Hilly Fields Users' Group Meetings

Hilly Fields Users Group have a meeting this coming Wednesday (21st) at 8pm in the Old Bothy (near the bowling green on Hilly Fields). Their AGM will be held in the same place at 8pm on Wednesday 10th June. If you wish anything to be discussed about the park, but can't make meeting, please forward comments to the chair. Take a look also at their great new website.

Free Dog Microchipping this Monday, near Hilly Fields

Lewisham Council, in conjunction with the south east London branch of the RSPCA, Battersea Cats & Dogs Home and Lewisham’s Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be holding a free microchipping event for dogs owned by Lewisham residents.

The microchipping session will be on Monday 18 May, from 12 midday to 4pm, Hilly Fields Crescent, on board the Safer Lewisham Partnership Bus.

Microchipping can help to reunite owners with their dogs should they become lost or stolen.

Residents should bring:
Proof of ownership, such as a vet card or bill, photograph, or pedigree papers
Proof that they live in the borough e.g. Council Tax statement or utility bill.

Residents can call the Animal Welfare team on 020 8314 2098 for further information or turn up on the day.

Deadline to register to vote: 19th May!

This Tuesday, 19th May, is the deadline to register to vote in the European Elections on 4th June. Find out how to register and more about the elections on the About my vote website. Citizens from other EU countries living in the UK are entitled to vote here, rather than in their own country, but you need to fill in a form (again by 19th May) to enable you to do this.

Not sure who to vote for on 4th June?
The EU Profiler, the first European-wide application providing advice on this year's European Parliament Elections has been launched. The Profiler offers all European citizens the possibility to analyse in a few minutes which political parties are closest to their political preferences, based on answers to a number of questsion on policies. Out of all the political parties in Europe, mine came out closest to the Swedish Pirate Party (!), but fortunately, out of the UK ones, closest to the Green Party (albeit the more pro-European end of it). Interesting to note also that this profiler places the Labour Party slightly to the right of the Conservative Party!

Hello, we're the Green Party

Clearly I'm biaised, but I liked our European election broadcast, which was shown earlier in the week. Take a look either here or on YouTube. Members of the BLF (beard liberation front) should note that they may find some scenes mildly offensive!



Jean's latest e-news
You can read the latest e-news from Jean Lambert MEP here.

Downloadable 'Vote Green' poster
If you're a Green Party voter and would like to show your support, there's a poster on our website that you can download and print off. Alternatively, get in touch and we'll drop one off to you. And if you have any spare time and are willing to help with our campaign, or perhaps can offer to deliver our newsletters to your street, please do get in touch; we always welcome new volunteers!

Brockley Councillor Darren Johnson is new chair of London Assembly

Slightly old news now, but in case you missed it, Green London Assembly member and Brockley ward councillor is chair of the London Assembly for the next year. See the press release here.

Green MEP speaks at Sivan Kovil temple on Sri Lanka crisis

Following the petition we organised with Tamil residents to highlight the desperate situation of those trapped in the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka, today we had a meeting at the Sivan Kovil temple.

Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London was there to listen to residents' concerns and talk about her role as a member of the European Parliament's Human Rights Sub-Committee and Delegation to South Asia (SAARC). From my point of view it was particularly useful to listen to the presentation from the British Tamil Forum on the background to the long-running conflict, as my knowledge of the historical context was at best sketchy.

The meeting was packed with over a hundred Tamil residents present, including a number from Ladywell. There was considerable discussion over what the British government could/should be doing to resolve the crisis, as well as whether the decision by the European Parliament a few years ago to add the Tamil Tigers to the list of banned terrorist organisations was the right thing to do, or whether it was in fact an obstacle to negotiating a peaceful solution. There was also some debate over whether EU economic sanctions against Sri Lanka would help, or whether Sri Lanka could simply turn to other markets with similarly poor human rights records, such as China, Libya and Iraq.

Comparisons were made with the recent bombings in Gaza and the lack of media coverage of the Sri Lankan conflict in contrast, although many more have died in Sri Lanka. The point was made that there has been next to no media coverage of the recent visit to Sri Lanka by the Foreign Secretary David Milliband, where his calls for a ceasfire were resoundingly rebuffed by the Sri Lankan government. Likewise, very few column inches were devoted to covering the huge central London demonstration, while page after page was written about Susan Boyle.

People spoke of their concern at what they called the 'scorched earth' policy of the Sri Lankan government, the alleged use of chemical weapons, the indiscriminate aerial bombardment that has led to so many civilian deaths and the destruction of many civilian buildings such as hospitals and orphanages. They were also concerned about the internment camps that those fleeing the conflict zone are being forced to go to and the lack of access to the region both for aid agencies and international media. If the Sri Lankan government has nothing to hide, they said, why don't they let the world's media in so they can see exactly what is going on? Any victory of the Sri Lankan government over the Tamil Tigers will be a pretty hollow one if it comes at the cost of human rights.

Jean also talked about the number of journalists (both Tamil and Sinhalese) who have been killed for reporting the conflict, an issue she highlighted in a New Statesman article this week to mark World Press Freedom Day.

Perhaps the phrase that stays with me from today's talk was the woman who said that so many of us have become 'emotionally blunted' to the ongoing violence and horror; that we are so used to hearing stories of people being slaughtered that we no longer feel compelled to react or protest.

Tamil residents in the UK have behaved with enormous dignity over the last few months as horrors continue to unfold in their own country and the recent demo in London with over 100,000 participants was moving and impressive. The government owes it to the 300, 000 Tamil residents in the UK, as well as those still trapped in the confict region, to do all it can to stop the violence and secure a lasting ceasefire. It should also cancel any export licences for arms sales to Sri Lanka and impose a ban on any future sales until human rights are respected.

Free Gardening Classes in Frendsbury Gardens (and other bits and bobs)

Things are getting a bit hectic here in the run-up to the European Elections on 4th June - thousands of leaflets to deliver and doors to knock on, so posting may well be a bit more sporadic over the next few weeks. I will probably do a bit more twittering for speed, so if you're not following me yet, please do! If you'd like to help out in the campaign to re-elect Jean Lambert as Green MEP for London, either by delivering leaflets, displaying a poster, making a donation, joining, or in any other way, please get in touch.

Just wanted to give a quick plug to the free gardening classes that are taking place at Frendsbury Gardens. See the South London Garden Organic blog for details. I could probably do with them myself, as my gardening tends to be dictated more by the cycle of elections than seasons, which probably isn't the way to do things.

Other bits and bobs that I've twittered about:

• the latest batch of the Shop Local in Ladywell bags have arrived today- Emine from Junction Express Drycleaners has them and will be distributing them to other businesses to sell (for which I'm very grateful, as it saves me a lot of work). They will be on sale for £2,50 each (slightly cheaper than last time - we went for a slightly thinner cotton as the price for the old style had gone up and we didn't feel we could sell them at a higher price).
  
• Greatfield Close are hopefully setting up a tenants and residents association (TRA) - I went along to a well-attended meeting there last night.
• Anyone know what the plans are for the former Life Cafe on the corner of Ladywell Road/Algernon Road? Looks like it is being refitted, which is hopefully good news. Might go and be nosy and introduce myself as a local councillor and find out!

I've also been asking officers a number of questions on the new school proposals, to try and get clarification on some of the points residents have been raising, and I hope to be able to post something more on this soon.

New blog and campaign website for Darren

Fellow Green councillor Darren Johnson has a new website and blog. As well as a blog, it's also our Lewisham Deptford parliamentary campaign site.

Take a look to find out more about Darren and his work at both a local council and London Assembly level, as well as ways you can get involved and join our campaign.

