Mapping of crime

The Metropolitam Police have created a website graphically showing crime rates by Borough, ward and aub ward basis:

http://maps.met.police.uk

It shows that Southwark has above average crime rates. That East Dulwich has Average crime rates and that every sub ward area has average crime rates in East Dulwich.

The East Dulwich councillors Richard Thomas, Jonathan Mitchell and myself are determined to reduce crime rates in East Dulwich.
Our decisions to fund Alertboxes, gate alleyways appear to already be making inroads in crime rates.
All three of us also avidly report graffiti and other local eco crime issues.

Lorries and bicycles

Some years ago a very dear friend was killed by a huge tipper truck (12 wheeled with 4 steerting wheels) turning left. The driver had been working 7 days a week for many months, 12-14 hours per day and being half term had a child in the cab. Whenever I see a truck in London I think of her. She will forever be young and beautiful.

What I’d never realised was how easy it is for a lorry driver when alert to find it hard to see a cyclists. A less alert driver through tiredness is even more likely to kill.

The following photo shows a cyclist in front of a lorry:

lorry-and-cyclists-from-the-front.JPG

From above:

 lorry-and-cyclists-from-above.JPG

From the drivers position in te cab:

 lorry-looking-out-from-cab.JPG

I found it quite shocking how he cyclists head of an average to tall man can only just be seen.

Olympics handover

This afternoon the Olympics handover was celebrated by Southwark at Camberwell Green. The weather defied the forecasts and was reasonable.

The new portable running track was demonstrated. What a great piece of kit to enable the Community Games to set up shop with running races on almost any half reasonably flatish ground.

Southwark has a great Olympic heritage from the 1908 & 1948 games in London. Also quite a few Olympians have trained, lived and still reside in Southwark. A great colleagues cllr Columba Blango being one of these Olympians.

Its a shame none of the 2012 events will take place in Southwark….

Poorest kids GCSE results – a post code lottery?

The campaign group End Child Poverty has just compiled a new league table that reveals the best and worst places for the poorest students to go to school. It shows that Southwark is 21st best out of 148 education authorities in England, with 45.3% of children in receipt of free school meals obtaining 5 A*-C GCSE’s. The England average is 35.5% and London 44.6%. I was amazed to discover that London is outperforming the rest of England. The worst education authority is Nottinghamshire with only 22% on free school meals gained 5 A*-C GCSE’s compared to 59% of children who are not entitled to free school meals.The End Child Poverty group believe that London’s success is due to the London Challenge a £40m per annum program where authorities bid for money to give special extra help to poorer childrens education. I suspect its more complicated than this but either way such targetted extra spending to equalise life chances is exactly what we need more of.

Liberal Democrat policy is to dramatically increase this type of spending.

http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/news/press-releases/gcse-chances-of-poorest-are-a-post-code-lottery/24/113

Anne Yates

I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear today that a Liberal Democrat colleague Councillor Anne Yates passed away this afternoon. She’d been in hospital for five week with a brief interlude at home for a few days.

What a very sad loss.

East Dulwich Police station

Today East Dulwich cllrs Jonathan Mitchell and I (cllr Richard Thomas is on holiday), along with Greater London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon met with Southwarks Police Commander Malcom Tillyer along with other Police and MPA officers.

A very useful third meeting to discuss the future of East Dulwich Police Station.

We discussed the East Dulwich councillors proposals of how a Police station as we would see it could be kept on the current site, combined potentially with other council facilities, while meeting Police aspirations for new facilities commensurate with their requirements while obtaining capital receipts for the site.

Unfortuntely everything is on hold while the Metropolitan Police Authority reviews it property plans. Hopefully, in 4-8 weeks time we can continue these discussions.

Southwark Council and Southwark Police have been recognised for excellent partnership working. Hopefully we can deliver a role model in East Dulwich that takes such partnership working to an even higher level by sharing facilities and increasing how joined up services are for the general public. If successful this could be a model for other sites in Southwark and London as a whole.

Public loos going public

Fridays South London Press had a story of how some local authorities are proposing to fund private loos in shops etc being made available to the general public.
My understanding is that this had been in place in Southwark for some time. My ward colleague cllr Richard Thomas while the executive member for the environment in Southwark had led this.

Weirdly Patrick Blunt the chairperson of Southwark Chamber of Commerce thought it ill conceived to expect businesses to participate.

it works like this. Businesses can agree to provide such public toilets under a planning condition – e.g. the Al Jamirah hotel on Blackfriars Road planning Section 106. They can be paid to offer this service to the community OR they can be public spirited.

For many residents and visitors to Sotuhwark they need to know that they can find a public toilet when they need one. Many have conditions that mean they can’t last as long as the rest of us. We allo know that public toilets in the old sense are poorly supervised and local authorities can;t pay for permanent supervisors.

So this type of scheme is the perfect solution. Little used private facilities are opened up and the owners receive a payment IF they choose to take part.

Noise Pollution

A European Directive means central government must be able amongst other things to provide noise mapping.
Gascinating site: http://noisemapping.defra.gov.uk/wps/portal/noise/maps

Excessive noise is a serious pollutant which results in serious educational problems – people can’t concentrate with such noise around them.

It shows in East Dulwich that two of our primary schools Goose Green and St.Antony’s borders roads with noise issues. Fortunately St.Antony’s is more set back and probably no more affected than Heber or Goodrich.

Take a look.

30dB (decibels is a conversation in a private room), 55dB or above and people inside rooms will start to be seriously disturbed.