former East Dulwich councillor - how can I help?

[EDmummy]

I had heard that there were plans to close the bottom end of North Cross Road on a Saturday for the market. Is this the case and if so, what is the timescale?

[Jessie]

James, you write "all children were found suitable places" re primary places. I disagree vehemently. I have PMed you.

[TJ]

Dear James,

I notice Crystal Palace Road was receiving a new pavement - which is great, but i would like to bring the state of the Lordship Lane pavement to your attention.

The main drag from the EDT, past Northcross road up to the police station (mainly that side of the road) is awful. Holes, mismatched slabs, various trees, roots and street furniture all over the place.

I think it is GREAT some shops spill out onto the pavement as it really adds character and makes for a really cool bustling environment, however, this does mean the space left on the public footpath really needs looking at.

I appreciate it is a very expensive task, but really, it is becoming essential. We have already had injuries outside the Bishop due to a hole and I am sure more will appear soon.

What actions / reviews have already taken place, and what are the plans for this?

Thanks

[James Barber]

Hi TJ,

Much of the pavement you reference is actually owned by the freeholders and not Southwark Council. Some is Southwark Council owned and controlled. This makes is rather complicated to give a uniform pavement. If we had the cash, which the ED cllrs are working on finding, every one of those businesses would have to agree to share that space for us to pave uniformly - else we'd be spending public money for private gain.

On the tree pits. I'll make a point of reporting specific tree pits when I'm next strolling along or if you beat me to it feel free to report them 020 7525 2000 and let me know how you get on.

[James Barber]

Hi EDmummy,

We've allocated ?25,000 for improvements to Northcross market.

What those improvements will look like is debatable. One view is eletric points so that generators by the vans and stalls aren't necessary. Other have suggested closing the entrance with Lordship Lane on Saturday.

What's clear is we need to ask reisdents, shops, stall holders what they think would make the market more successful while making life better for residents.

What do you think would make the market more successful?

[EDmummy]

Local opinion should definitely be canvassed with the local residents if any roads are to be closed. I personally would love to see the LL end of the road closed and the idea of electric points is great. I am sure the stallholders also have some great ideas on improvement. If the stalls were able to face towards the road on each side it would leave space on the pavement for the double buggies etc., but I wonder whether the local shop owners would like the foot traffic away from their shops?

[Mark]

Hi James and thanks for coming on the forum.

I'd love to see Northcross Rd closed on a Saturday to improve the market and it would make it a great focal point for shoppers. I also believe it would encourage foot traffic towards other local shops, not away from them.

[sophiesofa]

I also vote for closing northcross road closed on a saturday. The electric points sound like a great idea too.

[Sue]

I live in a road off North Cross Road, and closing NCR would be very inconvenient if I want to wreck the environment by going somewhere in my car on a Saturday.

NIMBY!!

Edited to say: Actually I don't feel that strongly about it :)

[James Barber]

I was corrected when I said 'all children were found a suitable place'. So technically and complacently I was right - all kids were offered school places within the legally required 2 miles of home. Most less than a mile from home. A small number were not offered schools they necessarilly would wish to attend for a host of reasons and for those families they will never agree a 'suitable place' was found. Some of these reasons being contentious. We will never create 'middle class' primary schools and 'working class' primary schools despite requests for this.

What this makes crystal clear to me is that we must ensure that even though our school are improving at the highest improvement rate in the UK that this must be sustained until they're all good or outstanding. That no one ever feels the need to question the prevailing ethnicity or class structure of a school because it's so damned good and welcoming.

What would help immensely is more people putting themselves forward to become governors. Please do take a look into whether you have something to offer to help govern and improve a local Southwark school:

School Governors

[James Barber]

FYI - last night Southwarks main planning committee GRANTED planning permission for a new Integrated Waste Management Facility on the Old Kent Road. This single item took over 4 hours of debate by the committee. Meaning that the committe sat until 1am.

This new facility when completed in about 15 months time will enable recycling rates to climb form the current 21% to over 50%. This can't happen soon enough.

[EmmaG]

Being "most improved" school doesn't mean the school is good. It could mean that the starting point was so low that any improvement is magnificent. My school never improves (it's hard to improve on 88% As and A*s) but there were still 1400 kids applying for 120 places last year.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Hi James

Does St John's & St Clement's School at Goose Green come under your patch?

If so, would it be possible to consider removing the yellow zigzags that are in Amott Road? It is not used by the children at all, the only ingress/egress is from teachers in cars who use the lower playground as a car park.

As you can imagine, parking is tight around school pick up and drop off times and during events. Removing the zigzags would allow us more local parking.

With the school and church in the same road, parking is sometimes an issue.

many thanks.

[James Barber]

Hi Jeremy,

One of your queries was about the historic listed Concrete House. This building has been on the English Heritage ar risk register for some years and to save it Southwark Council decided earlier this year after exhausting all other avenues to persue the Compulsory Purchase Order route. This purchase is supported by the Heritage for London Trust.

The current position is that Southwark Council have filed CPO papers with the Government Office of London. As both owners have objected to the CPO, it will go to a public inquiry with a date yet to be set.

However a last meeting with the Concrete House owners may take place.

[James Barber]

Hi Peckhamgatecrasher,

This school is in The Lane ward but I suspect I have an answer for you.

School Keep Clear hatched areas are meant to ensure children can cross roads close to schools without having to cross between parked cars when they are not so visible or can see as much. But if no children are crossing at this point then it would be superfluous or should be located at a different spot.

A happy side effect if these hatched areas is that they create somewhere for fire engines to park during school emergencies.