His kicked his blog off with a post about the ongoing new school saga.

This is the sister site to our local party website, which we relaunched a few months back and where you can find lots more information about our recent work. Both sites have RSS feeds so you can subscribe to get the latest news releases and blog posts.

I think that these two sites, together with Dean's blog, this blog, Twitter and Facebook give us a pretty good online presence locally. No substitute for getting out and talking to people face to face of course, but definitely a good way to keep local people informed in between ward newsletters.

Oh, and this is our 500th post on Green Ladywell!

Tamil Petition and Full Council this week

Last Wednesday was full council. I handed in a petition to the Mayor and the local MPs signed by 428 residents calling for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. (Picture shows Darren and me with local Tamil residents outside the town hall before the meeting). I'm not suggesting the Mayor of Lewisham has the power to achieve world peace (though it would be nice if he did), and realise it was a gesture more than anything, but I was keen to do something to support local Tamil residents and shopkeepers, given who concerned they all are about what is going on in Sri Lanka. Many of them have either lost relatives in the conflict or have lost contact with family members since January, when the violence escalated. The petition read:

"We, the undersigned residents of Lewisham are alarmed at the escalating violence in Sri Lanka and the deaths of many civilians over the past few months. We note the grave concerns that many Tamil residents of the borough have for friends and relatives caught up in the conflict zone.

"We call upon the Mayor of Lewisham and Lewisham's MPs to write to the government and urge it to work to secure an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka and for the free and unrestricted flow of food, medicine and international aid agencies into the conflict zone. "

There was a similarly worded motion proposed by Whitefoot councillor Pete Pattisson, which received cross-party support.

Wednesday was a busy night for motions, as there were 6 on the agenda, although one was withdrawn.

I proposed a motion calling on Lewisham's 3 MPs to support the Fuel Poverty private members' bill currently in parliament (Jim Dowd to his credit supported this, but Joan Ruddock as junior climate change minister talked it out, while Bridget Prentice was absent). The Mayor spoke against, arguing it would commit the government to spending lots of money on insulating houses (yes, that's the point, we want the government to spend money on that, rather than Trident and helping people buy new cars) and Labour all voted against, but it was supported by the Greens, Socialists and Lib Dems and just passed, despite an indecisive Tory failing to vote either way. Lib Dem Cllr Philip Peake had proposed a similar motion, but withdrew it and supported ours (thank you!).

Other motions included one proposed by Socialist councillor Chris Flood condemning the way Network Rail has been destroying the green corridor through New Cross and Brockley in recent months, and calling on the Mayor to contact them as a matter of urgency to ensure the area is replanted with saplings. Mike proposed a few minor amendments to correct a bit of terminology and to add a bit about enhancing biodiversity, but we were happy to support this, and it was passed unanimously.

We also supported a Labour motion calling for a new station at Surrey Canal Road as part of the East London line phase 2 works, and a Lib Dem motion on the NHS, expressing concern at any proposals to end 'co-terminosity' (this was a new term for me, but means when areas covered by a primary care trust are the same as the local authority boundaries. Seems to make sense to me, particularly in order for proper scrutiny of service provision to take place).

Well that's my review of Wednesday's Council meeting, in a nutshell, albeit somewhat tardier and less concise than the Twitters from Lewisham Central councillor Andrew Milton).

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day, apparently. To mark it, Greenpeace have released a new video.

They are aiming to get 3 million more people signed up with Greenpeace as climate activists and taking action in an extremely important year for our climate - at the end of which will be the most important conference this century, the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen, where deals will be struck that will determine our planet's environmental future.

You can find out more, or sign up for their updates here.

New European Greens Campaign Video

The two UK Green MEPs (Jean Lambert MEP for London and Caroline Lucas MEP for the South-East) are part of the European Greens and Free Alliance group within the European Parliament. The European Greens/EFA have released a new video narrated by Caroline:

New local green blogger

Brockley resident and fellow greenie Hannah has set up a blog, Seeds and Stitches. So far she's steering clear of party politics and focussing more on her and hubby's effort to do the green thing at home, growing their own, being highly creative, and saving money in the process. Take a look. Personally I think she should be bringing some of those chocolate cup cakes along with her to our next local party meeting . . . :)

Transition Ladywell Meeting WEDS evening

Sorry for posting this up rather late in the day, but here goes, on behalf of the small but enthusiastic group of people starting the Transitions Ladywell initiative:

"Transition Ladywell is having its first meeting this evening (Wednesday 22nd) at 7.30PM. If you live in Ladywell, or have a direct interest in the area, please come along.

We will be watching A Farm For the Future, followed by a chat about how we can get the ball rolling.

The meeting will be round Hazel's house, in Eastern Road – please contact Dave Moore for address details. Mob: 0759 0588 491, email: mdavidjon@gmail. com "

For those who haven't heard of the Transition movement, it's a grassroots movement looking at how local communities need to adapt to get ready for a low-carbon, post peak-oil future. There are similar groups getting going in New Cross, Brockley and Honor Oak too and a 'Transition Lewisham' website due to launch soon.

UPDATE: Sorry, I clearly didn't know what day of the week it was when I did this this morning - meeting is indeed tomorrow, not tonight! Hopefully gives more people time to find out about it . . . .

Come along and help improve Ladywell ward

Just a quick reminder that the next meeting of the Ladywell Assembly is going to take place this Monday, 20 April from 7-9pm in the modern science block of Prendergast School on Adelaide Avenue. The Assembly is open to anyone who lives, works or studies in the ward – this covers a much larger area than Ladywell village: roughly from some streets North of Loampit Hill to Dressington Avenue in the South, from a stretch of Brockley Road and Tyrwhitt Road to Marsala Road.

The main focus of the meeting will be to move forward improvements in the area regarding local shops, streetscape and environment, youth and community facilities, anti-social behaviour and crime, and the Playtower. In groups focusing on one of these priorities each we are first going to get an update on current projects - a large number of these were developed from ideas brought up at earlier assemblies -, such as plans to improve Ladywell Road, youth provision, ideas around empty shops and initial schemes for the Playtower. Based on this, there will be further work in the groups about how the funding specifically available for Ladywell ward (£50k from the Mayor’s Fund, in addition to the £10k Locality Fund) can best be spent to ensure further improvements can be achieved this year.

We will also have the popular Community Updates with information about what's happening in the area and information about the Energy Action Zone (EAZ), a Council scheme that is now being rolled out in Ladywell with advice on how to improve the energy efficiency of homes and reduce energy costs.

Lewisham Bridge School gets grade II listing

The architecture minister, Barbara Follett, has given Lewisham Bridge Primary School building grade II listed status. There is an article with further details of the grounds for listing it here. Some local residents will be pleased, while others, including I suspect Mayor Steve Bullock, will be tearing their hair out in exasperation.

If the Council decides to press ahead with plans for a new secondary school on the site, it will need to get listed building consent for demolition first. However I imagine that this announcement may well mean going back to the drawing board and the prospect of Lewisham getting a much-needed secondary school by September 2010, following many years of delays seems to be receding.

The primary school pupils, meanwhile, are due to start at their decant site, Mornington Centre, when they come back from the Easter break.

Mark Thomas endorses the Green Party

Not had chance to blog today, but thought I would do a bit of a cheat post and link to this video from comedian Mark Thomas on why he thinks people should vote Green in the forthcoming European Elections:



Obviously, I agree (bar the bit about the sandals, grrr!).

Ladywell Road: Community Planting Day Saturday May 16th

Just come back from a walkabout with highways and Green Scene officers and LVIG representatives to discuss plans for a community planting day on 16th May, and the highways work that needs to be done before then.

