Does the Green Party need a leader?

Doesn't it already have one, you might be wondering? Well actually, no, it has two principal speakers, one male and one female, who are the 'mouthpieces' of the party but don't have any executive powers. Currently, these are Sian Berry, who is also our candidate for Mayor of London, and Derek Wall.

However, following a motion passed at Spring Conference, there is soon to be a members' referendum on whether or not to change the party's structures so that there can be either co-leaders or a leader and deputy leader. These leaders would have a vote on the party executive (which incredibly the current principal speakers don't), would have to be re-elected every two years and could also be subject to a recall vote at any time if 20% of local parties requested it.

There is an ongoing debate on the issue within the party, with very strongly-held views on both sides (including in Lewisham). A number of Green bloggers have already posted on the subject (including Leila, Caroline, Peter, Derek, Jon, Jim, and Paul), there have been several articles in the Guardian, the BBC, the Independent (Jenny and Caroline), and the New Statesman on the subject and other greens in the wider environmental movement have also waded into the debate, including Tony Juniper Director of Friends of the Earth.

Those in favour of a leader or leaders argue that we are missing opportunities to get our policies across in the media because journalists struggle with the term 'principal speaker' and either ignore us or spend most of the time asking what the title means rather than focussing on our policies. They argue that an elected leader is more accountable than an unofficial, unelected leader, which is what we might end up with if we get an MP in Westminster who is not the party's elected leader. They say that voters need a clear, recognisable public face of the Green Party and if the Green Party doesn't trust one of its own to lead without forming a dictatorship, how can we expect others to vote for us.

Those on the no leader camp (or Green Empowerment as they would prefer to be called) argue that the Green Party's strength is that it is different to other parties and that we shouldn't be trying to be more like other parties at a time when the electorate are crying out for an alternative. They say that the Green Party needs to empower more of its members, from the grassroots up to be leaders and that we shouldn't be concentrating too much power in the hands of a few because an elected leader will be less accountable than our current structure.

One thing that both those for and against a leader are in agreement on is that we don't want a leader with such strong powers and lack of accountability to the membership that s/he could, for example, support a war against the wishes of the majority of party members. The referendum takes place in November and the proposals need a two-thirds majority of the membership to change the existing rules. It's going to be close and whatever the result, a good chunk of the party will be annoyed with the outcome. However, I'm hopeful that most members will accept the decision, whatever it is.

As to who the leader of the Green Party might be, if the motion is passed, I think the clear favourite is Caroline Lucas, MEP for the South-East and Green Party candidate for Brighton Pavilion, with Lewisham councillor and London Assembly member Darren Johnson a possible contender for co-leader or deputy leader. Then again, Jean Lambert MEP or Jenny Jones AM would also be strong candidates.

I'm in the Yes Camp, because I think we don't have time to faff around explaining what principal speaker means and why we don't have a leader, we need to focus on getting our message across and getting more people elected. We are already a far smaller party than the main three, with limited money and resources; why hold ourselves back even further by refusing to acknowledge that personalities do play a part in politics and many people identify firstly with individuals and then with parties and policies? Having a leader won't result in a huge shift in our fortunes overnight, but it may well help.

Anyway, I'd be keen to hear local residents' views. Does it matter to you whether a party you vote for has an elected leader or not? Would it affect whether you voted for the Green Party at a local or national level? Is the call for a leader or leaders a sensible, pragmatic step or a sell-out?

Oh, and in case you think we spent the whole conference navel-gazing, check out Sian's keynote speech to conference.

Viney Road hole - getting bigger all the time . . .

A resident first contacted me about this big hole in Viney Road on 31st July, although the hole had been there for some time before that and he had contacted Lewisham Council on a number of occasions about it himself.

There was a pole sticking out of it from where the speed hump was broken (this has since been removed). The resident was also concerned that the yellow lines on the road had faded away and cars were parking in front of the flats, preventing emergency vehicle access to the buildings. This is a particular concern given that there was a serious fire in a block at Viney Road a few years back and one of the recommendations the Fire Brigade made afterwards was that access must be kept clear in front of the flats (they couldn't get close to the building on the day of the fire). The resident was also concerned at the level of commuter parking on Viney Road.

I logged all these concerns with the Council's housing casework team back in July (apparently this comes under housing, not highways). 44 days, 5 follow-up e-mails and several phone calls later I am still waiting for a response, let alone any action to repair the road. Each time I have been promised a response is forthcoming but still nothing as yet.

B3, who have recently taken over responsibility for most of the council housing stock in Ladywell are quite clear that Viney Road is the Council's responsibility. In fact, they were so concerned at the state of Viney Road prior to signing the contract that I understand their lawyers had a special meeting with the Council's legal team to clarify who would be responsible for the road. So Lewisham's Housing Department has been aware of the state of the road and its responsibility for it for some time yet hasn't done anything about it.

I don't normally go for the 'name and shame' approach on this blog, but the length of time it is currently taking to get a response, let alone action as a result of councillor casework enquiries, is ridiculous and incredibly frustrating for both councillors and residents bearing the brunt of Council inaction. Grr!

Update: The hole was finally sorted on 27th September and B3 are working on an action plan for the other issues around parking.

Here we go again, another betting shop application . . .

Barely have we had time to celebrate Friday's decision at Bromley Magistrates Court and I have received the following from the council's licensing department today:

Please be advised that the following premise has applied for a NEW / VARIATION Premises licence under the Gambling Act 2005.
Premises name and address
Portland Bookmakers
329-331 Brockley Road
London SE4 2QZ
Applied for a new Premises Licence for the following purposes – Betting Office
Representations should relate to one of the following licensing objectives
1. To prevent gambling from being a source of Crime & Disorder
2. To ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
3. To protect children & other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling

Any representations should reach licensing by 10th October 2007. Licensing team, Laurence House, 2nd Floor Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, Catford SE6 4RU. E-mail: licensing@lewisham.gov.uk

The previous application was heard by Bromley Magistrates Court, but since then regulations have changed and it will now be heard by the Council's licensing committee. Please note that grounds for objection are slightly different now too, so any letters you may have been planning to recycle will need to be modified accordingly.

New Saturday Football on Hilly Fields for 11-19 year-olds

A new football club for 11-19 years olds is starting on Hilly Fields this coming Saturday (15th September). It's taken a little while to get going, but this is one of the schemes that we managed to get a bit of extra funding for from the Council's Extended Services.

When the Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood PCSOs did their survey of young people and what extra activities they would like to see in their area, the answer was generally football, football and more football (oh, and nailart), so this is in response to what they asked for.

It's being run by local resident Ron Bell and others from Brockley County Football Club, and is in addition to their popular morning club for under 12s, which will continue as normal. A number of older children wanted to be able to play football in a slightly more organised and structured way than just them and a couple of mates. There may also be an opportunity for some of the older members towork towards various FA qualifications such as coaching.

BROCKLEY COUNTY FOOTBALL SCHOOL

• New Football Club for 11-19 year-olds
• Every Saturday, 1-4pm (starting 15th September)
• Hilly Fields, Brockley, SE4
• Cost: £1.99 per session
• For any young person who wants to improve their skills (boys and girls)
• Opportunity for older members to get football qualifications (coaching etc).
• All coaches are CRB checked and FA qualified

Brockley County under 11s football continuing as normal Saturday mornings 10-12pm
For further details call Ron Bell on 07946 409536 or 020 7252 9248.

Betting Shop Application - refused!

Just found out that the application by Portland Bookmakers to open a betting shop in the former Homeview Video premises on the corner of Adelaide Avenue and Brockley Road was turned down yesterday by magistrates. Hurray! The applicant may well apply again, but this time to the council as the licensing procedures have recently changed. Watch this space. Meanwhile, local residents and shopkeepers can breathe a huge sigh of relief and give themselves a pat on the back for all the hard work they put into opposing this application.

Update (Sunday am): Just seen on Nick's blog that Glenda, one of the residents most active in opposing the application, has posted an account on a new blog.

Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood Panel

Tonight I attended a Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood Panel meeting. This is a group of local residents from various parts of the ward, plus the ward sergeant and other members of the police team. The panel meets about once every two months to set the priorities of the Safer Neighbourhood Team for the next couple of months. We agreed to keep the top priority this time as tackling burglary, as there has been a slight increase in burglaries in the ward over the summer (no particular area, unlike previously when Chudleigh Road was particularly badly affected, the incidences have been spread throughout the ward).

Other lower priority areas that the team will continue to work on include tackling graffiti and fly-tipping, and working in partnership with the council and other bodies on youth provision. A new priority we asked the team to start looking at was dealing with irresponsible dog owners who fail to control their dogs properly. There was a particularly nasty incident on Algernon Road recently in which a group of men encouraged their dogs to attack a cat, which consequently had to be put down.

We have a new(ish) sergeant in Ladywell ward, Sgt Jim Hart, as our previous sergeant got promoted. The names of all the team can be found here. Hopefully you have met some of them out and about in the ward.

I asked about a recent spate of muggings in Ladywell Fields, which you may have read about in the local papers and was pleased to hear that a suspect has been arrested.

We also received a presentation from Peter MacDonald, who is the borough co-ordinator of Neighbourhood Watch. Within six months, Lewisham has gone from having only two Neighbourhood Watch schemes to around 60, and Safer Neighbourhood Teams are working with local residents on setting up more. As far as I am aware, there aren't currently any Neighbourhood Watch schemes in Ladywell ward, but Peter and the Ladywell SNT would both be happy to advise and offer support to any residents interested in setting up a scheme. Peter volunteers at Brockley Police Station (4 Howson Road) every Thursday morning and is happy for residents to pop in and speak to him or to e-mail him.

Lewisham Gateway Planning Decision - postponed

The strategic planning committee meeting that was scheduled for this evening to consider the Lewisham Gateway outline planning application was postponed at the last meeting due to outstanding issues the Environment Agency still had with some of the plans for the rivers. The application may be heard in October, but it's not yet clear.

Montage Theatre Arts

I've been asked to give a quick plug for Montage Theatre, based in Brockley Primary School, and am happy to do so:
Montage Theatre Arts run acting, dancing and singing courses for children and adults.
What - Acting, Dancing and Singing classes for kids, young people and adults. Courses include Musical Theatre Performance, Drama, Breakdancing, Ballet, Tap dance, Street Dance, Dancercise and all new Digital Arts Courses.
Where - Brockley Primary School, Brockley Road, SE4 2BT
When - Tuesday evenings - Drama and Dance, Friday evenings - Drama, Digital arts and Dance, Saturdays - Breakdancing and early starters in dance and drama. All courses start from 18th September
Who is it for - Courses are tailored to meet the needs of 3 - 60+
How much - Courses start from £18 - £70
Contact details - web , email , tel - 020 8692 7007

Free Showing of 'An Inconvenient Truth'

From the council's press office:
Lewisham Council is sponsoring a free showing of Al Gore's critically acclaimed, award winning documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, for Lewisham borough residents.

The aim of the screening is to increase awareness and understanding of climate change, and, hopefully, to motivate each of us to do our bit to reduce our own carbon footprint.

There will be a number of stalls on hand in the foyer from 7pm giving information, practical advice and giveaways about recycling, energy and transport.

The free showing is at the Broadway Theatre in Catford, on Thursday 20 September at 8pm. Places are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment by calling the theatre on 020 8690 0002.

Well worth seeing if you haven't already done so.

Greens on Facebook

Facebook still seems to be the current big thing, with millions of people joining it and increasingly political parties are on there too. Not wishing to be left out (and not able to afford the online advertising campaign the Tories are going for) the Green Party also has a growing presence on Facebook. Among many others, there is a national Green Party group, a Lewisham Green Party group, a Sian for Mayor group and even a recently formed Darren Johnson for Lewisham Deptford group. You need to register with Facebook to join them, but then the groups are open to any members or supporters of the Green Party. And there is even a group for Lewisham bloggers. Green bloggers Jim and Sian (our London Mayoral candidate) have both been blogging about the pros and cons of Facebook this week. My verdict: definitely worth being on there, but dangerously time-consuming and addictive if you're not careful.

First Lewisham Green Drinks - success!

We had the first Lewisham Green Drinks on Monday and it was a success, I think, with more than 20 people and various organisations represented, including Friends of the Earth, Christian Aid, cyclists, allotment holders, a few council officers, Goldsmiths College students and of course one or two Green Party people! Not inconsiderable quantities of organic and fairtrade wine and beer were consumed. Next Lewisham Green Drinks will be on Monday 1st October, 7pm onwards, Mr Lawrence Wine Bar, 389 Brockley Road, Crofton Park, SE4 2PH. Anyone with an interest in green issues welcome, bring your friends.

Same principle as London Green Drinks. To get monthly reminders, join our e-mail list or our Facebook group.

£10,000 for Ladywell ward - how should it be spent?

Once again, every ward in Lewisham – including Ladywell – has been allocated £10,000 to spend on community projects that benefit the local neighbourhood, make a visible difference and have a long-lasting, positive effect. We want to hear suggestions from as many residents and local groups as possible. So please contact us using the details below to tell us your ideas.
The £10,000 can pay for one project or several smaller ones. Examples of possible projects might be:

• Hanging baskets / street planters / street trees
• Youth project
• Park benches
• A community art project
• A local event (eg a football tournament or an outing)
• Equipment for community use / solar panel for a local school

Last year’s Fund paid for street planters along Loampit Hill and on Algernon Road, playground equipment at Gordonbrock Primary School, a pool table for groups at Crofton Park Baptist Church, a contribution to Brockley Max Festival, bird/bat boxes for Hilly Fields and for this year’s Christmas tree and additional Christmas lights in Ladywell village.

If you have an idea for an activity or project you would like to receive funding for, please answer the questions below and send them in writing, by email or by phone to Cllr Ute Michel by Monday, 1 October 2007.

We plan to present and discuss the proposals at a public ward meeting on Thursday,
25 October 2007, 7.30-9.30pm at St Andrew’s Centre at the corner of Brockley Rd/Wickham Rd before a decision is made.

Suggestions Form:

1. Please describe the activity or project you would like the £10,000 or part of this amount to be spent on:
2. How do you think this would benefit the local community?
3. Where would this project or activity take place? When would this project or activity take place?
4. If you know how much money this would cost, please tell us here:
5. And now please tell us any other information about why your idea should be funded:
6. Please provide us with your contact details: NAME ADDRESS EMAIL TELEPHONE

Send your suggestions back to us either by email to cllr_ute.michel@lewisham.gov.uk, by phone: call Councillor Ute Michel on 020 8691 5212 or by posting it to:

Ladywell ward councillors

c/o Councillor Ute Michel
Lewisham Town Hall
Catford
SE6 4RU

We look forward to hearing from you.

Real Nappies for London Update

The Real Nappies for London scheme (RNfL) which was officially launched in June is now getting off the ground in Lewisham. A part-time officer to promote and administer the Real Nappies scheme has been appointed and it should be launched locally soon. In the meantime, parents in the borough with children in cloth nappies can claim their £30 voucher. Details here (the site also has lots of useful information on real nappies, including nappy exchanges etc).

Lewisham joined the scheme as a result of a Green budget amendment. Previous posts on nappies here.

Green Man Fayre 27th August, One Tree Hill Allotments

Just found out about another event happening this Monday that sounds great:

Green Man Fayre at One Tree Hill allotments, Honor Oak Park, 12-6pm. £2 per person, under 8s free.

This is part of the South London Permaculture Project which is based at One Tree Hill allotments. Sounds like there is lots going on, including Green Crafts, Metal Forging, bread baking & outdoor cooking, wood turning, yurts, face-painting and story-telling, tours and talks, apple pressing (bring your own apples for juice), cob building (wear old clothes, it will be messy!) bee keeping and lots of permaculture stuff.

For more info contact Merlyn on 0845 458 1734.

Slagrove Summer Scheme - A triumph!

