former East Dulwich councillor - how can I help?

[James Barber]

Hi sian,

I'm really sorry to hear your rubbish wasn't collected successfully today. They're normally very good. Pretty manic time for them as not only are they catching up with collections but also, much more to collect from each household.

I'd like to properly raise the Call Centre behavioural problem. It would be useful to know the time you called, whether the operator was male or female, your normal name, address and phone number you rang from. Officers can then check what took place.

I'd really appreciate if you could send an email with this information to [email protected].

[James Barber]

Reduction in London Police officers.

The Mayor of London's Boris Johnson draft budget section 4.10 states he wants to reduce the number of London's Police Officers by 455 during the next 2-3 years. Pro rata that's about 20 less Police officers in Southwark - roughly one less covering East Dulwich.

He also plans to remove ?6.1M of Police related overtime. That's around 200,000+ less hours of Police related overtime. or 100 Police officers.

If you think having fewer Police Officers leading up to and at the 2012 Olympics is a bad idea then tell him - the deadline for telling him is 11 January 2010.

GLA and mayor contacts.

[EDdownunder]

Absolutely ludicrous. In addition to this I understand that dual patrols are being cut down to a single officer. This is coming direct from the police commissioner I believe who supposedly feels that two officers is seen as a waste of resources by the public. I personally like seeing two police officers walking the streets and consider one inadequate for action.

This must be demoralising for the police being sent to walk/drive london streets on their own but also it severly limits the ability to act, as a lone officer will have to wait and call for back-up for most incidents, instead acting as expert witnesses. So if your being mugged and/or beaten you might not get help even if it arrives but there is more chance of a conviction....great for the stats at least.

In any case I will certainly add my objection to this if I can follow your link correctly. Otherwise is it possible to organise a petition that is available at the ED cop-shop to go and sign? Possibly harder to ignore names on paper.

[bob]

JBARBER

Have you had any news about the missing post yet.

Bob S

[James Barber]

Hi bob,

I've contacted the Post Office Senior External Relationship Manager (given her contact details today by Simon Hughes MP office) giving the specific experiences of Bob but explaining that we appear to have a systemic issue.

If would be immensely helpful to try and isolate the problem defining how systemic with further specific examples. Soelsewhere on the forum I've asked people that are happy for their specific postal issues are taken up with Royal Mail to email me their households name/s, addresses, how long lived at that address, their email address so I can keep them in the loop.

I'll collect these specific examples for the next week and then send collated list next Thursday 7 January.

[Mellors]

Any news on Dulwich Van Hire (Barry Rd)? They are parked all over my street today and its driving me nuts. Thanks.

[James Barber]

Hi Mellors,

Dulwich Van Hire used to operate from 38 Barry Road and in fact still do. They applied and were granted planning permission for housing. Shame as the abilit yot hire vans locally has been very useful personally and generally. Building work has started and they moved the van hire operations into a portakabin and parked the vans on the streets in the area.

I asked council enforcement officers to clarify the situation. They confirmed when changing the legal land use from a business to housing it then became illegal to operate that van hire business. The officers spoke to the owners who stated the business was imminently being wound up. They are in the process of reconfirming this as Dulwich Van Hire have told me they're moving to 40 Barry Road next week which doesn't sound like they're closing down.

So council officers should be revisiting this business next week.

I'm afraid this type of problem is not quick or instant to resolve - and I know the mass parking of vans in the area is a real pain. But planning enforcement officers are on the case.

[sian]

Thanks very much James for your help in sorting out our refuse problem. Much appreciated.

[James Barber]

103-105 Barry Road (corner with Underhill Road). Concern about the old yard (Banfield timber yard) looking such a pickle sincer they'd closed down.

Council officers have spoken to the developers who have assured them they will start work on site during January. So the site will then be cleared and building work commence.

It they don't then they would probably be served a notice under section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act to clear the site up.

[jim_the_chin]

James,

I popped into dulwich park for a bit of cricket in the nets with my kid this afternoon to be greeted by locked gates on the nets and this message:

"Please note that this cricket nets will be closed at the weekends during football season and whilst repairs are being made to the grass areas."