You should ask your local councillors to ask for a review of this hatched area if you are sure no children cross their. Please be really sure as such a review would probably need a formal investigation involving video recording and traffic counters ie. not trivial amount of money or officer time. It would also need the support of the school.

If you get stuck let me know.

[Gimme]

Can I take it that the lack of reply again (for the fourth time I think) is a sign that you're going to take a pass on the problem of a flagrant breach of the Southwark Road Safety Plan on Matham Grove again?

Would you prefer I bothered someone else with that one and came up with a new issue for you?

[James Barber]

Hi gimme,

Please take a look at james barber for latest info. on the speed reduction we've been working on.

to add to that post. we're waiting the details of the traffic counts behind the mean average and 85 percentile to see whatthe range of the median speeds looks like.

when we have that we can decide which streets are the highest priority for physical measures. Personally I would anticipate Matham Grove being one of them.

so you're not being ignored. Far from. But to do things properly and fairly rather than by who screams the loudest takes time. Sometimes much more time than I'd like.

[Gimme]

Councillor Barber,

Thanks for replying. I've read your piece and am pleased to hear that this is being discussed.

However, I spoke recently to Todd Strehlow who I think heads up the traffic planning at the council and he said that Matham Grove had not been selected and that Melbourne Grove, Derwent Grove and Elsie Road were the ones that would get traffic calming. He explained that there was no budget for doing more than just those streets. However, if the head of traffic planning is talking cobblers and you are still to make a decision, I'd be delighted if it was Matham Grove that is selected.

In the meantime, Mick Lucas, who has responsibility for road signs, has apparently been asked to remove the ruddy great sign directing A-road traffic from ED Grove down Matham Grove. He appears to have ignored repeated requests by Mr Strehlow for over 14 months now. This is a blatant, blatant breach of the Road Safety Plan (this is not "council failing to identify rat-run", this is "council pro-actively trying to create a rat run"!). Perhaps you could give him a shove and get him to do the right thing?

I eagerly look forward to further developments.

Thanks again

Gimme

[Jeremy]

Thanks for the info on the concrete house. It seems as though the process has not moved along as far as some of us would have hoped, but at least it sounds like Southwark are trying.

An update on the block at the far south-east of the dog kennel hill estate would be useful, if you can find that out. Also the derelict council flats on the corner of Pytchley Rd and Bromar Rd (this is technically Camberwell, but I was told that it falls under the same project as the DKH estate renovations).

[Gimme]

Another thread for your attention Councillor Barber:

You may want to look at the thread on EDF Gossip and Info entitled Traffic Wardens.

It seems that there is a widespread perception that Southwark traffic wardens are guilty of committing fairly serious traffic offences. I particularly liked / disliked the story about the guy driving while trying to write out a parking ticket.... That sounds a lot more dangerous than the activity he was trying to stop.

Your traffic wardens are one of the most visible public faces of Southwark Council (apart from perhaps the totally ineffectual community wardens) so perhaps they should be educated on traffic law before they damage your reputation further. I've personally seen them ticketing cars for being parked in front of disabled ramps, while themselves being parked in front of a disabled ramp and have seen them ticketing people for parking on double yellow lines while they themselves are parked on the very same double yellow line.

[KalamityKel]

Re: East Dulwich councillor - can I help?

From: JBARBER

To:

KalamityKel

Date: 09/09/2009 11:47

Hi KalamityKel,

Roughly 30 doors are knocked on for every hour of canvassing for issues. Roughly 15% of those 30 doors knocked on have some one in. So roughly 5 people an hour actually talked to.

We've tried evenings, Saturday and Sundays during the day. Sunday evenings. We have'nt tried Saturday evenings as our families do like to see us occassionally.

As we have day jobs we have'nt tried mon-fri during the day time. I keep my work holiday for family holidays, looking after the kids during school holidays and occassional daytime councillor engagements. This doesn't seem unreasonable.

If you'd ever like us to knock on your door say where and when.

Regards james

In reply to [www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk]

KalamityKel Wrote:

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

> JBARBER Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Hi EDmummy,

> > Every month I spend a long day knocking on East

> > Dulwich doors with my ward colleagues. Simple

> > maths says with 5,200 doors at rate of 30 doors

> an

> > hour it takes sometime for us to knock on every

> > door. Equally we find about 15% of homes have

> > people in when we call.

>

> How do you figure the maths on that? 85% of

> residents are out when you call? how does that

> equate to 30 doors an hour? If such a high

> percentage of residents are not in when you knock

> have you considered knocking at a time when people

> are likely to be?

> Why must councillors always present things in

> figures? come on like we're interested in that

> kind of waffle! We much prefer things to actually

> BE done...

>

> Can't say I've had yourself OR one of your

> "colleagues" knocking on my door in the last few

> months unless you've knocked on the possible 10%

> chance that someone was not in.

Typical response from a Lim Dem councillor shouldn't have expected any better.

Yes I appreciate you have family and a life but so does everyone else and don't complain about it.

If you can't juggle all your responsibilities...

[Moos]

I didn't read the response as complaining so much as explaining.

[KalamityKel]

Maybe one did not need an explanation.

If an explanation was really necessary was there a need 2 do it via a PM? I dont recall requesting one or even expressing a desire 2 discuss anything further.

[RosieH]

Well KK, it seems that in your post you asked 5 questions: I only read one of them as rhetorical, so that would suggest that you did want to discuss things further (or at the very least, that you were expecting some kind of response to 4 questions).

Perhaps James thought that it would be helpful to do it via PM rather than publicly as you had asked the question.

Why did you feel the need to post the PM on the forum? Don't really understand what you're complaining about here...

[Mick Mac]

hello quids