Yesterday I went to the Slagrove Summer Scheme BBQ & Fun Day 2007, which was to mark the end of the 4-week Slagrove Summer Scheme. There was a showcase performance to demonstrate some of the skills the young people had acquired over the month, which included a steel drum band ('the Slagrovers'), a samba band, drama and singing.

Over 120 young people from the local area have taken part in the programme of events, which included, dance, drama and music workshops, day trips, football and art projects, amongst many other things. I particularly like the big 'Slagrove SE13' mosaic they had made, which I hope will be displayed somewhere prominently in Slagrove Place soon. All the young people and parents I spoke to were full of praise for the scheme and hoping that the scheme would be repeated next year.

The scheme was organised by the recently formed Slagrove Partnership, which involves L&Q, Family Mosaic & Elevate (part of Pinnacle Housing) who all own or manage properties within the local area. Further support was provided by Lewisham Council ASB/Community Safety Team, Youth Service, Extended Services and the Safer Neighbourhood Team.

From what I understand, the housing associations provided most of the funding, while the council supported the scheme by providing youth workers. The PCSOs from the Safer Neighbourhood team were also involved and said that they thought Slagrove Place had been a noticeably calmer, happier area this summer as a result of the scheme. I thought it was a great example of partnership working and a wonderfully positive (indirect) outcome of our Ladywell Ward Forum and subsequent meetings on Youth Provision last December, which representatives of some of the housing associations attended.

Well done to all concerned, but particularly to the hard work put in by Gill Wills and team from Extended Services, Thomas Joseph in Youth Service, Sonia Meggie and her team from L&Q, Ken Drysdale from Family Mosaic and Rebecca Potter from Elevate for making this happen.

There will be another meeting with Slagrove Partnership and residents in the next week or so to discuss what the next step should be. There seems to be some interest in restarting a residents' association in Slagrove Place, which would be good and there are also ongoing discussions about whether the two portakabins provided for the summer scheme could be used more permanently for year-round youth work, after-school clubs etc.

Lewisham Country Fayre

Another event on 23rd September that sounds good, details below from the council's press office:

Lewisham Country Fayre
Cornmill Gardens is Lewisham’s newest open space. Situated just off Loampit Vale, it provides access to the River Ravensbourne, which has been released from its concrete walls. To celebrate the opening, Lewisham will be holding it’s first Country Fayre on Sunday 23 September 2007 from 12-6pm The park will be filled with international music, a vintage fair, a trash art installation, arts and crafts available to make and buy, and a market of local traders. Children will enjoy the animal area where they will see a range of different animals from Polly’s Pets Farm and Berkeley Owls.

There will also be horticulture and craft competitions for all green fingered and artistic members of the Lewisham community. The non-specialist, light hearted categories to enter are:

• Best drawing with a Harvest theme
• Best hand knitted item
• Best flower arrangement
• Best photograph of rural Lewisham
• Funniest shaped vegetable
• Best cake
• Best jam

In addition to the fun and games that can be enjoyed at this glittering weekend, there will also be bags of information about council services including housing, adult and community services, community safety, and the regeneration of Lewisham Town Centre.For more information or to enter an exhibit please contact Deborah Efemini, Lewisham Town Centre manager on 020 8297 5635 or at lewishamcountryfayre@lewisham.gov.uk

St Andrew's Church 125th Anniversary Flower Festival

Just received an e-mail from Rev Barry Carter at St Andrew's Church on Brockley Road about their forthcoming flower festival to celebrate the church's 125th anniversary:

This year St Andrew's is celebrating its 125th Anniversary with a Flower Festival. The theme of the Festival is 'Then and Now' and will run from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd September with a Service of Celebration on Sunday morning at 11 am. Alongside the Flower Festival, we hope to mount an exhibition of the history of the Church and its surrounding community and visitors will also be able to tour St Andrew's Community Centre and see examples of its work, especially with children and young people.

The Flower Festival and exhibitions will be open at the following times:
Friday 21st September 11am - 7 pm
Saturday 22nd September 11 am - 5 pm
Sunday 23rd September 10 am - 2 pm
Service of Celebration Sunday 23rd September at 11 am

London Assembly Campaign Launch

Today was the official launch of my campaign as Green Party candidate for Greenwich & Lewisham London Assembly constituency. The weather wasn't exactly on our side (someone joked that there was a good reason us Greens these days talk about climate change rather than global warming!), but nevertheless we did our launch on Ha'Penny Hatch Bridge, on the border between Greenwich & Lewisham. I was the Green Party candidate last time round and very much relish the opportunity to do it again, with a little more experience under my belt than last time round. With me in the photo above are Darren Johnson (Brockley councillor and London Assembly member) and Sian Berry, who is the Green Party candidate for Mayor of London.

Recycling Bin at Ladywell Station

I noticed en route back from the Climate Camp the other day that the recycling bin at Ladywell Station was jammed with paper and other rubbish, and that there was no general rubbish bin nearby. A blue rubbish bin has now been placed next to the recycling bin (thanks Sam for acting speedily on that) and officers are going to monitor the situation to see if a second paper bin is required, or if this will solve the problem.

(another possible contender for not exactly the most exciting blog post in the world, but there you go.)

Ladywell Planning Applications

There have been a number of planning applications submitted recently in Ladywell ward. These can all be viewed by going to the planning website and selecting 'Ladywell' in the drop-down menu for 'ward'. Amongst others, the following have been submitted:

DC/07/66231/FT: 105 Ladywell Road, London, SE13 7JA, The change of use of 105 Ladywell Road SE13 to Use Class A3 (Hot Food Take Away), together with the installation of an extract duct.

DC/07/66345/FT and DC/07/66080/FT : changes to the shopfront and signage at the chemist at 285-287 Brockley Road.

DC/07/65834/X The construction of a three storey, 2 bedroom ecohouse at Garage adjacent to, 10 Malyons Road SE13.

Any comments should be sent to planning, quoting the application number you are writing in connection with.

Armed only with Peer-reviewed Science

I went to the Camp for Climate Action yesterday and was pretty impressed. I took part in a march through the village of Sipson, one of the villages that would be flattened to make way for the proposed third runway at Heathrow and there was clear support for the protest from local residents, many of whom took part in the march.

In a photoshoot designed to take a swipe at all those suggesting the protestors were a bunch of ill-informed hippies hell-bent on violence, we stood behind a banner stating "we are armed . . . only with peer-reviewed science" and holding up copies of the Tyndall report on climate change.

I didn't take part in any of the non-violent direct action (NVDA), it all looked a bit scary to me with far too many mounted police and riot shields, and I had a wedding party to get back to in the evening, but I have admiration for those who did.

Interesting for me as a Lewisham councillor, was the number of Lewisham Council black wheelie bins in evidence around the site. They were being used very effectively to seperate reyclables from compost, whereas normally anything in the black wheelie bins is incinerated at SELCHP. Some of the bins were being used in the compost toilets.

A badly-researched article in The Times last week suggested that Lewisham Council had donated the wheelie bins to the camp. The council hastily denied this and there is apparently an internal investigation going on as to where the bins might have come from.

I like to think that Lewisham is a hot-bed of enviromental activism and these wheelie bins were simply 'borrowed' for a few days from the homes of climate campers who will be returning them clean and empty in a few days time. Time will tell. Maybe a bit of waste has even been diverted from the incinerator in the meantime?

Why I'll be taking part in the protests against airport expansion tomorrow

I'm getting up unusually early for me on a Sunday tomorrow, as I'm making my way up to Heathrow to the Climate Camp protests. Yes, I know, I'm doing climate camp lite, and haven't done the whole week camping in the field thing, but I couldn't get the week off work and I'm still cleaning the mud off from the Big Green Gathering (and that wasn't very muddy, I'm just slow to clean my things). Anyway, why I'm going to the protest:

1. I'm angry at the ridiculous, hysterical coverage the camp has received in certain sectors of the press.
2. It needs to be big, otherwise the aforementioned press will deem the protest a 'failure'.
3. Aviation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases.
4. We need to reduce our carbon emissions to 90% by 2030 to prevent the worst of climate change.
5. More runways equals more planes equals more pollution and carbon emissions, which is incompatible with the above.
6. Airport expansion will increase the noise pollution and air pollution in London, not to mention destroying villages to build the runway, car parks, departure lounges etc.
7. Far too much of this country is already concreted over for cars - we don't need to concrete over even more for runways.
8. Our government talks green but seems to think we can carry on with business as usual with just a little bit of tinkering rounds the edges (eg we can just keep producing and consuming more but as long as we recycle we'll be ok).
9. A sizeable chunk of the population also seems to think the above and a worrying number of people still question the scientific consensus about climate change (perhaps because it is easier to pretend nothing needs to change?).
10. Because I am sick of people saying "there's no point in us doing anything if China and India don't do anything" (d'oh! never heard of contraction and convergence? why should we consume vastly more carbon per capita than the Chinese?).
    