This makes no sense - literally as well as grammatically - as the nets are not affecting the surrounding grass, but are next to two football pitches that presumably do bother the grass and are not being closed. Any chance of finding out what and why?

[James Barber]

Hi jim_the_chin,

Sounds very bizarre. I'm on the case and will let you know what I find out.

[James Barber]

Hi Sian,

On Sunday 27 December you highlighted a bad contact centre experience. You were able to provide sufficient details on Wednesday 30 December. On new years eve your were called by the respoinsbile manager who apologised and rearranged rubbish collection date for Saturday 2 January.

Additoonally the original call recording is being extracted to be fully reviewed and appropriate action within the contact centre taken.

Fingers crossed Saturdays collection went to plan.

[James Barber]

Apologies had planned a site visit to Greendale for tomorrow. Due to the weather I'm cancelling this site visit.

I'll try and PM everyone who has expressed an interest.

[fatfightersforever]

JBARBER Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Reduction in London Police officers.

>

> The Mayor of London's Boris Johnson draft budget

> section 4.10 states he wants to reduce the number

> of London's Police Officers by 455 during the next

> 2-3 years. Pro rata that's about 20 less Police

> officers in Southwark - roughly one less covering

> East Dulwich.

>

> He also plans to remove ?6.1M of Police related

> overtime. That's around 200,000+ less hours of

> Police related overtime. or 100 Police officers.

>

> If you think having fewer Police Officers leading

> up to and at the 2012 Olympics is a bad idea then

> tell him - the deadline for telling him is 11

> January 2010.

> GLA and mayor contacts.

Thanks very much for this information James. I've just sent an email protesting about what seems like a ludicrous decision. Seems rather at odds with his electoral pledge to tackle knife crime doesn't it?

[TonyQuinn]

Mr Barber, wrote you a comment on the Barry/Underhill thread.

[Timster]

Mr Barber,

You may have seen another thread about the roadworks and temporary traffic lights at the junction of East Dulwich Road and Peckham Rye. It really is chaotic, dangerous and adding a good 15 minutes to journey times down a very short stretch of road.

I have not seen any information about who is responsible for digging the road up, the temporary lights or how long it will last. Do you know who is responsible for this sort of thing? At the very least the temporary lights could be re-set so the traffic passed through quicker.

Thanks.

[suzyq]

I am dismayed with the new parking restrictions that the council are bringing in along East Dulwich Road, the side which runs behind Goosegreen. Whilst I appreciate that the firebrigade need to have access to houses along this stretch of road, I can't for the life of me understand why they can't just use the access gates and drive along the green in the case of an emergency1 It's good enough for the emergency helicopters to do that- why not the fire service??? Instead the council are taking away a lot of the parking available down this section of the road in order for a fire engine to be able to access the houses.

I have lived in this road since 1987 and in all that time I have only known one fire engine to need access! So it's not like the fire service would be ruining Goosegreen by running drag races up and down it every week!

When I phoned the council department concerned I was told that the decision to implement this had already been taken and as a resident if I could not find a parking space it wasn't their concern if we have to have a half mile walk to get home if and when we manage to find a parking space in the surrounding streets.

There is little enough parking available in the area as it is - surely common sense should prevail???

Could you please look into this?

Thank you

Sue Jarvie

[Mark]

suzyq Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It's good enough for the emergency helicopters to do that- why not the fire service???

Fire engines don't fly.

[James Barber]

Hi Sue,

The part of East Dulwich Road affected, north side of Goose Green, is in South Camberwell ward and although part of East Dulwich not part of East Dulwich ward. Your South Camberwell Labour and Green Party councillors will have been asked to make the decision several times and a public consultation would have been involved. One of the powers the Lib Dems devolved to local councillors at local Community Councils.

Without wanting to second guess why council and fire officers asked for this change. Many of the houses along this road have been highly sub divided - Houses of Multiple Occupation. Such highly sub dividied properties are much much more likely to result in fires where people die. Sometimes multiple deaths. On this basis ensuring fire engines can gain access seems a sensible, if painful for drivers, precaution. Apparently 5% of UK population live in HMO's but 35% of fire deaths and 40% of fire injuries for people living s in HMO's. Total 600 fire deaths and 18,000 fire injuries a year in the UK.

