivers should be taxed more on how far they drive as well as how energy-efficient their vehicle is. There is also concern that charging more for cars to park on-road, may encourage more people to concrete over their front gardens. This has serious environmental consequences including drainage problems and depriving London's sparrows of a vital food source. (The more paved surfaces there are, the less rainfall is soaked into the ground and the more London’s dilapidated sewerage system struggles to cope. As for sparrows; less front gardens means less insects and sparrow chicks starve, according to RSPB-funded research.) Darren wrote a report on this last year as chair of the GLA environment committee.

So while I think Richmond-upon-Thames should be applauded for this, David Milliband and Gordon Brown better hurry up with getting some serious green taxes in places before it's too late.

Ladywell Station gets Secure Station Status

Ladywell Station has been given an award for safety improvements. There certainly have been some improvement with the station, and graffiti, in particular, is being cleaned off quickly. It's also noticeably cleaner than other stations in the area (Crofton Park springs to mind as one that is always strewn with litter), although I would like to see the clear plastic bin bags being used again - can't believe they would be that much of a security risk. I know that local residents and Ladywell Society have in the past called for a community noticeboard at the station and I have recently contacted South-Eastern trains to see if this is possible. In the meantime, the station manager let me tape a poster advertising our Ladywell Forum to the wall of the waiting room.

There are regular transport liaison committee meetings between the council and the transport companies, so if you have any train/bus issues you would like me to raise, please do let me know.

Busy busy

Busy couple of weeks, hence the lack of blogging on my part. Lots of meetings and casework, plus I've been trying to redecorate my mildew-ridden bathroom (have now given up and called in the experts - over a week without a bath in my flat, has, on the upside, meant that I have been using Ladywell Leisure Centre slightly more frequently than usual so I can shower!).

New School Site - Lewisham Bridge Primary School? D-Day 8th November
On Wednesday 11th October, Mike and I had a meeting with Sue Sarna, the headteacher at Lewisham Bridge Primary School, one of the three 'sites' being considered for the new secondary school (the others being Ladywell Leisure Centre and some land round the back of Lewisham Hospital). She is understandably concerned that by referring to it as a 'site', people are forgetting it is in fact a school of 300 odd pupils. While none of the proposed sites are perfect for the school (no rolling plain fields or site in Deptford or New Cross unfortunately), Lewisham Bridge looks the least worst option at the moment. Much will depend on how much of the land around the school, which hasn't yet been redeveloped, will be allocated to the school. Lewisham Bridge Primary School has quite a big site for a primary school, but it's difficult to see how a primary and secondary could be squeezed onto the existing site and leave enough space for playgrounds. Sue Sarna wasn't opposed to the idea of a rebuild, as the classrooms in the current Victorian building are rather small, but she doesn't want her school and all its history to be subsumed into a new 3-16 super school. Although the school is in Lewisham Central ward, it is very much a Ladywell issue, as many of its pupils live in Ladywell ward.

I await the Mayor's decision on November 8th with interest. We haven't taken a group stance on the Lewisham Bridge School site yet, but if it is chosen, I expect we will support the decision, with certain caveats and pledges to support the existing school and pupils during the transition, that the new school(s) would be community schools not academies, the need to use the adjoining land etc. If the Mayor does do a u-turn and the leisure centre gets a reprieve, it will be a significant victory for people power.

Last week I attended the inaugural meeting of Ladywell Pool Users Group, a large part of which was spent discussing plans for the new swimming pool and the Loampit Vale consultation. Concerns were raised over whether the new pool would have facilities to replace all those lost in the area over recent years, in particular the squash courts etc from Crofton Park Leisure Centre and the Turkish Baths and sauna from Ladywell Leisure Centre. If Lewisham Bridge is chosen as the site of the new school, potentially there could be a sports hall with shared use between the school and community.

I also attended the public meeting organised by the planning department on the Lewisham Gateway development. A lot of people at the meeting were sceptical about the scale of the scheme, in particular the size of the buildings, provisions for cyclists in the new road layout and the aesthetics of the buildings. I suspect the architects behind the scheme have gone away with considerable food for thought. The Green Party stance on the development is that we don't oppose high density development in that area in principle, as it is so close to the transport hub. However, the party does have concerns over the percentage of affordable housing proposed, cycling provision, the renewable energy targets, the number of proposed car parking spaces and the possible loss of green space, particularly along the river banks.

