Dogkennelhillbilly

How do you feel about the pedestrianisation of Dulwich Square? The massive Benefit In Kind tax dodge for top rate taxpayers helps a lot too.

Yes - and this is a good thing because meeting housing targets is a good thing. If Labour or any other party had managed to do it consistently over the last decade perhaps we wouldn't be in a housing crisis. I'm not sure if "don't build more housing because it's only rich foreigners that will end up living there" is official Lib Dem policy or not.

Southwark owns it. It's leased to some guy from Orpington or something. They have tried to run a bar, restaurant, Uber Eats dark kitchen, nightclub for one off events...but never quite committing to one of them or being very successful. Some of the nightclub nights are a shambles: booze bottles all over the pavements, screaming and yelling, dickheads racing cars. I didn't know they were doing swingers nights - obviously I don't move in the right circles to get an invitation... 😞 It's odd that no-one has been able to make a real go of it in recent years. It should be a great space - a country manor feel in the centre of London overlooking a park? But the forecourt is a bit shabby. BTW much as I dislike Musk - I'm not sure I can blame the Belair House lot (which is a tiny business) much for taking money to let them do a launch event. And calling Belair House "sacred" seems a bit of a stretch 🤷

The private sector is not going to build a significant amount of social housing. Everyone is very keen for *everyone else* to subsidise construction of social housing. I take it none of the objectors to this scheme was suggesting putting up council tax so Southwark could build more social housing...? Social housing isn't going to appear in serious numbers if the state doesn't borrow money and build it.

There's an 8 storey building about 200 yards NW of the site in question! It's so unremarkable that apparently many of the objectors don't even know it exists. 1) you're objecting to the economic analysis on the basis of "having a student"? That's hardly an evidence-based position. 2) 50-100 vehicles per day for move-in and move-out weekends, not every weekend, then? 3) It is a bit disappointing that you are disregarding the fairly obvious substantive difference between students enrolled in universities and pupils enrolled in local schools. Adults travel from all over England, the UK and the world to study at university in London. Parents of pupils at state schools try to send them to study as close to home as possible. Equally, you are ignoring that the student accommodation sector doesn't have enough capacity to house all students anyway. That is why many students live in share houses, whic increases competition with "regular" non-students who also want to rent those houses. Further, it's disappointing that you have decided students' accommodation needs are somehow not a valid consideration for you. They are also members of society - although perhaps they don't vote as much in local elections as houseowners do. Finally, you are again contradicting your own position that more student accommodation is unnecessary when you point out how expensive it is! That indicates an undersupply, and is a good reason to allow private companies to build more - it depresses the market price and makes it incrementally more accessible to lower income students. Does it not strike you as odd that are simultaneously suggesting that only rich foreign students will live in the student accommodation BUT also that there aren't enough local students to fill it up and students don't have any money to spend in the local economy anyway?

On what basis do you object to the economy spend numbers in the report and describe it as "extremely unlikely"? Is that objection based on data or is it vibes-based? Where does this estimate of "50-100 vehicles" come from? The objectors:supporters ratio doesn't speak volumes. Planning applications of this sort always receive objections from various curtain twitches and NIMBYs. It doesn't mean those objections are well-founded or sensible. The planning officers and councillors need to consider the issue objectively, not just count the letters. It's not a public vote. Saying the building is "out of character" is meaningless out of context. It's an unusual building on an unusual infill site. It's not supposed to be a model for future development across Dulwich as a whole. We are in the middle of a housing crisis. London desperately needs more housing units. This is an opportunity to get a whole bunch of them on a small, unloved industrial site on top of a transit hub. Not building it because people like the Dulwich Society complains it's "visible" is crazy.

Southwark doesn't own it, doesn't have the money to buy it at the market rate it would have to pay, and doesn't have a ton of money lying around to build several blocks of flats. And I don't think there's enough room for several blocks of flats - perhaps one 30 storey block to soar above the traffic. That'd be nice.

The weird thing about criticising Southwark for not following this rule is that it's a rule a poster has made up, it's not Southwark's rule. It's doubly weird when agreeing with the outcome.

Norberts live in Norbury. It's all Dullards around here.

Maybe bickering online with a bunch of pseudonymous misanthropes isn't the best way to serve the community. 🤷

That could be good esp if at least some of the chickens are free range, and come with salads, not just chips. Il Mirto was cash only for a long time, wasn't it?

I'm a curmudgeon and don't favour more nightclubs, but it would also be better for the building to be used and maintained again. So put me in the "don't know/hopelessly indecisive" column.

It's shoehorn night on the East Dulwich Forum, I see! It's pointless writing to an MP about a council matter. Councillors are the right people to write to.

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The Castle The Hill (just a few steps up from The Capitol site) Royal British Legion club You're welcome.

That sounds like a good addition to Lordship Lane. Good luck to them!

Wouldn't it make more sense to ask the guy who posted the rumours for the source of the information? The Crown & Greyhound refurb was a big job - not surprising that it took longer than just a simple repainting. But renovating the Grove would be even bigger because it's totally wrecked, and there's a shortage of skilled labour and much more expensive materials now...

That's useful, thank you - I've got a Primark near my work. Primark is (perhaps surprisingly) also one of the most diligent when it comes to labour rights in the supply chain, and I have to say the bits I've had from there have been quite good quality and lasted a long time. But otoh it's still fast fashion I suppose.

1) if you don't have much green waste, you can buy 20 sacks for £40 and the council will collect and dispose of them 2) if you can find a private company that will collect a bin of green waste every week for £1.61 a throw...

The clothing bin in the car park of the Plough (pub) should not be used. It is run by Humana/Tvind, a cult. https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/watchdog-investigates-british-charitys-alleged-cult-connections-1585165 https://culteducation.com/group/1203-tvind.html

Go outside. Touch grass. Have an ice cream...

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The Jamm Hub is a forthcoming restaurant and cocktail bar at 84 Park Hall Rd (West Dulwich, by La Gastronomia and Croxted Rd). Not open yet but looks nice inside.

The sun set at 5.37pm yesterday and it was 7⁰ at that time, according to the Met Office. The skate park is, obviously, unlit. Kids these days can't win. They get off their arse and make use of a derelict car park, and it gets called a haven for underage drink and drugs. They use the skate park and people complain it's noisy; they don't use it because it's dark and cold and people complain about that too! If they were out there bundled up against the cold yesterday, we'd probably hear moaning about "hoodie ruffians wearing masks..."

Yesterday was a school day and it was 8⁰! I'm not sure what kind of truanting youth in arctic survival gear you expected to be out there! How many people were having a drink in the pub, just out of interest? Many people enjoying a meal in the restaurant? Any overnight guests in the upstairs rooms? A lot of bar staff on duty yesterday by any chance?