Zak

The amount of property lying around in limbo is crazy. In the current economic climate, it's likely to get a lot worse There's a good website all about how to get hold of empty properties and make use of them with the owner's consent at www.self-help-housing.org

As far as the cost of ringing 0844 numbers goes, not only do they fall outside the "free call packages" to which many people subscribe ( BT only include 0845 & 0870 numbers), but the 5p charge which 0844 numbers are supposed to cost, only applies to calls from landlines Call charges from mobiles are set by the mobile provider and are usually anything between 25p-35p per minute. This means that a 3 minute call to the GP on a mobile to make an appointment could easily cost over ?1.00! And what's more, the GPs get a cut from the cost of the call to their 0844 number (that's why these numbers are being used more and more by commercial organisations selling services such as ticket sales for concerts, travel etc etc.) If you've got a landline, then at least it's possible to choose to use that and limit the cost to 5p per minute. However, many people with limited budgets may only have a mobile and for them there's no choice - they end up paying the most. One of the problems, is that telephony call charges are so diverse and complex, that few people know exactly what's being charged - and that includes GPs themselves 0844 numbers are a mechanism for making money and should be limited to commercial providers. They shouldn't be used by organisations providing public services.

Work being carried out on on 549 Lordship Lane? That's interesting! The only thing that hasn't been done for the last 10years or so, is any work! Hence the CPO. I think your picture rather backs this up.

The fate of this property has been discussed on the forum in the past and it seems that there's newish development. Southwark council has made a compulsory purchase order and the owners have objected (there's a surprise!) and so a public inquiry is going to take place on the 3rd February 2010 at the Council's offices on Tooley Street SE 1 I've not got the details to hand, but if anyone feels strongly enough about its fate, then it might be worth going down to see what gives. Doubtless Southwark Council can provide details of the time and exact place.

Really...........they get their property back in good shape. No one's actually taking it away - it's not compulsory purchase. Also, who thinks it's acceptable for absentee owners to leave their next door neighbours facing the risk of sqatting/fly tipping etc and generally having their own properties blighted. Anyone in favour of that?

Yes, there are things called Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) which the Council can serve on owners of empty properties. If the owner takes no action following an order being served, then the local authority can take over the property for a period of years and carry out the repairs necessary to bring it back into use. This link to the Empty Property Agency's website explains the position. http://www.emptyhomes.com/documents/publications/briefings/edmo_mythbusting140706.pdf Perhaps Southwark should serve an EDMO.

Don't panic, it hasn't closed down - they're simply moving to bigger and better premises where the furniture shop used to be. It seems that the bakery has been a great success since it opened and they're going to capitalise on this. I understand that they're going to expand cafe as part of the move.

The building which currently houses the Gourmet Burger Kitchen was once a modest cinema. Perhaps that's where this picture was taken.

Yes there was an item on the Today programme ( 16th December I think). They interviewed Dr Richard Vautrey ( Dep. Chair of the BMA's GP Committee)who said he thought that 0844 numbers were a jolly good idea. And therein lies the problem!! * He's most likely only read the spin provided by the phone providers which says that that people only have to pay c4p a minute. It's very unlikely that he has any idea that people on mobiles are actually paying 35p a minute. I can't imagine from his elevated position that he has the time/interrest to find out the real facts . * He claimed that 0844 numbers provide various "features" which will mean people spend less time on the phone ( eg relating to how calls can be routed to different extensions within the practice) )but the truth is that ordinary geographic numbers can also be set up to do this. * He had less to say a about GPs earnning money from calls - but that's not surprising! If you're offended by this phone scam, then do respond to the DoH consultation & email the Southwark complaints manager to also let him know ( see above for details)

Regarding the use of 0844 numbers by Southwatk GPs (eg Forest Hill Road Practice). * Yes they can be very expensive: 35p a minute from a mobile ( despite the claim by the providers that they are only cost around 4p a minute from a landline) & * They're based on "revenue sharing and so the GPs actually make money out of people ringing up and being kept on hold!! I raised the question of GPs within Southwark using 0844 numbers with the PCT and ended up submitting a formal complaint to them . They'd aleady had letters from The Dept of Health advising them to discourage GPs from using 0844 numbers, but seemed to have done nothing about it. The problem is that where surgeries are using an 0844 number they've probably signed a contract with their provider and are tied in for a couple of years But that's no reason to do nothing about it! I've now shamed the PCT into writing round to the all the practices using these numbers pointing out the real cost to patients and directing them to: * put details of what the calls cost on their websites * put up a notice in their surgeries * put a message on their recorded message warning people about the cost of calls from a mobile If you feel strongly about this and want Southwark PCT to know, then write to the PCT compaints Manager Daniel Marshall at [email protected] and let him know what you think. Also, if your practice has an 0844 number and haven't taken any of the above actions - then tell him. If he gets a few/lot of Emails, then it will be a good thing! Finally, for anyone really into this, the DOH are running a national consultation exercise over the use of 0844 numbers and you can respond to that ( it's on their their website and closes on 31.3.09) and tell them that it's a rip off and should be banned. Hopefully the DOH will come to that conclusion at the end of the consultation, but don't under estimate the energy that 0844 providers will put into putting out plausible information about how reasonable it all is, forgetting of course to admit what calls from mobiles cost (which many of the poorest people now rely on) and playing down the fact that GPs are making mmoney out of patients who are simply trying to make an appointment!