Last week I also had a meeting with Rev David Garlick, the vicar of St Mary's Church. Strictly speaking, St Mary's Centre is in Lewisham Central ward, but it is used by many Ladywell ward residents. He is keen to see a youth club started up there again, as is the council, apparently, so I'm hopeful we might get some progress there.

Talking of youth clubs etc, we have finally fixed a date for our first Ladywell Ward Forum, which will focus on youth provision:

Ladywell Ward Forum
Thursday 9th November
Crofton Park Baptist Church
Brockley Grove
7.00pm - 9.00pm

Hopefully, this will be a chance for local people, youth services, the Safer Neighbourhood Police team, faith groups and us to share ideas about what youth provision is needed in the area, and then work out what we can do. The PCSOs will also have the results of the surveys they have done with young people in the ward, asking them what they want. Ladywell, along with Catford South and Blackheath, has been recognised by the council as an area with a lack of youth provision and I am hopeful that there will be funds/grants available to get something started.

Other meetings last week: I went to the House of Lords for a meeting with the Green peer, Tim Beaumont, to discuss the Green Party's international policy, which is in urgent need of some updating. I've never done any national policy work before, and felt a little under-qualified alongside the others at the meeting, who all seemed to work for development NGOs or have loads of experience, but it was interesting, very plush surroundings, and I managed to resist the temptation to shout 'warmonger' or anything about veils when Jack Straw walked past.

I also went along to the consultation on the extension of St Mary's Conservation Area last week, which most people I've spoken to so far seem to be in favour of. I don't think all shopkeepers along Ladywell Road are aware of the consultation yet though, so I have asked for some more copies of the document to be sent to me to hand out.

Very busy surgery at the Old Bothy last week, with 9 people attending on various issues, followed by a very quiet street surgery this Saturday just gone, on Sandrock Rd, Undercliff Rd and Overcliff Rd. No one had put the flyer in their window for us to call, so we just reported the fly-tipping, pot holes and graffiti.

Oh, one more consultation coming up (seemingly endless round of them at the moment!): following on from the initial consulation which was carried out a couple of months ago, there will be an exhibition to show proposals for the Crofton Park / Ladywell South Exhibition 20mph schemes at the following times and locations:
Friday 2-8pm Sat - 10-2pm - 27 28 October (half term) Stillness School - Brockley Rise
Friday 2-8pm Sat - 10-2pm - 3 4 November Baptist Church - Brockley Grove

Reponses to the initial survey were as follows:
Over 10,000 leaflets were delivered to the area for the first stage consultation and over four hundred returned. 67% of responses experienced problems with vehicles travelling too fast. 58% of responses experienced problems from volume of traffic. 58% of responses experienced problems from volume of traffic. 40% said that vehicles used their road to avoid delays most of the delay and a further 31% in rush hour. 31% reported heavy vehicles using their road occasionally and 35% regularly.

Slightly quieter week this week (phew!), with any luck, just a training day on pensions (I'm on the pensions investment committee) and a possible meeting with the Ladywell Centre Users Committee.

Over and out.

Road Resurfacing

The highways team has just released its list of roads to be resurfaced over the next 12 months. Out of the 25 roads down for resurfacing, 3 are in Ladywell, and they are
Adelaide Avenue(Eastern Road to Ladywell Road), Chudleigh Road (Dressington Avenue to Bexhill Road) and Montague Avenue. Additional roads will be added if funding is available, apparently. Chudleigh and Adelaide are bus routes, so I guess they get priority. This could be opening a can of worms, but any comments?!

Street Vibes

Very concerned to find out last week that Street Vibes have been given notice to leave their premises by 20th October. They were only officially opened by the mayor a couple of months ago and now they are facing an uncertain future. I've been in contact with the mayor's office, the cabinet member for children and young people and youth services urging them to see if they can help find alternative accomodation for this popular and much-needed local youth project.

Lewisham Green Party AGM

Monday 9th October, 7.30pm, at Brockley Social Club, Brockley Road, SE4 (corner of Foxberry Road). All members and supporters welcome.

Formal business 7.30-8.45pm
Food for thought: 8.45-9.30pm "International Migration - a Green Party response"
Presentation by local expert and Green Party member Jill Rutter, who will give an overview of migration to the UK in general and outline the situation in Lewisham in particular, followed by discussion.

