Manda

I stopped going there after a Valentine's tea set me back ?28 for two teas and a couple of cakes.. it just seemed a bit frivolous. Vote with your feet eh?

I have to ask, what was he doing here? What's it all about.....?

Have to agree with Uncleglen. I think there are so many people cycling now (which is a good thing) that there should be a lessons and a road test and licence scheme. So many cyclists are often unwittingly dangerous (to themselves and others) and could do with some knowledge of the Highway Code and road safety training. Knowing how to signal clearly, deal with crappy drivers, create a buffer zone around yourself and respect pedestrians etc is vital because they are so vulnerable. I think if you are cycling on the pavement (unless you're just being an idiot) it's usually for genuine safety reasons, a horrible junction you want to avoid etc, and i can't really begrudge that, so the sensible thing is to get off and push or just coast at walking speed and STOP for pedestrians. It's not that hard. Teenagers speeding along Barry Rd pavement aren't the sort of cyclists I'm referring to here.

Wow, I can honestly say this has never bothered me. As long as people cycle slowly and give pedestrians right of way, I can't see the harm in it, surely it's more about being an arsehole, than cycling on the pavement per se. I worry for cyclists and sometimes I think they have to cycle on pavements to stay safe. Live and let live (a little).

best flower shop in ED by far! Very sad to hear this and sincere condolences to his family.

What I mean is, you can't make assumptions about what/who is causing the noise... and you aren't living beneath them so can't judge how much it is affecting the original poster. If we could all live in detached houses then there'd be no issues, but that isn't sustainable, so we do have to consider our neighbours. This from the Noise Abatement Society: The law in respect of noise states that no-one may cause a statutory noise nuisance, but there is no set volume, nature of noise, frequency of occurrence or time of day or night which automatically amounts to a statutory nuisance ? it is in the judgement of the Environmental Health Officer at your local authority, who are required to witness the noise to make their decision. They can witness the noise either by visiting your property when the noise is taking place, or by installing noise monitoring equipment to allow you to record the noise so they can make a judgement by listening to the resulting tapes. Different local authorities use different methods. Noise teams can be small, and inundated with complaints, so the first method for them to prioritise their resources is usually by asking for the completion of noise diaries to illustrate the extent to which the noise is affecting your life, with the added benefit that these diaries can show a pattern to the noise, so it can be easier to arrange for the Noise Patrol Officer to visit at a time when the noise is likely to be in evidence. Generally, the hours of night are given to be 11pm ? 7am, but this does not mean that any noise between these hours is automatically a statutory nuisance or that you can make as much noise as you like up until 11pm ? it is up to the Environmental Health Officer to decide by witnessing it. The police will not usually become involved in a noise problem, unless some other, criminal, activity is taking place ? it is just not within their remit. Lastly, in situations where neighbour relations have broken down, mediation can help. Mediation services vary widely amongst local authorities but you may want to consider this option. Community Accord have further information: http://www.communityaccord.com/type-neighbourhood.php and your could also try your local council.

Sue, I don't think anyone is suggesting that, read the posts again. Amanda

A shame if they have cut the service but as long as you phone it in and get a reference it stays on record. You should keep a diary of when it happens, add the Southwark reference to each instalment, state the time it started and duration, description of the noise and most importantly how it affected you/your family. The Safer Neighbourhood Team can give you a special booklet for this if you ask them or you can just write one. You can then apply to the court by serving a section 82 notice, it gives them a time-frame within which to cease the noise but if they breach it, you go to court. You don't need a solicitor, it's straightforward and designed for the lay-person. You do have to show evidence of it going on for more than 3 months though and affecting your home-life. Sadly more and more people are having to take this route, we did it and used the support of Noise Direct, paid them a one off fee and they were very helpful and reassuring. Obviously it has to be bad for you to want to take it this far. Helps to have neighbours testimony too. Moving is often the easier option, but what if you don't want to move or can't? It's sad that this is such a widespread problem really.

If they do it outside of a public holiday and after 11pm, call the noise team. They'll need to enter your home to assess the noise and if they deem it a nuisance, they will issue a warning and/or a noise abatement order on the spot. It falls under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Always best to try and talk to them first of course but if they respond negatively, you have other options. Noise late at night from a party is the easiest to deal with legislatively and Southwark Council do have the powers necessary to address this issue if it goes on. These organisations also very helpful if the council drag their feet or make excuses: http://noiseabatementsociety.com/ http://www.noisedirect.co.uk/ Hope it goes away by itself but if not, you have options.

