Lordship Lane – Hometown

Ever since standing as a councillor many residents in East Dulwich have been very clear that they agree we should ensure our shopping streets don’t become clone zones.

The New Economics Forum have come up with a method to measure this.

This methodology involve counting the number of independent stores versus the number of shops and the different types of shops.

We’ve surveyed Lordship Lane northern main shopping area, Lordship Lane around Dulwich Library and Grove Vale. The measures is that areas 0-50 are called Clone Towns, 50-65 Border Towns and 65-100 Home Towns.

Lordship Lane (northern/main area) = 73 — largely affected by estate agents

Lordship Lane (Dulwich library area) = 75

Grove Vale = 78 — but vitality affected by number of takeaways.

Walworth Road = 61

To make Lordship Lane more of a Home Town we’d need more variety of shopping – we don’t have electronics, sports/cycling store, music/games. We also have a very large number of chain estate agents and food stores.

We’ll be using these survey results to inform the Dulwich planning bible currently being prepared.

What do you think would help preserve and increase the shopping vitality of Lordship Lane?

 

 

Disappointing Business Crash Liability

I’m really disappointed that Lib Dem Transport MP Norman Baker has announced that the coalition government will not change Crash Liability.

Crash liability in Europe is where the weakest party involved with a crash is assumed innocent until proven guilty. So a cyclist hitting a pedestrian would be  assumed guilty unless they prove their innocence. Equally a lorry crashing into a car would be assumed guilty.

The govt and UK car lobbyists argument is that everyone should be assumed innocent. But this results in the weaker road users going uncompensated for years if they received it at all. Both parties remain involved in litigation for many years. The only real beneficiaries of current system are lawyers.

But sharing the same insurance rules as Europe would mean one insurance regime dramatically increasing the competition and lowering prices. It would also see crashes being resolved years sooner.

 

Tax cut still higher

 This April will see a tax cut for the richest. The top income tax rate will be reduced from 50% to 45%.

 Much comment has been made about how unfair this is.

 The 50% income tax rate has an interesting if short history. It was introduced by Gordon Brown in the last month of the 13 years of a Labour government. Some suggest it was an election stunt.

For the other 13 years the Labour government top income tax rate was 40%. Under the coalition government, the top rate of income tax will have been 50% for three years or 36 months. When this top rate is reduced it will still be at 45% which is still higher than the 40% that Labour used to collect.

So when you hear howls of derision about this tax cut. Remember it will still be higher than under Labour.

Lordship Lane Post Office Replacement

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The Post Office has 373 Crown Post Office branches. It’s decided to transfer 70 to retail partners.

One of the 70 is our one on Lordship Lane.

They have stressed to me that this is not about closing our post office on Lordship Lane but rather replacing it. But obviously this will cause great concern and will require a 6 week public consultation.

My experience of such Post Office replacements has been very positive but that is no guarantee it will work well on Lordship Lane.

A Post Office spokesperson stated “We are confident that our plans will mean that customers continue to benefit from a Post Office in their locality delivering service of the highest quality. Partnering with a complementary, respected retailer will also provide for long term viability and sustainability of the branches in question.”

What do you think to this change?

 

Coop outrage

The Coop supermarket on Lordship Lane has applied to sell alcohol and open generally 23/7.

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This is a direct consequence of MP Tessa Jowell licensing laws pushed through in 2003.

We think this would be a disaster for Lordship Lane,  exacerbate the night time economy problems the areas around Lordship Lane are already suffering and boost binge drinking.

We’ve formally objected to this application. If you also support our objection that this will make the atmosphere of Lordship Lane worse then contact the licensing department via Licensing@southwark.gov.uk and copy us your local East Dulwich councillors james.barber@southwark.gov.uk.

In carrying out its licensing functions the council must promote the four licensing objectives set out in the Licensing Act 2003 (2003 Act). They are:

  1. The prevention of crime and disorder;
  2. Public safety;
  3. The prevention of public nuisance; and
  4. The protection of children from harm.

Any objections need to explain how the Coop opening 23/7 and selling alcohol 6am to 11pm would be against any of these objectives.

 

M&S Planning Application rejected

The second Planning Application 12-AP-3773 for a new M&S store at 84-90 Lordship where Iceland used to be has just been rejected. The first planning application had been withdrawn by the applicant last year.

This application was to extend the shops and convert the upper floor offices into 8 flats. It was applied for such that the statutory consultation took place over Christmas. Not the most public spirited behaviour of such a well respect national institution.

East Dulwich councillors had called-in this decision due to impacts it would have and that so many details had not been properly thought through.

So we’ve now heard that the application has been assessed by council planning officers as being unacceptable on transport and amenity grounds and has been rejected.

Overall 35 people objected to the application on these grounds and 7 supported it.

With Iceland closed I do hope that M&S or other responsible retail business come up with a more measured planning application that doesnt cause the amenity and transport issues.

What do you think?

Are you pleased or annoyed by this decision?

Tower Subway fails the grade

Southwark is often said to be the most historic London borough. Part of this evidence in the Tower Subway. It was the world’s first ever tube railway in 1869.

