JMK

Based on recent experience estate agents are keeping property advertised on their websites and also rightmove as "for sale" even though the vendor has withdrawn the property from the market ostensibly as the offers received are "significantly below the asking price" For example, two flats continue to be advertised in the same block at ?675k and ?750k respectively however are no longer for sale The last flat to sell in the block was on the market for a long time at ?600k, then reduced to ?550k and finally sold at ?507k at the end of last year All three flats are almost identical in terms of floor plan/size and in a very good state of repair with no need for decoration or other works Such behaviour is wholly misleading and yet another distortion in the market Should we expect the government to act to make such behaviour a criminal offence and prosecute for miss-selling, misrepresentation and downright fraud? What are local authorities doing in respect of enforcing trading standards regulations? With today's technology there is no requirement for estate agents. A simple peer to peer website and app can match buyers and sellers with a de minimis cost of perhaps a couple of hundred pounds at most rather than the 2-4% that estate agents look to charge (?12.5-?25k based on average London house prices. NB such costs paid out of after tax income and often financed in the mortgage so in reality significantly higher; hence, an easy way to save money for buyers that can be more productively spent or invested instead of wasted in largely unnecessary fees). This could and should be operated by the Land Registry on a not for profit basis. All property transactions should be obliged to pass through here and all prices should be disclosed from the first listing to the final transaction price such that there is full transparency of the price discovery process including any offers which are not successful. Parties can also opt for an estate agent should they choose in addition to this and all their fees should be regulated and disclosed. Some people may need to use an intermediary or find it helpful which is understandable and their right to opt for and pay for such a service. However, the wider public benefit of price and fee transparency and the obligation to use the not for profit website should be considered pre-eminent. Equally the Land Registry should immediately increase its frequency of updating the disclosure of transactions on its current system as the delay of 2 1/2 months is wholly inadequate and not fit for purpose

Thanks It would be helpful if the Police spoke to to the Nanny as a matter of urgency while the details are still fresh. 5 day later may result in the loss of valuable information Secondly for them to co-ordinate a rapid response to all parents and the wider community via the schools and other avenues to ensure consistency of information, secure the support and help of the community in apprehending the individual and minimising future risks of such an event I'm sure that all would welcome them prioritising such a serious incident as a #1 priority

Try the blablacar app

"It was if a great earthquake had, just at that period, rent the whole neighbourhood into its centre...houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground, enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood...eveywhere were bridges that led nowhere, thoroughfares that were wholly impassable, babel towers of chimneys...and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing ...In short, the yet unfinished and unopened railroad was in progress" Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, 1848 Progress but slowly...by contrast digitalisation of mass transit travel has the potential to transform the next 150+ yearsj

The Lambeth Heritage festival is on at the moment, I think today there is a tour of the brixton windmill (200th anniversary this year) at 1 or 2pm and separately a walking tour of Brixton market and some of its heritage buildings, you can find a programme on line Separately, if you can get in to Lambeth Palace to look at the plans for their new proposed library you will get to see the Great Hall which has been there since the 11th century in various forms. It's spectacular. Also the gardens are very nice if you can get access, they are the 2nd largest private garden in London after Buckingham Palace and they claim to be the longest continually cultivated garden in London. There is a beautiful fig tree dating from 1556

Also, once a month in Brockwell Lido in Herne Hill Plus one in Alleyn's Head pub in W Dulwich