Lewisham Gateway: Meeting on 17th October

I have received the following from the planning dept re the Lewisham Gateway application: "In view of the level of neighbour response in respect of the Lewisham Gateway planning application, we have organised a local meeting for all those who have made representations (72 letters of invitation have just been sent out) to discuss the various planning issues. The date of the meeting is 17 October 2006 at Lewisham Methodist Church Hall, Albion Way (7pm-10pm). The applicant and agents will be present at the meeting and Councillor Andrew Milton has agreed to chair the Meeting."

If you sent an objection but have not received an invite, or you didn't send a letter but would like to attend, pls call the planning office on 020 8314 9219 or e-mail them to check.

Visible Difference

As I was cycling down Gillian Street on Friday morning, I saw the 'Visible Difference' graffiti clean-up team painting over the tagging on shutter of the off-licence on the corner. Delighted it has finally been cleaned - we'd delivered a number of permission cards for them to sign, but it took a while to get a signed one sent back. Next target: the tagging on the empty shop between Masons and the hairdressers (still waiting for the permission card to be signed).

I'm on the planning committee, get me out of here!

Probably the most difficult week as a councillor so far. Lots of residents in Slagrove Place and Dressington Avenue are angry about the plans to demolish the sports hall at Ladywell Day Centre and relocate the travellers' site there. As a member of planning committee A, I can't express opinions on planning applications before the meeting - I have to go there with an open mind. As Mike is also on a planning committee, Ute therefore does all the liaising with residents on planning issues. Most residents understand this, but others think you are just sitting on the fence!

Anyway, all three of us went to a residents' meeting on the issue last Wednesday, which was attended by about 50 residents. Mike and I listened to residents' concerns and could answer some factual questions, but some of the issues raised really needed to be answered by the officers involved in the project, or the cabinet member responsible. Ute is attending a further meeting with the residents' steering committee and the project officers tomorrow evening. Any further questions/queries re the application should be addressed to Ute.

Climate Change

Local Friends of the Earth activists are lobbying Joan Ruddock about the climate change bill at 4pm this Friday in Toad's Mouth Too. If you are a Lewisham Deptford constituent and would like to take part, pls go along on the day or let Ted Burke from Lewisham FoE know in advance.

She is generally supportive and has already signed the early day motion calling for the Climate Change Bill to be introduced in this session of parliament (EDM), but there is no harm in reminding her of the strength of local concern on the issue!

More info about the Big Ask Campaign here.

Also, other climate change campaign events coming up:
Wed 4th October: Public Mtg on Climate Change - George Monbiot speaking
7.00 pm in the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square (Holborn Tube).

Saturday 4th November, National Climate March, 12 noon, rally at US embassy. Organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change.

PS: Do go and see 'An Inconvenient Truth' - an excellent film!

Quercus Project for Ladywell Fields

Went to see the plans for the Quercus Project this evening. This is an EU-funded project to improve Ladywell Fields. Some info here, although I hope more detail will be posted up to the site soon.

Basically, the aim of the project is to improve access to the river to make it more of a feature of the park, rather than hiding it behind railings. The plans I saw today included adding a second channel to bring the river out across the section of the park nearest Ladywell Road, and incorporating a wildflower meadow and terracing. Difficult to explain without the pictures, but it sounded good.

Algernon Road

Algernon Road finally has its sign, which reads "Algernon Road, the best recycling street in Lewisham, 2006"! Hurray!

Black History Month

Black History month kicks off today, loads going on in Greenwich and Lewisham, see here for full programme.

St Mary's Conservation Area

A consultation document has been sent out to local residents and businesses to extend St Mary's Conservation area to cover a larger area, including some of the shops on the Ladywell side of the railway bridge. If you haven't received the documents, but would like to comment, you can view them online here.

Sad day for Worcester

Royal Worcester ceased production in Worcester, my home town, this week, after more than 250 years. Production has been outsourced to Stoke and abroad. Only painting of porcelain will continue at the site. See BBC article.

It used to be one of the city's biggest employers and one of the things Worcester was famous for, alongside cricket, Edward Elgar, the cathedral and Lea & Perrins sauce. The factory site is due to be redeveloped into homes and shops. I fear this will be yet another clone town development, but I hope I'm wrong and some of the historic buildings will be preserved. Worcester bulldozed some of its Tudor buildings in the 60s to build a concrete hotel and multi-storey car park; I hope planners will be more sensitive towards its heritage this time. My dad spent most of his working life at neighbouring Diglis Basin, which is also being redeveloped at the moment. It certainly needs redeveloping, but I hope the pressure to squeeze as many homes as possible into the area doesn't completely destroy the place.