But I also think CityJules has a point about car sharing. Isn't it the same as schools asking parents to car pool or drop off on foot? It's not wrong to ask people to think about excessive car use in a big city, where we have perfectly adequate public transport. London is a city yes, but it's overcrowded. So a little bit of common sense and civic awareness doesn't go amiss and keeps it pleasant for everyone. If you visit any area, you should respect the local residents, even from one street to the next. It's oversimplifying to say "they have a right" etc, we all have rights, we just have to find a way to balance them. I know the church on Carden Rd in Nunhead creates the exact same problems. They actually employ people to help the churchgoers park and it causes resentment among the residents of that road. It should be addressed. Maybe someone needs to start a "take the bus to church" campaign, or perhaps we need to start building churches with parking space in mind....

Hello, Just remembered this post and wondered if you had made any progress or of it had come to an end? It occurred to me that you should copy James Barber into any emails you send to the Anti social behavioural unit or the Noise Team or the Safer Neighbourhood Team. They won't ignore you if he is monitoring the response. I have lots of contact info so if it's still going on, PM me. Hate to think of anyone suffering in the way that we did.

I flew to Oz last year with a five month old baby and DrinkingBuddy is right... You also get to board the plane first If it's long haul, you get seats at the front of the aisle so they can attach a bassinet to the wall in front of you but you probably won't need this for Italy. You have to have a little seat-belt attachment for take-offs and landings but it's no bother My son wasn't weaned so like you I didn't have to bother with packing food. Breast or bottle feed him/her on take-off and landing as it prevents the build-up of pressure which can make his/her ears hurt They sleep a lot at this age so she/he may sleep through the entire thing Take a sling so you can move around the plane together when you need to, also useful for stop-overs and soothing him/her As long as they are with you, they are happy :-) Good luck

Mabel, Please do not be discouraged by the rude Council employee, give him/her a time limit to come back to you and escalate the complaint if she/he does not. You have to keep saying you will escalate it, only then will he/she be forced to take it at all seriously and try and keep things in writing (email is best) even if they say " I don't do email" which is the experience I've had. They try to do the least they possibly can, it's terrible but just keep insisting. By the end of this week you will also know more about the entire policy and planning process than they will. Sad but true. Councillors will help. Manda

When I saw Alley Cat's original post, I immediately felt relieved that another person recognised these scooter gangs as an anti-social problem, because they are. Then I saw that in the period from Oct 2nd until I first noticed his post (Oct 13th) Alley Cat's thread had received 1,661 views and I thought, okay then, maybe more people see this as a problem, maybe something can be done about this? Then I saw Alley Cat's post of Oct 11th, detailing the rebuttal he'd received from the SNT (after waiting 10 days for a reply) and was dismayed but given my own experiences, not at all surprised. If what you go on to say in your response of Oct 14th is accurate Sgt Hurst, then you do have powers to deal with this, that's a very different response to the one Alleycat initially received when he first contacted the SNT. In answer to the point you made Sgt Hurst "On a final note. If we as the local SNT are not told about problems then we cannot do anything about them. Please let us know about any issues that are affecting your community." Clearly, we are telling you about problems, what I would like to know is, are you listening? Or does a complaint have to rack up a certain amount of interest on the forum before it gets treated seriously? I can't go into my personal story here as it's not yet over and involves third parties, some of whom could be left vulnerable by my actions, just as my family and I were after the ineffectual and incorrect intervention of the SNT and SASBU. Suffice to say, the situation worsened to the point that the traditional police were again forced to intervene and they went on to take the action they'd clearly recommended three months before. It's not over yet but their actions improved our lives overnight and it was a very simple measure to take. jimmyraj, I'm glad you got a positive outcome, the thought that anyone else should have to suffer the fate that we have is intolerable to me. Perhaps we've just been incredibly unlucky. Good luck with your complaint AlleyCat.

For some reason the Lane Safer Neighbourhood Team (for SE15) refuse to deal with any of the things that the East Dulwich SNT would willingly work to resolve... I had to make a serious complaint to the Borough Commander for Southwark this year detailing just how terrible The Lane SNT really are (they totally screwed us over). You're lucky they got back to you, they are well and truly useless and sometimes handle things so badly, they can make a situation worse. These gangs are a nuisance. They know they're pissing people off with those stupid exhausts but they don't care.