11. Reducing your carbon footprint isn't some lifestyle choice that you can adopt for a few months until the next fad comes along.
    
12. I want to show some solidarity with the protestors.
13. Lots of my friends and fellow Greens will be there and it will be nice to see them.
14. I'm curious, it should be inspiring and empowering.
15. We have a democratic right to protest and I intend to use it, however intimidating the policing may be.
16. Should some opportunist read this and decide to write to the local paper and say that I was swanning off protesting in north London and neglecting the people of Ladywell, it will give me a great opportunity to write a response summarising the above. ;)
    
17. Lots of other reasons that don't spring to mind right now.

PS: Good article in today's Independent by Johann Hari.

Bring bike-hire revolution to London

I mentioned in a previous post back in April about a new bike hire scheme called Bicing that is being rolled out in Barcelona. I was delighted to learn that the Mayor of London is considering a similar scheme, possibly integrated with the Oyster card. Rumour has it that when Greens first started to push this one a year or so ago he was only lukewarm, but when it was quietly suggested that he might want to get it into his manifesto 'before Boris did' he was more receptive to the idea ;).

While I'm in a swiping mood, isn't the Tory London Assembly member Brian Coleman missing the point slightly in having a go at Blue Peter's Connie Huq for taking part in the launch of London Freewheel? No doubt Ken Livingstone did get political mileage out of the press launch, but surely this bike ride is something that should be attracting cross-party support, or is Brian Coleman scared it may make it more difficult to get around by taxi on that day?!

Anyway, enough sniping from me, press release from Green London Assembly member Jenny Jones below.

Bring bike-hire revolution to London

Welcoming the Mayor of London’s announcement that he is considering a plan to introduce a London version of the bike-hire scheme that is revolutionising public transport in Europe’s major cities, Jenny Jones, Green Party London Assembly Member, has called for the scheme to be in place as soon as possible.

“I have been working to get support for a London wide bike hire system for the last 12 months, and am delighted that the Mayor is now considering such a scheme. A London scheme could be self-financing, or even profitable. But to make sure it gets off the ground within the next year I will make it part of my budget negotiations with the Mayor. Cities like Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Vienna and Oslo have all recent! ly introduced bike hire schemes, and have had huge success, with millions of hire trips being made in the first few months.”

“Because bikes are often the quickest and most sustainable way to travel in cities, it makes perfect sense to provide them as a new form of public transport, integrated with the Oyster car system, especially when the bikes can be used as part of a longer journey by bus, tube or train. The more people that we can encourage to cycle this way, the more pressure there will be to provide better cycling facilities and infrastructure, paving the way towards truly making London a cycling city.”

Notes

• Jenny is the Mayor’s Green Transport Advisor
• In Paris, the Velib scheme started last month, and already offers 700 bike stations with 10,000 bikes. When the scheme is fully rolled out, it will offer a total of 1,451 bike stations (compared to 298 tube stations in Paris), with 20,000 bikes. Bikes are free for the first 30 minutes, then prices rise afterwards.
• In Barcelona, the Bicing scheme was launched in March, and offers 100 bike stations (with 1,500) bikes across the centre of the city. In 6 months, the cycles have already been used 1,000,000 times.
• In Berlin, cycles are activated with an Oyster-card equivalent, then may be left on any street corner within the city centre.
• Schemes (often linked to outdoor advertising) are also running in Lyon, Rennes, Seville, Cordoba, ! Giron, Brussels, Vienna and Oslo, soon to be joined by Marseilles, Mulhouse and Besançon.
• London already has one small scheme – the Oybike scheme – but this is small scale and the only bike stations are in Hammersmith and Fulham. A London-wide scheme, with TfL backing, would be more effective.

Lewisham '77

It is thirty years to the day since Lewisham residents came out in force to try and stop the National Front from marching through the borough. Although the march took place, the NF members were vastly outnumbered by local residents and anti-racist campaigners.

The official council commemoration of the events of '77 took place today with the unveiling of a plaque in front of a tree in Cornmill Gardens, which I attended.

Transpontine and friends have set up a blog, Lewisham '77, to share memories of the day and publicise other events planned.

I was only 3 years old when it all took place, and not living in Lewisham, but I am grateful to all those who stood their ground on that day and refused to let racists intimidate residents of the borough.

Lewisham Green Group LDF submission

Over the last few weeks I have been working with Dean and Mike to put together and submit a Green Group response to the public consulation on the Local Development Framework. It was a huge group of documents to digest and even though we restricted our response to certain key areas, it still ran to a fair few pages. Edited highlights of our response below, happy to send a full copy on request:

Housing and energy

• 50% of new homes to be affordable housing, with developers obliged to open up their financial calculations to public scrutiny if they say they cannot afford to build 50% affordable homes for local people
• New developments to be as close to zero-carbon as possible
• Homes to reach ‘excellent’ instead of ‘very good’ energy efficiency standard – and targets to be set out as a guide to meeting government’s zero-carbon policy by 2016
• Council to produce borough wind map so householders don’t waste money on wind turbines in unsuitable areas
• Developers to use recycled construction materials and low-carbon materials

Business in our communities

• Lewisham to be earmarked as a hub for the ecotech ‘green’ industries of the future, encouraging expertise, training and job creation in the borough through the establishment of a green business park or centre of excellence
• Local parades and neighbourhood shopping areas recognised as vital community hubs and prioritised for help over ‘destination’ shopping and out-of-town shopping
• Measures to stop multiple betting shops or other non-retail uses squeezing out vital shops and killing off local parades

Community composting / Waste

• First choice for dealing with household waste would be neighbourhood re-use, recycling and community composting schemes like the popular Pepys estate project that turns local people’s kitchen waste into a valuable compost instead of sending it to a landfill site or to burn at the incinerator – such facilities would become commonplace in large developments
• All homes to have dedicated space for recycling or composting

Biodiversity and natural assets

• Trees felled as part of a development to be replaced and native hedgerows encouraged as boundaries and habitats
• Lewisham from the air will become a patchwork of greenery and wildlife with 50% of new building roofspace as living roofs
• Protection against building on backland, infill and garden sites
• The council would use its compulsory purchase powers to buy land necessary to complete the Thames path and other river walks as close to the riverbanks as possible so our riverbanks are open to everyone to enjoy

Water / Floods

• Developers would have to install water saving devices, water harvesting systems, living roofs, cisterns, water sinks and SUDS
• Developers would have to build homes with safer power and water supplies in the case of flooding and design them to increase flood victims’ safety and comfort
• Developers to underwrite flood insurance for 20 years from occupation
• Local rivers would have naturalised flood defences and flood plains to lessen the danger from flash floods
• A new rule discouraging the paving of gardens as driveways

Transport

• The Council will actively support service improvements for orbital rail routes across south London
• More home zones and 20mph zones identified to keep children safe
• Easier for developers to build car-free developments
• Active support for car clubs from council and developers
• Cyclists’ needs prioritised and cycle improvements compulsory in new developments instead of token gestures

The Launch of Brockley Housing PFI

For all council tenants and leaseholders in the properties transferring to B3 (most council properties in Brockley and Ladywell wards and a couple of streets in Crofton Park). Hopefully you have already received an invitation through your door, but just in case:

Regenter B3 invites you to the launch of Brockley Housing PFI

Thursday August 16
2.30pm – 7.30pm
Drop in any time between times shown

St Andrew’s Community Centre
Brockley Road
Brockley
SE4 2SA

Find out who Regenter B3 are and how the PFI affects you, including;
· Meet the team
· Meet your housing manager
· See an example kitchen and bathroom
· Meet the refurbishment team
· Ask questions
· Get involved with a Tenants Association
· Tell us what you think
· See the refurbishment program
· Ask about local community initiatives

Tetra Pak Recycling in Lewisham

I was pleased to learn today that special collection bins to recycle Tetra Paks are to be introduced to 5 sites in Lewisham.