We have now fixed Saturday 16th May as the day when LVIG will be organising a community planting day, with the help of the Council, Envirowork Lewisham, and hopefully some local business support (times tbc soon, but please mark the date in your diaries). We've got funding from the localities fund for 4 more planters, and hopefully we will be able to get some trees in the Autumn (though this is dependent on a survey of where underground cables are on Ladywell Road).

Before 16th May, highways and Green Scene have promised to make sure they do the following (and I have witnesses that this has been agreed!):

1. Clear the paint off the pavement on the corner of Ladywell Road/Algernon Road (they've tried several times already without success, but are hopefully going to be trialling some new chemical).
2. Remove guardrailings where the safety audit recently carried out confirms it is safe to do so, and pending local consultation.
3. Rebuild the section of Ladywell Road that is currently subsiding (near Ladywell Tavern).
4. Chase the utility companies to reinstate paving stones where they have put temporary tarmac.

It's not the full scale, Living Streets-type rethink of Ladywell Road we had been hoping for, as funding wasn't forthcoming from TfL for this, but if all of the above happens as planned, it should be a good start. We are hoping the initial planting will lead to bigger things, and perhaps a bit of sponsorship and support from local businesses to do more next time (Ladywell Tavern currently lead the way with their hanging baskets, and Masons are also apparently planning some kind of floral display this year). If it goes well, we may even enter London in Bloom . . .

Something similar is in the pipeline for part of Brockley Road, but still need to chase up on a few things before I can say more about that.

Local Public Meeting on Fuel Poverty Bill: 28th May

A public meeting is being organised locally by the Fuel Poverty Coalition to discuss the Fuel Poverty Bill.

Date: Thursday 28th May 2009
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Venue: St Andrew's United Reformed Church, corner of Brockley Road and Wickham Road, Lewisham, London SE4 2SA
Chair: Ron Bailey - Fuel Poverty Coalition Director

Speakers:
Joan Ruddock MP - Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford and Climate Change Minister INVITED
Gemma Townsend - Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lewisham Deptford
Cllr Chris Maines - Group Leader of Lewisham Council Liberal Democrats
Cllr Darren Johnson AM - Green Parliamentary Candidate for Lewisham Deptford
Mervyn Kohler - Special Advisor for Age Concern and Help the Aged
Ruth Bond - Chair of Public Affairs for the National Federation of Women’s Institutes TBC
Dave Timms - Senior Parliamentary Campaigner of Friends of the Earth TBC

You may recall from my earlier post that local and junior minister for energy and climate change, Joan Ruddock, talked the bill out during its second reading on 20th March. This meeting is an attempt to persuade the government to back the bill when it returns to the house on 12th June.

Keep up to date with the latest from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition on Facebook and Twitter.

Licensing Application: Village News

We've been notified of a new licensing application in the ward:

Village News
226 Algernon Road
Lewisham
London
SE13 7AG

Applied for sale of alcohol off the premises Monday – Sunday 07:00 – 23:00.

If you wish to make any representations on this they should be sent to Lewisham's Licensing team by 1st May 2009. E-mail: licensing@lewisham.gov.uk or write to Licensing team, Laurence House, 2nd Floor Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, Catford SE6 4RU. Tel: 020 8314 6400.

Tea yes, kettling no!

Lot's of reports from across the blogosphere about excessive and aggressive policing (again!) at yesterday's G20 demos. Disappointing, but not particularly surprising. It seems lessons haven't been learnt from the policing of last year's Climate Camp at Kingsnorth.

I was there in spirit, but had decided to stay home and catch up on my backlog of casework and other Council stuff. However, fellow Green councillor for neighbouring Brockley ward, Romayne Phoenix, was there, and experienced first hand police tactics, including 'kettling', where the police surround a crowd of protestors and don't let anyone come or go for a few hours until the crowd either starts to get so angry that surge forward and push their way through the police lines (cue headline about violent protestors at demo), or they are eventually allowed to trickle out once the police deem them to be thoroughly demoralised and to have learnt a lesson for daring to exercise their democratic right to protest. A potentially effective way to turn a bunch of peaceful protestors into an angry mob, if that's the headline you want (though the vast majority of protestors refused to oblige the police with any violence yesterday).

Kettling is a very dodgy way to police a peaceful protest, in my opinion, as is using anti-terrorism legislation to check the ID of every protestor before you let them leave. Sadly, a man died at the protest yesterday - the IPCC are investigating and the cause is not yet known, but the media have been strangely quiet about it. Green London Assembly member and member of the Metropolitan Police Association, Jenny Jones, will no doubt be raising concerns about policing tactics with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Stephenson.

Anyway, account of the protests from Romayne below:
Picture: Romayne with fellow Green Shasha Khan, from Croydon.
"In 31 years of active participation in peaceful street demonstrations I have NEVER before been close to the threat of being 'kettled' in ( trapped ) by police. This tactic has more often been used at stages much later in the day after the majority of protesters have left, and when small groups seem determined to continue with their actions, and possibly a few of these who could have plans to develop their actions beyond the lines supported by the demonstrators of the day.

We started the day by joining others, from many different groups and charities, at Liverpool Street Station. The 'street theatre' plan was for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to march from different locations towards Bank. Each horse representing a different threat - War, Climate Change, Financial Crimes, and Land Enclosures. Each was assigned a separate colour. We joined in with the Climate Change group, headed by a Green Horseman.

Many people were in fancy dress costumes, others with elaborate face paints, some with craftsmanlike banners and flags and others with moving, witty or plainly stated quickly concocted creations. The atmosphere was relaxed and the sunshine brought out a festive feel to the affair. With a few odd halts along the way, we at last reached the area of the Bank of England where others had also arrived from their separate journeys.

Planning to leave the area of the Bank of England, with a few friends, having made our peaceful protests for about an hour, we headed towards Queen Victoria Street, only to be met at a fork in the road by a solid line of police. Beyond them was a space and we could see two further roads where police lines were 'containing' other crowds of people, just as determined as us to leave . It was very warm, bright and sunny and it was lunchtime. As we became further 'herded' together the police seemed to sip from their water bottles in a very provocative manner. Someone was heard saying that the police had declared that they were paid to work through the night in reply to her question as to when we all might be allowed to leave.

We were told that our detention was due to their anticipation of a breach of the peace. Legal advice sought while we stood held against our will, confirmed that such a threat of breach of the peace was a valid power that the police could use. Supposedly, as soon as such a threat has passed then people should be released. In our 'pen' the mood was fairly stoical / calm and we kept ourselves amused as best we could.

As time pressed on I made several challenges to the police about our civil liberties/ about methods they could use to plan an orderly exit using the helicopter views and their ground forces / about the lack of any actual breach of the peace in view / earshot of any of the hundreds of people so trapped in this particular road. On one occasion a senior officer was contacted to answer my concerns but as he came towards the line he simply 'whispered' to an officer and retreated. We were then told that we were to be held. Told that we would be held until they said so.

If anyone had actually been arrested they would have been entitled to water , food and the use of a toilet. After being detained for a couple of hours, and having arrived an hour or so before that, with no estimate as to the duration of our further detainment, this treatment of very peaceful people certainly seemed to be a provocative police action and not an 'intelligent' use of police or an acceptable set of tactics. Added to this, at various intervals we could see riot police, in full kit, rushing out of their vans , causing some panic and consternation in the hitherto still and mostly silent crowds. Just as suddenly the riot police seemed to retreat back to their vehicles. Was the agitation of the crowds the essential factor in justifying the fears of 'breach of the peace' ?

