Cemeteries

Southwark runs several current and closed cemeteries – Nunhead Cemetery, Camberwell Old Cemetery, Camberwell New Cemetery.

The issues around illegal dumping of building materials nearly resolved with the planting of new bushes etc taking place in October. It’s taken over 18months to get this sorted.

Southwark has only one years supply of spaces for burials.

Officers have options to suggest to provide more burial spaces of either reusing common graves if they obtained Home Office approval – this involves adding 2foot above the current plots (which are only 4 foot deep) with their initial thoughts being using lots of concrete blocks to add the required extra height. This would be contrary to Southwark’s climate change strategy as concrete is a really really high carbon option. This option would give another 10-12 years of burial plots. Seconf option is to use an adjacent sports playing field giving another 25 years of burial plots.

What I hadn’t appreciated is that when you ‘buy’ a plot you’re effectively renting it for 50years. Naively I’d also thought it was for ever. So one option officers will suggest is reducing that 50 year period. That does’nt feel right to me as 50 year is so much shorter than I’d imagine and 50 years should out see most relatives lives.

It’s also suggested Southwark burials are really cheap by London standards. I’m not yet convinced of this. The main price is much cheaper but pricing is so complicated with so many exceptions and extras. Not sure you can compare prices other than the average price which I’ve not seen yet. I recall when the Lib Dems increased prices that the Labour opposition was up in arms so it will be interesting what they propose to solve the lack of burial plots gonig forward without changing prices.

A less pressing problem but bigger is how to permanently improve our cemeteries and take them beyond the drab state they’re currently in.

Elephant & Castle regeneration

The Labour leader in Southwark has signed an agreement to redevelop the Elephant & Castle area. This agreement is considerably revised version of the draft agreed with the Lib Dems but the local elections this year got in the way of it being signed.

By my estimates it will result in between £100M and £200M less for the residents of Southwark in reduced social housing and overage. It also rips up the award winning proposal of Combined Heat and Power for the scheme. This makes the scheme far more carbon damaging. It also means no plans are in place to replace the ailing Aylesbury community heating.

As a group we seriously believe what has been signed is so bad we’re referring the decision to the District Auditor asking them to investigate as we don’t believe it represents good value for money for Southwark tax payers. This isn’t a move or step we take lightly. The deal also requires the sale of council housing land at below market rates. I’ve been assured by colleagues that we’ll lobby the Secretary of State to block this.

IF any deal was acceptable we’d have completed one years ago. The right deal is what’s required for E&C residents and Southwark tax payers as the results must stand the test of time over the next 100+ years.

Imperial Gardens

Over 8 years ago when Labour led Southwark Council a Planning Application was approved. My understanding is that this planning application was approved (after its consultation was later described as ‘botched’) and led to residential development next to a nightclub business called Imperial Gardens. The club then felt it had no choice but to close. It’s very hard to keep neighbouring residents happy near a nigh club. What’s particularly sad is that this club had a track record of developing local talents.

One useful outcome was the Ouseley Report which made 35 recommendations for improvements to the council. Sad that the council had so much wrong that needed to be improved but at least they were identified and over the last 8 years the council has been transformed under a Lib Dem led administration. One key change in my mind is the introduction of Community Councils that involve local councillors in planning decisions.

Sadly 8 years of legal arguments and battles have taken place.

The final court case comes to court this October. I hope justice is done. I honestly don’t know what that should be. I sympathise with the club owners and with council tax payers. No one will be happy.

Ironically a new Labour led Southwark Council is in place to finally resolve this long standing issue that started all those years ago.

Goose Green school – new children’s centre

I’ve been examining the plans and sketchs for the new Goose Green school entrance and children’s centre. They will be a great addition to East Dulwich.

The plans look good. Really good.

These plans have been under development for some time so chuffed that we’ve finally reached planning application stage. So new entrance, kitchens, boys and girls toilets. New children’s centre where classrooms used to be. Quite a ground floor reconfiguration.

I just wish we could find ways to increase the playground size.

136 Southwark deaths every year

Accroding to a report produced by Dr Brian Miller for IOM 136 Southwark residents die prematurely every year. Six of those every year in East Dulwich ward. This means on average we’re ALL dieing 3 weeks earlier than necessary but equally importantly suffer problems and complications due to poorer health from air pollution.

http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Health_Study_%20Report.pdf

To combat this the London Mayor is closing down the Western extension of the Congestion Charging Zone, and has delayed other planned measures. 