Ruscombe Green blogged last year about a scheme whereby individuals could post their cartons back to Tetra Pak to recycle. More recently I found out about a scheme Tetra Pak are investing in to introduce recycling facilities into various local authorities . I contacted Lewisham's Strategic Waste & Environment Manager to ask if we could also apply for this, but she was already on the case!

The cartons can be recycled through special collection bins at 5 sites in the borough:- Sainsbury, New Cross Gate- Sainsbury, Forest Hill- Laurence House car park, Catford- Grove Park Bus Garage, Baring Road- Tesco, Lewisham. Hopefully a site a bit closer to Brockley or Ladywell will be added soon - by the existing recycling bins outside Brockley Sorting Office might be handy.

It's good that Tetra Pak are putting some money into this, and not before time. Perhaps it is a sign that the packaging industry as a whole is slowly waking up to its environmental responsibilities? A cynic would argue that it's great value PR for a highly profitable industry under increasing pressure to clean up its act.

It is probably still greener and less energy intensive to avoid Tetra Paks where possible, eg by getting your milk delivered in reusable glass bottles and getting bottles of Kent Apple Juice from Hilly Fields Farmers' Market as opposed to cartons of juice from the supermarket, but recycling Tetra Paks is still better than incincerating them, in my opinion (the more we can starve SELCHP, the better).

Further details, from the council's press release:
Each year, UK beverage carton manufacturers produce approximately 55,000 tonnes of paper-based cartons for milk, juice, sauces and other liquid foods/drinks. This equates to around 2.3kg of cartons per household which could be recycled instead of thrown in the rubbish bin. In response, Lewisham Council, in conjunction with Tetra Pak Ltd and the carton industry body ACE UK (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment), has established carton collection points at key locations around the borough for residents to take their empty cartons to be recycled.

Once collected they can be taken away to be baled and transported to a recycling mill. They can be recycled into a number of different products, ranging from plasterboard liner to high-strength paper bags and envelopes.

Carton Recycling Process
Beverage cartons consist of up to three main materials:
Paperboard (typically 70-90%)
Low density polyethylene (typically 10-25%)
Aluminium foil (about 5%, only in long-life or aseptic packages)

The carton recycling process is essentially quite simple. Baled cartons are dropped into a pulper, similar to a giant domestic food mixer, filled with water and pulped for around 20 minutes. This delaminates the packaging, breaking down the package to produce a grey-brown slurry. The aluminium foil and polyethylene are separated from the fibre, which is recovered to make new paper products.

Wood fibres become shorter and lose some strength every time they are recycled, and can only be recycled about five times. This means that there always has to be an input of virgin material into the papermaking process to maintain quality.

The long, high-strength fibres of these cartons means there is a reduced need to buy virgin pulp. In the UK, the recovered fibre is used to manufacture new high-strength products such as paper carrier bags and envelopes.

New Blog: Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries

Following our successful first meeting on 11th July, Patrick and Polly have set up a blog for the new group 'Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries'.

Please take a look, it's got lots of useful links, some great pictures from Polly, some history and info about famous people buried in the cemetery and details of the next meeting. Polly has also set up a flickr site with more photos.

Next meeting: Wednesday 8th August, 7.30pm, Brockley Grove Depot, ( on Brockley Grove, next to the cemeteries and opposite Crofton Baptist Church) All are welcome

Childrens' holiday money stolen from St Andrew's Church

I was saddened to read in the South London Press today that St Andrew's Church on Brockley Road has been broken into twice in the last fortnight and that a safe containing money parents had paid for their kids to go on a week-long activity holiday was stolen. The children were due to go to Macaroni Wood in Gloucestershire, but the trip may have to be cancelled now. Video and computer equipment was also stolen. Anyone interested in helping St Andrews get back on its feet can e-mail Johann saintandys@aol.com or call 020 8314 5118. According to the article a 16-year-old has been arrested in connection with the burglaries and bailed, but it doesn't mention whether the cash was retrieved.

Update 7th August: very pleased to read in Friday's SLP that thanks to donations from the council, Brockley Society, Brockley Police and Community Advice Centre and a personal donation from the Mayor, the children from St Andrew's Youth Club will be going on holiday afterall.

Lewisham Green Drinks - coming soon to a pub near you!

After a bit of discussion with other local greenies (not just political greenies but Friends of the Earth and others) we have decided to set up a Lewisham Green Drinks, rather like the London Green Drinks, if you've heard of them, but more local. The idea is that anyone interested in discussing green issues/networking with other green-minded people can meet up in a pub once a month. So far we've settled upon the third Monday of every month, with the first meet-up being on Monday 17th September, and we've got a yahoo group and a Facebook page. Send an e-mail if you'd like to be added to the yahoo group. What we haven't done yet, which is possibly the most important bit, is chosen a venue.

Ideally, we'd like to go for somewhere with some green credentials, ie selling some organic/locally-produced beer, fairtrade tea & coffee and perhaps some good food. Any suggestions? I think I need to spend more time researching suitable venues ;).

Planning Application: Ladywell Water Tower, Dressington Avenue

A planning application has been submitted by T Mobile for Ladywell Water Tower, Dressington Avenue.

"Listed Building Consent for the replacement of three steel panels on the water tank with glass reinforced replica panels at Ladywell Water Tower, Dressington Avenue SE4, together with the installation of three telecommunication antennae inside the tank. (This is a duplicate of the application for Listed Building Consent dated 9 May 2006, ref. DC/06/62509, which has still to be determined)"

Anyone wishing to comment on this application should do so as soon as possible (the official deadline has passed but any comments received before it goes to planning committee will still be taken into consideration) by e-mailing planning and quoting the application reference DC/07/65919/FT.

A meeting has been organised by planning for representatives of objectors to meet with the applicants. This is taking place tomorrow (Tuesday 31st July). Ute will be attending.

Comments on revised Lewisham Gateway Proposals

Artist's impresssion of the Gateway from Cornmill Gardens

Below is a response from the five Green councillors not on strategic planning committee, to the revised planning application for Lewisham Gateway. This is a slight revision of our earlier statement. If you would like to comment on the application, you should send comments to planning, quoting the application reference DC/06/62375/X, by 8th August.

We support in principle the regeneration of Lewisham Town Centre 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 town centre; 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:-

1. 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 of social housing and intermediate housing in line with the policies on affordable housing within the London Plan.
2. The plans need to ensure the provision of safe cycle routes around the Gateway. We also call for an increase in the level of non-residential and residential cycle parking and are concerned that the Supplementary Transport Assessment is underestimating the number of cycle trips in its predictions.
3. Given the air quality monitoring reports and future air quality projections for the site a development with extensive car parking provision will merely add to traffic problems and exacerbate the already poor air quality in the area. We therefore call for a significant reduction in the 500 private parking spaces, given the location next to Lewisham’s main public transport interchange. We would welcome a car-free development, but plans for a car-club, car sharing, cycle user facilities and a green travel plan must be required as a planning condition.
4. We call for exemplary standards in sustainable design and construction. Ideally, we wish to see such a landmark development be a zero carbon development but at the very least the Mayor’s London Plan policy of at least 10% on-site renewables (due to be increased to 20%) must be delivered.
5. 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. Planting and other mitigation measures such as terracing to deal with excessive windiness must be required in the Confluence Park. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 retail outlets.
8. 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 in the Gateway needs to be made for children’s play space but believe indoor as well as outdoor play facilities are required.
   
   Regards
   
   Cllr Darren Johnson
   Cllr Sue Luxton
   Cllr Ute Michel
   Cllr Romayne Phoenix
   Cllr Mike Keogh

A new friend for the cow bins?!

