jamesmcash

Hi all Hope everyone is well and enjoying the sunshine! Park toilets As noted above, I pushed for the parks toilets to be reopened and they have been. Hurray! Get in touch if there's any further issues. Pavement widening It is possible that this can be considered in the next tranche of traffic measures. Please make sure they are logged on the commonplace map. That said, I cannot promise anything. We are constrained by lack of funding. And we want to make sure all measures are carefully considered for potential negative effects. Food waste collections Thanks for raising this. Please make sure you report these missed collections on this form https://www.southwark.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/general-household-waste/report-a-missed-collection The Waste Management team are normally very good at rectifying any mistakes. But if there continue to be any issues please let me know by email, specifying your address. Best wishes, James

Hi all Hope everyone is well and enjoying the sunshine! Santander cycles The council is looking to extender the scheme further south but there are no current plans to go further south than Peckham and Camberwell at the moment. There are two main reasons for this 1) TfL reluctance TfL would need to agree to fund the running costs. We understand that a challenge here is the cost of reallocating bikes at the end of the day ? each evening they have a lorry that picks up bikes from locations where they disproportionately end up at the end of the day to move them to where they are disproportionality needed at the start of the day. The more this happens, the higher the operating cost. This is complicated in Dulwich with Dog Kennel Hill: the belief is that this is more attractive to cycle down from than to cycle up, and so bikes will have to be replaced at the top of the hill every evening. This is further complicated by the dire state of TfL funding thanks to the Government's cut of the operating grant and then covid-19. 2) Funding for the docking stations TfL no longer fund new docking stations as a matter of course. Instead they are mostly funded through the planning process re local developments. Not much of this is happening in Goose Green so this makes it hard to find the funding. Baseline figures for Our Healthy Streets Can someone send me the information that shows that the council's initial baseline figures were misleading? It's been said a few times here that the council has admitted its mistake but I've not seen this myself. I'd be keen to find out what happened here. As I said before, if anyone wants to make a complaint against the council then I am happy to support this. Regarding the Dulwich Village councillors, it is very hard for me to comment on the tone in their emails as I have not seen them. All I can say is that my experience of working with Margy and Richard has always been positive and that, if you think any councillor has fallen short of the council's Code of Conduct, then you can raise this through the appropriate channels. One Dulwich Fantastic to see people getting involved in local politics! I would be more than happy to meet their representatives. Tree on Shawbury Road I have looked into this amd had it confirmed that the council did not remove any trees in the area on June 17th. Is it possible that the tree was privately owned? Food waste collections Thanks for raising this gumshoe. Have you reported it on this form yet? https://www.southwark.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/general-household-waste/report-a-missed-collection If not, please do. The Waste Management team are normally very good at rectifying any mistakes. But if there continue to be any issues please let me know by email, specifying your address. Rockets' musings Thanks Rockets for your creative and unorthodox account of my beliefs and actions. As a primary school teacher I am constantly amazed by the vivid imagination harboured by the children I teach, and I often wonder how it is that most of us seem to lose this by adulthood. Your example is a heartening exception to the rule. Planters Jakido - there should be planters in the road on Melbourne Grove south very soon! I am chasing up plans for elsewhere in the ward. Thanks a lot everyone Best wishes, James

Hi all slarti b - would you mind sending this information over to me so I can look at it myself? Best wishes James

Hi notiti That's odd - I don't know of any planned tree removals on Shawbury Road. Let me look into it. Best wishes James

Hi Monkey Do you mean producing a newsletter? I think different councillors choose to communicate with the residents they represent in a range of ways. It depends a bit on the ward and on the councillor. Which ward are you in? I'm sure your Labour councillors would be happy to hear from you. Best wishes James

Hello all, I hope everyone is well. slarti b and abe_froeman As I said, I was told that the baseline measurement was not during road works. Has the council now said that this isn't the case? If so then yes I was given the wrong information too! I very much doubt that anyone was misled intentionally though. Santander cycles Let me look into this. Best wishes James

Hi all, Agree about the toilets - I will push for them to reopen asap. Re CPZs, the Peckham West one is now in operation. Peckhamgatecrasher - if you have been fined and were not given adequate notice that it would come into effect I may be able to get your fine written off. Drop me an email with details. Tradingfiddle - work on the East Dulwich CPZ has recommenced but I don't have a date for when it will go live yet. Best wishes James