Being at the front of the crowd I did on a few occasions make calls for our civil liberties, listing some of the important responsibilities that these individual people had the need and the right to carry out ( child care , jobs, care of relatives, simply choosing where to spend their time, or preparing and heading for the AGM of their local council........). These seemed to go down well and at least broke some of the boredom factor of the situation.

On two occasions I saw an individual attempting to demand their freedom by walking 'through' the police line. This action resulted in a very aggressive response each time with four or five police officers to tackle the individual to the ground.

Eventually, when a group of people pushed forward together they broke the line of police in front of us. There was a sudden movement of bodies that could have resulted n a crush, but people were mindful of each other and no-one fell under foot. The impetus was however 'forward', and as I made my way to the edge of the crowd I could see that the police line had collapsed and individual officers were standing alone looking lost and without a plan. Continuing to walk on, the crowds dispersed. Peacefully.

I returned to find friends and colleagues as we had become separated in the surge. As we prepared to leave we could see others still being trapped in at the far end of the road. We decided to turn down a side street. Calmly we walked to the tube station. Free once more. For now.

Is this a taste of things to come ?
What is the point of having so much surveillance and yet failing to make proper use of any of it? We need to challenge these counter-productive and unacceptable police tactics now."

Home Insulation Review

The Council's Sustainable Development Select Committee, which I've chaired for the past two years (and will hopefully be chairing for the next year, unless I get ousted) is about to start an in-depth review on home insulation in the borough. (Regular readers may be noticing a recurring theme here.)

The review aims to answer the following two main questions:
• What are the benefits of and barriers to improving the insulation of existing homes in Lewisham?
• What further actions are needed to achieve improvements to home insulation in Lewisham?

In answering the above questions, the committee will examine the following:
• gaps in the Council’s knowledge of the insulation needs of homes in Lewisham, and how these gaps could be filled;
• home insulation schemes currently operating in the borough;
• good practice examples from outside of the borough, and what lessons can be applied to future schemes in Lewisham;
• proposals from central Government, the GLA and the LGA to improve home insulation, and the implications of these for Lewisham;
• the extent to which insulation measures are taken into account in the terms of transfer of council-owned housing stock; and
• the extent to which Building Regulation duties around home insulation are enforced on properties still to be built, or on conversions/extensions to existing properties.

It is proposed that the review would take place over three sessions:
• Session 1: to examine home insulation schemes currently operating in the borough, and the barriers to improving insulation further (including the data currently available to the Council).
• Session 2: to examine good practice examples from other local authorities. outside of the borough, proposals from central Government, GLA and LGA, and the lessons to be
learned in Lewisham.
• Session 3: to examine the latest policy developments on a national and regional level.

The first evidence-gathering session is next Thursday (9th April) and papers for the meeting can be found here. Members of the public are welcome to attend and observe the meeting (and potentially make contributions, if you notify the committee in advance). Written submissions are also welcome: e-mail them to me.

At drinks after last night's Council AGM, a certain member of the leading group was extolling the virtues of a free insulation scheme, having heard Lord Chris Smith, chair of the Environment Agency, talk about it. I politely pointed out that we had proposed this in our budget amendment and he had voted against it. Sigh. We will get there.

Latest news from Jean Lambert MEP

The latest monthly newsletter from Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London is now available on her website. It details some of the work she has been doing both at a London and European level over the last few weeks, including stuff on the London Living Wage campaign, air quality and Heathrow expansion, climate change, employment rights, civil liberties, peace, International Women's Day, Chinese New Year and the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka. I think she's an exceedingly hard-working and effective MEP for London, but then I'm biased and would say that!

London is losing one of its MEPs after this June's Euro Elections, due to the EU enlargement, so we will go from 9 to 8 MEPs. Jean was the 8th out of 9 MEPs elected last time round, so we need to increase our percentage slightly to make sure she gets re-elected. If we do really well on June 4th, we will also get Ute elected as our second Green MEP for London, which would be great, although it would mean a by-election here in Ladywell!

Planning Application: 8b Hilly Fields Crescent

I've received notification of a new planning application for 8b Hilly Fields Crescent. In February last year, the owners were given permission to add an extension to the side of the existing property and to convert it into 5 flats. Now they have come back with a new proposal which involves demolishing the whole building and rebuilding it in a pastiche style, to again provide 5 flats, but a complete new build rather than keeping the existing building:

"The demolition of 8b Hilly fields Crescent SE4 and the construction of a two storey building plus roof space to provide 1 one bedroom, 1 three bedroom and 3 two bedroom self-contained flats with refuse store, communal cycle storage shed and a car parking space in the front garden. "

They have also applied for conservation area permission to demolish the existing building.

Details of both applications can be found online on the Council's Planning Portal. The application and drawings can as always be inspected at Lewisham Library or the planning information office. Any comments should be sent to Planning by 17th April. You can either e-mail planning@lewisham.gov.uk or write to Planning Service, Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London, SE6 4RU.

April Fool's Day

Some excellent April Fool jokes on the local and green blogosphere today:

• Nick over on Brockley Central had his readers convinced that an anarchist collective had taken over part of Wickham Road. Bizarrely believable, that one, what with the G20 protests and today being Fossil Fool's Day.
• Meanwhile over on DailyMaybe, Jim reports that green slime thrower Leila Dean is to stand as a PPC for the Conservative Party (again, for a split second, I believed that one).
• Liberal Conspiracy has a great video of Tory Eric Pickles on Question Time trying to justify why he needs a second home when he only lives 37 miles away from parliament. Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP and Lib Dem Ed Davey look on aghast.
  
• Finally not an April Fool's joke, but sadly true, 853 reports on Boris Johnson's decision to scrap the Greenwich Waterfront Transit scheme, which was quietly announced yesterday.

Now, I must get back to my backlog of casework and writing my bit of our group response to the LDF (local development framework) consultation.

Energy Action Zone coming to Ladywell

Ladywell is one of the wards due to be covered by Lewisham’s Energy Action Zone (EAZ) in 2009/10. Lewisham’s EAZ has been running since 2007, and has already covered a number of areas in the borough including neighbouring Brockley. The EAZ focuses the Council’s energy efficiency advice service within a ward through:

• Contacting every household in the ward by letter and on the doorstep to offer general advice and help people access grants for insulation or heating improvements
• Promotional work on energy efficiency at local events, doctors surgeries and other similar activities

The team intend to start contacting Ladywell residents in April and to have been to all households in the ward by July.

Of course it would be better if they could offer not just advice but free insulation for all, as we proposed in our budget amendment this year, but it's a start, and hopefully the free insulation will follow!

Also, don't forget, if you want to apply for a free home energy survey and a year's subscription to the Green Homes Concierge Service, there are still a limited number of places available (20 as of today). Further details here.

Ladywell Police stepping up patrols in Dressington Avenue

Local residents may have read in the South London Press about a recent incident outside Abbey Manor College in Dressington Avenue in which a pupil was slashed with a knife. The Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood team have said that they have increased patrols in the area around school time. There have also discussed security issues with the headteacher and plan to go and speak to pupils about the effects and dangers of knife crime soon.

I thought I would mention that this has happened, and that the local police are taking steps to try and prevent it happening again, but I don't want people to be unduly alarmed, as Ladywell is generally a safe place to live and has one of the lower crime rates in the borough. While there have been recent spates of burglary and car crime and incidents of pirate DVD making in the ward (and suspects have been arrested for these), violent crime has generally been low.

Partial Resurfacing of Dressington Avenue this week

The section of Dressington Avenue from near the entrance to outside house number 35 is being resurfaced this week. We've received a number of complaints from residents about this road over the past year or so, as well as from users of the Ladywell Day Centre.