The cow bins at 'Moo Cross' have apparently been a huge success and have now also been rolled out to schools across Lewisham. Yesterday I went on the Lewisham Green Party outing to Yalding Organic Gardens in Kent, and came across a possible friend for the cows.

Introducing, Alys the Rolypig compost bin:

What do you think?!

Rolypig's website says the composter "turns a chore into a pleasure with its simple operation and attractive appearance. Never again will you dump green waste in the dustbin to be expensively transported to the landfill site [incinerator, in Lewisham's case] . . . Just think how much fossil fuel energy is wasted in this way to bury a potentially useful garden fertilizer. . . Every time you roll your Rolypig onto its next flat side, you aerate all the contents automatically, simple, no complicated mechanism."

The price quoted on the Rolypig website is rather steep, but perhaps if the council went the 'whole hog' (sorry) and bulk ordered one for every school, we could get a special deal. Sounds like an excellent way to get children (and adults) converted to the joys of composting! So how about it, Nigel, can we have our very own Lewisham waste-eating urban farms please?!

Lewisham Oxfam Campaigns - Ladywell Meeting

Quick plug for Lewisham Oxfam Campaigns' meeting in Ladywell next Wednesday:

Could you be involved with Oxfam’s campaign to end poverty?
Come and meet the Lewisham Oxfam Campaigns group and Oxfam's Activist Support Team Leader Adam Askew

Wed 18th July, 7.30 pm, Life Café (downstairs)
71 Ladywell Road, SE13.

Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries

Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting on Wednesday night in the cemetery chapel - about 25 people in total - not bad at all for a first meeting with limited publicity.

There was general enthusiasm for starting up a Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries group, although a wide range of views were expressed on how the cemeteries should be maintained. A wide range of interests and connections brought people to the meeting - some were interested in the historical importance of the cemeteries, others in the wildlife, some in photographing the memorials, some in the Commonwealth war graves and some in particular in the graves of loved ones.

Special thanks should go to local resident Jeff Hart, who shared with the group his extensive experience in setting up Friends of Nunhead Cemetery and gave us lots of useful advice and food for thought.

A follow-up meeting has been arranged for Wednesday 8th August, 7.30pm, this time in the Brockley Grove depot, next door to the cemetery. The aim of this meeting will be to decide what people want the group to achieve, how to set it up and hopefully people will start work to move things forward.

I've got the minutes to type up over the weekend and will try to post them here. Hopefully a couple of people (our 'IT sub-committee') are setting up a FOBLC blog and an e-mail list very soon.

Green Waste Collection Pilot (brown bins)

As already mentioned by Robert and Andrew , a green waste collection service is currently being trialled in Lewisham. This was one of the Green Party budget amendments accepted by the Mayor earlier this year. The pilot will run for four months and will cover 5,000 households, who will be offered brown wheelie bins and information leaflets explaining what can go in them. There will also be a number of free compost bins available. The aim of the trial is a) to get residents composting what they can in their garden b) use the brown bins for garden waste they can't easily compost themselves (eg hedge clippings). If this proves to be an effective way to reduce the volume of waste in the black bins and increase the borough's recycling rate (yes, apparently it can count towards the recycling target), then funds permitting, the programme could be rolled out to more homes. At least one street in Ladywell ward, Marsala Road, is taking part in the pilot.

There are a number of issues with introducing a third bin that need to be considered, not least space in people's front gardens/on the pavement, as well as the extra lorries on the roads to collect the waste, but hopefully in the longer-term the black bins can be replaced with smaller bins, as is already happening in parts of the borough. We need to look at ways of dramatically increasing the borough's recycling rate as well as reducing the overall volume of waste produced, and introducing a green waste collection service is one way of doing this. Some residents have apparently complained that they don't like the colour of the new bins - guess you can't please everybody all of the time :)

Clean and Green Schools Awards

A number of people have asked me recently whether I am enjoying being a councillor and my answer is generally something along the lines of 'most of the time, yes, but sometimes it's incredibly frustrating'. Yesterday afternoon was definitely one of the fun bits of being a councillor, when together with Deputy Mayor Heidi Alexander I was handing out the awards for the Clean and Green Schools awards.

Before the winners were announced, there was a brilliant and exceedingly loud workshop by Big Beat, a group who make music using percussion instruments made from junk. The councillors and officers present loved it and thought it would be a good to have a session before/after full council meetings, and the children seemed to enjoy it to.

Anyway, congratulations to all the schools who took part and won awards, though special mentions should go to St Stephen's CE and Stillness Infants, who scooped the top two prizes. In addition to recycling, the schools were involved with all sorts of projects including wildlife ponds, composting, reducing waste, freecycling, litter picks and litter surveys, collecting unwanted items to donate to charity, to designing 'rubbish monsters'. Very inspiring. I hope they go home and nag their families to do the same.

Greens Back Ladywell Fields Himalayan Balsam Massacre

Mike, me and local volunteers in the River Ravensbourne on Sunday pulling up the dreaded Himalayan Balsam. If not removed, it covers the riverbank to the detriment of native species, then when it dies off in winter the banks are left bare and prone to erosion. Hence Nick Harvey organised 'Operation Sam' to try and get rid of as much of it as possible before it seeded. It grows incredibly quickly. We were clearing it from the recently planted river bank by the new hospital building, where the native plants were already in danger of being completely obliterated by the balsam. Hopefully the yellow flag iris etc will now reassert itself. Really enjoyable morning splashing about in the river. Sorry, couldn't resist the little dig in the title.

Licensing Application: Cafe Neu

FYI, from the licensing team:

The following premise has applied for a NEW / VARIATION Premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003.

Café Neu
300 Brockley Road
London
SE4 2RA

Applied for live music Friday –Saturday 19:00 – 23:00 & sale of alcohol Monday – Saturday 12:00 – 23:00 & Sunday 13:00 – 20:00.

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

Any representations should reach licensing by 9th August 2007.

New School for Lewisham - a community school please, NOT another academy

New School for Lewisham - mininster for education refuses to give Lewisham exemption from competition process.

Following the Mayor's decision to build the new secondary school at Lewisham Bridge, instead of at Ladywell Leisure Centre, the council applied to the secretary of state for education for exemption from competition rules, ie permission to go ahead and build a community school instead of having to organise a competition allowing any organisation who wanted to bid to run the school as an academy, foundation school or similar. Unfortunately, the secretary of state has turned down that request. A report going to Mayor & Cabinet tonight outlines various options for the Mayor, including asking for permission for Lewisham to take part in the competition process for a new school (yes, that's right, ask for permission to build our own school in the borough), persuading Leathersellers (who run Prendergast School) to ask for exemption from the competition process allowing them to open a foundation school or going ahead with a full competition process in which any interested organisation could bid to run the new school (ie as an academy and anyone from McDonalds to a religious group could decide to bid for this).

I strongly believe the council should stand its ground and seek permission to bid for a community school. I'm not convinced the council should have to ask permission from the government for this at all, but that is how things stand (ironic in the same week when the government announced pilots to devolve more decision-making powers to local communities). There has been cross-party consensus within Lewisham Council on the desire for a new community school, not an academy or foundation school and I hope this continues to be the case. I believe a community school would best serve the needs of local people and I am concerned that an academy would be less accountable to local residents and the local authority.

Update (11.15pm): the Mayor approved the recommendations he was given in the report, which means that the council will see if Leathersellers get exemption from the competition process and then go for a foundation school. I would like to have seen the Mayor fight for what I thought was the consensus within the council and seek permission to bid for a community school as Haringey recently successfully did and won. Very disappointing.

Work to begin on Ladywell Fields

From the council press office, FYI:

Work is about to begin on enhancing and improving the north end of Ladywell Fields. Over the next few weeks, areas of the park will be fenced off and works machinery will be delivered.

The work to be carried out will include:
1. Making the park more attractive by:
planting a greater diversity of trees and riverside plants
creating an additional stream through the centre of the park with surrounding trees
creating open spaces at entrances so they are more welcoming.
2. Improving access by:
creating a new accessible path to Ladywell station
creating wheelchair/buggy access to the new stream
reducing the slope of the path along the northern river bank
improving signage.