Picture on front page of the FT today and article on page 4, the editor of the FT lives in Dulwich so perhaps the reason for the coverage, unfortunately probably too late, a dreadful shame that Lamberh are doing this, such a short term view There is an ever growing need to tackle the inequality in society (which is increasingly intergenerational) for many reasons not least for giving children, teenagers, younger, middle and future generations opportunity and the skills to overcome today's and tomorrow's challenges Carnegie Library came into being from a redistribution of wealth (it is possible to argue how that wealth came into being). To my mind, it's closure (and that of other libraries) is symbolic of where we are in the cycle and questions what future we are creating for ourselves and future generations. The arrival of "big data" or the Internet of Things has the potential to transform (or disrupt or change) life to an extent that many jobs will no longer be performed by humans and swathes of current segments of employment will not exist. Much of this is happening already. Equally, many new jobs and professions which don't yet exist will be created, will add value and will be great fun for people. Managing such change is a huge challenge for society as a whole and a big part of the solution is education because it creates the possibilities (but not certainties) that this will give or form the basis for skills to overcome such challenges. Carnegie and other libraries are a key part of this. The focus should be on getting the best value and productivity from them for all generations. A redistribution of wealth and a fundamental reform of our tax system can assist in this which will greatly benefit everyone in society. Some of that can be government led but it can also be driven from the bottom up and may not just be the transfer of asset or financial wealth. Time, knowledge, experience are also part of the solution. concentrating the tax base in three primary areas of income tax, NI and VAT and then seeking to widen the tax base primarily through immigration (of all types of nationalities, ethnicities, Religions or creeds) is clearly insufficient There are many other inequalities that could be addressed (eg non-Dom tax status, the money laundering that occurs in prime London real estate, low marginal tax rates rather than progressive tax rates for private equity or similar, the regressive effect of "green taxes" on energy bills that hit the least well off the most (and in part have subsidised the excess and tax advantaged retuns often made by the middle and upper class who have put solar panels on their property and or invested in savings vehicles that finance such poorly designed pieces of regulation) No government or council of any persuasion wants to recognise and or action the fact that part of the solution is a need to tax higher the older generations that have captured significant wealth through their lifetimes in order to reinvest in the education and future of younger generations. Free education including university, final salary pension schemes, more generous tax breaks for pension saving/saving that have been consistently reduced for the past 20yrs, Buy To let system considerably more favourable than today on many levels, tax free windfall gains (Some realised, some unrealised) from absurdly high property prices (having perhaps also benefitted from mortgage interest relief and little to no stamp duty and certainly a fraction of the cash cost borne over be past years by rising prices), free healthcare, free bus passes etc... They can fairly and rightly argue that they worked hard and paid their taxes, they had no control over the social contract that was in place post WW2 and the utopian desire for the welfare state etc...they will rightly be concerned over the need to provide for retirement etc... but they should also recognise that there are very large unfunded pensions in both the public and private sectors and there is a risk that those past promises are not met in full from current and future generations. Sensible reform can preserve a greater value of such future benefits than will be available if or when a permanent loss occurs. There have been isolated examples of this, let's hope it doesn't become more widespread but is a high impact risk (which government, councils, the mainstream press and many others don't want to recognise) Carnegie, all other libraries and educational establishments are key to helping to deliver the solution for today's and tomorrow's challenges so such short term decision making is and will likely be counterproductive. Blank cheques are not the solution either, society must get value and it is difficult to quantify and measure but perhaps an implicit bias towards investing in education over other areas within overall budgets is preferable to other equally challenging decisions on welfare, NHS, overseas aid etc... which are all protected from cuts Don't wait for central government or local councils to take lead

http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/uk-property/ See link to interactive graphic showing rate of % change since 2000. Choose postcodes by touching the relevant area on the London map to turn on or off SE23 and SE22 are higher in total % terms v's SE21 and SE24 since 2000, approaching 400%, although the later have a higher median price (presumably a higher mix of larger sized property). The most recent and aggressive increase in prices since approx 2012 driven by the quantitative easing of the Bank of England, European Central Bank

I can confirm that at approximately noon today there were several marked police cars and vans, unmarked cars, two officers in uniform (possibly community support officers) and, I believe, a plain clothes officer who appeared to be the lead and using a radio in pursuit of an individual (or individuals?). They were frantically searching the area and roads between Court Lane and Woodwarde Road around Dovercourt/Druce and adjacent roads. Given they were up and down the roads more than once, the impression was that they didn't know the precise location of their target but that they believed him (or her or them) to be in this area and likely using the gardens to hide and evade the search. It appears as though at least one person was apprehended hiding in the garden of a house on Court Lane near to Court Lane Gardens and Druce Road. I don't know if this was their only target and/or person to be apprehended. Similarly, I have no idea if this was burglary related. There was however a very material Police presence which was more than the "local Bobby on the beat" as indicated by the plain clothes officer and unmarked cars. I am not familiar with the Police rules for responding to reported "routine" residential burglaries - perhaps this is standard, a current area of focus or the matter was considered by the police to be of greater significance thereby warranting the level of resource? Perhaps someone else either saw the chase commence and/or is familiar with Police guidelines to respond in such a manner

