Author: thurlowparklabour

Thurlow Park's Labour councillors sharing news and ways to get involved in the local area - including West Norwood, Herne Hill, Tulse Hill and West Dulwich.

Update: the consultation on a bus to Peabody Hill

Between June and September last year, there was a public consultation about a proposed extension to the 315 bus to Peabody Hill. 

We expected to be able to share feedback from the consultation in January. However, as over 500 responses were received, it is taking TfL longer than usual to compile their report – the responses were very detailed and they are drafting responses to the long list of questions raised. 

We met with officers recently and discussed timelines for feedback. We expect to have both a Consultation Report and “Response to Issues Raised” by the end of February and will share them both here as soon as we receive them.

Nominate your street!

Lambeth Council’s street improvements team is inviting each ward to nominate three roads and three pavements we would like to be resurfaced, as part of our manifesto pledge in 2014 to repave 130 miles of road and pavement.

So, we’d like to hear from you! Does your road need an upgrade? Let us know so that we can organise a walkabout to each road nominated. 

A number of streets have already been improved. Currently, Lovelace Road’s pavements are being repaved – we look forward to the work being completed!

Streetworks – codesign the gyratory

It’s that time again when we invite you to get involved in Streetworks. Tuesday evening is the next in the series of workshops to improve West Norwood and Tulse Hill and we hope that many of you will come and have your say.

  • When: Tuesday 9th February 6.30pm
  • Where: the HUB, 357 Norwood Road (near Tulse Hill Station, by the pedestrian crossing over the gyratory)

Streetworks grew out of a community petition to the Mayor of London to invest in improving streets in West Norwood and Tulse Hill. It has continued to be community-led and since the summer there have been monthly workshops to codesign changes to the neighbourhood. We have also helped to run and fund events and activities in the community – from a Wiggle and Rhyme picnic at the Old Library in West Norwood and a student-led project at Elmgreen School, to a Christmas party and discussion on the St Martins Estate and a tea party with the Norwood Pensioners’ Group. 

So far we have been focusing on Norwood Road and Station Rise. The next workshop will focus on the one-way system – please bring your ideas and aspirations! We have a real opportunity to transform our area and we need everyone’s input.

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Here are local residents discussing parking at StreetWorks co-design workshop for Norwood Road and Tulse Hill. Streetworks is the £7million community led project to improve the street on Norwood Road funded by Transport for London. If you live, work, study, or travel in the area get involved. hello@streetworks.london www.streetworks.london

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Lottery grant for “magnificent” West Norwood Cemetery

West Norwood has been granted a fantastic £4.8m from the Lottery. Friends of West Norwood Cemetery said the £4.8m investment would be spent on improving the cemetery’s drainage, footpaths and entrance gates.The money will also be used for works on an area reserved for the Greek Orthodox community – known as the “necropolis” or “cemetery within a cemetery”.

For more information take a look here and at the article in the BBC.

Notable people buried at West Norwood Cemetery

  • Isabella Beeton (1836-1865) – Author of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management
  • Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) – Inventor of the Bessemer converter, which helped mass-produce steel
  • Sir Henry Doulton (1820-1897) – Businessman, inventor and pottery manufacturer
  • Sir Henry Tate (1819-1899) – Sugar merchant who founded the Tate gallery
  • Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916) – Inventor of the Maxim machine gun

Contacting the police

There was some discussion at the recent panel meeting about ways to contact police. The SNT are not a 24/7 team, so if emails are sent or messages left on the answerphone, they may not be picked up for 2 days then sometimes its too late for the issue to be dealt with effectively. Below is a list of the various ways police can be contacted and for which issues.  

101 – call this number for non-emergencies.  You can call 101 to report a crime that has already happened, seek crime prevention advice or make us aware of any policing issues in your local area .

Online reporting – A limited number of crimes can be reported online, these include thefts, damage to property, hate crimes and fraud.  Visit https://online.met.police.uk/ in order to report.

Reporting Crime – This can either be done by calling 101 or reporting online at https://online.met.police.uk/.  (Please note – Messages should not be left on the SNT mobile or sent to the email inbox to report crime.  This is because if we are not on duty, forensic/suspect opportunities may be lost by waiting a couple of days.)

Reporting Anti-Social Behaviour –  There are many types of antic-social behaviour and not all should be reported to the police.  Please follow this link for more information –  http://content.met.police.uk/Article/How-do-I-report-ASB/1400022085967/1400022085967

Safer Neighbourhood Team by email/phone – The SNT can be contacted for various community issues from neighbour problems to anti social behaviour.  If we can’t help we will try and point you in the right direction.  Please be aware that the SNT are not a 24/7 service and therefore, by leaving a message or sending an email, you may not receive a response for a couple of days.  Please do not use this phone number to report crime, please call 101.

Bridge over Troubled Traffic*

A big thank you to residents and David McKenna from TfL for yesterday’s meeting about bridge strikes on the railway over the South Circular. 

It was a very productive meeting looking at – 

  • Bridge strike statistics – Thurlow Park has the most bridge strikes in the country
  • Impact on the local area of bridge strikes – economic cost of delayed journeys, effect on air pollution, impact on Lancaster Avenue when it is used to divert traffic, road safety, damage to bridge, cost to train operating companies
  • Long term strategy – David and his team are developing the business case for lowering the road as a way to prevent bridge strikes and to remove the need to divert any traffic down Lancaster Avenue. This will take some time because it is a complicated engineering challenge thanks to bridge foundations and the sewer. It will also have a huge impact on the road, as it would have to be closed for the works to be completed.
  • Short term strategy – David is installing better signage within the next 4 months. These will be “smart”, triggered only by oversized vehicles which should mean they are more effective. CCTV will be installed to monitor and measure impact

Our next steps as a community are to – 

  1. The community will write to the mayoral and GLA candidates requesting that they all prioritise this issue.
  2. David will feedback based on questions raised by attendees, including about whether lorry drivers and their companies can be prosecuted or fined when they hit the bridge, more data, maps showing locations of signs and how the community can support his business case. 
  3. The signs will be installed within the next 4 months.
  4. Feasibility studies will be developed, beginning now. This may include some drill holes and radars to identify services underground. These will be ongoing for the next few months.
  5. Once a new London Mayor and GLA member are in post, we will organise a meeting to request that this is high on their agenda.
  6. We will organise a progress meeting in approx. 6 months where David can share how he’s getting on. We can invite Network Rail and Thames Water, as appropriate. 

Thank you LARA for organising the meeting and Rosemead for hosting. If you would like to be involved in this project but weren’t aware of or able to attend the meeting, please get in touch on abirley@lambeth.gov.uk

*excuse the pun, borrowed from Richard Alford on Lancaster Avenue!