Seenbeen, Construction should have social distancing observed. Drop me an email if there is a site where this isn't happening. Best wishes James

Hi all, The council pays around ?5000 to install each hanger. The rental fee goes to CycleHoop and pays for the hangar's maintenance. There is high demand for the hangars across East Dulwich. Every year a number are approved from Southwark's central pot and also from our devolved Goose Green pot - we agreed 4 new ones for this financial year. It is a real challenge getting more up due to - capacity issues in the implementation timeline - lack of funds - concerns over lack of parking spaces But this is an issue that I feel quite strongly about and I am doing what I can to get more cycle hangars installed across Goose Green. My advice for the moment is to make sure you and your neighbours are signed up on the Cycle Hoop website so we can build the case for why we need more of them! Best wishes James

My fellow Goose Green councillors and I will speak at the committee meeting when it is eventually held, to raise some of our concerns. If you have strong views on this application - positive or negative - please let us know. Best wishes James

Hi all, I have written to the council asking for more frequent collections and bigger bins in local parks. I cannot promise anything - council staff are already very stretched at the moment - but hopefully this will have some effect. Best wishes James

Hi all, I have written to the Royal Mail about this. It is clearly a big problem affecting many people. If you have anything specific you want me to raise then please drop me an email. Best wishes James

Some cars will indeed have to turn around at the end but the overall number of cars on the street will plummet when it is no longer a through-route. Best wishes James

I do not know off the top of my head how many households or individuals live on those streets but I have acknowledged that most did not respond to the survey. The survey specifically targeted the 3 (or 4) streets where measures were being proposed but others could comment too if they wanted. Yes, we looked at each street's responses separately. As I say, all had over 80% in support. Best wishes James

Hi first mate People were asked whether they wanted controlled parking on their road - not in East Dulwich in general. It was never an all-or-nothing referendum. So we found a solution where, as much as possible, roads which wanted controlled parking had it and those which did not want it did not have it. You could argue that MG South deviated from this policy but I think it is justified on three grounds 1) while the two roads share the same name, they are completely bisected by East Dulwich Grove so are in effect separate roads 2) the road is long and there were very clear differences of opinion at each end Best wishes James

Hi all I will try to respond to all these points as well as I can. Blogpost and newsletter - Rockets and Abe Yes the blog post is hosted on my website. It includes a range of different articles and posts, with different audiences in mind. None of it is secret, hence me putting it on a public website, but if a non-party member reads a blog intended for Labour Party members then yes - you might find it focuses more on the Labour Party than you'd like! Abe is absolutely right that the same website also hosts the Goose Green Councillor Newsletter. This is, quite explicitly, intended for Gosoe Green residents (not just party members). I did not send the blog post above out on this newsletter. Next elections Next elections are due May 2022. Hope you're all having a good weekend - shame about the weather eh! Best wishes, James

Hi all I will try to respond to all these points as well as I can. first mate I'm still in the process of compiling the results but over 80% of respondents on each street was supportive of the proposals. The Our Healthy Streets consultation was a much wider project covering lots of Dulwich Village and parts of Goose Green. It did not cover the section north of East Dulwich Grove though so when we did our impromptu survey it made sense to cover each street where measured were being proposed. Rockets Good point about pavement widening - this is also currently being considered. I think I posted about it a while back but it has been delayed for some reason. Not sure why - trying to get to the bottom of this. The decision on MG south is due for June 15th or thereabouts and it looks highly likely that it will be approved. I am told that everything is in place to begin the works once it is approved. I know much more about MG South because it falls entirely within Goose Green. Normally decisions are only put to Cabinet Members when they are relatively likely to be approved but I do not want to comment the likelihood of those in Champion Hill or Dulwich Village as they will be largely shaped by the councillors in those wards. As for my political beliefs - yes you're of course right that my decisons are shaped by my political ideas. This is only to be expected. But I disagree that my position on Controlled Parking Zones or permeable filters are a direct and simple consequence of ideology at the expense of residents' concerns. People's views on the CPZ had very little to do with their voting intentions, and everything to do with which street they live on (see https://www.jamesmcash.com/blog/controlled-parking-in-east-dulwich). If support for permeable filters is Marxist then East Dulwich is a lot redder than I thought! Spartacus I am afraid not - there will be a monitoring and feedback period after implementation to assess whether they should continue and whether they should be amended. But the intention of TfL is that these be emergency measures that need to be implemented quickly. ed_pete Yes emergency services need to be consulted before any measures like this are put in. Hope you're all having a good weekend - shame about the weather eh! Best wishes, James