We've followed up on these, but one of the reasons it has taken so long to get anything done is that the road came under the housing budget rather than highways, and when the housing management was transferred to Regenter B3, responsibility for the road maintenence remained with the Council, but there was no funding earmarked for it and so there has been a fair amount of negotiation to get some progress on this.

A partial resurfacement is less than many residents will be hoping for, but hopefully it will at least repair the worst section of the road until funds are available to do the rest. I am hoping that all the 'estate roads' in the Brockley PFI area which are also in the same state of limbo (ie the responsibility of housing but no budget to repair them), including Viney Road and Foxborough Gardens will be transferred over to highways, so they can at least be added to the resurfacing priority list.

UPDATE 31st March: I've had confirmation today that funding has been found to also repair the road by the junction with Lion Close, which was also in dire need of repair so that's good news.

Leaf Mould and Frogs!

I spent a few hours yesterday tidying the back garden - long overdue and good to switch off from other things for a few hours. I have a large London Plane tree in my garden which produces bags and bags of leaves every year. I've been dutifully collecting and shredding them for about the past 7 years and putting them in a wire mesh container and hoping they would turn into leaf mould.

London Plane tree leaves are infamously slow to decompose, so I was inordinately proud, after 7 years of my efforts, to have something roughly approaching leaf mould when I emptied one of the wire bins yesterday. I've spread it over the fruit and veg bed and it is supposed to condition the soil, add nutrients and help retain moisture. We will see. I may need to dig it in a bit before it blows all around the garden again.

I also disturbed one or two little frogs, which must be from last year's frog spawn, and tried to persuade them to go into the pond out of harm's way while I was using the shredder. This one seemed strangely reluctant and was quite happy sitting in this upturned shell next to the pond instead! I have lots of frog spawn in the pond again this year, so envisage another summer of using froglets in the grass as an excuse not to cut the lawn. I may just scatter some wildflower seed and call it a wildflower meadow and done with it!

Embleton Road being resurfaced this week

I've been notified that resurfacing works are due to take place on Embleton Road, between Ellerdale Street and Brookbank Road, starting tomorrow (Wednesday 25th March) and lasting for approximately 3 days. Residents (and commuters!) are asked not to park their vehicles there for the next few days.

Nature's Gym: Forthcoming Events Locally

I've been sent the April-June calendar of events organised by and in conjunction with Nature's Gym. There's loads going on and you can see the April events here.

Dates for diary include:
Sunday 19th April: Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries work day. Meet by chapel in Ladywell cemetery at 10am (tbc).

Thursday 21st May: Hilly Fields Nature Reserve, 11am-2pm. Placing chicken wire on the steps in the nature area, paint the railings and other various activities. Meet on Eastern Road off Adelaide Avenue. Look out for the white van.

Saturday 30th May: ‘3 Rivers Clean Up', 11am-2pm, Ladywell Fields – North field. Cleaning the Ravensbourne Catchment of Himalayan Balsam and litter. Meet at the environmental classroom in Ladywell fields just off Ladywell Road. A follow up event on Saturday 6th June, organised by Thames 21, is tbc.

Ladywell Fields: Big Plans in the Pipeline - Consultation Event on 4 April

The Council has secured nearly £2m in funding from the LDA (London Development Agency) to carry out major improvement works to the middle and southern fields in Ladywell Fields. The feedback I've received from residents about the works to the northern field that was carried out a year or two back has been almost entirely positive, and there's been a noticeable increase in the number of people using the park, so I think it's great news that the other two fields are also in line for a 'makeover'.

The plans for the other two fields include:

• Improving biodiversity and access to the river, including building a series of timber viewing platforms along the riverside
• Creation of a series of new wetland lakes including riverside planting, ponds, reed beds and wet grasslands
• New bridges will connect the river to increase use and access
• Work to existing and new entrances, to connect residential areas with the green space and adjacent town centres
• New lighting and street furniture

There are also plans for clearer signage and improvements to the Waterlink Way cycle path, which runs from Deptford Creek to Beckenham Place Park, totems to mark the Waterlink Way, cycle parking, the creation of a new meeting point, resurfacing of footpaths, new rubbish and dog waste bins and improving the sports facilities.

A public consultation event to seek the views of local people on the proposed plans is being held on Saturday 4 April. The event will run from 10am to 12.30pm and will feature a walkabout showing where developments are planned, as well as a workshop on proposals so that people can not only learn more about the development plans, but also give their own thoughts and suggestions.

To get involved contact Alison Taylor, Project Manager, on 020 8314 8758 or email alison.taylor@lewisham.gov.uk or meet in Ladywell Fields park, by the entrance on Bournville Road, Catford, at 10am.

Of course in addition to this, and with separate funding, there are also the plans to build an adventure playground in part of the middle field.

3 Years Old Today!

Please excuse the rather self-indulgent nature of this post, but Green Ladywell is 3 years old today, so I thought it worth having a little look back over the past few years in blogland.

When I set up the blog, in the middle of the 2006 election campaign, I wasn't really convinced about blogging, whether anyone would read it, whether I would have enough things to blog about, whether we were going to get elected (our canvassing returns fortunately turned out to have been very conservative) and whether I would continue the blog once elected. It seemed rather gimmicky, but I figured it was free and another way of trying to get the key messages of our campaign across, so decided to give it a go.

Back in early 2006, the number of local bloggers was fairly small, with Transpontine, Andrew Brown, Bob from Brockley, Andrew Milton and the Man from Catford being the stalwarts of the (male-dominated) blogosphere. Things definitely took off when Brockley Central joined the foray in February 2007 (for the first few posts, the number of comments were still in single figures!), and a few other women bloggers such as Deptford Dame, Kate and Clare came on board, while Brockley Kate joined the Brockley Central team (though women are still notably in the minority amongst bloggers). The occasional Lewisham bloggers meet ups were a great opportunity to put faces and names to previously anonymous bloggers.

Meanwhile in Green blogland, back in March 2006 you could count the number of blogging greens on your fingers, in fact I'm not sure who besides Natalie over at Philobiblon was blogging, though lots of others, such as The Daily (Maybe), Ruscombe Green and Charlie Bolton came on board shortly after. Now there's dozens of us, we have GreenHome, GreenFeed and even the green blogosphere's answer to the Oscars. I have to ruthlessly scan my blogroll each day to keep abreast of what's being said.

Well the blog probably didn't have much of an impact on the 2006 election campaign, with only 100 or so people visiting the blog in the run-up to election day, and for the first few months I wasn't sure whether anyone locally was reading my blog or not. A key moment for me was when I turned up to the well-attended first meeting of FOBLC and someone there told me they had read about the meeting on my blog; the first time a resident in my ward had told me that they read my blog, yay!

There's been the odd blip, with a few weeks when I didn't get around to posting, but they've now been close to 500 posts, on all sorts of local issues, from speed humps to betting shops and insulation (LOTS on insulation lately!) plus the occasional rant from me on national and international issues. Since January last year Ute has joined me with the occasional blog post. Traffic to the blog isn't that large, but we regularly attract well over a thousand hits a month and I estimate that have between 200-300 regular readers. I gave the blog a bit of a facelift towards the end of last year, and have tried to make it a bit more interactive, by showing recent comments and starting to experiment with Twitter etc, but would happily hear suggestions on how we can improve it.

So, before I waddle off into the kitchen to eat a huge piece of celebratory cake, my verdict on 3 years of blogging? It's occasionally felt like a bit of a chore, but generally I've enjoyed it, it's been a good way of reflecting on what we've been doing and I've found it a useful extra way to communicate with local residents (and greens further afield). Ultimately however it's an extra tool or frill and not a substitute for getting newsletters through doors and speaking to residents face to face.