The tennis courts, children’s playground and skateboard park will remain open throughout the course of the works.

The regeneration of the park is being carried out through the QUERCUS Project and will cost £460,000 with most funding being provided by EU LIFE, the European Commission’s environmental fund.

Previous posts on Ladywell Fields and the Quercus project.

Privatisation of Lewisham and Forest Hill Crown Post Offices

In May we passed two motions at full council expressing concern at plans to merge Lewisham High Street and Forest Hill post offices with branches of WHSmith and asking the Mayor to '"convene a meeting with key stakeholders" to discuss these proposals. Councillors have today received the following response from the CWU.

From: Communication Workers Union - 28 June 2007

Privatisation of Lewisham and Forest Hill Crown Post Offices

Further to your letter dated 4 June 2007 regarding the above.
Please convey my thanks to the councillors of Lewisham for their support in our campaign to defend Post Office services. The council add their name to hundreds of others, including MPs and the Mayor of London who are supporting our campaign and the provision of local services.

The Communication Workers Union is very keen to meet with the Mayor of Lewisham, along with other stakeholders, to discuss the proposal privatisation OF Forest Hill and Lewisham Crown Offices to WH Smith.

To this end, I have copied this letter to Mr John Denton, Regional Secretary, London, and Graham Henson, Territory Counters Representative, Eastern Region, who will be in touch with the Mayor’s office in due course to make the appropriate arrangements.

As you may be aware, we are currently in dispute with POL due to plans to cut our members’ pay and privatise 85 Crown Post Offices with the loss of up to 1500 jobs nationally. As part of this dispute, we have launched a boycott of WH Smith and are calling on all supporters of Post Office services to support us in our endeavours. I have enclosed a copy of the leaflet we have been distributing for the aforementioned purpose.

If you would like further information about our boycott campaign, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Signed

Ian Ward
Acting Assistant Secretary

B3 Housing Open Day: 19th July

B3, the consortium that will be managing council housing in the Brockley and Ladywell area for the next 20-odd years, are holding a project launch/open day for all council tenants and leaseholders in the area on Thursday 19th July, from 2pm until 7pm in St Andrews Community Hall (corner of Brockley Rd with Wickham Rd).

This is an open day to introduce the new management team to residents, explain the refurbishment programme, choices for kitchens, bathrooms etc.

Higgins (the contractor carrying out the refurbishments to bring all properties up to decent home standards) will also have their Community Action team there who will be talking to anyone interested in employment opportunities.

Previous post on Brockley PFI.

Betting shop application - new date for hearing

Ute's just told me that a new date has been set for the conclusion of the part-heard hearing regarding the betting shop licence for 329-331 Brockley Road (formerly Homeview Video Shop). Friday, 7 September 2007 at 10.00 at Bromley Magistrates Court, London Road, Bromley, Kent BR1.

Loampit Pool: ground floor with windows

Further to the questions I asked yesterday, I've had a reply back from the council officer responsible for overseeing the pool project. Pasted below FYI:

1. Please can you confirm whether the plans are for the pool to be in the basement or on the first floor.
The new pool has not yet been designed. However, the brief includes a requirement that it should be at ground floor with level access.

2 Will it have windows?
The brief requires that the pool should be glazed in accordance with standards for pools regarding water surface glare. The solution will therefore be similar to Downham Lifestyles and other modern pools. The purpose of the Allies and Morrison report was to provide a diagram of how the site could be arranged and an indication of the capacity of the site. It was intended as a technical document for use by architects when they come to the final design. They were also asked to produce an indicative sketch and, unfortunately, it is this sketch that has been misinterpreted as a "design". If we do proceed with this site then the final design is unlikely to look anything like the A&M sketch, especially in view of the negative feedback.

3. Health spa - please can you provide more details of the spec. for this. ie will there be a replacement for the much loved Turkish baths, as well as a sauna, steam room etc?
The brief for the health spa is 3 treatment rooms, a steam room and a Sauna as well as a reception area. It must be DDA compliant.

4. A number of residents have expressed concern over the loss of diving facilities. Please can you outline the reasons behind this.
Diving and swimming in a shared pool creates a conflict of uses. This results in management and supervision problems. A shallower pool is safer for swimmers and provides better visibility for lifeguards. The limited demand for diving facilities suggests that it can be dealt with on a sub regional rather than local basis and this requirement is met at Crystal Palace.

5. Please can you provide a more detailed breakdown of the costs given in the table on p5 of the report to Mayor & Cabinet on 16 May 2007 – what does refurbishment include? Can you confirm that the cost of asbestos removal has been subtracted from this, for example? Does it include any new provision/buildings at Ladywell, or purely refurbishing the existing facilities?
The cost estimate provided in the M&C report was based on a cost study carried out in 2000 and that would address the key condition and suitability work required, at the time the estimated cost was £9.5m. In 2002 the Centre was closed following the identification of asbestos in the ceiling areas. The work then undertaken involved the removal of asbestos from the ceilings, public areas and ductwork and other work to the plant including concrete repairs. The site re-opened in 2004. This work was sufficient to deal with risks related to asbestos but did little to address the refurbishment needs of the building.

6. At the Overview & Scrutiny business panel mtg to consider the Loampit Vale report, the officer said that the new pool will be a zero carbon building. Can you confirm that this will indeed be the case and if so, how will that be achieved?
The brief for the new pool, along with the proposed adjoining residential development, is an aim to have zero carbon emissions. This would be achieved by a combination of low energy demand design (insulation, ventilation, etc) and a single energy source that exploits the balanced energy demands between the pool and the housing. If the energy is generated on site then the fuel source would need to be bio diesel and / or woodchips. Electricity generation would from a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) boiler or wind turbines or solar panels. If it is decided to proceed with a new pool at Loampit Vale this will be reported on in more detail when considering the developer submissions. It is difficult to provide figures prior to this more detailed report but it is an issue that will be addressed.

7. The M&C report says that there will be 250 spectator seats alongside the new pool. How does this compare with the provision at the existing pool?
The existing pool has 520 seats. The new pool brief is for 250 seats is the result of the leisure needs report.

8. How will the pool be financed? Receipts from the sale of Aragon Tower, Loampit Vale developers contributions, the sale of Ladywell Leisure Centre site? Can you confirm how much you estimate the new pool will cost the borough, where this money will come from and what any leftover money from the Aragon Tower sale and the anticipated sale of the Ladywell site will be used for? Could the developers subsidising the pool mean that we ultimately get a lower percentage of affordable housing in the development?
The new pool will be funded from a combination of an allocation in the capital programme (part of the Aragon receipt) and the developer's own funds. It would form part of the developers payment for the Council's land. There remains an aim to achieve a level of affordable housing in accordance with the UDP (35%). Details of this are commercially sensitive and if we proceed with a new pool this will be reported to the Mayor on part 2 of the agenda. Any capital surplus will go back into the capital programme.

9. I have assured residents that all views will be noted in the report that the goes to M&C, and that the consultants are recording all comments, including those who ask for refurbishment. Please can you confirm that this is still the case.
The report to M&C on the consultation will include feedback from consultees who expressed the view that Ladywell should be refurbished. The results of the Consultation are likely to be reported to Mayor & Cabinet on 17 July 2007.

I asked one more question that I expect will take a bit longer to respond to:
Residents are unconvinced when I suggest that in this case a new build could be more energy efficient than refurbishment. It would be v useful if you could provide further information about the approximate annual carbon emissions and energy usage at Ladywell and how the new pool would compare to this (including construction – ie carbon used in concrete production, construction transport costs etc). What will the payback period be before the new pool becomes 'greener' than keeping the existing one?

Thanks for the comments on my previous post on this topic, I suspect this may prompt more. I'm a bit tired to comment in much more detail now, but I am increasingly inclined to support the proposals for a new pool at Loampit.

New Pool Consultation

A quick reminder that the deadline for responses to the new swimming pool consultation is this Wednesday, 4th July.

