Play Streets

The legislation allowing Play Streets was passed in 1938. It allows for 3 hours per week for local residential streets to be closed and children get to play outside where they live.

But over time the number of Play Streets has declined from 700 in the 50’s to none by the 80’s. So a revival is long overdue.

Lambeth Council are trialling on Guernsey Grove in Herne Hill and Hexham Road in West Norwood Play Street days. Residents are allowed to close their street for up to 3 hours per week so their children can play in a great traffic free environment. Most often they do this during a weekend afternoon.

This has been inspired by schemes in Hackney, Bristol and even New York.

Should you street become a Play Street?

East Dulwich Harris Primary School

Recap – we have a looming primary school places crisis of 215-235 reception places September 2016. The East Dulwich Harris Primary School will provider 60 places to fill this gap with huge local parent support to make it happen.

Harris have appointed the Principal for the school. I’m hoping to meet them in April.

The former East Dulwich Police station has been bought to provide the site for this school. The full funding agreement has been signed off with governments Educational Finance Agency (EFA).

The EFA will have appointed their full technical team by the end of this week to ensure the new school is completed by September 2015 as the permanent site.

Discussions are ongoing about the temporary site the school will open on this September 2014. But it looks 99% likely that the temporary site will be the East Dulwich Harris Girls Academy site.

During the 1st week of April an admissions evening will be held for parents and families.

We just need to find a site for the second local Harris Primary school.

 

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

 

Right to Contest – Dulwich Hospital

 The NHS could be forced to hand over part of the Dulwich Hospital site for a new secondary school after a local councillor formally referred the matter to Government Ministers.

A decision on its future will now be made by a panel comprising of Treasury Ministers and the Cabinet Office after I invoked new ‘Right to Contest’ powers to push the NHS, which owns the land, into selling it on. WS Dulwich Hospital 131216_Right_to_Contest_application_form_final

Despite the site being 27,000m² – the size of around four football pitches – currently less than a tenth of the space is being used.

I submitted the application earlier this month (5 February). I want to see at least half of the spare land used for a new secondary school to help plug the shortfall of permanent school places in the area. Land would also be available for the health centre already being planned on the site.

I believe this to be one of the very first applications of its kind in the country, after the new powers were introduced by the Government to free up public land and help boost economic growth. Launching the scheme in late January, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander MP said the Government “should not act as some kind of compulsive hoarder of land and property” that could be better used for other purposes.

My application will now go forward for review by the Government panel, which will also see input from the NHS and the Department of Communities and Local Government before a decision is made.

It is amazing that after 20 years of false starts the Dulwich Hospital site is still in limbo. It is a criminal shame that so much land stands idle and under utilised for decades, especially when money is tight.

Dulwich desperately needs a new local secondary school – not children being bussed far and wide as Labour propose. That’s why we have submitted an application using new Right to Contest rules on the use of public land, which were introduced by Liberal Democrat Ministers in government.

We are on the side of local parents who want to see a new and much-needed secondary school in the area, and an end to Dulwich Hospital being left as an empty wasteland….

Dulwich Hospital cleared site

Flooding – sorry

This winters rainful has been historic and contributed to significant flooding.

As a nation we’ve also notable success around flood protection. Less rainful caused 200,000 more homes to flood 50 years ago and the significant measures taken sicne then have resulted in far less flooding. But that’s little consolication to those that have been affected.

But it’s also clear that recent governmental agricultural rule changes have also had a major impact on this – http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/17/farmers-uk-flood-maize-soil-protection

It’s little consolation that it was Conservative ministers that let this happen when Lib Dems are in coalition with them nationally.

Sorry to those affected that we didnt block these stupid agricultural rule changes.

Community Asset

I was very grateful that the Dulwich Society agreed to apply for East Dulwich Police station to be listed as a Community asset under thE Localism Act. This listing owuld give us more influence in what happens with the site.

Sadly Southwark Council refused this application stating the localism Act could not be used.

Weirdly three other councils around England have listed police station using this act:
• Waverley council: Haslemere police station was listed in 2013 
http://www.surrey-pcc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/036_2013_Estates-Disposals.pdf

• East Hampshire council: Petersfield police station was listed in September 2013 
         http://www.petersfieldpost.co.uk/news/police-station-listed-as-a-community-asset-1-5535463

• Calderdale council: Hebden Bridge police station was listed in October 2013 
         http://www.hebdenbridgetimes.co.uk/news/local/sucesss-in-bid-to-see-old-police-station-listed-as-an-asset-of-community-value-1-6137306

I would suggest Southwark is unlikelyto know better than three other councils.

So I’ve started the process of appealing. It’s a really important principle.

Site found – East Dulwich Harris Free School

Great news that a permanent site for the East Dulwich Harirs free primary Scohol has been found.

East Dulwich councillors initiated this cmapaign in late 2012 when we realised Southwark ocuncil’s plans were inadequate to solve the looming primary school reception place crisis.

The new permanent site will be the former East Dulwich Police station. The school will open there September 2015. But it will open on a temporary site tihs September 2014. Very exciting.

Thanks you to all the parents who have lent us their support to make this possible and happen. For the Harris Federation who have acted brilliantly throughout. And all the supporters who have helped make this site possible – it has been a very bumpy, stressful ride.

cllr outside new primary scholl site

East dulwich Lib Dem councillors where the new school will go.

Burgess Park CPO

Around two years ago I highlighted to the Cabinet member at Southwark Council that property adjacent to Burgess Park was up for sale. Key property that would really help improve the Southampton Way boundary and area. Cllr Barrie Hargrove was interested.

 I’m delighted that the council cabinet committee agreed this week to potentially seek Compulsory Purchase Orders to make this idea a reality.

Burgess Park was conceived during WWII to make the area much more green and pleasant. Huge number of homes and many businesses to make this happen. Some were my family. So I’m keen that in my lifetime this great project is properly finished.

What improvements do you think would help bring Burgess Park onto a par with London’s Royal Parks

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