No surgery on 26 December

The surgery at St Andrew's Church which would be scheduled to take place on 26 December (the fourth Saturday of the month) is not going to take place. The next surgery is on 9 January at Hilly Fields Medical Centre on Ladywell Road, the next surgery at St Andrew's is on 23 January, both from 11am - 12noon.

In case of emergencies over the festive period please call the council's switchboard on 020 8314 6000.

Hilly Fields Playground Plans - update

Rachel from Hilly Fields Users’ Group has posted an update on their website about how plans for the playground are progressing, and reports that if all goes well work should start on site at the end of January.

Transition Brockley - end of year update

I've just received the following end of year report from Transition Brockley. It's pretty impressive to see what they've already done in the first 8 months. Local people just getting on with things and preparing their community for a low carbon future, without waiting for politicians to get their act together.

After the depressing news from Copenhagen this weekend, in which the US and its cohorts effectively condemned the world to catastrophic climate change, there's a stark contrast and it's a small light in what otherwise makes for a rather gloomy state of global affairs right now!

SEASON'S GREETINGS TO ALL OUR TRANSITIONERS! !
End of year update for Transition Brockley/Lewisham.

We had our first meeting in April of this year and can report that we have:

* FILM SHOWINGS: hosted a couple of film events at St.Andrews Church in Brockley and Manor House Library in Lee showing the Power of Community and A Farm for the Future as well as couple of short films about Transition Towns Totnes and Brockley to highlight the importance of moving away from reliance on fossil fuels and how urban sustainable food-growing is possible;

* VISIONING: had people contributing many ideas about how they envision a future low-carbon and community friendly Brockley at film showings and the Flux event (see below);

* REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT: discussed our own small steps to reduce our carbon footprint and build our resilience to peak oil. Assisted by the 3 Tonne Handbook and the 10-10 campaign;

* COMMUNITY VEGETABLE PLOT: helped with the setting up of a vegetable garden at St Saviour's Church, one of the 2012 community food growing spaces to be created by the year 2012 under the Capital Growth scheme;

* FRENDSBURY GARDENS: supported this community garden with their successful application for funding to continue to be able to provide the facilities for giving courses in all aspects of sustainable growing and to increase its wildlife habitat;

* FLUX: held a very successful awareness raising and fun evening at the Brockley Social Club with a magician, live band, DJs, swopshop, wheel of fortune and other visioning activities on a transition theme. It was a real community event with all ages enjoying the fun! We look forward to the next one....;

* THE WAVE: taken part as TT Brockley / Lewisham (with banner!) in the Wave, climate change march on Saturday 5th December; and

* ORCHARD: supported an initiative of local Brockley residents with plans for an orchard in an overgrown plot behind their flats. The ground has been cleared, soil has been taken for testing, and, together with the London Orchard Project, they will be planting trees in the spring.

OTHER INITIATIVES:

* 9carrots: Various local businesses have joined the 9carrots scheme, whereby they pledge to put aside 10% of the money they take from 9carrots customers for an upgrade to make their business more energy efficient. The scheme really NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT, so do tell your friends and if you can, go along and spend with them and say you would like a 9carrots voucher. This will help them to achieve their target and also support our local businesses. Signed up so far are:

* The Shop On The Hill, 7a Harefield Road
* The Broca Food Market, 209-211 Mantle Road
* Mr Lawrence Wine Bar, 391 Brockley Road
* Royal Tandoori, 387 Brockley Road
* EXP Chinese Experience, 390 Brockley Road

If you know of any businesses who would like to join the scheme, feel free to sign them up (contact us for details).

* GLOBAL ACTION PLAN: We organised for GAP (an independent charity which advises business on energy saving measures) to visit a couple of local small businesses to discuss how they might make energy savings, and help them survive the current economic downturn. The visits were welcomed and the businesses have asked GAP to return to work with them in the new year.

* BEEKEEPING: With the invaluable help of our local beekeeper, Camilla, we have sparked off a substantial increase in the number of beehives being set up in the area, following two 'veils-on' sessions with buzzing bees and a film showing of The Mysterious Bee. There has been a huge interest in beekeeping in response to the worrying decline of the rural bee and the (by contrast) fortunate good health of the urban bee.