Lewisham Pride Awards

Went to Catford Broadway Theatre tonight for the Lewisham Pride Awards, which is when council staff who have made an outstanding contribution or shown extra dedication are recognised for their work. A great event which reminded me how many hard-working council staff there are, even if as councillors you often only get to hear when things have gone wrong.

Particularly pleased to see Julie Ball from the graffiti team and the Environment and Community Development team get awards. Julie's team are largely responsible for the improved state of shop shutters on Ladywell Road - her team goes out at 6am in the morning to clean up shutters before shops open. Some of the ones along Ladywell Road have now been coated with a special anti-graffiti coating which means they can be easily wiped-clean by shopkeepers if they get tagged again. If there's a shop which still has graffiti on its shutter, it's generally because they haven't filled in the consent form which is necessary for it to be removed. I'm always happy to provide more forms if required, just let me know.

Planning Application: Dressington Avenue

A planning application has been lodged to demolish the sports hall at Ladywell Day Centre in Dressington Avenue, and build a travellers site for 7 families. Further details can be viewed here. Residents who wish to comment on the application should write to Chris Brodie, Planning Service, Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London, SE6 4SW, or e-mail him at planning@lewisham.gov.uk by 13th October.

Ladywell Leisure Centre: Mayor & Cabinet Mtg

Yesterday saw the meeting of mayor and cabinet to consider the report of the independent consultants into sites for the new secondary school.

Basically, the situation now is that in addition to Ladywell Leisure Centre, two other sites are in the running; Lewisham Bridge Primary School and the land around it, and part of the Lewisham Hospital Site. My initial thoughts are that Lewisham Hospital is not ideally located, but that Lewisham Bridge School is better for pupils travelling from the north of the borough. So the battle is neither won not lost yet, but everything still to play for. See Save Ladywell Pool site for further info.

Decision on Ladywell Pool due tomorrow

Tomorrow evening is the mayor and cabinet meeting at which the review of alternative sites for the new school will be discussed. Some of the meeting will be closed to the public, but the Mayor is expected to take the decision in public. Pool campaigners are meeting outside Catford Town Hall at 5:30 pm. I am quietly optimistic but will have all fingers crossed. Figures released this week at the request of Cllr Mark Morris show that use of Ladywell Leisure Centre has risen considerably year on year (Forest Hill Pools closure, free summer swimming etc).

An Inconvenient Truth

Went to see "An Inconvenient Truth", Al Gore's climate change at Greenwich Picture House yesterday evening. Very good, but chairs in screening room are so comfy I fell asleep and missed the end. Everyone should see this film, then take action to curb their carbon emissions and call on their elected representative to do likewise, and quickly. 60 million lives are at stake.

Back from Conference

Well I'm back from conference, and more or less recovered. A good conference overall, well-attended, lots of interesting fringes and debates and great to meet up with lots of other greenies. Rather a lot of arguing over procedure on the first day, which was unfortunately what Newsnight chose to focus on, though interview with Caroline Lucas was, as always, good. Good policy discussions on prostitution, social enterprises and education, we sorted out some inconsistencies in our smoking policy and I've agreed to join a policy group reviewing our international policy. I won't go into loads of detail here, as it's other green bloggers including jimjay , Peter and Philobiblon have already done so admirably.

Apparently the Lib Dems conference was sponsored by TESCO, while Labour delegates are wearing passes with 'Sky News' advertised on the straps. Green Party conference remains reassuringly free of such corporate sponsorship (and thus on a v tight budget!), though there were lots of good stalls this time such as Fair Pensions, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Gossypium. Also great discussion on environmental justice with Maria Adebowale from Capacity Global and Steve Trent from the the Environmental Justice Foundation. Steve focussed on links between human rights abuses and environmental damage, looking at devastating impact of cotton production in Uzbekistan. Interesting fact: it takes 6 pints of water to make 1 cotton bud.

Also found out some interesting stuff about sustainability in Swansea schools - the Welsh constitution has sustainability written into it and apparently they are streets ahead of us in incorporating issues of sustainability into the education system. Would like to find out more.

Forthcoming blockade of Faslane and opposition to the replacement of Trident also featured prominently.

Conference Blog

Sian Berry, candidate for Green Party Female Principal speaker is blogging her experiences at conference for the New Statesman. Green Party Conference kicks off in Hove tomorrow. Lots of the sessions are open to observers and supporters, not just members. Take a look at Green Berry.

