All New Chinese Crystal Palace

The Chinese Zhong Rong Group are proposing to rebuild a pastiche of the great Victorian Crystal Palace.

It’s clear from their representatives who spoke at the Dulwich Community Council that they really arent sure what they’re proposing. It might include a 6* hotel, it might include an auction house, it might include exotic galleries. Yet before knowing what they’re proosing and the related transport requirements they’re asking people whether they support it or not.

What they do know is theyre not planning transport upgrades such as extending a tube line or reopening the high level Crystal Palace station. But witohut a step change improving public transport it wont work without terrible congestion for locals. My fear is massive car parking.

But removing the car parking that has taken over the core of Crystal Palace Park would improve that space. The accomodation blocks and other structures don’t make the park feel parky. So clearly something needs to happen with the park.

So personally I’m against the amorhpous scheme until I see credible plans addressing my fears.

New East Dulwich Cinema

I adore going to the cinema. I love the whole thing. All the way from the anticipation of going, watching the trailers to the credits and chatting about what you’ve seen.

For some time I’ve been encouraging cinema companies to consider East Dulwich. We recently had three chains consider East Dulwich and previously I’d even approached a real independent cinema Bermondsey Shortwave.

Finally the long awaited cinema company who have agreed, subject to planning permission, to open a cinema in East Dulwich on Lordship Lane is Picturehouse Cinemas – the people who run the Brixton Ritzy.

Next week they have public consultations about what they’re thinking of doing on the old Roman Catholic Community Centre, Thomas Moore Hall, 116A Lordship Lane.

DO PLEASE pop along and take a look at what they proposing….

Tuesday 4 March 6.30-9.30pm & Saturday 8 March 10am-1pm.

And let us know as your local councillors what you think.

Do you think it will bring extra vigour to Lordship Lane? Cause parking issues? Provide things for teens to do as well as us adults?

Stairs Not Chairs

Some research has investigated whether people like you and me can be encouraged to forego using lifts to take the stairs between floors. Many of us have very sedentary work – sitting around on chairs all day.

Signs like this were used:

takethestairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They found such signs tripled the numbers taking the stairs. Obvious health benefits for people and some electricity and lift wear and tear saved.

They also found that lifts visible from the foyer and with external windows were the most popular. Really important for a place like Southwark with lots of new developments that our planners work with developers to achieve this.

Do you take the stairs?

I’ll be asking Southwark Council to promote this initially in its office buildings.

Even small gifts influence behaviour

My day job is in procurement. It really compliments my home time being a local councillor. And occasionally being a councillor informs the day job.

I came across some really interesting peer reviewed research showing that even small gifts make a difference to peoples behaviours and decisions:

http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2012/12/21/the-big-corruption-in-small-gifts/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/health/research/19beha.html?_r=0

Sadly almost all organisations don’t recognise these impacts and do allow such small gifts.

In both roles I’ve never accepted gifts. Sometimes I have eaten sandwiches at a suppliers remote premise. As a councillor I have never accepted anything. I have only had lunch with developers once and paid my part of the bill much to their consternation.

But some councillors haven’t taken on board this research and don’t just accept small gifts but gifts worth thousands of pounds. The research suggests it  must affect their decision making.

If you’d like to explore the interests of councillors see each councillors register of gifts and hospitalities on the Southwark Council website – http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200038/councillors_mps_and_meps/1367/your_councillors

The council leader Cllr Peter John has in just the last 12 months received £1,881.15 of such gifts and over a dozen dinner and balls tickets valued far in excess of this but the value hasn’t been stated:

http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgListGifts.aspx?UID=189

 

Local Indie Shop Map

Some local residents have put together a marvellous map of local independent shops.

Please see attached. Indie Shop Map

WELL DONE EMMA PALLANT for the lovely artwork and MADELIENE WORRALL for conceiving of the idea and making it happen.

I helped find the money and guranteed it so they could print before Christmas. I’ve already been asking them about the next version…

What have we missed?

 

ED Changes for 2014/15

Every year local ward councillors get to decide how to spend some devolved Cleaner, Greener, Safer budget. The scheme started when Lib Dems first led the council in 2002 with only one year when it didn’t operate when the Labour administration wanted to use the money on pet Olympic projects.

I’m particularly excited by the prospect of improving the junction of North Cross Road with Lordship Lane. It’s one of our crash hot spots, doesn’t work well when closed for the street market on Saturdays. The Bike hangars will be a great experiment to see if they can work locally in East Dulwich – fingers crossed. And lastly trialling the Dulwich Hospital phlebotomy service on Saturdays. IT should really make it much easier for people to have blood tests outside of normal work hours and provide a real alternative to being at the hospital before 7am weekdays.