* PERMACULTURE COURSES: Courses (for individuals) in sustainable growing using permaculture principles are planned for the spring and being organised with Frendsbury Gardens. Negotiations are also under way for permaculture courses to be held for Lewisham's Envirowork, and Glendale, the council's parks and gardens maintenance team, have expressed interest.

* SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ACT: The proposal Transition Brockley submitted to increase the Government fund for grants towards renewable energy installations (the Low Carbon Building Programme) has been shortlisted by the LGA for review by the Secretary of State, who will decide whether to recommend this proposal for acceptance by the Government.

* TRANSITION SYDENHAM: Alona from our group has started up a Transition Sydenham initiative with a meeting at the end of November. This group will focus on two garden-related topics: a) twinning underused gardens with gardeners who want a growing space, and b) community gardens for growing food. A meeting in January 2010 will plan in more detail what the group can do and the next steps to take.

Let us know if we've missed anything. We look forward to seeing you in the new year.

As we'd like to support local venues, our NEXT MEETING will be at the recently opened Orchard bar/kitchen, 5 Harefield Road, Brockley at 8.00pm, Thursday 21 January.

Happy Christmas!

Alex, Alona, Fran, Katie

If you aren't already on the Transition Lewisham e-mail list, you can sign up here.

Should Ladywell have a conservation area?

Lewisham Planning Department is consulting residents in Ladywell about whether or not a Ladywell Conservation Area should be introduced. The area between the leisure centre and the railway bridge is already part of St Mary's Conservation area, and the area from halfway up Adelaide Avenue comes under Brockley Conservation area, but the main streets in Ladywell, such as Algernon Road, Algiers Road, Veda Road, Embleton Road, Ermine Road and Ladywell Road are not currently in a conservation area. It is this area that is currently being consulted.

One of the main differences between living in a conservation area or not is that planning regulations for conservation areas are stricter, and you need permission for certain changes to your home that you might not need outside it, such as replacing windows and the intention behind this is to preserve the aesthetic and architectural character of the area.

I've included below a bit more information from officers about the proposals and you can also find the documents on the Council's website.

The proposals are supported by a conservation area appraisal that sets out the special interest of the area and explains why it may warrant designation, including recommendations for the future management of the area. These proposals are out to public consultation from now until 27 January 2010. Residents, businesses and stakeholders in the area should all have been sent an explanatory leaflet and a questionnaire asking for their views.

Officers will be available to explain the proposals on Saturday, 9th January between 12.00noon and 3pm at the Foyer of the Lewisham Library, 199-201 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham.

Background to the conservation area review:
Local Planning Authorities are required to identify from time to time which parts of their areas are of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.

Unitary development plan policy URB 15 says that the Council will periodically review its conservation areas programme, designate new Conservation Areas and extend existing ones as appropriate, and formulate and publish special guidance for their preservation, protection or enhancement.

The new Ladywell Conservation Area:
The core of the proposed Ladywell Conservation Area contains a late Victorian residential suburb which was developed by the local builder Samuel J. Jerrard. Through the 1880s and 1890s he built up long stretches of Vicars Hill and the newly laid out streets Algernon Road, Algiers Road, Ermine and Embleton Road. His houses are highly distinctive as a group and his development survives nearly complete. The conservation area also encompasses some good later infill development of the late 19th and early 20th century and the commercial core of Ladywell along Ladywell Road, which contains some of the oldest houses and pubs of the area.

Much of the special character of the proposed Ladywell Conservation Area lies in the historic detail of its buildings. The survey of the area has identified the incremental loss of architectural details and inappropriate alterations as a cause of the area’s loss of historic character. If designation as a Conservation Area is considered it is recommended to make an Article 4(2) direction at the same time to cover all the residential properties. This will mean that planning permission will be required before changes are made to features such as windows, doors, porches, rooflights, brickwork, front gardens and boundary walls.

We would be interested to hear local residents views on these proposals. To make sure your views count, do remember to return the form you get through your door, or you can complete the online version here.

Copenhagen - 1 day left to get the deal

Just got the latest e-mail update from Franny Armstrong and the Age of Stupid team. They are in Copenhagen and running a nightly TV show (The Stupid Show) for the duration of the talks. She sends pretty bleak news:

"With just one day to go here in Copenhagen, the deal is on target to commit us all to a 3.9 degree temperature rise, which would equate to something like:
- Africa uninhabitable
- Southern Europe a desert
- Australian agricultural system wiped out
- All coral reefs gone
- Most forests gone

The world leaders are now starting to arrive - 120 of them are expected, which would be their biggest-ever get-together - and have certainly got their work cut out if they're going to shift things to the extent that's needed to avoid disaster."