Been busy on both work and council front for the last couple of weeks and haven't posted much on here, but have a couple of days off from the day job this week so I can catch up on a few other things. Have been getting a few quotes for some work on my flat, which has been v neglected of late and I've got a new table made by local company Chunk Originals. All the furniture Steve makes is made from wood he has salvaged from skips, flytips etc. My table is made from old floorboards and looks great. The plan is that it is to be kept free of council paperwork as it is the replacement for our dining table which has turned into my council desk, but we'll have to see how long that lasts ;).

Surgeries and ward issues
Hilly Fields Surgery is proving far more popular than the St Andrews one at the moment, with 8 people coming along to the last one. We also held a street surgery in Somerset Gardens, Elswick Road, Grover Court and Sunninghill Road, but no one put the flyer in their window asking us to call :(, so we ended up spending some time chatting to the shopkeepers on Loampit Hill and handing out graffiti removal forms instead. The street surgery flyers seem to attract a bit of casework by e-mail in the following weeks as much as stuff on the doorstep. I've asked if the graffiti team can come along and put some anti-graffiti paint on the shop shutters on Loampit Hill like they have on Ladywell Road, which has worked well, but we need to get the shopkeepers' signed forms back first . . I've also requested for the chewing gum to be cleaned off the pavement on Loampit Hill - it's decent paving along there, but covered in black splodges of chewing gum.

Loads of flytipping in a few areas of the ward in the last few days - Elswick Rd, Foxborough Gardens, Malyons Rd - have been reporting to lovelewisham but really wish we could catch a few more of those responsible. A 'no fly-posting' sign has also gone up in Algiers Rd at my request, though it remains to be seen what effect, if any, this will have.

Empowering Communities and Neighbourhoods
I am on the Mayoral Commission on Empowering Communities and Neighbourhoods, although unfortunately the inaugural meeting this Thursday clashes with Green Party conference and I will be down in Hove. From what I can make out, the purpose of the commission is to look at ways of improving links and communication between local communities and the council. I'm hoping part of the remit will be to look at ways of devolving some decision-making down to local forums and ways of giving them a bit more clout. It sounds very green . . .

Ladywell Forum
We are provisionally looking at Wednesday 8th November for our first Ladywell Area Forum, although this has still tbc. I would welcome residents' views on what issues they want to discuss. Current possibilities we are considering are youth provision in the ward (or lack thereof) and the town centre development. Similarly, your views on ways of 'empowering communities and neighbourhoods' for me to feed through to the commission would be welcome.


Youth Provision in Ladywell
Mike, Ute and I had a very useful meeting with officers from the Youth Services team last week. We wanted to find out what plans, if any there were for further youth provision in the ward as we share residents' concerns that there isn't a huge amount going on at the moment. Besides Street Vibes and the skate park, which strictly speaking are just outside the ward, St Andrews Church on Brockley Road has a youth club, and Crofton Park Baptist Church on Brockley Grove does too, but I'm not aware of anything else. In the past there were also youth clubs at Crofton Leisure Centre and St Mary's Centre, but these are both no more. There doesn't seem to be as much in the way of clubs locally as you might hope, eg Brownies, Guides etc. I guess it's the usual story of not having enough volunteers, people working longer hours etc etc.

The lack of provision in Ladywell was recognised by the youth team and we spent some time brainstorming various options, sites and funding, and there are a few things to follow up on, but nothing definite just yet. The existing budget for youth provision in the north of the borough is very tight, but there are a number of grants available at the moment for young people interested in setting up some kind of project and sometimes match funding is available. We're looking into it, but again, your suggestions welcome.

(Un)ethical pensions
Last week was another meeting of the Pensions Investment Committee, which I am on. We were supposed to be reviewing the statement of investment principles and I was very keen to push for us to exclude investments in arms and tobacco, but in the end we ran out of time and have deferred it to the next meeting. Lib Dems have passed a motion on clean and ethical investment at their conference today, so I'm hoping they may support this, though they were rather quiet at the meeting.

Arms and tobacco only represent a tiny amount of the total investment portfolio, approx 1%, so I don't think excluding them would excessively limit the diversity of investments. Our current policy is one of constructive engagement with companies on ethical issues. I am willing to see how you can 'positively engage' with most companies, but can't see how you can do so with arms and tobacco.

