2011 Census in Southwark

This years census appears to be going as badly as the 2001 census. Both times its been organised by a council led by Southwark Labour. I’m sure its just coincidence…

IF you’ve not filled in the forms please do. Census results can seriously affect our areas wealth as central government and other agencies decide where to spend based on the data. Equally businesses use some of the data to decidre where to invest and promote their businesses.

If you have any problems and are a resident of East Dulwich please get in touch and I will put you in touch with help.

New Lordship Lane crossing – step nearer

Earlier this week Cllr Jonathan Mitchell and I met with council traffic officers and a representative of the South Southwark Business Association about two proposed new crossings of Lordship Lane. Please see attached draft plans of what they might look like.

http://jamesbarber.mycouncillor.org.uk/files/2011/04/LL1.pdf

The first is across lordship Lane adjacent to its junction with East Dulwich Grove. This should have the benefit of giving people the chance to turn right across  Lane into EDG as well as cross LL. It will take out approximately 1 non morning peak car parking space. I asked whether a full ‘entry treatment’ could also be installed as part of this making walking along Lordship Lane clearer to everyone so people walking don’t have to dodge vehicles.

The second is a crossing where the Coop is. On the eastern side the kerb would be built out. This reduces the distance to cross so reduces the time vehicles are stopped and minimises parking to be lost – a win win. Due to TfL Buses we can’t do this on the left hand side. This would overall take out around 6-9 car parking spaces – 3 on the eastern side permanently and 6 on the western side outside of the bus lane times of working.

Talking to officers its believed these lost car parking spaces can be made up for by having a very close look at existing yellow lines on LL and the roads leading of off it and replacing with 30 minutes parking with no return in 2 hours ie. the same restrictions as those lost.

Overall these changes would very nearly complete all the changes residents highlighted in a walking audit undertaken in conujunction with Living Streets 4 years ago.

Please do take a look and let me know what you think.

Dulwich Community Council – this years community fund opens

This years Community Fund is open. You can apply for between £100-£1000 for a community event – festival, outing, fun day, newsletter. Any ideas but you’re not sure contact me.
The Dulwich Community Fund has £15,000 which we usually divide into £5,000 for each ward.

To apply you’ll need to fill in a form by Monday 16 May and the event must be take place before 31 March 2012.

I’d expect us to decide by the end of May which events to support with funding. Get applying.

Snowfighting

To fight snow falls salt is an integral weapon in Southwark councils arsenal. To ensure salt can be spread it needs to be kept dry else is goes lumpy and cakes. Uncovered salt also leaches away causing environmental problems.

The 40thSnowfighters handbook states “Salt piles must be covered on an impermeable pad. Salt users usually prefer permanent structures on asphalt pads with proper drainage. Temporary waterproof coverings can be effective if tended carefully. Covering salt also helps avoid loss of material through leaching and caking. Also, salt without cakes and lumps spreads with no difficulty.”

When asked, Southwark officers have always assured me that Southwarks salt supply is kept under covers. So I paid a visit to Southwarks salt. Its located at the junction of Latona Road  with Haymerle Road.

Any attempt to us this salt will be at best problematic. In fact much will need to be thrown away and replaced. I also found this salt store uncovered 3 months ago when nearly empty when I last checked. I had assumed wrongly that as operational they’d just forgotten to replace the cover. Sadly I was wrong and its an ongoing problem of salt mismanagement by Southwark.

Ideally salt would be kept in a salt barn. I’ve previously asked and the administration whether they would consider installing a salt barn (£200,000 capital) and they have stated that  they wont build a salt barn as they claimed no need as they kept the salt covered with tarpaulins and tyres.

IF the Lib Dems were running the council we would build a proper salt store to avoid council officers failing to keep salt covered, ensure we had quality salt available to keep Southwark streets clear and avoid the recent winter salt rationing that left so many of our streets in a parlous state.

Expanding Libraries

The Labour Southwark Council budget proposes cuts to Southwark Libraries. I approached indie libraries for advice about how budgets could be cut while protecting actual libraries and the crucial services they provide. I was pointed to the following YouTube videos – 3 x 10mins videos showing a talk given by Tim Coates – former CEO of Waterstones and library guru:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL9XEMWjReI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfvREOzugKA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p1w6m2GI_0

Following his advice I think Southwark appears from CiPFA to spend just over £6.6M on library services.  Also following his model roughly and conservatively £2M appears avoidable without damaging any front line services. Those back office costs that get in the way of our libraries offering a truly great and responsive service.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

Also while out and about I came across one of the building used to support Southwark Libraries pictured above – its bigger than most Southwark Libraries!

Southwark mediation

As with most councillors in Southwark I’ve seen relly tricky anti social problems resolved by Southwark mediation service – the award-winning charity.