Hi both, Abe_froeman - my website hosts a number of different things with different audiences in mind. There is the Goose Green newsletter, which is quite explicitly targeted at Goose Green residents, and a range of articles and blog posts written with different audiences in mind. None of it is a secret - hence being hosted on a public website - but different pieces are written with different audiences in mind. The blog post mentioned in the other threads was written with local Labour Party members in mind, and therefore includes points which are probably of less interest to non-party members. There's no harm in others reading it if they're interested, of course, but don't then be surprised if it included party-related matters! first mate - There was no solution to this which would suit everyone. Both sides had very strong opinions and there was no solution which would have suited everyone. But we were able to reach a proposal which did the following: - The CPZ would include 80% of roads which requested one. - 90% of those who do not want a CPZ on their road would not have one. - There would be no change to parking on the streets most used by visitors to Lordship Lane. I think that this is a pretty good outcome. No perfect, but good. Best wishes James

Hi all, Sorry for the delay in responding. As some of you may know, I am a primary school teacher as well as being a councillor (being a councillor is not, for most, a fulltime role) and the ongoing preparations for school reopening has taken up a huge amount of time, in addition to my usual responsibilities both in the council and in school. Let me try to respond to all these points. Interactive map Rockets asked "Will you be alerting us to which plans are being implemented and when, there are a lot of great ideas that have been posted?" Yes I will - the filter on Melbourne Grove south is going ahead in the next few weeks and we are looking at getting bike stands installed on Lordship Lane. All other proposals are still being considered. I'll keep you posted. Toilets in parks I am afraid I do not know when these will be opened yet. I agree that we need them open soon but this needs to be balanced with the risk of them being places of infection. I have flagged it up with the Cabinet Member though and emphasised the need to open them as soon as is safe. Bigger bins I am trying to get bigger bins in parks, and them to be collected more frequently. Transport measures Thanks for raising this rahrahrah. Yes, we are looking at road closures and social distancing measures. Details on this thread: /forum/read.php?5,2113728,page=3 Please do add your suggestions regarding transport to the interactive map. Goose Green has the second highest number of responses so clearly lots of people are but we want the comments to be as representative as possible! I hope this answers everyone's questions. Have a great weekend! Best wishes James

Hi all, Sorry for the delay in responding. As some of you may know, I am a primary school teacher as well as being a councillor (being a councillor is not, for most, a fulltime role) and the ongoing preparations for school reopening has taken up a huge amount of time, in addition to my usual responsibilities both in the council and in school. Let me try to respond to all these points. Solyent Green I've asked for the bins to be collected more frequently, and for bigger bins to be put in place. Hopefully this will result in some improvements. Thanks a lot for flagging. Overhill Road slabs I will try to get more information about this. Thanks for flagging! Blogpost Rockets has pasted a blog post which I sent to Labour Party members. Consequently, it makes lots of reference to things which will not interest non-party members. Of the five points I make, two have a more party political and Southwark-wide focus, two are explicitly Goose Green focused, and one is a bit of both. I am not remotely embarassed by this - the role of the councillor is to do community work in your ward, and to do political work across the borough and beyond. I could of course do more in both areas but I think I have struck a fairly good balance. Thanks for highlighting my record on casework though ;) I hope this answers everyone's questions. Have a great weekend! Best wishes James