The consultation

A number of residents have contacted me about this, to express concern that there is no 'third option' of refurbishing the pool on the consultation. I have already conveyed local residents' frustration at the lack of a 'refurbishment' option in the consultation to the officer leading on the consultation. He contacted the consultants carrying out the surveys and confirmed that they are "capturing the views of those people who favour the refurbishment option" and has assured me that all views will be included in the report to the Mayor on 11 July 2007. The reason they are only consulting on the two options, is because following officer advice on the cost-effectiveness of refurbishment versus rebuild, the Mayor & Cabinet ruled out the refurbishment option at their meeting on 16th Mayor. The full report prepared for that meeting can be found here.

A meaningful consultation needs to note the views of all residents, yet it would be similarly meaningless to offer residents the option of a refurbishment if the Mayor has already ruled it out on cost grounds.

I have asked for further breakdown of their cost estimates. If it would indeed be cheaper (including running costs) to build a new pool, rather than refurbishing a 30 year old pool and there would be no gap in provision, then this may make sense for the borough.

The Save Ladywell Pool campaign have their own suggestions on how to fill in the consultation.

What facilities will the Loampit pool have?
There seems to be some uncertainty amongst residents (and to an extent councillors!) about what facilities the new Loampit pool would have.
In brief, it will have:

• 8 lane 25 metre competition pool
• 20 metre teaching pool with moveable floor
• Dance, exercise and aerobics studio
• 100 station fitness suite
• Health spa
• Crèche
• Cafe

So on the plus side, it will have a considerably bigger gym than the one at Ladywell.

The new pool will be 8 x 25m lanes, rather than the current 6 x 33m lanes. ie the same swimming space, if not v slightly more than the existing pool at Ladywell. This is so that it will meet Amateur Swimming Association and Sport England competition standards and would be available for County level competition. Sounds reasonable to me. The 33 metre 6 lane pool at Ladywell cannot currently be used for such competitions, having a non standard length.

Other points
I have asked for further information from officers on a number of points, including:

• What facilities will be provided in the health spa, and whether this includes a replacement for the much-loved Turkish baths.
• Further details on why there are no plans for diving facilities at the new pool.
• Windows: my understanding following a conversation with the Mayor is that the new pool will be built on the ground floor and will have windows providing natural light, but again, I've asked for further assurance on this point.
• Funding: I have also asked for further clarification on the funding of the new pool and how any surplus receipts from the sale of the Ladywell site will be spent. Some of the money from the sale of Aragon Tower on the Pepys estate was apparently put aside for a new leisure centre, and the argument for selling the Ladywell site is to pay for the new pool, yet it is also possible that the developers will foot a large part of the bill for the new pool (financed by the flats above it), so I am waiting for further information on this. What I wouldn't want is a trade-off which meant very little affordable housing in the flats above, because of the cost of the pool.
• Energy-saving/carbon-emissions for rebuild vs refurbishment. I've asked for further clarification on the energy-saving/carbon-emissions argument behind building the new pool - how much more energy efficient will it be versus the energy costs involved in building it - how long will it take for it to start 'saving' energy and carbon emissions compared to Ladywell, once construction was taken into account. At a recent meeting I attended, the officer present told me the new building would be zero carbon, but I am awaiting further details on how this will be achieved, if it is in fact the case. Normally, it is considered greener to refurbish buildings than rebuild, but the huge energy use of swimming pools, particularly those built 30-odd years ago, mean that this might not be the case in this instance.
  

I'll post any response I get to the above points (assuming it's not confidential).

When we were elected last year, we stood on a platform of opposing the closure of Ladywell Pool until a replacement with equal or better facilities had been built and that remains the case now. We were delighted the Mayor agreed not to build the new school there and not to demolish the pool before a replacement was ready. I'll reserve my final opinion on refurbishment vs new pool at Loampit until I have answers to the points I raised above, but at the moment, I do think that building a new pool at Loampit Vale could be the better long-term option, in terms of financial cost, energy savings and provision. I don't think building a new pool at the Ladywell Leisure Centre with a minimum 2- year gap in swimming provision would be a good idea (look how long Downham had to wait for their new pool). Loampit Vale will be a bit further for those of us close to the current site, but perfectably walkable/cyclable and with better public transport links than the current site (ie DLR and train as well as being served by buses) for more residents of the borough.

A couple of ward events

A couple of events happening in Ladywell ward over the next few weeks, which may be of interest (from the Brockley Max e-mail list).

Brockleywood Nights
5 July 2007 – 8-10pm
@ Elastic Productions
286 Brockley Road, SE4 2RA
(Across the road from Moonbow Jakes)

FREE ENTRY!
Come and enjoy an evening of South London shorts at Brockley’s only open air Summer screening! See a variety of film styles right in the centre of this buzzing neighbourhood. In conjunction with Elastic Productions and Moonbow Jakes a great (and Free) time will be had by all.

Please email Declan for info and to reserve a place… or just turn up!

TASTER AFTERNOON ~ SATURDAY 14TH JULY ~ 2 to 6PM SUNFLOWER CENTRE
Choose from the following:

Pilates Studio
David Canevaro will be offering 15 minute taster sessions in the new pilates equipment studio on the top floor of the Centre.

One to Ones (up to two per person)
Rieko Oshima-Barclay; 20 minute aromatherapy massage - body, or facial (face, neck and shoulders).
Isabel Sheridan; 30 minute massage therapy taster.
Sophie Evans; 20 minute aromatherapy sessions.
Nicky Jarrett; 30 minute Reiki taster sessions.
Eileen Reynolds and Rupert Lander; 15 minute mini consultations to discuss your health issue with one of our acupuncturists.

Group tasters
Tania Pearce will be doing a talk and short practical on Hypnobirthing.
Sophie Evans will also be running a 45 minute demonstration of baby massage, for babies over one month and under a year old.
Ella Titman will be holding yoga sessions to talk about what yoga is about and what it can do for you; some practice will be included. These sessions will be suitable for beginners as well as those who have done yoga already.

1-1's & pilates £10, group tasters £5 each. To book call 020 8694 2714. For more info on any of the therapies, go to www.thesunflowercentre.co.uk

Localities Fund 2007/8

Once again, each ward in Lewisham has a £10,000 fund to spend on community projects within the ward. Last year it was all a bit of a rush, but fortunately this year we are being given more time to consult local residents.

Last year's Ladywell fund was spent on new playground equipment for Gordonbrock Primary, street planters for Loampit Vale, additional Christmas lights, a Christmas tree and street planters around the Ladywell Road/Algernon Road junction, a pool table for the youth club at Crofton Baptist Church and bat and bird boxes for Hilly Fields.

I'll be posting more info on this soon, but in the meantime, if you have any thoughts on how the £10,000 for 2007/8 should be spent, please leave a comment.

Brockley Open Studios - last chance Monday!

Had an interesting afternoon combining delivering our latest Green News with stopping off to look at various artists' work as part of the Brockley Open Studios weekend.
First stop was to see the Brockley Murals in Prendergast school, which are considered to be a supreme example of 1930s neo-romanticism, apparently. The more you look at them, the more details you spot in them. Well worth a visit.

Then I popped to see Maria Strutz on Montague Avenue - lots of bears, goddesses and labyrinths. Then (after dully delivering newsletters to Comerford Rd, Howson Rd and Kneller Rd), I got to what is (by my unscientific reckoning) the second most artistic road in Ladywell ward - Braxfield Rd, where there were four artists taking part in Brockley Open Studios - Marisa Renzullo, Benjamin Glean, Elizabeth Nicholson and Caroline Underwood.

Brockley apparently has the highest concentration of artists anywhere in Europe after Montmartre. 39 artists have taken part in Brockley Open Studios this year, including an incredible 7 artists along Tyrwhitt Rd and 8 on Manor Avenue, arguably the epi-centre of all things artistic in Brockley. The last chance to get to see their work is tomorrow (Monday 2nd July) from 5pm-8pm!

BTW, if anyone would like to help deliver any of the remaining Green News, please drop me a line. All offers of help gratefully received.

(I wonder if anyone's ever investigated how many musicians live in and around Brockley, I'm sure there's loads of them too, I know a harpist, 2 composers and a trumpet player for starters!)