We are legally obliged as trustees of the pensions fund to put fiduciary interest above all other considerations, but aren't prohibited from taking into account ethical issues as long as it is not financially detrimental to the fund. We can also argue for the exclusion of investments in a particular sector on financial grounds. For example, Newham Council have barred investments in tobacco, citing concerns over possible lawsuits. I did think of arguing that there would be potential downside for arms stocks if peace broke out, if the war on terror is won, etc, but maybe that isn't so likely . . .

Car Free Day
On Sunday I went to the open house event at the wonderful Creekside Centre and then popped into Greenwich to see their Car Free Day event. They get funding to close their high street to traffic and put sand and deckchairs there for the day and have various performers. Great idea, would be good if we could do smthg similar in Lewisham and I have asked a question to this effect for this month's full council mtg (which is this Wednesday, 20th Sept, btw). That said, Lewisham is doing some kind of promotion to encourage council staff to walk/cycles to work this Friday for In town without my car, and various events for staff as part of goodgoing week. There are also lots of events taking place in Greenwich, Lewisham and Bexley for the Green Chain Festival (16-24 September).

Real Nappies for London
Today I went to City Hall for the launch of the Real Nappies for London launch. The idea is for boroughs to work together to share expertise in promoting the use of real nappies. I'm hoping that Lewisham will join the scheme and again, am hoping for a positive response to a question I have asked Heidi Alexander, the deputy mayor, on this very subject at full council tomorrow.

Healthy Brockley
Blimey, this is a long post and it's getting late. I'm off to Green Party Conference in Hove this Thursday, so will sadly not be at Healthy Brockley this Sunday. The last one back in May was great, well worth a visit.

Lewisham Green Party Meetings
Finally, we have a new venue for local Green Party meetings, which is Brockley Social Club. The next meeting is at 7.30pm on Monday 9th October. New members/supporters always welcome.

London bucks the national spiral of congestion and pollution

From London Assembly Green Group press release:

New Government statistics show that London has started to reverse many of the worse national trends on growing car ownership and the decline in environmental forms of transport. Jenny Jones, a Green Party member of the London Assembly has welcomed three crucial differences between London and the rest of the UK, which are making London a healthier and less polluted city.

Car ownership per household has increased dramatically in the UK, but has declined in London. The proportion of households in Great Britain with access to a car has risen to 75%. Whilst in London it has fallen to 61% of households without access to a car, up from a low point of 65% in the late nineties.

In the UK, the number of trips by bicycle has fallen between 1995/7 and 2005, by just over 20 per cent. This contrasts with the rapid growth of 50% in the number of journeys made by bike in London since 2001.

The number of trips by bus in London per person per year increased by 28 per cent while trips by bus outside London fell by 13 per cent (between 1995/7 and 2005)

Jenny Jones, the Mayor of London’s green transport adviser, said:

“London is a far from perfect city, but these Government statistics show how others have failed and London are starting to succeed. London’s transport system and its environment have both started to improve as a result of the congestion charge being introduced and increased investment in buses and cycling. Traffic stopped growing in London five years ago, but has continued growing in the rest of the country. Car ownership per household is rising fast throughout the UK, but is actually falling in London. People have begun to realise that car dominated streets and neighbourhoods don’t work. Congestion costs business and pollution costs people’s lives.”

Bus stop seat
You may have noticed a seat has been installed at the bus stop on Ladywell Road, opposite the car wash. Mike pushed for this at the request of a local resident. It took longer than we expected though as amongst other things it apparently involved purchasing a bit of pavement to compensate for the space the seat took up.

Bike Racks
We should soon be getting bike racks installed outside some of the shops on Ladywell Road and Brockley Road. My hope is that kids may be less inclined to leave their bikes lying right across the pavement when going into the shops, but maybe I'm being naive in thinking this! We have an excellent council cycling officer who is keen to get more bike racks installed outside local shops. A rack has also recently been installed outside Sheel Pharmacy on Lewisham Hill at my request.

Grants for youth groups
Article in Newsshopper about grants available for youth projects from the Jack Petchey Foundation, local groups encouraged to apply.

Lewisham in Bloom DVDs available
Just before I went away on holiday, Ute and I had a really useful meeting with officers from the council environment team and discussed all sorts of issues ranging from recycling and flytipping to dog poo. It was good to finally meet some of the people I have been e-mailing about various issues since May. I was also given some DVDs that the council had specially made to give residents information about Lewisham in Bloom. If you would like a copy of the DVD, or are interested in your street entering Lewisham in Bloom, please contact me. I haven't watched the DVD myself yet, but plan to soon.