Pre-8am is generally fine and after 9 also. If you are around Trossachs, you can probably walk to N Dulwich station as quickly as ED. here you can always get on and get a seat whereas at ED from 8ish onwards it is significantly busier and more likely to stand, it can get very crowded if standing from PR The service used to be significantly better with trains every 10mins, that then reduced to every 15mins which is not as good but manageable, then a significant reduction/limitation and much interruption coinciding with the LB redevelopment. How much of this is Southern's fault v's Network Rail is hard to say, it seems like there is as a minimum some poor project management. The chaos that has occurred on a few occasions seems to have gone, probably more due to commuters changing they're behaviour. Overall, it's been better, is certainly not the worst and should improve in a relatively short time frame. With proper signalling equipment and algorithms they could easily run significantly higher volumes and frequencies also with improved safety on many levels as has been done in many countries across the world from India to the US but that is probably more aspirational If you choose the Half Moon Lane area you also have the choice of HH or ND on foot which has great flexibility for CityT/Farrigndon/St Pancras as well as Victoria (9 mins) and LB

See link to brixtonbuzz website summarizing the chaos http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2015/09/coldharbour-lane-gridlock-as-the-loughborough-junction-closure-experiment-goes-pear-shaped/

1. 25 mins Taxi to Paddington (via Red Post Hill, Loughborough Junction, back route parallel to Brixton Road up to Oval junction, Westminster Bridge, thru Parliament Square, go behind the Trasury up to the Mall, Hyde Park Corner, Park Lane...), least amount of traffic, 15mins to get across the river leaving at 645am 2. Heathrow Express, roughly 20 mins depending on your terminal I do it frequently, 60mins door to plane door on the best days

Just a brief note to commend the fantastic actions of the staff and customers of Gail's Dulwich Village this morning following a cyclist accident with a white van Having witnessed the accident as I was sat outside, the fast response from the staff and some of the customers and other passers by and cyclists was outstanding This was even more so as the ambulance took at least 20mins to turn up whilst the cyclist was lying in the middle of the road but the actions of several people to tend to him, try and keep him warm and to control the traffic flow was highly commendable. In particular, at least 2 female staff from Gail's, a blonde female customer and a male cyclist who managed the traffic flow at great risk to himself. Unfortunately the police never turned up after 30mins despite my having called them several times as the traffic was mounting up and the situation was becoming ever more serious given this and the irritation of drivers who were stuck in a traffic jam but couldn't see the accident or appreciate its seriousness Hopefully the cyclist is generally fine and not too badly injured although it was very hard to tell. The incident was very distressing and only the fast response actions of the public made this much less serious than it already was including avoiding further injury to others.

Whilst there was a previous post with regards to aircraft noise (http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?20,44985,page=1)this post has now been lounged Since then, the government consultation with regards to expansion of Heathrow over the next 20 years has commenced and runs until 27 February 2008 There are two areas which, from a reading of the Executive Summary, appear to have a direct impact on noise pollution in this area relating to (i) ending of alternation (ii) possible third run way which would have flights taking off eastwards and exiting over south east london The net effect of both of these would likely be to increase the levels of noise pollution from aircraft which will have a negative effect on the quality of life in this part of London. The previous thread indicated that people had a mixed view as to the current levels of aircraft noise pollution Personally, I believe it is much too high and I don't subscribe to the view put forward by some people that they're willing to put up with it on the basis it's much worse if you live in Hounslow/Richmond/Putney/Fulham etc.... There are many reasons why in my view such an expansion is unwarranted and many of these go beyond the scope of noise pollution in this area of London (risks of concentration of UK economy in SE England/questionable economic benefits, particularly given the high level of transit passengers/strain on public services etc...) Irrespectively, this is an important opportunity for all people to put forward their views with regards to something that affects us all and to date appears not to have been highlighted on this forum. I note that neither our local MP nor council have anything on their websites with regards to this consultation despite the material implications it has for the well being of their respective constituents/council tax payers