Your suggestion of allowing fire enginer access across Goose Green is appealing but with two lines of parked cars between Goose Green and the houses would'nt actually mean fire fighters could get ladders and kit quickly into the right place. It would also probably result in more restrictions and fewer public events on Goose Green - which would be a shame.

I'd also guess that the pavement after this change could be returned fully to pedestrians which would make walking along here more pleasant and feasible for those with prams and buggies, etc.

[emmallb]

I thought it was just me who was having post go missing!

James - I am happy to give details of the occassions (so far as I can remember them) when my post has gone missing. You will receive my email shortly.

For people who have lost items of post (apologies, I have not read the full thread so I don't know if this has already been mentioned), you might want to drop in to the Silvester Road collection office and see if they have enything for you on the offchance. My boyfriend recently went there to collect something and was also given a package that I had ordered the previous week, but for which I had not been left a card saying it could not be delivered!

[intexasatthe moment]

James - not sure if I should address these to Southwark myself ( perhaps you or someone could give me a link ,not keen to phone ) but

1 I haven't seen any evidence of either Lordship Lane or Barry Rd being gritted .

They seem to be trying to do pavements ,although yesterday's attempts seemed to fail because the grit was so wet that it just clogged the dispenser ( new hand pushed yellow cart things ).

Barry Rd was closed both ways between 4 and 7.30 pm last night with people dragging shopping home to Dawsons Heights ,school kids trying to get home to Croydon because a bendy bus couldn't get any traction and blocked the road.

Barry Rd is now really icy and it would be dreadful if the same thing happened again.

Up at the library junction a van was stuck this morning at 8 30 trying to turn left into Barry Rd so I think parts of Lordship Lane not too good either.

Will they be gritted later ,earlier ,whenever deemed most effective ,today ?

2 The treatment to the junction of Eynella and Court Lane with it's raised hump and paviours ( called that ? )has made that area really prone to freezing and has for last few weeks been like an ice rink. Probably not noticeable at moment because everywhere icy.

I guess the stone blocks freeze/are more slippery than the usual tarmac road surface ?

If I guess right - surely bad idea to have at road junctions ?

[Eileen]

Hi suzyq - I am surprised you didn't hear about this before as you live in the road. There should have been a thorough consultation process. It would be a good idea to email your ward councillors to ask them how it was all handled so at least you could register your concern and find out how you didn't hear and what the flaws in the process were. Your councillors are:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

I live not far away and I haven't heard anything about this either. Leaving aside the merits of the issue, the consultation should have got to those affected. We need to know why it didn't so I hope you can email the councillors and post up to tell us the response - maybe best as a new thread? - this isn't in James Barber's East Dulwich ward (right on the boundary.

suzyq Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I am dismayed with the new parking restrictions

> that the council are bringing in along East

> Dulwich Road, the side which runs behind

> Goosegreen. Whilst I appreciate that the ...

> >

> I have lived in this road since 1987 ...

> When I phoned the council department concerned I

> was told that the decision to implement this had

> already been taken and as a resident if I could

> not find a parking space it wasn't their concern

> Could you please look into this?

> Thank you

> Sue Jarvie

[James Barber]

Hi Eileen,

She did start a new thread at the same time.

[James Barber]

Hi intexasatthe moment,

I'm disappointed that after so much gritting that roads have still frozen up. I can assure you Barry Road and lordship Lane as main roads have been gritting repeatedly. But with temperatures below freezing and apparently -6 degrees C last night the salt/grit combination doesn't work well at all. In some locations I've seen about an inch of ice and then through that frozen salt. This morning Lordship Lane looked fine around Goose Green with relatively free pavements.

On the salt/grit being too wet to work. I've been seeking Southwark investing in a salt barn but they cost ?200,000. Officers this year have been using a cover system. If it's failed to keep the salt/grit at the right moisture content I'll be asking about salt barns again.

[legalbeagle]

Hi James - I know that the council are doing their best, and it is appreciated. Any ideas if there are plans to treat some of the roads off Townley Road? I live on Beauval which is very treacherous especially since it's a hill. I have noticed Woodwarde and others nearby in a similar condition. I do realise that lots of side roads are in the same state and that main roads are the sensible priority, but do you know whether there are plans to treat the side roads too?