Sadly its funding from Southwark is ending. Amazingly the Labour cabinet member in charge of relations with charities Cllr Abdul Mohamed didn’t know this. He also denied that the charity had found it impossible to speak to any Labour councillors about this closure. Perhaps the cllr PA’s and secretaries have fended this charity away without checking with cllrs.

The council is proposing to train its own staff, who are quite often the subject of the mediation, to provide this service. Great fig leaf but hardly credible.

As reported before Southwark has the money to keep such services but Labour has decided to poor money into its reserves for a future rainy day….

North Cross Road market extension

After several months of public consultation the final recommendations of the Dulwich Community Council, based on lots of input from market traders, shop keepers and residents, were heard at last nights Licensing Committee about changes to North Cross Road market.

Stunningly the Licensing Committee, a semi judicial committee which is not legally allowed to be whipped along party lines, made its decisions exactly along party lines. Pure fluk?

 The committees Labour members apparently threw out all the proposals including any expansion. The Labour members then APPEAR to have realised they’d thrown everything out. They then APPEAR to have met as a Labour group with officers privately. They then returned to the committee and then decided to re vote approving the scheme but failed to immediately approve Sunday opening – which everyone is locally against – so decided that Sunday opening will be reviewed in 6 months time. Travesty of a decision against local democracy.

I’d like to publicly thank those members of the Licensing Committee who were prepared to listen to the Dulwich Community Councils recommendations based no traders, shop keepers and residents views. Those members who didn’t give the appearance of voting in a whipped way.

So we need to be prepared to yet again fight for the locally sensibly agreed recommendations against the Labour administration. What a waste of residents, shop owner, street trader, officer and councillor time.

What a potentially tragic waste of council resources.

Camberwell Baths reopens

I was chuffed to see Camberwell Baths finally open on Monday.

Despite years of council officers telling us we should close Camberwell baths when the Lib Dems led Southwark Council we didn’t. It’s such an important hub for Camberwell being Camberwell. The specious argument was Camberwellites could go to the Peckham Pulse for a swim or to use a gym.

So we made it a manifesto pledge in 2006 as part of our Lib Dem promise to modernise all Southwark’s leisure centres. We won and allocated over £12M for this. It took longer to make happen than we ever expected with Dulwich Leisure Centre phase 1 completing recently and now Camberwell Leisure centre.

People say whats the point of politics. These are clear examples of where politicians and politics make a difference.

2011 Census

The 2011 national census starts shortly and has been run every 10 years since 1801.  Censuses are used to decide how much money is handed to public bodies based on how many people and the demographics of those people living in an area. Forms will start being sent out 7 March and the answers are meant to be about where people are on Sunday 27 March.

The 2001 Census run by Labour in Southwark was a disaster for Southwark in that many many thousands of people went unrecorded. Consequently Southwark Council has been receiving many tens of millions every year less than it could have received.

Hopefully Labour run Southwark has learnt that lesson and will this time round run a good census.

So when you receive the forms please do fill them in completely and get them submitted promptly. Failure to fill them in could lead to a £1000 fine and a criminal record but more importantly if you and your friends and family aren’t recorded Southwark receives much less money to run services.

If you need any help filling in the forms please do feel free to contact me or the helpline 0300 0201 101 or www.census.gov.uk.

Unnecessary Labour cuts – excessive saving for a rainy day

Tomorrow is Southwark councils budget setting council assembly.
If anyone has a particular issue they’d like me to raise please do let me know.

The Labour proposals see huge squirelling away of money into contigency and unallocated reserves. The reserves were already standing at nearly £90M but under Labour proposals will soar to well over £100M. The proposed Labour cuts would see a dirtier meaner borough – not good going into the Olympic year 2012. In fact unallocated reserved and unallocated contingency funds already stand at £22.2M and will rise rapidly under Labours ‘saving for a rainy day budget’ to £49.2M.

The proposed budget can be seen here:

http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=132&MId=3454&Ver=4

The Lib Dem proposed amendments which will fail are attached….but always a chance Labour councillors, as per the 8 in Lambeth, wont have been paying council tax and therefore wont be able to vote….

Broadly the Lib Dem proposals would see no cuts to: 5-11 play service, no cuts to play centres for 0-5 year olds, preserve funding for older peoples day centre, older person assisted shopping service, taxicard scheme fully kept, keep all eco grants, keep community recycling scheme, all CGS kept, keep sport development and the community games, don’t cut street cleaning, fully preserve SASBU the award winning anti social behavioural unit, fully keep the noise team working 24/7 and not reduce it to day etc, keep lolly pop people protecting all our kids getting to and from school, keep current events programme (especially important going into the Olympic year), mainatain South London Gallery support, keep all libraries, mobile library, housebound library service, keep all night time and current street cleaning.