Licensing Application: Morleys, 313 Brockley Road

Residents who live on or near Brockley Road may like to know that Morleys take-away have applied for an extension to their opening hours under the Licensing Act 2003.

Morleys
313 Brockley Road
London
SE4 2QZ

Applied for late night refreshment Monday – Thursday until 02:00 and Friday – Saturday until 03:00.

The four criteria under which you can support or object to this application are:

1. Prevention of Crime and Disorder.
2. Protection of Children from Harm
3. Public Safety
4. Prevention of Public Nuisance

You can email the Licensing Team or write to:
The Licensing Team, 2nd Floor Laurence House 1 Catford Road, London SE6 4RU

Please could you ensure that any representations either for or against this application reach the Licensing Team by 29th September 2006.

Back from holiday

I've just come back from a week in Ilfracombe, Devon. We had lots of family holidays there when we used to live on a boat, but I was only a baby, so couldn't remember it. Had a great week - did lots of walking, hired a bike and went on the excellent Tarka Trail, stopping off at Tapeley Park, a stately home near Instow that the current owner is trying to make 'sustainable' and includes a permaculture garden and solar water heating. Went on a day trip to Lundy (was sea-sick so clearly haven't inherited the family sea legs), swam in the sea at the Tunnel Beaches.

Anyway, it's back to work now and September is looking like it's going to be a busy month. More training on overview and scrutiny issues tomorrow, I'm going to the Sustainable Development Committee meeting on Tuesday and the rest of the week will hopefully be catching up on casework, preparing for forthcoming meetings etc. Saturday is Lewisham Peace Fair on Ladywell Fields, from 3pm-7pm, which I will attend.

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.

Solar Lewisham

We've had a number of enquiries from residents about how to get solar panels installed and what grants are available. Hopefully the information below will be of use (with thanks to Richard Hurford, the council's Sustainable Resources Group Manager). I have also set up a discussion group, solarlewisham@yahoogroups.com with the aim of helping those interested in renewable energy to share ideas and swap advice. If you would like to join the e-group, simply send an e-mail solarlewisham-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

There are grants available from the council and the government for renewable energy schemes, as follows;

Lewisham grant
Lewisham will provide a one-off grant of £500 to any Lewisham home installing appropriate renewable technology, subject to availability. Contact is 020 8314 6622, Private Sector Housing.

Low Carbon Building Programme
The Government has recently launched the Low Carbon Building Programme, a new £80 million scheme to invest in renewable energy, with grants available to the public. If you would like to talk to someone about the programme, call the free phone helpline on 0800 915 7722.

There are a number of technologies that the programme will cover, these include: Solar photovoltaics, Wind turbines, Small hydro, Solar thermal hot water, Heat pumps, Bio-energy.

There are a number of energy efficiency measures that you must undertake before you are eligible to apply for a grant under the low carbon buildings programme. These measures will ensure that you are minimising your energy requirements and are as follows:
a. You have a minimum of 270mm of loft insulation to meet current building regulations, where practicable - e.g. 270mm of mineral wool.
b. b. Installed cavity wall insulation (if you have cavity walls)
c. c. Using low energy light bulbs in all appropriate light fittings
d. d. Installed basic controls for your heating system to include a room thermostat and a programmer or timer.
It is also recommended that you complete a home energy check so that you can assess which measures are most suitable for your home.

Solar PV
If you want to consider solar PV (photovoltaic), then you may want to look at Solar Century.

Solar PV uses energy from the sun to create electricity to run appliances and lighting. PV requires only daylight - not direct sunlight - to generate electricity. You can use PV systems for a building with a roof or wall that faces within 90 degrees of south, as long as no other buildings or large trees overshadow it. If the roof surface is in shadow for parts of the day, the output of the system decreases.

Solar panels are not light and the roof must be strong enough to take their weight, especially if the panel is placed on top of existing tiles.

Prices for PV systems vary, depending on the size of the system to be installed, type of PV cell used and the nature of the actual building on which the PV is mounted. The size of the system is dictated by the amount of electricity required.

For the average domestic system, costs can be around £4,000- £9,000 per kWp installed, with most domestic systems usually between 1.5 and 2 kWp. Solar tiles cost more than conventional panels, and panels that are integrated into a roof are more expensive than those that sit on top.