Hi all, Sorry for the delay in responding. As some of you may know, I am a primary school teacher as well as being a councillor (being a councillor is not, for most, a fulltime role) and the ongoing preparations for school reopening has taken up a huge amount of time, in addition to my usual responsibilities both in the council and in school. Let me try to respond to all these points. Timeframes for implementation rollflick suggested "If you want to put a filter in, surely better and cheaper to trial it on Melbourne Grove between Tell & Ashbourne Grove. This would allow space for turning etc." You'll be pleased to hear that that is exactly what is happening! It should be in place in the next two weeks. Full details here: http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=50023147&Opt=0 Discussions are ongoing about the section north of East Dulwich Grove - a number of people raised concerns about the proposals which we are trying to address. Also, thanks for correcting me regarding which legislation the experimental traffic orders used - apologies for making that mistake. Parking and permeable filters Thanks for raising this Serena2012. As has been noted already, I think there is a misunderstanding about how a permeable filter works. I apologise if I have not communicated it clearly enough. The filter would mean that cars cannot use the road as a through-route but they would still be able to enter and exit by the same route. It would in no sense create a gated community - just a barrier in the middle of the road to stop through-traffic. When the CPZ is implemented, residents with permits who do not live on these roads would still be able to park in them - as was always the plan. Bike stands We are looking to have some cycle stands installed on Lordship Lane soon. How many consulted First Mate - a couple of hundred people responded to the survey. You are absolutely right that this is not a majority of the households on these streets but it is does give an indication of what people think. As emphasised above, any measures implemented will be followed by a monitoring period where changes can be made or the measures removed. The southern section of Melbourne Grove has previously been consulted as part of the Our Healthy Streets consultation. Edit:In the time it took to write this first mate mentioned a figure of 70%. I have just glanced over the documents and cannot see that anywhere but I suspect that it refers to Our Healthy Streets, not the survey we councillors did. Decision-making process Rockets has raised a good point about having an area-wide review. I agree that this would be a good approach. The issue is that the wider the area you're considering, and the more widely you want to consult, the longer the process takes. As it stands, I am receiving huge numbers of emails from residents on these roads who are keen to get some measures put in place as soon as possible. The kind of area-wide approach you are suggesting would take months - as we've seen from the Our Healthy Streets consultation. So instead, like most other councils, Southwark is implementing some experimental orders and then assessing them once in place. These can then be amended or removed at a later point. Richard Tudor points out that in other cases the temporary measures have become permanent because people forget. Yes, I agree! Often people do forget about the concerns they had about a measure once it has been implemented, because those concerns never materialise. If they do materialise then we have opportunity to make the necessary changes. I fully trust the residents of Goose Green to let me know if it is not working! Work in Goose Green vs work in the council Rockets says "the things you are most proud of, per your blog, in your two years in office have little to do with Goose Green and far more about your ideological and political aspirations and this Melbourne Grove farce is a classic example." Rockets is referring to a blog post which I sent to Labour Party members. Consequently, it makes lots of reference to things which will not interest non-party members. Of the five points I make, two have a more party political and Southwark-wide focus, two are explicitly Goose Green focused, and one is a bit of both. I am not remotely embarassed by this - the role of the councillor is to do community work in your ward, and to do political work across the borough and beyond. I could of course do more in both areas but I think I have struck a fairly good balance. Also, it seems a little odd to describe traffic measures on Melbourne Grove as a 'classic example' of something that has "little to do with Goose Green" when the proposals are being considered for roads in Goose Green and when they respond to issues raised by residents in Goose Green. Schools reopening I've already explained how the question of schools reopening affects the council's plans for the local roads. The rest of Rocket's questions are regarding my role as a teacher and member of the National Education Union in a different borough, or regarding my general political beliefs. Some are based on mischaracterisations of my views. Honestly, I do not think it is worth entering into a lengthy discussion on them here and I doubt that many people reading this thread about the local streets want or expect to discuss my trade union activity or political beliefs. The use of this forum As I said before, this forum is an important part of how we councillors communicate with residents but it is only one part. This Forum is great in lots of ways but it is not representative of the whole community, nor is it an effective way for me to identify urgent casework. So I come on here, but I do not make it my top priority. The two points above are good examples of the kinds of debate that I tend to get into on here but not by email: interesting and totally legitimate criticisms of my political perspectives and decisions. By contrast, the emails I get from residents is almost exclusively to raise an issue which I can directly act on and get positive results for the people I am here to serve. I hope that this answers everyone's questions. As always, drop me an email if there is anything I can do. Best wishes, James