Joan Ruddock sabotages Fuel Poverty Bill

On Friday the Fuel Poverty bill that I previously blogged about had it's second reading in the House of Commons. As feared, Lewisham Deptford MP and junior minister for climate change and energy, Joan Ruddock talked out the bill, following, it would appear, the instructions of her boss, one Ed Milliband.

Over the past few days I have been at Green Party Spring Conference in Blackpool. Today conference unanimously passed an emergency motion that I proposed, condemning the government's decision to kill this bill.

To quickly recap, the Fuel Poverty Bill was backed by campaigning groups including Age Concern, Help the Aged and Child Poverty Action Group and would have introduced a major energy efficiency programme to bring existing homes up to the energy efficiency standards of modern houses, cutting fuel poverty and ‘social tariffs’ to protect vulnerable people like pensioners from high energy bills.

I haven't yet received a response to my e-mail to Joan Ruddock at the beginning of the month, urging her to support the bill, but I fully anticipate one in about 3 weeks time, once the dust has settled, thanking me for my correspondence and saying 'it was a very difficult decision' etc etc.

How difficult can it be Joan, given you have previously stated that tackling fuel poverty is a top priority for you, and given that within your own constituency, an estimated 3,407 elderly people live in one room during the winter months to save money on heating their home, 2,555 stay in bed to keep warm, and 1022 have to make the choice between heating their home or eating properly? (Source: Association of Energy Conservation.) Across the UK, that translates to 5 million households living in fuel poverty, and 25,000 older people dying each year in the winter months as a result of this.

So we now have an MP who is now in favour of nuclear power (quite a volte face for the former president of CND), supports Heathrow Expansion, student tuition fees, ID cards, 40 day detention, has towed the party line on pretty much every vote in the House of Commons over the past few years and now, as junior minister for climate change, has torpedoed efforts to lift millions out of fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions at the same time. Nice one Joan. Now clearly I'm biased, but I think Darren would do a much better job at representing the people of Lewisham Deptford.

Limited number of Green Home Concierge Subscriptions up for Grabs

Lewisham has a limited number of Green Home Concierge subscriptions up for grabs. They are being offered on a first come, first serve basis to residents in the borough. It usually costs £199 for a year’s consultation. Included is an assessment of your home and a report tailored to your needs, whether you want to save money, reduce your carbon footprint or just make your home warm and cosy.

Green Homes Concierge is supposed to take the headache out of commissioning improvements by finding you competitive quotes and searching for available grants. They will be on hand with advice for the next 12 months.

Places are available on a first come first served basis until 15th April, to residents within the borough of Lewisham, who want to make their homes more energy efficient. Some properties may be more suitable than others – new builds may not benefit from the scheme. If you are not a homeowner, permission must be granted from your landlord. Assessments must be booked in and completed by 30th April.

To take advantage of this special offer or find out more please call Gareth Bates on 0800 089 0098. See Green Homes Concierge for more details.

What is happening in Ladywell?

A lot, if Saturday’s local assembly social event is anything to go by. With 19 stalls from a wide range of community groups and some Council services, it was a lively and enjoyable event, and an opportunity to share information and find out what is happening in the ward and which services are available locally.

All this information (and more) is going to be compiled into the Ladywell Directory and it will also be made available online – the aim is to get this done in time for the next formal assembly on 20 April (it's always good to be ambitious!).

Anyone who lives, works or studies in the ward can attend the assembly. It provides an opportunity for people in the area to work together and develop plans to improve Ladywell. Bigger projects are put forward to the Council and local initiatives can be taken forward by residents in their area.

Future Assembly dates
Monday, 20th April 2009, 7-9pm
Tuesday, 23rd June 2009, 7-9pm
Tuesday, 22nd September 2009, 7-9pm
Saturday, 6th February 2010, 11am – 1pm

All assemblies are going to take place in Prendergast School, new science block, Adelaide Avenue, SE4 1JL (not in the main building in Hilly Fields). There is full disabled access and light refreshments are provided.

The Ladywell Priorities
The assembly has decided upon the following 5 priorities for Ladywell:
Local shops
Streetscape and environment
The Playtower
Lack of youth and community facilities
Anti-social behaviour and crime

Additional Funding for Ladywell
£50k has been allocated to each ward assembly from the Mayor’s Fund, in addition there is the £10k Locality Fund, meaning that there is £60k available to spend in Ladywell ward in 2009/10 in addition to ongoing Council spend.

The Mayor’s Fund
Projects funded by the Mayor’s Fund must be linked to the Ladywell ward priorities. The decision as to how these funds are allocated will rest with the assembly. The proposals will then go to the Mayor and Cabinet for final approval. Local Assembly officers will work closely with the assembly to ensure that any bids fit all the necessary criteria.

The Locality Fund
This is a fund for smaller projects and activities and these do not have to be linked to the ward priorities. In the past funding has included, amongst other things, activities for young people and youth groups, greening streets, the Ladywell village Christmas tree, a table tennis table for Hilly Fields, a contribution to Brockley Max closing night and Brockley Fund Run (both in Hilly Fields), and there are now plans to launch activities for older people.

A consultation on projects and activities to be funded in Ladywell ward will start soon, but in the meantime if you have an idea for the Mayor’s Fund or the Locality Fund, please contact either of the councillors or the assembly coordinator Paul Gale on 020 8314 3387 or email paul.gale@lewisham.gov.uk.

For more information about the Ladywell assembly please visit http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/localassemblies

Dean's blog is back!

Brockley ward councillor Dean Walton has revived his blog. He recently bought a Blackberry and along with irritating the heck out of his fellow Green councillors by 'pinging' us incessantly (fortunately that didn't last long), he's found a more useful function in that he can use it to update his blog. Please read and comment to convince him it is worth continuing with; before you know it he will be twittering. He also discovered that I had removed him from my links due to lack of blogging in recent months. Oops, link duly restored.

Ladywell Assembly social event this Saturday, 14 March

The next meeting of the Ladywell Assembly does not have a formal agenda but it is a social event which provides an opportunity to find out what’s happening in Ladywell ward, get information about local services and meet other residents. Local groups and services will present themselves at stalls and will be available to answer questions and provide further information about their activities. It is going to take place this coming Saturday, 14 March – please pop in at any time between 11:00 and 13:00 in the new science block of Prendergast School on Adelaide Avenue (not in the main school building in Hilly Fields) for a chat and a cup of tea.

The councillors’ surgery, which usually takes place in the old bothy in Hilly Fields from 11:00-12:00 on the second Saturday of the month, has exceptionally been moved to also take place in the new science block of Prendergast School on that day.

Unfortunately due to an oversight the posters and flyers advertising the event contain the wrong date. This is being rectified now but please note the correct date is Saturday, 14 March.

I just thought I'd also mention that there is a farmers' market in Hilly Fields on the second Saturday of the month, from 10:00-14:00 near the bowling green/old bothy. So why not combine the two and stack up on local information as well as fresh fruit & veg and other goodies in one round trip.

Council Tax, savings and measures to tackle the recession

…or in other words, Lewisham Council’s budget for 2009/10.

A brief summary of Monday night’s Council meeting is that the Mayor’s budget proposal was adopted unamended on the casting vote of the Chair of Council (Labour voted in favour, the two Tories abstained and we, the LibDems and the Socialists voted against). However, it is still worth looking at the budget amendments and the debate in more detail because of the different strategic and political approaches to Lewisham’s priorities they reveal.