A useful website for further information is Energy Savings Trust. In addition, the Green Party’s Green Energy Works website has a number of useful links and background information Green Energy Works.

Planning
The installation of solar panels is classified as a permitted development under current planning legislation and therefore planning permission is generally not required, unless you live in a conservation area (but please check this with the planning department before you go ahead, just in case!). As things stand, if you live in a conservation area planning permission is required and you should seek advice from Lewisham planning office on 020 8314 7400 or planning@lewisham.gov.uk. A recent conversation I had with a planning officer suggested that they will look more favourably on applications for solar panels in conservation areas if they are on a rear roof or in the back garden, but this may well change in the future.

Catford Honey!

I was v impressed when doing my shopping in Sheel pharmacy today to see they had Catford Honey, produced in a back garden in Catford. You can't get much more local or low food miles than that!

A Ladywell resident wrote to me recently asking us to do more to promote milk delivery. Not really a milk drinker myself, but if you are, find me a milkman might be, er right 'up your street'.

Am happy to do anything (within reason!) that will promote small local businesses and take money away from supermarkets, so while I'm at it, I'll also give plugs to:

Sheel Pharmacy (312-314 Lewisham Road - the largest range of fairtrade and organic products I've come across in Lewisham, better than any of the chain stores).

Local organic fruit and veg box schemes:
UK5 organics (based in Greenwich)
Capricorn Organics (based in Bexley)
Abel & Cole (much bigger company, London-wide distribution).
If you know of any other good ones I've missed, please let me know.
15 reasons to order a box scheme today
and lots of reasons to avoid supermarkets:
Tescopoly
Corporate Watch - What's wrong with supermarkets?
What supermarkets won't tell you (The Ecologist)

Was interested to read the other day that TESCO is going to be offering incentives for customers to reuse bags - a small step in the right direction, but even if they meet their targets they will only reduce the number of their bags thrown away every year to 3 BILLION! Hasn't Sainsbury's been doing that for years, with little impact? IKEA started charging 5p/bag a couple of months ago, which has had more impact. I think it needs a bit of stick as well as carrot to change shoppers' habits, such as a plastic bag tax similar to that in Ireland.

Peace Demo - ceasefire now!

Went on the peace demo today - good turnout, I thought, though it's always hard to tell when you're in the middle of it. Lewisham & Greenwich CND, STW and RESPECT were there, also met up with Greens from various places, although Green contingent was somewhat smaller than usual as loads of members are at the Big Green Gathering. I had been planning a quiet day, but wanted to express my disgust at the violence perpetrated by both sides and the UK government's failure so far either to call for a ceasefire or condemn Israel's action.

The children's shoes placed at the Cenotaph in memory of the children killed in the bombings were a powerful image. While waiting for the train home at Charing Cross station I met a man from Gaza who had also been on the demo. He is coming to the end of his masters course in International Relations here and will return home soon, when he will visit the graves of 2 of his friends killed in the troubles recently. He said he had been thanking everyone for going to the demo, but was depressed at what he felt Israel was getting away with. Tend to agree with him.

Legs aching now, thought not sure how much is marchers' fatigue and how much is the yoga class I did at Ladywell Leisure Centre yesterday evening . . .

National Demonstration Against Violence in the Middle East

On Saturday 5 August there will be a national emergency demonstration in London calling for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza and the end of Tony Blair's support for George Bush's wars. Greens condemn the collective punishment of civilians on both sides and will always support diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts as opposed to military aggression.

NATIONAL EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
END ISRAEL'S WAR ON LEBANON AND GAZA
SATURDAY 5 AUGUST: ASSEMBLE 12 NOON
SPEAKERS CORNER, HYDE PARK
(Nearest tube Marble Arch)
MARCH TO PALIAMENT SQUARE FOR RALLY

Darren Johnson will be the Green Party speaker on the platform.
The Green Party meeting point details are as follows.
Meet from 11.30 inside Hyde Park, Park Lane side, roughly where it says
'Brook Gate' on this map:

Lewisham STW to meet 12 noon by the Round Cafe, Hyde Park Corner, Upper Brook Street Gate. Look for the big red Lewisham STW banner.
map

Sign the letter to Tony Blair online (16 000+ names already signed)


further info

(thank you to Mike from Croydon Greens blogspot and Francesca from YGs who I've shamelessly plagiarised most of this from ;)