We need to commit to no more than a 2 degree temperature rise, and developing countries, including a number of small island nations most vulnerable to sea level rises, are calling for 1.5 degrees. It's primarily the developed countries that have created the CO2 and burned up the planet's resources, yet it will be the poorest countries that pay the highest price and suffer the harshest effects of climate change.

The widget above should provide updates on how the negotiations are progressing and the Green Party website is also being regularly updated with news. If you're aren't one of the 11m who has already signed Avaaz's petition to world leaders calling for a strong climate deal, then you can still do so here - I think they must have handed the first 11m or so in and started again, as it's now at 240,000.

Don't forget the Christmas Markets tomorrow!

A quick reminder about the Ladywell and Brockley Christmas markets tomorrow. The Ladywell one is outside Ladywell Station from 10am-4pm, while the Brockley one is on Coulgate Street from 12-6pm. Lots of food and crafts stalls, including my neighbour Eleanor's deli stall, which is part of her ongoing market research before (hopefully) setting up a shop in Ladywell. According to flyers in Ladywell Chippy, a new boutique/gift shop is also opening at 89 Ladywell Road tomorrow, though it looked some way from being ready when I walked passed earlier.

And don't forget that after the market the festive fun continues with LVIG's fundraising gig in Ladywell Tavern from 7pm onwards.

In other news:

• The surplus railguards on Ladywell Road and Algernon Road have been removed today/yesterday. Hurray! Ladywell Road and Algernon Road are already looking better. We may need a couple more bike racks now though, eg outside the pub.

• EDF Energy are cutting power to half the businesses on Ladywell Road this Sunday, in order to connect the new Oyster card machines at Ladywell Station. Despite having planned this work since the end of October when they applied to the Council for a street works permit, they only saw fit to notify their business customers on Ladywell Road earlier this week. They've indicated that the work should be completed by around 10am - if it's not, businesses face losing a day's trade on one of the busiest days of the year. If you're planning to go and buy your Christmas tree from Ladywell DIY on Sunday morning- take some cash as their credit card machine won't be working until the power is restored.

Ladywell ward councillors' advice surgery - tomorrow at 11am

Our next councillors' surgery is taking place tomorrow, 11am-12pm, at Hilly Fields Medical Centre, Adelaide Avenue. Do pop along if you've got any queries/problems about council-related services that you want to raise with us.

Planning Applications: Foxborough Gardens, Algernon Road, Kneller Road

3 new planning applications in the ward that I thought worth flagging up.

1) DC/09/71852/X: The provision of children's play equipment on the communal open space at 105-151 and 153-199 Foxborough Gardens SE4.

2) DC/09/72886/X: The continued use of land adjacent to 48 Kneller Road SE4, as storage land, for the parking of motorhome vehicles thereon as a security measure.

3) DC/09/72782/X: Redevelopment of land to the rear of 6-24 Algernon Road SE13, involving the demolition of existing buildings; the erection of 3 buildings between 2 and 4 storeys in height and accommodating 34 residential units; the provision of access and car parking, landscaping, amenity space and play space; and the erection of retaining walls.

The first is an application to build a new play area on the green in front of the tower blocks in Foxborough Gardens. This is one of the projects which was awarded funding as part of the Playbuilder scheme and which I blogged on back in February.

The second application for Kneller Road is something that was flagged up to me by Kneller Road residents concerned about on street parking and noise disturbance.

The third application is probably the largest housing development to come up in the ward in recent years, and is for housing on the mews to the rear of Algernon Road, where Mersh Brothers MOT Centre is currently.

If you click on the links above, it should take you to the application details online. Any comments should be sent to Lewisham Planning, 5th Floor Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London, SE6 4SW, or they can be e-mailed to planning@lewisham.gov.uk. Don't forget to include the address and application number with your comments.

Foxberry Court bins - sorted!

We've been picking up a few extra bits and pieces of casework recently, while out speaking to residents. In Foxberry Road, residents complained that because the bins in Foxberry Court did not have lids, the rubbish was blowing down the road and foxes etc were getting into the bins. Happily, this was an easy one to solve and our waste officers acting promptly to get new lids fitted on the bins - thanks Paddy! If only all casework was resolved this easily . . .