We all have a part to play – walking and cycling more and reducing cars less. Insulating our homes more so we use gas boilers less. Less packaging so fewer and lighter lorries.

But London and each borough also need to do their part. In East Dulwich we’ve created a carbon fund to help with simple measures to reduce CO2 which happily sees fewer other conmbustion products that cause air pollution.

Are you doing your bit?

Woodland Road

Last night I chaired my first Dulwich Community Council Planning Committee. Only one scheme to consider for 12 homes on Woodland Road near Gipsy Hill train station.

Many objectors, around 30, a reduced committee down to 3 councillors making us just quorate.

It pained me to have to compare this social housing scheme to policies that still have level 3 acceptable for eco credentials including resource and energy use. Cycling parking looked good. Scheme will have bat and swift boxes and bricks.

We approved the scheme but our policies don’t feel that are progressing quickly enough to fight climate change.

Missing 50,000 residents

One of my councillor colleagues testified to the London Regional Parliamennts Select Committee regarding the 2011 census. The MPs heard a unified message from Newham, Southwark and Westminster councils about how hard it is to count residents.

Each resident attracts roughly £600 of funding from central government.

Currently central government believes 270,000 residents are residents in Southwark. Southwark currently has 320,000 people registered with GPs. That means roughly £30M of central government grants are not being made to Southwark.

It seems unlikely as planned the 2011 Census will close any of that gap. Worringly it could well open it up further.

Keeping East Dulwich special – shops

As local councillors we’re absolutely committed to keeping East Dulwich special – one of the main reasons I became a councillor. It’s clear from residents responding to our Keep East Dulwich Special surveys that one key characteristic of our area is the preponderance of small local independent shops and businesses. None of us want Lordship Lane to become a ‘clone’ high street with repetitions of all the same shops from national chains. We all want a balance and don’t want more of our local shops to become estate agents, bars or restaurants. As a councillor I’ve helped ensure that we have legally enforceable policies so that at least half of retail units remain exactly that, retail units. But we’d really welcome your thoughts on whether 50% is the right balance.

Perhaps it should be 60%?

However, this policy doesn’t enable councillors to decide which shop is owned by whom, or stop a particular shop being sold from one retailer to another. So the recent Sainsbury’s Local opening near Dulwich Library has caused consternation for many residents. This particular site is a tricky balance between creating something to attract more shoppers, not killing the local small shops but in fact generating more business from residents who previously drove elsewhere for all their shopping.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Infrastructure bank

At last some sense about infrastructure. For years Tory and labour governments have been pushing public bodies to have Private Public Partnerships or Private Finance Initiatives. Where public bodies pay through the nose to have capital investment built to a generally minimalist quality and get locked into inflexible contracts – imagine 25 years ago predicting the internet, mobile phones, etc and building a contract sufficiently flexible to cope.

As a Liberal Democrat I thin kwe’ve cracked it by suggesting a national infrastructure bank. The idea is a bank guaranteed by government, long term investment from the private sector to build capital public projects that build wealth creating infrastructure.

The Institution of Civil Engineers have welcomed the idea.

You can be sure Conservatives wont like the idea – the current PFI system makes private bankers wealthy but locks in public inefficiencies for decades to come.

Hopefully the financial crisis will ensure all politicians take a fresh look at such a great idea. 

Friern Road bus stands

The bus stands at the junction of Friern Road with Lordship Lane represent the terminal points for the number 12 and 40 bus routes and any buses from routes 176, 185, etc that are turned around earlier. Over the last ten years bus numbers have increased – all great stuff.

BUT this terminus has no facilities. No toilets for bus drivers. This means when desperate the bus drivers have had to ‘go’ wherever they can. This has spilled into anti social problems for the residents in Rycott Path and Friern Road. To such a degree that the Police are involved.

Transport for London obtained planning permission 2007 for a drivers toilet to be installed. I’ve finally tracked down the hold-up. EDF power lines. Council officers have agreed to waive the normal notice periods and try geeing up EDF a major supplier to Southwark Council.

Hopefully within the next eight weeks the toilet can be installed and the area become just a little bit more civilised.