Today English Heritage decided not to award it Grade II listing.

See the report why:  report_165456

Tower subwayThe tower subway has historical significance as one of the earliest tunnels to be dug using the tunnel shield method.  Marc and Isambard Brunel pioneered the use of a tunnelling shield in the digging of the Thames Tunnel between Wapping and Rotherhithe (now part of the London Overground Network) and Peter Barlow and James Greathead significantly improved on this work in constructing an iron shield that was circular in cross section (the Brunel’s shield was rectangular) that laid the foundations for the tunnel boring machines that are used today. The Tower Subway is also significant in being the first to use a segmental cast-iron lining, a system still in common use today.  The Tower Subway is thus London’s second oldest tunnel beneath the River Thames and pre-dates the next oldest – the City and South London Railway (now the Northern Line) – by some 14 years. Tunnel’s are not normally listed (the Thames Tunnel, at grade II*, is a rare exception) the historic significance  of the Tower Subway suggests that it would make  a worthy candidate for listing.

It was built in less than one year in 1869 which is a great example of how great an engineer Peter Barlow was designing his shield etc and how James Greathead delivered the project. It originally had a mini tube train which failed commercially. Once this subway train was removed in 1870 it became a 1/2 penny toll foot tunnel and was hugely successful in getting one million people a year from Tooley Street to outside the Tower of London. But this commercially died when Tower Bridge was opened as a free way of crossing the River Thames in 1894.

The tunnel was then bought by the London Hydraulic Power Company housing high pressured water pipes, later Thames Water pipes and more recently fibre optic cables for Cable&Wireless Worldwide.

Is it safe for the future?

T Brown excess

Every weekday morning at the northern end of Melbourne Grove T BROWN vans park willy-nilly. Some come super early before 7am park up and play loud music to annoy the locals. Many park on the single and double yellow lines.

When I’ve checked with council officials they tell me they have park anywhere passes.

I say but those vouchers are meant to be at the council housing end not at some depot newly acquired and effectively subsidised by this parking free for all. Tough is the effective response.

I point out that the vans proclaim how they work for Lewisham and Lambeth. And is the effective response.

This is exactly the type of issue that leads residents to understandably question the probity of parking wardens. I feel some sympathy with a management system that creates this wrong.

come of Southwark sort this problem out. It’s not fair. It’s not fair foremost on neighbours. But it’s also not fair on the contractors who also bid for this contractor but never realise they didn’t need to create a depot with parking.

14 February 8_12am22 January 8_24am

Making Lordship Lane 20mph

Since being elected in 2006 East Dulwich councillors have been working hard to make our high street Lordship Lane safer. It’s a particularly busy high street.  We’ve been successful having two new crossing installed early last year, enhanced Goose Green roundabout with all arms having Zebra crossings, most side roads with raised entry treatments. These are the types of measures that the Mary Portas Review recommended “focus on making high streets accessible, attractive and safe”.

2223576497_3520d6c0af_mThe latest progress towards making Lordship Lane safer is to introduce a 20mph speed limit on Lordship Lane between Goose Green and the Police Station at Whateley Road . We applied and awarded £15,000 towards this from the 2012/13 Cleaner, Greener, Safer capital funding. After a year of working with officers they’ve now agreed that physical measures are not required. This is partly from the governments change in national policy january this year making 20mph easier via its new guidance – Setting Local Speed Limits.

As part of the process we’ve had speed surveys done at two points along Lordship Lane – just south of Frogley Road and just south of Hansler Road. They were done during term time in the Autumn.

The surveys were carried out just south of Frogley Road which had a mean speed of 17.9mph and an 85th percentile speed of 23.9mph and also just south of Hansler Road where the mean speed was 22.1mph with an 85th percentile speed of 28.2mph.

The new guidance says that if the mean average speed is below 24mph 20mph speed limits can be introduced. It also suggests that  if a large variation exists between the mean average and 85th percentile speeds then drivers are likely to be confused about what speed to drive at and introducing 20mph speed limits should help reduce this confusion.

The next step is for officers to formally consult on making this happen. Assuming no hiccups I’m hopeful it can be introduced within three months.

 

 

More nursery places

imagesCABUFU1BFor some time we’ve had a serious shortage of nursery  school places in East Dulwich and more widely across Southwark.

Fortunately some relief was announced yesterday. An application 12-AP-3844 to convert the St.Thomas More on Lordship Lane into a ground floor nursery and 1st floor community space was granted planning permission. This should lead to 40-70 nursery places depending on the age and exact final configuration.

A second planning application 12-AP-1767 to convert the former Dulwich area council housing office into a ground floor nursery – Crown House, 41-43 East Dulwich Road – was submitted. The council rejected this scheme due to the loss of office space. The applicant has appealed and my colleagues and I have written in support of this appeal. This scheme would provide up to 120 nursery places. Such spaces would do more to support employment not just in terms of the 20 direct jobs but in terms of enabling parents to go to work.

These two schemes together would go some considerable way to resolving nursery places shortages in our area.

Fingers crossed for the appeal. Hopefully the St.Thomas Moore conversion wont take long.