The number to call to request new bin lids, report lost bins, fly-tipping, graffiti, or for pretty much anything else to do with the Council's Environment services is 020 8314 7171.

The Wave - Act fast and fair on CO2 cuts

There was a big turnout for 'The Wave', the climate change protest in central London today, including lots of people from Lewisham. The protests were called as part of the build up to the Copenhagen talks on climate change and designed to send a clear message to world leaders that we want a fair deal for all, and legally-binding targets for cuts in carbon emissions.

Pictured above are Charlotte Dingle and Jim Jepps, Green Party candidates for Ladywell and Crofton Park respectively.

I marched with my sister and nephew who travelled up from Suffolk for the day, with lots of others from Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It was my 6 year-old nephew's first protest, and he was most impressed with all the planes overhead in London as he sees more tractors than planes back home! Hmm, he was, however, wearing his 'Keep the planet cool' t-shirt a certain aunty bought him!
There was also a fair-sized contingent from Transition Brockley

There's a handy guide to the Copenhagen talks and what campaigners want from them on the Green Party's website.

Left: Charlotte, me and Ute in parliament square at the end of the march.

Lewisham and Greenwich Young Cyclists win another award!

Congratulations to Lewisham and Greenwich Young Cyclists and John Ball Primary School, who have won another award for their pioneering work. Their prize was the Grizelda cartoon above. To find out more about what they do, their next rides etc, check out their website.

Local meeting on Gordonbrock Planning Application

A meeting has been arranged by planning officers to give local residents a chance to discuss the planning application for Gordonbrock Primary School with officers and the applicants. The meeting will take place this Thursday, 26th November, 7pm, at the school.

These meetings are normally held if there are more than 10 objections to an application, which is the case in this instance. I have been asked to chair the meeting so will be remaining neutral. Officers have indicated that a living roof and rainwater harvesting have been added to the plans since the consultation event at the school. I have also asked them to provide further information about the building footprint and the size and design of the outside play areas, as this is one of the aspects of the application that seems to have caused most concern to those who commented on my previous post on this.

Do come along if you want to discuss the proposals in more detail with officers. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Ward - 25 years service award

Congratulations to Elizabeth Ward, who today received her Long Service Award for 25 years working for the Council. For the past 13 years, Elizabeth has worked at Ladywell Day Centre in Dressington Avenue, and before that she worked at other day centres and care homes in the borough.

She is popular with both staff and centre users and known for the energy and enthusiasm she puts into her work.

Elizabeth lives locally and is also an active member of our ward assembly steering group and Foxborough Garden's TRA (tenants and residents association). She is persistent in flagging up repairs and issues on her estate and prodding the necessary people (often us!) until action is taken.

It was a real pleasure to be invited along to the day centre today to see Elizabeth get her award. And no, she didn't pass up the opportunity to give me a bit of casework!

New Yoga Class starting in Ladywell this Monday

Just got sent this by a friend - sounds good . . .

Online poll on funding to improve Ladywell

Following the decisions made by the Ladywell Assembly on allocating the Mayor's Fund, there is also £9,000 to be spent from the annual Locality Fund for smaller scale projects. Eight projects aiming to involve the community and improve the area have been submitted, and there is an online poll for you to vote for those you would like to see funded.

The projects are:
1. Noticeboard cabinet for Brockley Cemetery
2. Street trees for Brockley Road
3. Equipment for Hilly Fields Community Bowling Green
4. Plaque to commemorate the original Lady Well
5. Contribution to Brockley Max Festival
6. Social enterprise “Vessel Works” for young people
7. Ladywell Walking Tour leaflet
8. Contribution to Saturday School

The poll with brief descriptions of the proposals can be accessed here, and it will only take a couple of minutes to complete - so please take part and have a say in how Ladywell should be improved!

The poll is open to anyone who lives, works, studies or uses facilities in Ladywell ward – this is a much larger area than Ladywell village. The deadline for the poll is 30 November 2009.

If you would like to find out more about the Ladywell Assembly, local facilities and previous funding, click here.

