East Dulwich Grove - cars being moved

[[email protected]]

Not sure I'd be too happy but cars being moved on East Dulwich Grove by Conway I believe. Council had wrong dates on notices that parking was suspended. Thought worth sharing as don't think I'd be too happy if I got up to drive to work in the am and my car had been moved.

[cab]

They are resurfacing the road now. It's deafening, and getting on for 11 pm. Hopefully it won't be an all-nighter...

[Annasfield]

cab Wrote:

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> They are resurfacing the road now. It's deafening,

> and getting on for 11 pm. Hopefully it won't be an

> all-nighter...

What are the rules around that? It's very disruptive

[cab]

I have the original plan of works along East Dulwich Grove they sent round months ago and it says all works would be done between 0800 and 1700.. It mentions the night road closure (scheduled for May!) but nothing about them doing it at night. How will we sleep?! Not sure of the rules but it can't be right!

[fleur201]

M

[MP]

I parked my car on ED Grove yesterday at around 6pm and checked all the parking suspension signs which said the suspension was from 11th July... other cars were also parked where I was (just outside of the hospital). Went to my antenatal class, came out 2 1/2 hours later and lo and behold my car had been moved. I was so annoyed because firstly the signs very clearly stated from 11th July and the 2 people from Southwark Council were particularly unhelpful with poor attitudes. When I asked where my car had been moved to they said they didn't know (!) probably at the top of the road... Ok then, so should I just traipse up and down the road looking for it?! When I asked them to escort me & my husband to wherever the Conway man was who was moving the cars they were super reluctant and nobody could answer the question of why all the signs were incorrect up and down the road! Absolutely no one took responsibility for this "the signs have nothing to do with us" - oh really Southwark council?! AND to top it off there was absolutely no apology for the inconvenience this caused to us. The "head engineer" from Southwark was more concerned about following us to the car so he could take photos and make sure we didn't claim the car had been damaged in the move!

The "head engineer" also said he would walk away from us if we continue to argue with him (??) - no one was arguing we just wanted to understand 1. why the signs were wrong and 2. where the car was! He kept saying "you are on a site" ok then sir, so where are the signs to tell us this is a site? "at the top of the road" - ok but we've just come out of the hospital which is the middle of the road and there are no signs. The road was not closed when I drove down it at 6pm and there were no signs to say it would be closed thereafter...

Anyway sorry guys, rant over - feel sorry for you if you live in the area and the roadworks will disrupt you. I suggest complaining to Southwark council!

[dv1]

I would have phoned the police and reported the car as stolen and told them exactly who had stolen it. That may have prompted Southwark or Conway into being a bit more co-operative?

[Lins_donaldson]

Hi MP,

Where did you find your car in the end? I came down this morning to find my car moved but had to go straight to work on the train so not able to look for it and that time I had no idea what had happened! I contacted southwark council who had no record of it being moved, so I presume the guys from Conway must have moved them off their own back. Is that not surely illegal?! At the moment I just want to track it down as I am working until 7 tonight and need the car for possible emergencies over night (I'm a vet)

Absolutely ridiculous.

Thanks!

Lindsay

[MP]

Hi Lindsay,

I'm really sorry to hear that about your car. I wouldn't believe Southwark to be honest, it was the "head engineer" (Southwark employee) who instructed Conway to move the vehicles last night.. I wouldn't be surprised if that information has just not been communicated to the office!

Our car was parked on Hillsboro Road and I believe that's where they moved most of the cars to... good luck in finding it. If you don't manage to find it try to hunt down the Southwark employee. The Conway guys won't have a clue.

M

[Cedges]

Anyone with issues should make sure they take photos of the signs as evidence to uphold any complaints - i noticed the disparity last night as I live on the road but as I don't have a car, I didn't really have any cause for complaint. I'd also suggest contacting James Barbar on his thread or direct contact details.

[lozc]

We too had a my wife's car moved ... we noticed on arriving back from being out locally. I did eventuallly manage to persuade Conway's employees to take me to the car, and then to the only Southwark employee on site (though this entailed walking up and down almost the whole length of East Dulwich Grove twice in the rain). I only got this outcome after pointing out very loudly with several Conway employees around that the car had been taken illegaly and I'd have to call the police there and then if they couldn't show me where it had been put.

Conway's explanation was that they knew full well that the road signs only debarred parking from 11 July onwards, and were very uncomfortable about moving cars in this situation, having already had a confrontation with someone at the beginning of the work, but were overruled by the council employee in charge of the project, who claimed that the signs had been put up wrongly and should have stated a different date.