Hi all, I hope you are all staying safe and well, and that you have had the opportunity to enjoy the fine weather. Let me try to answer as many of the points raised as possible. Other locations e.g. East Dulwich Grove junction, Crystal Palace Road If possible, please leave these comments on the interactive map linked in the original post. I am keen to consider as many safety measures as we can. The decision-making process These measures, if implemented, will be done through an Experimental Traffic Order. These are new processes introduced by the government to get work moving quickly in response to the new circumstances of the pandemic. Unlike other similar traffic orders, they do not require any consulation at all. Nearby local authorities have introduced wide-ranging changes using these, without any consultation. In Goose Green, we have prioritised measures which we suspect - from previous consultations and other methods - will have wide support. To be extra sure, we have run this very short survey as well. The measures are temporary. They can be removed at any time. But they can also be made permanent after 18 months. We would have to see their impact before making this decision. Schools reopening It is true that, in my capacity as a teacher and member of the National Education Union, I have been campaigning against the government's plans to re-open schools more widely before the NEU's five tests are met. But I am not the secretary of state so it may well be that many more pupils do begin to attend school from June 1st. Moreover, the five tests may well be met before the summer holidays, even if not by June 1st, in which case schools will become much busier then. It's important that any works we do take place as soon as possible. How we contact Goose Green residents My colleages, Victoria Olisa and Charlie Smith, and I try to reach residents in a range of ways: email, door-to-door canvassing, surgeries, public meetings, engagement with community groups and so on. I try to come onto here when I can but I do not prioritise it over the other forms. There's a number of reasons for this. First, anyone who can access this forum can also access email, whereas not everyone with email access uses this forum. Second, I want to prioritise the residents who live within Goose Green ward and many on here do not. Third, emails from residents are almost always regarding casework that I can help with, while lots of posts on here are more general comments or criticisms, which are an important part of a democratic system but not so time-sensitive or pressing as someone with a specific problem I can address. That said, I will continue to come onto the forum when I can to read everyone's comments and respond where appropriate. House prices Interesting point about the potential for house prices to rise on these steets - I hadn't considered that. It's definitely not a motivating factor for me! Where does the money come from? TfL would fund the measures as part of their project to make London streets safer during and after the pandemic. I hope this is helpful! Best wishes James

Hi all I hope you are all staying safe and well, and that you have had opportunity to enjoy the fine weather. Thank you for all the comments - let me address them each in turn. Sue - I'm sorry to hear it! You can report bonfires here: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/environment/air-quality/air-quality-queries-and-complaints I hope that's helpful for future reference. Applespider - Please you approve! Thanks for sharing. seenbeen - the council is following government instructions on which types of outdoor facilities should be opened. I appreciate that it can seem a little nonsensical at times! Rockets - great point! Would you mind suggesting this on the interactive map? There are also a few comments about traffic measures and the survey. On the Admin's suggestion, I will leave these for the other thread. The one thing I will emphasise though is that you do not need to give us your contact details to participate in the survey - it is entirely optional. I do not apologise, however, for giving residents the opportunity to sign up to receive updates from their local councillors if they wish Best wishes James

Hi Rockets, We seem to be discussing these traffic measures on three separate threads, so I will not respond on here. But I am intrigued to know what you think my motivations are for considering this scheme, if it is not because I genuinely believe it would help the local community. I have no financial stake in the project and if it is as unpopular as you suggest then surely it will not help me to get re-elected. If my intentions are so cynical, what is driving them? Best wishes James

Hi all, I hope you are all well and have had opportunity to enjoy the lovely weather! Thanks for all your comments. To respond to the key points: Permeable filters on Melbourne, Derwent and Elsie The transformation of our travel patterns have completely changed the dynamics on our roads. So we need to consider new measures. Initially there was not time scheduled in to ask residents for their view - it is considered an emergency measure. I argued that we should allow a short period of time to hear from residents before making a decision - and that a short delay would be worth it to make sure that residents want it, and that if it shows that residents do not then we should abandon the plans! The people most affected are plainly those who live on these three streets, so their perspecive is prioritised. However there is an option on the survey for others to respond with their feedback too. Please do let us know what you think. Measures elsewhere A few people have pointed out that similar measures could be useful elsewhere too. Yes, absolutely! Please identify other spots using the map in the original post above. These particular streets were identified first because they had been previously raised through different schemes (Cleaner Greener Safer, and Our Healthy Streets) and because of the specific circumstances with the three schools in close proximity. It's certainly not a case of giving these roads special treatment, rather we are just responding to these first because we know they are where there is appetite for some changes! Contact details It is true that the survey above gives residents opportunity to leave their contact details. I make no apology for this - we councillors want to be able to contact the residents we represent and our normal methods are now hampered. Of course, this survey question is entirely optional - you are free to share your comments whilst opting not to receive any further contact from us. Pavement widening on Lordship Lane Thanks for raising this. The council was initially looking at the pavements being widened around 3 key pinch points - at the junctions with Blackwater, Chesterfield and Ashbourne. I was told that these were happening and I know that some council communications have said that they have already happened, which is clearly not right. I am trying to chase this up to find out what has happened. I hope that everyone is staying safe and well. Please do not hesitate to email if you need anything - I check my emails much more frequently than I check on here. Best wishes James