The basic fact is that for the Council to provide services and infrastructure for over 250,000 residents costs money. About a third of the funding the Council has control over and can prioritise (which excludes the education budget, the majority of capital investment funding and earmarked grants for specific purposes that are all ringfenced by the government) is made up of Council Tax. The other two thirds are a government grant.

Because this government grant increases at a lower rate year on year than the cost of providing services increases for the Council, savings have to be made every year, and these are effectively either genuine efficiency savings or cuts to services. The total amount of savings made on existing services determines how much extra money is available for new initiatives. Whilst we obviously have no problem with efficiencies, we disagreed on some of the savings proposals because they constituted service cuts which would disproportionately affect vulnerable residents. Therefore we proposed to reverse these savings; by also suggesting additional non-service savings this would have meant that slightly less funding was available for anti-recession initiatives (but more would be provided from other sources) – thereby still ensuring a balanced budget. Rather bizarrely in the debate on Monday one cabinet member spent most of his allocated speaking time enthusiastically defending savings proposals we hadn’t objected to – so maybe the conclusion from this is that he didn’t find anything substantial to criticise in our amendment.

Apologies if the above sounds a bit technical but it is important to fully understand the impact of the Council Tax freeze proposed by the LibDems. As was outlined in the debate on Monday, several London boroughs have gone for a zero increase for next year. This proposal is easy to understand and undoubtedly popular with voters. However, it does not come without a price. If implemented in Lewisham, the freeze would have led to a lost income to the Council of £2.21m, thus wiping out any scope to fund anti-recession initiatives. The LibDems proposed that these should be funded from reserves instead. The problem with that is that by their very nature such initiatives would require funding beyond the next financial year while money from reserves can only be spent once, so budget pressures would simply be postponed to future years or reserves depleted to an extent where the Audit Commission would get very nervous about the borough’s financial arrangements.

Another consequence of the freeze would have been that there would have been no scope to reverse any savings proposals at all including the service cuts. In boroughs where a freeze was agreed, such as Southwark, substantial increases to service charges for residents were required to balance the budget – particularly hitting families and other service users.

Freezing the Council Tax would have saved a Lewisham household in a Band D property £25.42 per year. It would not have saved anything for the 17,000 households who are on low or no income and receive 100% Council Tax Benefit. It would also not have done anything for the residents who are hardest hit by the economic downturn and who would benefit from anti-recession initiatives.

In addition, if in the future the Council wanted to increase its budget to the levels achieved by a 2.5% increase over several years, the only way to do so after a freeze year would be by implementing a higher increase later on to make up for the difference. Whatever anyone thinks about Council Tax (Sue has already outlined why we are against it in principle), as long as there is no other (and better) system to replace it, this is unfortunately the framework we have to operate in.

The Tories submitted an amendment to the LibDem proposal suggesting a zero increase in Council Tax for two years should be funded not by scrapping the anti-recession measures but by finding more than £2m additional savings. This was withdrawn on the night.

In an earlier post Sue has already provided information on our growth items and the home insulation schemes in particular. On Monday night one cabinet member was surprised that our main focus in tackling the recession was insulation schemes. As I said in the debate, the reason is because they deliver on several fronts. In Kirklees the mass private sector home insulation scheme has successfully been rolled out (following a Green budget proposal that the other three parties are also now claiming credit for), and on the basis of its proven benefits even the Local Government Association, which does not normally shine with Green policies, now recommends it. Kirklees households collectively save more than £1m on fuel bills every year, and more homes were insulated there last year than across the whole of London under the government’s Warm Front programme. At the same time such schemes provide local employment and training opportunities, and thereby generally boost the local economy.

Another plank of our anti-recession package was funding for implementing the London Living Wage in Lewisham’s contracts. While staff directly employed by the Council already receive LLW (£7.45 per hour), contractors providing a wide range of services from school meals to social care are currently only required to pay their staff the national minimum wage, which is £1.72 per hour less than LLW. This is fundamentally a question of fairer pay (which is why we proposed a motion to Council on this last spring which was unanimously agreed) but even more important in the current economic climate as this recession is predicted to hit those on low incomes hardest. Whilst we had earmarked a substantially larger amount of money for this in our budget amendment, we are pleased that there is at least a start and LLW is going to be implemented in some Council contracts now.

So what’s going to happen next? The savings proposals are going to be implemented and the Mayor has announced a range of initiatives to tackle the recession in Lewisham (apprenticeships, tackling long-term unemployment, a social enterprise fund, additional support for the advice sector, London Living Wage). He also said that whilst he could not accept our proposals as part of the budget, he actually quite liked some of them (home insulation, the capital programme and our fuel reduction savings proposal) and would get officers to investigate them in more detail. Hopefully Lewisham is going to be a better if not the best insulated place after all!

Various Highways Issues

Quick update on a number of highways-related queries that I've been following up on in the ward. Not the most exciting of posts I'm afraid, unless/even if you live on the bit of road affected.

Big pot hole outside 254 Brockley Road: I first reported this in January 2008 and was told that the owner of the forecourt would be written to and advised to make repairs. One year on, the hole was bigger than ever and still posing a hazard to pedestrians. I again asked and have been told "Our Highway Asset Manager will ensure that we remind the shop of their responsibility to maintain the forecourt in a safe condition and will pursue the matter until a repair is carried out". I've pointed out that the shops say it is the responsibility of the owners of the yard behind. I will continue to follow this up. I've asked whether the Council can carry out the works in default and put a charge on the property if the owners fails to do so, as it's a health & safety issue.

Junction of St Margaret's Road with Tressillian Road
In the recent heavy rains there was a huge pond of water here and clearly some kind of drainage problem. I've been told that the Highway Maintenance Team will inspect the gullies near the junction of St Margaret's Road with Tressillian Road and arrange for any that are not running clear to be jetted.

Road and footpath on Tressillian Road
I have reported the poor state of the footpath and road on Tressillian Road (specifically the lower section from Harefield Road down, which is in Ladywell ward) several times. I've been told that it is currently 25th on the Council's carriageway resurfacing list and Highways are hopeful that it can be resurfaced next year. They are also currently considering this section of Tressillian Road to be included on the footway reconstruction programme for 2009/10. So, fingers crossed, this should be done within the next year.

Missing street tree outside 154 Tressillian Road
I've been told that this "will be considered for a replacement tree next year". This sounds rather vague to me so I've asked for clarification.

Broken Bollards on Greatfield Close
There are a number of broken concrete bollards on Greatfield Close that pose a safety hazard if they were to fall on someone. For the past 18 months, since the Brockley PFI Housing contract was signed, there's been a certain amount of wrangling and passing the buck regarding responsibility for estate roads in the PFI area. It seems they don't come under highways remit or Regenter B3 but remain the responsibility of Lewisham's housing department, which can be rather slow to commisssion Highways to carry out the work.

All seems rather silly and convoluted to me and I think the roads need to be transferred to highways, otherwise the upshot is that the work never gets carried out. We have had the same hoo-ha with Viney Road and Dressington Avenue. Viney Road eventually got sorted after lots of prompting and I've been told the repairs will be carried out to Dressington Avenue in Feb/Mar of this year. We will continue to push for repairs on Greatfield Close too.

Brockley Grove/Huxbear Road Junction
There's always a problem with water pooling at this junction whenever it rains. Huxbear Road is non-maintained highway, whereas Brockley Grove isn't. I've been told that one of the highway inspectors will visit the area to determine the extent of the repair needed and will arrange what works are considered necessary.