I also managed to speak to the person who moved the cars, who assures me that he has before and after photos of all the cars. Seeing as there are two small scratches on ours that I don't remember seeing before after it was moved, I will also be requesting copies of these (which he has promised to send to Southwark) before deciding whether to take further action.

The council employee I eventually spoke to was a Mr Arnold James-Dixon, who was eventually apologetic, though only after standing in silence when told my initial complaint and then only speaking when asked why he wasn't immediately apologising. He seemed to have no concept that they'd effectively taken vehicles without consent, and was surprised when I said that knocking on doors to check wasn't good enough, given that it is quite normal for some people to be out but not be in their car at the time.

I have informed him at the time that I will be complaining directly to the council about this; from what I found out in the rain last night, it does appear to be the council's responsibility even if the contractors were the people who actually moved the cars. He tells me that his email address is simply firstname.lastname @southwark.gov.uk, though I have yet to see if this gets any response - in fairness I don't expect him to be in the office today as it was well after 10pm last night when he was eventually found.

The car was on Hillsboro road - nearly 400 years away, and far from ideal for my wife who is in her last week at work before maternity leave and not really in a position therefore to walk a long way to find it.

If any of you councillors spot this, please take this up directly; the actions of your employees and contractors last night were an abuse of power, presumably illegal, and deserve strong sanctions. I will in any case be writing directly with these points, but hope this information clears up who was responsible to the best of my knowledge for others affected.

[lozc]

As a follow up, I do have a photo of the sign in front of the bay on the south side of EDG from roughly number 87-119, and will include this in what I send to Southwark.

[Lins_donaldson]

Thanks guys. I will have a look when I'm home tonight. I have pictures of the signs. Also I've only just moved in so wouldn't have received any notices in the post about the works if that's how they were sent around.

Xx

[James Barber]

I'm really sorry Southwark Council and it's contractors Conway have screwed up and not signed things correctly with correct dates and times or not stated times.

Clearly working on noisy roadworks until midnight and then again at 6.30am isn't acceptable.

I'll ask council officials what they think has gone wrong and how they'll ensure it doesn't go wrong again.

[Jessie]

It went all through the night, not just till midnight. I haven't slept for 2 nights!

[GinaG3]

I can't remember what the board dates were when I was passing the other week but I can remember the times for works being between 2000-0500 for around a 2-3 week time frame. I've heard they shouldn't even be starting until tomorrow..

[Annasfield]

The road is closed again now

[cab]

And the noise more deafening than last night.. No warnings or info through the door, it shouldn't be allowed??!

[Gray]

Exactly the same thing happened on Landcroft Road when that was resurfaced. I walked out to find my car in a lifter at the time. Shoutly loudly and showed them the incorrect signs in front of them.

To be honest, Mr Barber, your very carefullly worded "I'll ask council officials what they think has gone wrong and how they'll ensure it doesn't go wrong again." means absolutely fuck all to the people that pay the council wages under threat of gaol or bankruptcy.

It shows the lack of accountability that the Council have.

How hard can it be to issue correct notices to the people who pay? How hard can it be to ensure contractors work under defined rules?

Is Southwark Council really run by a bunch of incompetent idiots that don't realise the effects of their actions? Or are they just far too used to "The Magic Money Tree" that just pays and pays and pays?

[Cedges]

It's Soooooo loud. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH.

Apologies folks, needed to get that out!

[[email protected]]

It was loud last night, is it legal though for your car to be moved to be lifted and moved, if your parked in a parking zone? I get road works have to happen and I guess as it's such a busy road, these are done at night, but it's the legality of just picking up cars and moving them that gets me ....

[The Minkey]

Good luck with Arnold. He does a good face-to-face apology which ultimately left me feeling fobbed off as he didn't bother responding to follow up emails/voicemails over a different matter.

[MP]

The Minkey Wrote:

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> Good luck with Arnold. He does a good

> face-to-face apology which ultimately left me

> feeling fobbed off as he didn't bother responding

> to follow up emails/voicemails over a different

> matter.

I found Arnold absolutely useless to be honest with you - we did not even get a face to face apology... I will be sending a complain email to Southwark ([email protected]) and Arnold today - Arnold told me he was the one to complain to officially but I'd like to log my complaint with the official dept. also to make sure it gets followed up accordingly.

[OrangeVanMan]

Dear James

This morning I was walking along Grove Vale outside the petrol garage a branch had broken from a tree blocking the footpath. This meant all pedestrians had to walk in the road or through the garage forecourt. I contacted Southwark Council and it was removed promptly within the hour.