Goose Green councillors - how can we help?

[Nigello]

Please could Southwark clear the grids of leaves/soil, etc. When it rain heavily there are huge puddles in parts of the area - especially near Goose Green. If it is not a Southwark responsibility please could it be passed on to Thames Water or whichever party it is. Thanks

[TE44]

Hi James can you tell me if the grounds of One tree hill and St Augustine Church are managed organically, thanks.

[Abe_froeman]

?

[Lou]

Hi James, I wonder if you can help:

Every Autumn I sweep up the leaves & berries that fall off the tree on the pavement outside my house, they fall pretty regularly, so around this time of year I need to do it every week - previously I used to put them into the brown paper bags, but since they are no longer free, I don't have any and my garden isn't big enough to warrant a brown bin. What should I do with these leaves?

Thanks

[Nigello]

Re the leaves, they leave (!) a deep stain on the new pavements. Perhaps the stains will fade, or perhaps the paving stones were not pre-tested for porousness/suitability...?

[goldilocks]

Hi James

You may have seen the other thread re Amigos trees on Goose Green. This is a massive infringement on the green - taking over almost half of the open green space. Given the scarcity of open green spaces in the Goose Green area, how has it been decided that this is appropriate, especially the fact that its been let to a commercial operation and meaning that half the available space is pretty much out of bounds for the next month. Its also an eyesore when looking from ED Road towards goose green.

Would appreciate some feedback on how this was deemed appropriate and whether this is the start of commercially letting our public green space?

Thanks

[bels123]

Completely agree Goldilocks and would be interested to hear from James on this. I would expect some kind of consultation with local residents before fencing off such a large part of our local green open space for a month.

[Coggers]

As a resident living next to the green I totally agree re Tree Amigos. Not only has this taken up a huge area of public space and is an absolute eyesore, but the generator used to power the lights can be heard clearly from inside our flat. Were any residents consulted on this? I cannot see any benefit for the green to be used for this purpose, especially when so many local businesses provide trees already.

[kiera]

From my experience, this is as I understand the situation:-

The council have adopted policies which commit them to making money from any suitable space, including parks and green spaces - anyone can apply to use anywhere. Council officers decide what's suitable for each space without any consultation with the public. If there was a Friends' group for Goose Green, they would probably inform you of their intentions, but you still probably wouldn't have much influence. There is no commitment to use the money they make to benefit the space they've rented out. Councillors will have been informed of any planned event, but you'll undoubtedly find that they are obliged to defend the policy.

I think it's totally wrong that council officers have the power to decide what's suitable, without consultation with residents. I think you are right to raise this with councillors.

[suecharlie@btinterne]

I am concerned about the Free Amigos tree sellers on Goose Green. I have contacted the Parks Department about the unsightly fencing, lack of toilet facilities, Also will any damage to the grass and ground be made good by Tree amigos when they finish. Also there is the potential problem of increased traffic and parking on East Dulwich Road especially now the number 12 and the 197 busses are being rerouted due to the works being carried out in Barry Road. I will also have a look at the generator problem.

Regards

Councillor Charlie Smith

Goose Green Ward Member

[Abe_froeman]

Hi charlie, good to see a councillor on this thread again after a couple of months in limbo.

Do you know how we can get the council to remove all the taxis that have been abandoned in the area? I am aware of over 20 of these vehicles that have not been moved for at least three months

[goldilocks]

Thanks Charlie. I think though that the bigger problem is the appropriation of public open space for commercial letting by Southwark council. Who made this decision? Does this mean that Goose Green is now 'fair game' to be sectioned off and rented out to private companies throughout the year without any notice or consultation? Its one thing to use the Green for fairs such as the Dulwich festival fair, but another to 'privatise it' in this way!

In addition - as a council who has declared a 'climate emergency' - allowing an enterprise to run a diesel generator next to people's homes for a month seems beyond irresponsible.

It would be good if in addition to the logistical issues you raise, you could also respond on these points.

Many thanks

[rjsmall]

Charlie's response also raises the question of how informed or involved are the local councillors made about decisions in their area.

Were our local representatives aware that Free Amigos tree sellers would be taking a chunk of Goose Green in advance along with the paraphernalia that would go along with the operation?

[Pugwash]

From experience ward councillors are not informed by council officers of important decisions made about the area. Officers, appear to deliberately ignore councillors and local residents when making decisions.

[first mate]

Perhaps Councillors can find out the how, when and who of the decision to let out a large section of Goose Green to a private company, seemingly circumventing its own climate change commitments in the process? In addition, how much money will Southwark get from the letting and where does that money get used?