New notice board for cemeteries group

The new notice board for the FOBLC (Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries) is now up at the Ladywell Road end of the cemeteries, and looking very smart. This is one of the items funded by last year's localities fund. Ute has just posted details of bids for this year's fund, and how you can have your say. (I'm cheating and pre-dating this post by an hour or so, in order for the poll post to stay at the top for a while!).

On the downside, this smart new notice board makes the various council ones at the Ladywell end of the cemetery look a bit tatty now. Given that the Council also now needs to advertise the changes the new dog control orders (which come into force this Monday) mean for the cemeteries (dogs allowed on leads), and there is probably a case for a bit of rationalisation of the various council signs into one, with opening times, dog restrictions, contact details, etc all on one good quality sign.

On a slight tangent, one of the various notices currently at the entrance to the cemeteries says 'no cycling'. What do readers think about this? Personally, I think that we should open up the entrance on Brockley Road (by Brockley Primary School) and encourage considerate cyclists to use the cemeteries. We could potentially draw in some funding to resurface one of the footpaths if it was also a designated cycle path. It could provide a useful alternative to get from Ladywell to Brockley avoiding the main roads and in my opinion, as long as cyclists are considerate of other cemetery users, the more people we have using the cemeteries, the better, as it will help improve security there.

I always think it's a bit unfair that cars are allowed into the cemetery but that cyclists have to dismount. I can understand the need for those with mobility problems or carrying tools to tend graves to park near their graves, but don't see why those on bikes shouldn't be able to do the same. What do others think?

Date for Diaries: Ladywell Christmas Market: 12th December.

Brockley Christmas market is back again too, on the same day, but from 12-6pm, so plenty of time to pop across Hilly Fields from one to the other.

Application to turn former off-licence on Algernon Road into a hot food take away

We've just been notified of the following planning application for change of use from A1 retail to A5 (hot food take away).

DC/09/72751: 222 ALGERNON ROAD, LONDON, SE13 7AG
Proposal: The change of use of the ground floor unit at the front of 222 Algernon Road SE13, from retail (Class Use A1) to Hot food Takeaway (Use Class A5), together with the installation of an extract flue on the rear elevation.

This is the former off-licence, next to the tattoo parlour. You can view the application online here.
If you wish to comment on this application, you should do so in writing by 26th November. You can e-mail planning@lewisham.gov.uk, or write to them at Planning, 5th Floor Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, Catford, London, SE6 4RU.

Thames Water contractors go AWOL with job half-done on Ladywell Road

This was the scene on Ladywell Road today, thanks to Thames Water contractors, who on Sunday dug up the road (presumably to fix a leak), did a temporary fix of the pavement, blocked off the pedestrian crossing and, as far as I can tell, haven't been back since.

Meanwhile, pedestrians, including many school pupils from Gordonbrock and the two Prendergast schools are being forced to jump over railings or make a long detour to cross the road, which is surely an accident waiting to happen.

I have called Lewisham's Highways team to raise my concerns and asked them to chase Thames Water, and also logged a call directly with Thames Water, in the hope this will get fixed asap. I am also curious to see whether this complies with the recently-launched street works permits scheme.

I'll be pushing to make sure the pavement is made right as soon as possible, rather than left with yet another patchwork of tarmac for months on end. Of course, if highways had carried out the works we were promised back in the Spring, to remove some of the railings, things wouldn't be quite as bad as they are today!

It is infuriating when local residents go to such effort to spruce up the street, only for utilities companies come along and trash it again!

UPDATE, 4.30pm: Just got a call from Thames Water to say their contractors are en route to clear the site and reopen the crossing, so hopefully that will be sorted today. They will still need to come back to do a proper reinstatement of the paving at a later date.

New Schools Programme: could do better

The Sustainable Development committee, which I chair, has been carrying out a review of the extent to which the ongoing BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme is sustainable. As well as the more obvious things like solar panels on roofs, we've been looking at things like community access to buildings out of hours, school travel plans and the procurement process.

Members of the committee visited 3 recently-built schools in the borough (Prendergast Ladywell Fields, Catford High and Sedgehill) and last week I presented our interim recommendations to the Mayor & Cabinet. Some of the recurring issues with these new schools are problems with ventilation (classrooms with windows that don't open and air conditioning that doesn't work), limited/no community use of buildings out of hours and ongoing issues with facilities management.

The article above from the South London Press has a bit more detail. Note to self: send a more flattering/photoshopped portrait photo to SLP for future use!