Greener health

The new Southwark Labour led administration is about to approve its Tree Strategy.

As a Lib Dem we were planting 400 centrally funded trees a year – roughly the replacement rate – with other Cleaner, Greener, Safer funding for new trees. So overall we were making the borough greener.

Anyway, this new Tree Strategy decision comes at the same time as some research about how people, but especially kids, living in greener areas are healthier and less obese. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine vol 35, P547 reported that children living in greener urban areas compared to less green urban areas were on average 6 kgs lighter with less depression, back and neck problems, lung problems, asthma, migraines, diabetes. You name it they were not just lighter be healthier. Even more amazing was that this effect was independent of socio-economic backgrounds.

So does the new Southwark Tree Strategy look to green our urban areas?

Nope. At best it looks to maintain the status quo with real risk of slipping back and not even planting new trees at a the renewal rate. But Southwark is exactly the place where we need huge expansion in street trees for a step imprvement in health we now know can happen by greening our areas.

Noise kills!

A new study has found that living under a flight path increases the risk of having a heart attack. The Swiss study discovered that people exposed to a daily average noise levels of at least 60 decibels are 30% more at risk of dying of a heart attack than those exposed to less that 45 decibels. Among those exposed to the higher decibel levels for 15 or more years, the risk was 50 per cent higher. Up to 200,000 people under the Heathrow flight paths experience noise averaging out at over 60 decibels.To read more about the report: Living under a flight path ‘can increase your risk of heart attack .

The report, ‘Aircraft Noise, Air Pollution, and Mortality from Myocardial Infarction’ can be read in Epidemiology, November 2010, Volume 21, Issue 6, pp 829-836. doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181f4e634

But this study has potentially far reaching implications. Many homes are close to roads and railway lines with 60dB noise contours. More often than not poorer people live along such noise corridors. Perhaps this research will start to explain why poorer people more heart attacks and other illness.

Green Deal

Yesterday Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne announced details of the Green Deal, a new and radical way of making energy efficiency improvements available to everyone – whether people own or rent their properties. The Green Deal will enable everyone to have a chance to save energy, cut their bills and tackle climate change, just as the Lib Dems promised in our manifesto.Over the next two years, we will almost double insulation rates, ensuring an extra 3.5 million homes benefit from new installations with targeting for the most vulnerable and low-income households, so that those who need it most can say goodbye to heat leaking lofts and chilly drafts. Apart from saving the planet it will help keep people well.

The Green Deal should also create 100,000 new jobs making Britain greener.

Then from 2012 the Green Deal will enable ALL householders to improve their homes with no up-front cost, with the work being paid back from savings on energy bills. Householders will be protected by an independent energy survey and accredited installers to ensure that installation standards are high.
As a Liberal Democrat I believe that no one should miss out on warmer homes. Unfortunately many private tenants were let down by Labour. In

East Dulwich ward alone of the 3,500 roofs 649 have zero loft insulation. Crazy with many due to landlords having no interest in energy efficiency. This is bourne out nationall with over half a million private rented homes have the very lowest F or G energy rating, and yet they benefited from only two per cent of the previous Labour insulation schemes.The Green Deal will change this. Landlords will face no upfront cost and will benefit from improved properties. By 2015 every tenant should be able to be warm in their home. I hope and expect that landlords will respond positively to the Green Deal. But if the evidence shows that they are failing to take up this once-in-a-generation opportunity, Chris Huhne has made it clear the national government will respond. If necessary he has stated he will create powers so that by 2015, any tenant who asks for a Green Deal cannot be refused. Potentially giving local authorities the power to insist that landlords improve the worst performing homes. The fight against climate change and chaos took a huge step forward this week.

Have you insulated your home?

Could you do more?Will you join in with the Green Deal?Click here to find out more about the Green Deal

£26M

Funny question.

Newspapers have apparently reported that the Labour led Southwark Council Elephant&Castle regeneration deal is £26M worse than the draft Lib Dem deal that the change in political leadership stopped.

By my calculations Labour’s deal is £100M+ worse but lets for argument sake go with the newspapers reported £26M.

What could Southwark have bought with £26M. It could have joined the ranks of having an Olympic 50M long swimming pool with sports centre at the Elephant&Castle. A swimming pool there would be of national significance being in the inner London.

Or, perhaps a brand new secondary school.

Or, even every home in Southwark with loft, cavity amd solid wall insulation with draft proofing thrown in for good measure.

Sadly these things are now very unlikely to pass.

St.Francis park

St.Francis park is located just north of East Dulwich railway station. It’s the main pedestrian through route to get to and from the Sainsbury’s Dulwich store on Dog Kennel Hill.