It would be great if Councillors McAsh or Smith could post here on their findings.

[Abe_froeman]

You'd think they will be there for most of December so it must be a fairly sizeable profit the council will get from this.

I suspect we won't hear much from the councillors until after the general election now.

[jamesmcash]

Hi all

For some reason I have not been receiving emails telling me when someone posts on this thread. Sorry about that.

Regarding the Tree Amigos issue I have just sent out the message below to residents who contacted me.

Best wishes

James

----

Dear all

I am writing to you because you contacted me regarding the 'Tree Amigos' event on Goose Green Park. I only became aware of it when local residents contacted me. There was consultation about it back in July, where no issues were raised, but it is fair to say that it was not as well promoted as it should have been.

The Tree Amigos event is in many ways the kind that the council should support:

- the trees are sustainably grown

- they offer craft workshops for children

- it will accommodate Goose Green primary school?s Christmas Carol event on the 12th December

- it helps to raise revenue for the council's important services, after almost a decade of brutal cuts

However, I do not believe that it is well-suited for Goose Green Park. Above all, residents and traders have raised concerns that there are already local businesses who sell Christmas trees in the area and they risk losing business from this event appearing well after their business plans were set.

As a result, we have agreed with the council that Tree Amigos will not be invited back to Goose Green Park in future years.

In the meantime, I want to reassure everyone of the following:

- The council will reimburse the licensing fees for the local tree sellers who may lose out from this decision

- If there is any damage to the park's ground, Tree Amigos will be will be to cover the costs of any reinstatement that?s required.

- The noisy generator has been replaced with a quieter more efficient model.

I have cc?ed in council officers Aileen Cahill [[email protected]] and Charlie Simm [[email protected]] who have offered to answer any further questions you may have.

I hope that this allays some of your concerns. Many apologies for the problems caused by this issue.

Best wishes

James

[nxjen]

Thanks for this James. While we?re talking about Christmas trees, can you advise about the arrangements for the disposal of Christmas trees? Previously, these were left out and collected free of charge. What are the arrangements now an annual fee has been introduced as many wishing to dispose of their Christmas trees may not have taken out a subscription.

[kiera]

So James, as you didn't know about this event on Goose Green, are you saying that the council carried out a consultation in July but didn't include local councillors? What a strange "consultation" - it seems it didn't include local residents or businesses either - a typical Events Team consultation.

Are you going to challenge the council/cabinet member to change the events policy to include consultation with local people?

[tiddles]

Thank you James

Sounds like a good result all round. I suspect that in the anticipation of gaining much needed revenue

It has not been realised how people would feel about the loss of public space and the impact on local businesses.

Kind regards

[suecharlie@btinterne]

Local Councillors were informed there would be a consultation for a company to sell Christmas trees on Goose Green. Nothing controversial about this until I saw the partitions the Treeamigos erected which I think are an eyesore. Also there was a diesel generator going full blast all day and into the early evening. Potentially there could be a problem with extra traffic from customers buying a tree. I contacted Council officers who have now replied. James McAsh has now passed on that reply to the Forum. It is a shame no other power source could be used to illuminate the site. We will not be welcoming Treeamigas back next year.

[janepinkcat]

I too am very concerned about the Tree Amigos invasion of Goose Green, it's a small enough space as it is without cluttering up half of it. Also I believe they may be sleeping on the site in a mobile home. My main concern, however, is for the local traders, George, the guy from the flower shop at Goose Green, also sells from outside the EDT, pays ?500 for the extra pitch as does the lady outside the Cherry Tree, both of whom have been severely hit by the Tree Amigos, they weren't informed or consulted and apparently neither were the residents. It seems the "events team" at southwark approved it, but to call their site a "Grotto" is a gross overstatement. Very poor

[Penguin68]

It has already been reported that (1) this experiment will not be repeated in future years and that (2) those who paid for licences unaware of their new rival will have their fees reimbursed. Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of Southwark or their apparat, but in this case a timely and fair decision seems to have been made. Tree Amigos have a contract, which legitimately cannot be broken, but they, or others, won't appear next, or future, years, and the 'old' traders are not having to pay for a devalued licence to trade this Christmas. I'm not sure what more (legally) could be done.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Hi James, Is the council doing anything to encourage the Lime electric bike scheme (or any of the other London hire schemes) further south to ED, in order to promote sustainable transport and healthy living?

[Abe_froeman]

Do any of the councillors still visit this site?