RobMiller

You might find this info on GOV.UK useful: https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll/overview. I don't think you *need to* use a paid service to make a change by deed poll (you definitely don't for adults). You can get an updated passport by sending in a counter signed statement with the wording on the second page (https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll/make-an-adult-deed-poll). I called the passport office and the person I spoke to wasn't sure, so I sent them the exploratory info from GOV.UK along with the form and that seemed to work. Hope that helps 😀

We'd definitely echo all the recommendations for Steve and Nicola. They started when they said they would, finished on time, kept calm and reassured us when we had a brief panic about the finish we'd chosen, and left us with a beautifully finished job. We're very pleased with the result.

@civilservant, basically regular weekly contact to make sure they're working together more effectively. Think we'll have to keep an eye on it and see if we notice a difference. Sadly I don't think it'll really be hugely better until the work at the old Police Station site is finished. @EDmummy, I think I read something saying that they'd been asked to take the mirror down because of resident feedback? I agree though, some measures to help make the left turn from Crystal Palace Road into Upland Road would be a Good Thing.

A quick update - after a not very impressive response from Cosmur and a shove from @James it seems that the three firms who are working on sites near the junction might be ready to coordinate a bit more effectively together. Hopefully that will help improve things a bit.... Thanks for persevering with this James! :)

Thanks @James. A management plan as a condition where there'll be an impact on public space / the public highway sounds like a very good idea. Maybe that could be raised with officers for future reference?

An unimpressive response from Cosmur... Their reply to my email here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/avoefu5tgb1b3k5/Mr%20Miller%2023.11.15.pdf?dl=0, and my reply below (I've attached a photo of the additional delivery I've referred to). @james do you think they're being reasonable? To me it looks like they're hiding behind 'we've talked to the Council' and other excuses, and if it was a week or two that might be passable, but for a year long development it seems very poor. Rob ----- Thank you for your email, the attached letter and follow up. I have a few points of detail that I would like to take issue with: 1. The driver of the grey van advised us that he was there in connection with your development. 2. If the forklift truck in the night time photo is not yours then please can you advise what measures you are taking to coordinate with the firm working on the opposite site? I'm sure you'll appreciate that from a resident's point of view the impact of the extended development at your site combined with the development opposite is having a significant detriment to our ability to use the junction. It would seem reasonable to expect you to work together to minimise this, not simply point the finger at the other party. 3. Please can you advise what measures you have taken to ensure that vehicles turning into Upland Road from Crystal Palace Road are approaching with due caution? I think that the priority signs you mention are only visible once the vehicle has entered Upland Road, which gives no advance warning of the potential for oncoming vehicles to be in the middle of the road. 4. I've attached a further set of photos from 5 November showing a further obstruction to the pavement. We spoke with your team in the morning when taking our children to school, and were advised that this would be cleared shortly. It was still being removed when we picked the children up from school. I am honestly unconvinced that your company are taking due care. While I would obviously prefer that the development did not involve the loss of a pavement for a year, a few simple measures by way of signage, more considerate loading and unloaded, and an effort to coordinate with the firm working opposite would seem both easy to do and beneficial in terms of mitigating the impact.

The double yellow lines are clearly doing a superb job of keeping the road clear too...

Thanks for posting those addresses @JamesBarber. I've emailed them and cc'd you (copy below). I've also attached the latest photo I took of their forklift blocking the road at night last week. Madness. ------ Dear Cosmur team, I am writing to complain about the disruption caused by your development at the Old Police Station site in East Dulwich. I've noticed the reply you have sent to Cllr James Barber which he has posted on this thread on our local web forum: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1586179,1602676#msg-1602676. I do not agree that you are taking reasonable care to minimise the impact of the works on local residents. This is a busy junction used by many people, and the obstruction caused by your hoardings and the vehicles used by both your team and your sub-contractors is making this a very dangerous location for pedestrians and vehicles. There is inadequate visibility for vehicles turning into Upland Road, pedestrians often have their crossing blocked by construction vehicles, and I have seen no sign of efforts to manage the traffic flow when construction vehicles are blocking the route (on one occasion a rapidly reversing car whose path was blocked by your vehicle nearly hit my family and me when we were crossing the road). I've attached some photos below illustrating the impact of the vehicles servicing your site. I look forward to hearing back with details of what additional measures you will take to protect pedestrians during the remaining six months of this development. Kind regards,

The photo from @squash is the development opposite. I wondered about a letter to the CEO of Cosmur though...

@James, is there *nothing* that can be done for the next six months re: the Crystal Palace / Upland Road situation? http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1586179,1597493,page=2#msg-1597493 Surely there's enough evidence here to get someone to try a teeny bit harder??