Ladywell Road (particularly outside Ladywell Tavern)
The road here is in quite a state and the speed hump keeps breaking up. I've been told that highways have already done some repairs at Ladywell Road, but a're aware that these are of a short term nature. They've said that they are currently investigating the extent of the damage around the speed hump to determine the extent of further works; It may be that a road closure is necessary for the works to be carried out and if this is the case they will probably need to avoid the period when Blackheath Hill is also closed.

Latest Edition of Lewisham Green News

Our latest edition of Green News has just arrived back from the printers. It focuses on our European Election campaign and the work of Green MEP for London Jean Lambert, but there are also articles about our work as local councillors. You can read it on our website, or look out for it coming through your door in the next few weeks.

We have a hard-working and enthusiastic team of volunteers who deliver our newsletters, but as a small party we always welcome more offers of help. If you would be willing to help deliver Green News to your street, please get in touch.

Fuel Poverty Bill: Ask Joan Ruddock to support the bill

I've been contacted by campaigners for the Fuel Poverty Bill, a private members bill that is currently going through parliament and which would tighten up the government's legal duty to tackle fuel poverty.* They are concerned that the Department for Energy and Climate Change may try to block the bill's passage through parliament. The junior minister responsible for making a recommendation to cabinet on this is Lewisham Deptford MP Joan Ruddock.

The campaigners want as many Lewisham Deptford constituents as possible to contact Joan Ruddock over the next few days and ask her to support and call for government backing of the bill. She is expected to make a formal recommendation to cabinet this week, so it is important that people contact her at the beginning of this week. Please call her consituency office on 020 8691 5992 or e-mail her.

The Fuel Poverty Bill aims to ‘fuel poverty proof' homes by bringing 6 million homes up to the energy efficiency standards of modern homes. It was taken up (with cross-party support) by David Heath MP and is backed by a broad coalition of organisations, including Age Concern England, the Association for the Conservation of Energy, the Centre for Sustainable Energy, Child Poverty Action Group, Consumer Focus, Disability Alliance, Friends of the Earth, Help the Aged, National Right to Fuel Campaign, SERA, Sustainable Energy Partnership and UNISON. The National Federation of Women’s Institutes are about to come on board too!

The very quick background to the Bill is that in 2000 the Labour Government passed the Warm Homes Act, which required the Government to publish a Fuel Poverty Strategy setting out the ways and timescale in which they were going to end fuel poverty. The resulting Fuel Poverty Strategy set dates for the eradication of fuel poverty in the vulnerable sector (2010) and in the rest of the sector (2016). MPs and Ministers believed that this was an absolute duty – until the High Court ruled otherwise on 17 October. In a judgment that campaigners believe to be perverse (and that is being appealed), the judge, Mr Justice McCombe, ruled that the duty to end fuel poverty was not a duty at all – merely a duty to make efforts.

Put simply, the Fuel Poverty Bill reinstates the duty in the Warm Homes Act. It aims to ‘fuel poverty proof’ the homes of the fuel poor by bringing them up to the energy efficiency standards of modern homes. Joan Ruddock recently confirmed that this can be done for the relatively modest sum of £7,500 per (average) fuel poor household. In addition, the Bill will give a much-needed boost to the UK “green construction” industry and create tens of thousands of new jobs. The Bill also requires energy suppliers to provide a social tariff to vulnerable households in the short term.

Back in 2000, Joan Ruddock enthusiastically supported the original 2000 Warm Homes Act with its aim of ending fuel poverty in the United Kingdom. In addition, just a month ago (on 14 January 2009), in giving evidence to the EFRA Select Committee, she expressly confirmed that the Government “do not intend to miss the 2016 target”.

*The official definition of fuel poverty is if you spend 10% or more of your income on heating your home.

Free insulation or freeze on taxation?

I posted last week about our amendment to this year's Council Budget, which includes a proposal to roll out free insulation to homes across Lewisham. The Lib Dems have set up a Facebook group called 'Let's FREEZE Lewisham's Council Tax' so not to be outdone I've set one up called Lewisham needs a Green New Deal, not more cuts to public services! Even if we don't manage to get our proposals through the budget this year, I think the Facebook group has a longer shelf life than just this budget round and could be a useful group to discuss ways of greening up Lewisham's economy, while also creating jobs and reducing fuel poverty.

Anyway, please do join the group to show your support for our proposals. There is also an article and discussion about the proposals over on Brockley Central.

Nuclear Power - Still Not the Answer

There's been quite a lot in the press in the past few days about 'leading greens' doing a volte-face and coming out in favour of nuclear power. I thought it was worth clarifying that the vast majority of those in the green movement, and the clear stance of the Green Party is that nuclear power is not the solution to our energy crisis or tackling climate change.

A little bit lazy on my part, but rather than reinventing the wheel, I thought the article below from a Lancaster Green councillor John Whitelegg was a pretty good summation of the arguments against nuclear power.

We don't need nuclear power to stop climate change
Prof John Whitelegg, Green Party spokesperson on sustainable development and one of 12 Green councillors on Lancaster city council, discusses why renewables, rather than nuclear power, should be the focus for economic recovery.

It is true that a small number of Greens, feeling the urgency of the climate crisis, have suggested a nuclear re-think as a lesser of two evils. But it's also true that the Green Party overwhelmingly thinks they're wrong.

The case for nuclear power to deal with climate change simply doesn't stack up.

Let's forget for a moment that nuclear energy is risky, and that after fifty years the industry still hasn't worked out what to do with the dangerous waste it generates. Even then, nuclear power should still be phased out in the interest of good economics.

A recent study showed that the UK nuclear industry has wasted £32 billion. It's the most expensive form of energy when we take into account its long-term waste costs, even if we ignore the potential costs of a nuclear disaster.

But there are other reasons why Greens oppose nuclear power. We want to create a truly sustainable economy. That means viable jobs for huge numbers of people in sustainable industries. Studies have consistently shown that nuclear energy sustains far fewer jobs per megawatt than non-nuclear renewables.

It also means creating resilient, diverse economies. Currently many local economies are far too dependent on the industrial monoculture of a nuclear power plant.

Renewable energy would not only sustain jobs in significant numbers at major locations, for example where wind turbines are being manufactured. It would also create huge numbers of jobs spread around the entire country, benefitting every local economy, for instance the jobs installing and maintaining microgenerators and servicing very large numbers of small-scale windfarms and biogas plants and so on.

Studies have consistently shown that nuclear energy sustains far fewer jobs per megawatt than non-nuclear renewables.

Of course, in the immediate term we have a recession to deal with. We need to create very large numbers of jobs right now. We can't achieve this by building nuclear power stations in fifteen years' time.

We can, however, unclog the planning system so that all the offshore and onshore wind projects that are currently held up can go ahead urgently. We could immediately announce new feed-in tariffs that would give investors the confidence to pour money into renewable energy. We could put the UK economy on something like a war footing starting tomorrow, to get all the wind, wave and solar systems in place that we need to achieve a low-carbon or even zero-carbon economy.

If we achieved Denmark's rate of growth on wind energy we could create something like 200,000 jobs in that sector alone by 2020 - faster than you could build nuclear power stations.

And also, as a matter of priority, we could start straightaway with domestic and business energy conservation. Not only would this rapidly create many tens of thousands of jobs within a short space of time - it would also save as much energy as all the UK's nuclear power stations currently generate.

So we simply don't need nuclear power to stop climate change. But we do need comprehensive Green policies, and we need them to be implemented now.

Green Party spokesman and Lancaster councillor Prof John Whitelegg is former Professor of Sustainable Transport at Liverpool John Moores University and former Professor of Sustainable Development at York University's Stockholm Institute of the Environment.