This year East Dulwich councillors have decided to allocate the following:

CGS capital:

–          ED Crime Prevention fund £10,000

–          ED street trees £10,000

–          Lordship Lane secure derelict property £4,500

–          Chesterfield £6,000 for upgrading street lighting to white light, £4,000 for pavement tree pit upgrading.

–          Bike hangars – fund 2 to be decided where most popular by residents £10,000

–          East Dulwich Community Centre (EDCC) children garden area materials £524

–          Bassano Street gating £2,000

–          Dawson Heights tree planting £1,000

–          Upgrade junction of NCR/LL £50,000

–          ED public Automated Emergency Defibrillators £5,000

–          Historic photos project £4,500

Total £112,524

 

CGS revenue:

–          Give and take EDCC events £1,500

–          Goose Green nursery improvements £1,400

–          EDCC gardening £700

–          WW2 plaques across Dulwich £667

–          Street cleaning machine extra half-time employee £11,605

–          Saturday Dulwich Hospital blood testing trial x 26 weeks (as per separate email) £20,000

Total £35,872

Fair pay rises

Since the economic car crash of the last Labour government the economy is now growing and forecast to grow strongly.

Pay rises will return. But how to ensure pay rises are applied fairly. One system that a staff committee I worked with developed was the following – this example was related to a 3% overall increase:

Pay rise grid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It worked a treat bringing transparency and fairness.

Crossthwaite Post Office

Southwark Council owns a number of shops on Crossthwaite Avenue. One is a sub Post Office.

For several years I’ve been campaigning to get a sign pointing to these shops and Post Office. This came from work trying to save Post Offices when the last Labour government was closing them. Identified that we needed to drum up business for those we have. I even escalated the issue to the council leader Councillor Peter John, whose ward this is in,  several time but that seemed to make diddly squat difference.

But now after all those years we’ve finally had a sign installed…

 

Local shops and Post Office sign 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eureka!!

Herne Hill Flood Alleviation

Over the years the centre of Herne Hill has been flooded every few decades – 60’s, 2004 are mentioned by some residents. Herne Hill sites at the bottom of Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, Red Post hill. Even Burbage road slopes down to Herne Hill. The completely buried River Effra flows under Herne Hill on its way to the River Thames.

A scheme has been talked about for some time since the last weather related major flooding in 2004.

But talk has accelerated since the  UK’s interpretation of EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). This means local councils have to compelte Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments and Flood Risk Maps.

The government has also recently made water companies responsible for the connections from homes and businesses into their networks.

Any Herne Hill flooding would see water flowing back through the network into people homes – gushing toilets. So with the new responsibility Thames Water is now keen to install non return valves for all the Herne Hill connections.

The government DEFRA via the Environment Agency is also keen to avoid large flooding events in London. So they’re keen to fund water storage and capture capacity – similar to the bunds on Alleyns’ School playing field.

Together this means Southwakr Council Herne hill Flood Alleviation project has obtained £2M funding from Thames Water and £1.755m from the Environment Agency/DEFRA.

The plans are that contruction works start March 2014 and end December 2014. Herne Hill should then be safe from weather related flooding.

Lordship Lane 20mph – at last

This week our long term plans to make Lordship Lane 20mph have come ot pass.

It’s now 20mph between Goose green roundabout and Melborune Grove where it meets Lordship Lane. 600m of high street now just that bit calmer.

We started trying to make Lordship Lane more friendly for locals and visitors walking about in 2006. In 2007 we had a Living Streets walkability assessment done which worked with locals to test the areas walkability.

Why? Because 99.99% of us walk.

We’ve added two extra formal crossings before, had many side roads with raised treatments, improved Goose Green with thrid arm having zebra crossings.

Last year Living Streets produced a report which reenforced our reasoning for this 20mph in particular is a Living Street report called The pedestrian pound. Making the main high street parts of Lordship Lane 20mph should make it better for people to walk around.

Any way the reports key findings:

•Research shows that making places better for walking can boost footfall and trading by up to 40%
•Good urban design can raise retail rents by up to 20%
•International and UK studies have shown that pedestrians spend more than people arriving by car. Comparisons of spending by transport mode in Canada and New Zealand revealed that pedestrians spent up to six-times more than people arriving by car. In London town centres in 2011, walkers spent £147 more per month than those travelling by car
•Retailers often overate the importance of the car – a study Graz, Austria, subsequently repeated in Bristol found that retailers overestimated the number of customers arriving by car by almost 100%
•Landowners and retailers are willing to pay to improve the streetscape in order to attract tenants and customers.