@squash - looks like my suggestion of closing the road has been put into action! That's just beyond... How on earth can anyone think this is OK?? @James Barber, do you think this is reasonable?

Sadly vehicles aren't all taking it carefully. Some frustrated drivers are racing round the corner, accelerating off quickly after being held up, and in one case reversing rapidly when they got fed up waiting for some loading to stop (nearly mowing us down in the process). But I share the pessimism about anything being done. Although I think they should consider diverting traffic (but leaving it open to pedestrians and cycles - ref: the impact on the Upland Road businesses). Roll on April / May 2016...

So, here is the other side of the junction this morning at school drop off time. Just. Brilliant. @JamesBarber - surely you can get the Council to do something more effective about this?

This is my pet subject! 😀 I think that it's not just about what's useful in the workplace, but also about developing the skills needed to feel confident in and make the most of the way that 'digital' is changing the world we live in. We've been used to 'computing' meaning a Windows PC running Office, but the dramatic growth of mobile and the web means that is rapidly becoming much less relevant (this article is a useful summary: http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2015/7/8/capitulation). The coding stuff that our boys are doing seems to have really captured their imagination, and I'm really liking seeing how they're learning about logic and patterns, and applying it to make things happen. At work we've just moved 4,500 users away from Microsoft Outlook etc onto Google Apps for Work, and while for some people that's been a bit of a shock to the system, most people are getting on well, and many are doing amazing things in terms of collaborating more effectively and getting lots of their work done on mobile devices - making totally new ways of working possible.

@Cora, a Chromebook might not be the best option if you're not confident in your internet connection... But that is probably something that will be an issue anyway as I'd expect that homework etc will include needing to use online services (our boys are in year two and get maths and coding homework online). As an aside, I've been interested to see how it's increasingly common for younger people joining us at work to be unfamiliar with the traditional Windows & Microsoft Office tools, and accustomed to using online systems like Google, Dropbox etc etc.

Looks like Cosmur are in league with Occupy the Streets. Amazing...

Do you know what applications your son will need to use? I'd seriously consider a Chromebook as they cost much less than a PC and I'd be able to do anything I need on one.

Thanks for following that up James. This really is crackers - on what planet is that a reasonable situation to endorse as OK? The pavement was blocked again today with collections from the Old Police station site, and my family and I were nearly hit the other day by a car reversing quickly away after being blocked by the forklift (my take was that the driver got frustrated and didn't think to check behind him before accelerating). Grr

Just. Beyond. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,336529,1590461,page=152#msg-1590461

Hi James, have you been able to get any action re: the Upland Road / Crystal Palace Road junction? The attached photo is from earlier today and illustrates how silly this is getting. With construction vans often blocking the other pavement too this is fast becoming impassable. I really think it's time that this was taken seriously. Rob

Seems the Council is a bit more anti-tree than simply not replacing damaged ones... The tree outside our house appeared to have some unauthorised pollarding which the Council disapproved of. Their first sign said it was 'dead, dangerous, diseased' (it wasn't any of those), we challenged that and the sign was changed to 'vandalised', and then it was cut down, so now we have a neat patch of Tarmac. Grr. https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B045idkMwGPhoTe

I think that's a fair point re: the shops' trade first mate. It's all a bit 'rock and a hard place' now that it's been allowed to get to this stage. I'd thought that closing it to traffic but not pedestrians might be safer and wouldn't hit the shops, but agree that they've already been impacted by months of this. There must be some practical approach that would work or at least make it a bit better (I didn't understand why the Old Police Station site weren't made to use the front garden of the property for storage, but I might be missing something).

Thanks James. It's been getting worse for months, so it does sound like the Council team need to give a little bit more focus. Hope you managed to get through the junction on your bike safely. I've stopped walking our children to school that way because it's just too scary now with cars whipping round the obstructions. Rob

Hi James, are you able to do anything about the obstructions on the Crystal Place Road / North Cross Road junction? http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1586179 It's now gone well beyond being a major inconvenience, and is positively dangerous. The combination of poor visibility for pedestrians, major obstructions from building traffic, and impatient drivers trying to get through is really concerning. This really does need some urgent intervention. Edited to add... since it's probably too late to do anything sensible re: managing the building traffic, maybe there should be a temporary road closure of the junction or a controlled crossing until the building works are done?

I think that Cosmur (the developers of the Old Police Station site) are: http://www.cosmur.co.uk/who-we-are/ (see logo at bottom of page). It'd be good if our local Councillors could pick this up. It seemed crazy when the north side pavement was originally blocked for what will eventually be over a year once it's finally opened again, but now it's incredibly dangerous.