first mate

At Southwark council level, taxing electric car users is a definite, they are also looking at woodburners and, as a natural extension of that we should not be surprised if gas use crops up too. Should car use ever be significantly reduced they will need to introduce some form of road tax and surely e-bikes and ordinary cycles would be near the top of the list.

For now, in the very immediate future, electric vehicles are being incentivised but that is not to last. Cllrs Rose and McAsh have been very clear that electric cars are next on the hit list.

Don't forget the infamous 'parking stalkers' of East Dulwich- the mythical creatures that allegedly intimidated residents while waiting to nab their parking spaces in the morning. They all simply disappeared once councillors got the CPZ they needed on the Charter School side of Melbourne Grove etc..

Google Dr Simon Fradd and you begin to see what this man and his city boy mates have done long-term to our GP practices (nationwide, not just locally). He was behind Concordia and the drive towards super GP Practices; medical telecare, no GP surgery on Saturdays and so it goes on. Those within the various healthcare Trusts would have known his record, he is/was a big wheel within the GMC and yet, it seems, he and his mates were handed the Tessa Jowell GP practice on a plate.

What would be refreshing is if they could simply tell the truth; they desperately need money; some bad decisions had been made in the past; in future they will dump the vanity projects and focus on the basics and essentials- none of those are 'sexy' and probably quite dull for those of the councillors that are career politicians, but dull and dutiful is what we need.

I believe Openreach is a wholly owned BT subsidiary company, so the notion that BT workers can only contact OR via foreign call centres seems absurd. BT also now owns EE. It was suggested to me that I could have a new BT contract and better internet speeds but when I pointed out that the wires into my home were copper and, I have been told by OR and BT, are unlikely to be replaced any time soon, it could not be explained to me quite how performance would improve. However fast the fibre signal to the cabinet is, it will degrade as it goes through the copper- at least that is my understanding.

Has anyone else noticed the xmas lights hooked up to lamp posts down NX road. They were on today at 4pm?!

Just checking again, did anyone ever get one of the 8000 leaflets Cllr James McAsh is on record as saying were sent out around a week before the consultation closed?

Good news that for this year they have dumped the 6 day event and reverted to three. Is the whole build and dismount process within the same timeframe or has that been reduced? Problem is they have the premises licence in perpetuity, so I think they'll try to extend the event again next year and the year after that. Cllr Catherine Rose, the Cabinet member in charge, really, really wants many more events and, of course, the income, so she'll be looking for ways to make the extension happen, I'm in no doubt. Be prepared to fight on!

Thames Water has been installing smart meters for each home. You can lift off the covering and see the meter. Before you go to bed go out and take a reading (photo). Ensure that overnight nobody flushes the loo or turns on taps. As soon as you get up and before you fill the kettle, go out and take another reading. If it is the same as the other reading then I doubt you have a leak. If there is a difference then you need to investigate. I think at that point you could turn off your water at the mains and watch the meter, if it turns then it could be a leak external to your property.

If this consultation ( the one on Southwark's website) is genuine then why are we not able to see the input and comments? It seems Southwark is keeping the public response under wraps, although presumably sharing those with Gala, hence a further meeting with Gala in March? It says the Council consultation closed late January, so why can't we see what the public response was?

Fair enough. If all sorted at the contractor's expense and properly sorted then at worst an inconvenience.

But remember, Southwark Council is the great protector of the environment and champion of climate change. I agree, you couldn't make it up. How on earth do they imagine those trees will get water...bizarre.

But Cllr Leeming's tweet referred to the effect on cars not bicycles. I don't think anyone has ever suggested LTNs increase cycle journeys? Not sure what your point is.

I do believe that it was Concordia (the old Melbourne Grove Practice, super GP Practice owner) that merged with another private Super GP practice and were effectively 'gifted' the wonderful site at TJ. It is an absolute disgrace that a prime piece of NHS real estate was seemingly just handed over to one of Southwark's pet health providers. I think the board is/ was made up of a bunch of city boys, with one or two doctors. Concordia at Melbourne Grove practice were beyond awful and it was on the cards that the TJ GP Practice would go the same way. MG was good under Dr Sheila Grant but as soon as Concordia took over the place rapidly went down hill. I could not believe it when I saw they had got their mitts on the Tessa Jowell site. I meant to say that it is interesting that Evergreen/Omnes, the new version of Concordia, have put a lot into developing an app to offer personalised health data collection from a variety of sources- yes I can see this is useful for the patient but sooooo useful to the company as well.

Without a doubt, all the big ones are at it. Where will it all end?!

Love the bit about "Amazon will securely store your DOB in its system". So it has your name, your address, your phone and email, info on your shopping habits, your card and some banking info, possibly a recording of your voice? But we must not worry as it is all 'safe' and securely stored with Amazon. So what is next, face i/d next, DNA?

What do they consider proof of identity. What do they do with that info, is it scanned in? Just curious.

Does Amazon routinely ask for DOB at point of sale? Surely the recipient on the doorstep can just be asked to tick a box saying they are over 18, if they are younger and the delivery person is not sure? With many people it will be fairly apparent they are over 18, making the question about DOB unnecessary?

Tony, thanks so much for addressing this. I for one was completely unaware. Sounds like it could be awful, especially as the planes will be much lower than at Heathrow. So this must mean quite an increase of plane use and number of planes? How, I wonder, might this affect air pollution locally?

Surprise, surprise. Cllr McAsh knew exactly what he was doing there: use a failing and unreliable service to deliver within a very tight deadline, expecting the system will fail but secure in the knowledge the Council will not be held accountable for that failure. Meantime, as few residents as possible are alerted to an extension for the consultation. I really hope that the residents who got the last extension now ask for another, despite the Council's announcement that the consultation is over.

Yes, I would think anther extension would be required. I wonder how much it costs to do one door to door mail drop to 8000 residences (although we know only some of that was actually done) and then a mail out of 8000? No doubt the Council/ Cllr McAsh will pull the 'it's not our fault if the mail is not working' stunt.

Well, today is the deadline. Did anyone receive a leaflet on CPZ consultation from the Council?

In the latest council meeting, Cllr McAsh said that letters were to be mailed out to residents in DV about the consultation. I am interested to know if anyone has received a letter? The latest mailing was necessary (possibly to meet legal obligations) because somehow the original hand mailing, street by street, seems to have missed whole streets and houses on streets. Given the consultation period, albeit extended, ends on 28 January, it is cutting it a bit fine. If residents have had their letters that is great, but interesting to know, given the parlous state of the post.

Eh, what Malumbu? First you complain about the former post being in the wrong thread, then when it is posted in the right thread, you try to take the subject off thread. This thread is about CPZ consultation. To get back on thread, as Rockets stated earlier, Cllr McAsh states that the consultation on CPZ in Dulwich Village has been extended. Do watch the resident deputation approx 18 minutes in. It is rather revealing and indicates that Southwark may have been using flawed (completely invented) data to support its rationale that DV needs CPZ.