When the planning applications was agreed to build on Metropolitan Open Land it was also agreed that Saisnbury’s had to provide and maintain a public open park.

Well they have but the maintenance is rock bottom and I suspect Sainsbury’s HQ don’t know how rough and ready this maintenance is.

So I’ve asked them. I’ve also asked when can they work towards achieving a Green Flag award for this park.

I await their initial response before deciding how to take this campaign forward. 

Lea Valley

When the GLC was abolished all those years ago the Lea Valley Regional Park was set-up and all London Council Tax payers are charged a supplement to pay for it. Works out around £3 per household every year. The park is more than half in Essex and Hertfordshire with the remainder north east London.

The idea is Lea Valley Park is so important for all London’s residents that we should all pay for it.

Don’t get me wrong. It looks from the web a lovely park for those that live near it.

Trouble is I’ve yet to meet anyone in Southwark who’s heard of it, let alone know where it is, can tell me its purpose, let alone realise that they are paying for it.

I think this goes back to that age old problem of paying taxes without representation. Lea Valley Park officials will claim that many local authorites can put forward one of its councillors who can then help shape it. Hardly a direct link. It never features in elections. Nobody ever votes for  this public body.

If it really is that important a London park it should be run by the GLA which is the London wide local government elected body. If it isn’t that important then we should’nt be paying a surcharge tax to keep a park for people in Essex, Herts and NE London. And this quango can go.

This would leave this £300,000 surcharge paid for by Southwark residents to be spent on parks actually in Southwark.

The current situation seems morally bankrupt.

What do you think?

4 October – food recycling and fortnightly bin collections start

A pilot scheme involving 10,000 homes in Southwark starts on Monday 4 October. The pilot involves adding organic waste i.e. food to the weekly recycling collections via 240L, 23L and caddy brown bins and also biodegradeable plastic bags.

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Those homes in the pilot will have received a non addressed letter a month ago and another leaflet this week. Hopefully you didn’t miss it!

Clearly many will be surprised come Monday with the letter and leaflet being lost in the general masses of junk mail/leaflets we all receive. To confirm if you’re in or out of the scheme you can call 020 7525 2000 – I was assured people could check this via the web but this is still not up and running.

For those that are in the scheme not all homes on a street are necessarily in the pilot – if council officers felt insufficient room to store a brown bin then they’re not included. So you can expect neighbouring properties to have either weekly or fortnightly ‘residial ‘ rubbish collections – you’ll need to pay close attention!

If you have any problems please let me know and I’ll try and help.

Reporting potholes

Unitl now two easy ways to report pot holes in Southwark – 020 7525 2000 or environment@southwark.gov.uk

Now a third way for those with iPhones has been created. The CTC has just released an iPhone app which can be downloaded from the Apple iTUnes stoes called ‘Fill That Hole’.

I don’t yet have one of these prized iPhones but a friend showed this app to me.

Take a picture of the pot hole using the iPhone camera and complete a couple of details. The system knows where you are via GPS and reports it to the correct local authority.

If you have iPhone have a go.

10:10:10

Sunday 10 October  2010 is a global day of doing something to fight climate change and support our 10:10 commitments.

What can you do this Sunday?

You could join in by doing anything from a low carbon lunch – no air transported ingredients and maybe no meat and cooked with less energy?

Insulate your loft – 647 of the 3,500 roofs in East Dulwich ward are uninsulated.

Get a smart meter. Radiator reflectors. Chimney baloons……

Our local eco shop is called Karavan and is located at 167 Lordship Lane between Whately Road and Bawdale Road. Pop along and let them inspire you.

Fortnightly bin collections – trial starts October!

4 October a pilot starts to change the recycling and rubbish collections to 10,000 residential homes and flats – street properties.

Attached is the only information I’ve received so far on who and where it will affect.

Basic premise is recycling is still every week but organic matter will be also be collected. All other rubbish will be collected fortnightly. The dreaded fortnightly collections – this shouldn’t be an issue if the organic waste process and collections work well.

One unresolved issue was no disposal contract of the collected organic waste yet…this really worried me as the pilot will disintegrate if people find all their collection efforts are in vain. (Monday 27/9 contract in place to take the waste 50miles to Isle of Sheppey for disposal).

Until I find out a lot more please feel free to email me with any concerns or issues. We absolutely must increase the recycling rate but this pilot is very rushed without any consultation and has lots of potential to go wrong. So any problems please let me know right away so we can keep it working.

Disappointed that the pilot hasn’t included any blocks of flats as they’ll be the biggest challenge with most to learn as they don’t have front gardens to keep extra wheelie bins.