Apparently it's making a large annual loss and it's future is uncertain. It's well located and really ought to be viable, but whenever I go in, which is quite often, I'm struck by the lacklustre vibes which seem to emanate from everyone working there. With some dynamic management, it really ought to be able to fend off the competition from the other chemists.

I'm also a patient at Forest Hill and strongly object to their using an 0844 number (which is cheaper than it's 0870 cousin - but still a rip off!) There's actually some guidance from the NHS (somewhere) that advises GPs not to use 0844 numbers, but it's only guidance! They claim that they installed it to provide a more efficient system for dealing with incoming calls, but this can be achieved equally well using ordnary 020 numbers - which for many people are free to call (unlike pretty much all 0844 numbers) As to why it's been installed - I'm less of a conspiracy theorist. I'd put money on some hapless practice manager being persuaded by a high pressure phone sales person that this was the system for them! 0845 telephone rates are routinely described as "national call rate" which doesn't sound too alarming and of course there's never any mention of them never being free to the caller. So I think it's down to incompetance - which is no comfort to people whose telephone bills are inflated by having to ring their GP! I suggest complaining to the local Primary Health Care Trust who work closely with GP practices and control a lot of money that might soon be coming their way! Money talks!

It's clear that nobody takes a blind bit of notice of all those Emails that people send protesting about the proposed closure of this or that( eg Melbourne Grove)post ofice. Why should they? Someone from the Royal Mail (their owners) has been out with a tape measure and ascertained that we're all only 0.8 of a mile from the nearest post office and so what's the problem? The problem is that there are now loads more people trying to use a diminshing number of post offices: you may be able to get there - but will you ever get served? They measure to the distance, but not the length of the queues! If you go into the Post Office on LL, then you really need to take a paper, a good book and some Kendal mint cake! It's time to fight back. Why are we all standing meekly in these queues - waiting and waiting. They crow about customer service - well let's start seeing some! Let's start to demand to see the manager and ask why they don't open more windows and provide a decent service. If they claim not to have enough staff, then they need to think about getting some more! Let's see old and diabled people getting a good service for a change! They can deal with any number of emails (they've a huge "delete button"),but people complaining in person and making a fuss is another matter. If enough of us start to protest and turn on the heat, then who knows things might improve. It's also the sort of thing that the media would like to get in on. So, what do you think? Who's for seeing what we can do to bring about some much needed change?

I too got a call from the bank ( Alliance & Leicester) just yesterday. Apparently someone had tried (unsuccessfully) to carry out a transaction in Australia. We can't put our finger on when and where in ED it might have been cloned - but in view of the weight of evidence, it looks like it's another one to add to the list.

It appears, according to the business pages, that the owners of Sommerfield (mostly private equity types) want to get shot of it. The business has been on the market for a while and they're now reported to be talking in earnest to The Co-op. Apparently if they do buy the business, then they may selectively sell off some of the branches that don't fit in with their business plan. So...........we could be in for the return of the Co-op or perhaps even an M&S.

Yes, it's true that you're liable because you've parked illegally, but it would be easier to swallow if the law were enforced consistently. Why aren't they dealing with John Allen's Dutch delivery lorry with as much zeal? This Tuesday afternoon he was parked ( as usual!) on the zig-zags, thus obscuring the pedestian crossing - that ought to be worth at least two tickets. But there was no one on hand - even though it's a regular weekly occurance!

The bad news is that as I walked up Lordship Lane today at 6.00pm the Dutch flower lorry pulled and parked on the zig zags and straight in front of the zebra crossing. Where were our heroic community wardens to slap a fine on him? If it's ?75 for a a cigarette end, then how much should it be for endangering lives?

-- moved topic --

Sorry - I didn't look back far enough.

On walking past the old branch of the Woolwich on Lordship Lane today, I noticed for the first time a planning notice in the window announcing that an application has been made to turn it into a betting shop and that objections should be submitted to Southwark by 18th January. Having walked past the premises many times in recent weeks, I'm amazed I've not seen it before. Did anyone see it during January? Has anyone objected? Is it too late to try and stop it?)