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.

Ardlui and Chatsworth to get a green upgrade

Ardlui Road and Chatsworth Way sit above the old River Effra, one of London’s lost rivers which runs through south London. This can put the streets at higher flood risk – In the past, when there were fewer paved surfaces, this wouldn’t cause a problem because the earth would slow down the water’s progress and there was time for it to drain away. However, the tarmac and concrete in London mean rainwater enters sewers and underground waterways very quickly. At times of heavy rainfall, this can mean that they overrun and flood the street.

To tackle this in Ardlui and Chatsworth, Lambeth, with Sustrans, will be putting in “sustainable urban drainage” – on the surface, these will look like beautiful new green pavements with flower beds and plants. However, below the ground, they will be deep enough to slow down the progress of water, giving it time to drain away without flooding.

You can also help reduce flood risk by “depaving” your garden. The council can help you do with by providing tools, support and waste clearance. A number of local residents depaved their front gardens recently and we would be happy to put you in touch with the council officers running the programme if you’re also interested in this.

Edible Living – free gardening sessions support food growing – Lambeth Living talk Thurlow Park’s Lairdale estate

New food gardens are growing in Lambeth estates with a little professional help from Ruth Arnott, who has been hired by Lambeth Living to help residents make their gardens sustainable. One estate to benefit is Lairdale Estate, where Andy Begley is the resident with ‘green fingers’. “You blink and the tomatoes grow,” he says with a big smile. “People on the Estate really enjoy gardening, we have been taking turns for watering and we had weekly meetings in the garden.”

Do you want to be a Street Champion?

Does your street suffer from litter, dumped watse or dog fouling? Would you, and your street, be willing to work with the council to be a stop to it?

We know from speaking to residents that living in a clean street encourages a sense of belonging and pride is important to lots of people. We are comitted to maintaining clean streets and we want to work with you to riase the standards and ensure you can be proud of where you live.

By working with your neighbours and the council to find the best solution for your street you can have a direct impact on these issues.

As a Street Champion you will have access to:
1. a number of courses such as Gardening Advice /Engaging with your neighbours and DIY skills
2. Receive publis recognition for your contribution with a meet the Mayor day
3. Become part of our ‘Do the Right Thing’ campaign
4. Receive a free Street Champion pack to identify you as a Stree Champion

Getting involved in your community can bring real benefits, so if you like to know more please contact us or you can email the council on streetchampions@lambeth.go.uk

The Tulse Hill Tavern’s licence was approved on Tuesday 12 August as the Licensing Committee discussed the proposal. Residents were concerned about possible noise levels and we are pleased that the licence has been taken back to 1am when it was originally licensed until 3am, and that recorded music will be restricted to internal play only. A noise limiter will also be installed. Though some questions were raised about the lack of door staff the Licensing Committee were satisfied that this was sufficiently addressed by the representatives from Green King.

We are pleased that residents, business and the Council have worked together and listened to each other to bring a ‘high end’ establishment that will also hopefully see locally recruited staff. We look forward to the pub opening in November 2014.

Portico Gallery hosts the ‘The Happening’

Max and Fred spent yesterday morning with Rheanne Gonyou, the West Norwood Business Manager, as we talked to residents about their wishes and wants for Norwood Road. Cash points, cleaner streets, tackling unused shops, road improvements and the need for better, more child friendly cafés were some of the issues discussed.

Jamal of the the Norwood Community Group was pleased to be involved and share some of his expertise and experiences with those from the local community visiting the Portico Gallery interested in discussing youth work.

The Open Works: Re-imagining how we live our everyday life

The aim of the Cooperative Council is to forge a new relationship with citizens, placing local residents at the heart of all its work to make Lambeth a good place to live.

The Open Works is an experimental project aiming to transform how residents live their every day life. They involve citizens and professionals from across the council and partners, working with the local community.

The first stage of The Open Works began in February 2014. Some of the projects include; a community borrowing shop where local people can lend and borrow things they need; a Trade School where anyone can teach something they are skilled at, or passionate about. They can even pay for class with a barter item (like food, supplies, or advice), and there is a project where people come together to batch cook meals and take home potions for the week.

These are all excellent projects. If you have a project idea please see – http://www.theopenworks.org/tell-us-your-project-idea

For further information or contact entails of those at The Open Works please see – http://www.theopenworks.org/contact/

Since June 2014 the Lairdale Residents Association led by Zarah and with the green gardening fingers of Andy have been working on their very own vegetable patch. As these pictures show there is plenty to show for their efforts – tomatoes, corn, salad, herbs, cucumber and aubergines. It’s a lovely way for those on the estate to get to know one another and to use up space that was not being used. Look out for more crops soon!

Opportunity for local craft workers – All Saints Church

The annual Community Autumn Fair run by 4ALL – Building Community in West Dulwich takes place on Saturday 20 September.

If you have things to sell – crafts, jewellery, foods etc – why not think about taking a stall? The cost is just £20. This is a great opportunity to connect with a really local audience.

For more information email Chrisopher at christopher@the-picks.co.uk or call 07432 118859.

Residents, cafe and licensing working together

Yesterday it was agreed by the Licensing Committee that an application for the Chocolate & Champagne cafe – 463 Norwood Road – would been granted. The premises will be licenced from 7 am to 8pm during the week and 7 am and 11 pm over the weekends.

As residents have been concerned about the proposed licensing application due to historical problems on the site it’s great that the cafe, the residents and licensing have worked so closely together to find a solution which everyone was happy with.

The café will be run as a restaurant /cafe but it’s also a bakery. As the owner will be installing large bakery equipment in the basement there should be little excuse for late night noise. Otherwise, the terms and conditions of the license mean that there will be security staff needed on Friday and Saturday nights though within six months time – provided there are no complaints from the local community – this condition could be reviewed.

If you believe there are any activities going at Chocolate & Champagne that go beyond 8 pm on the weekdays or 11 pm on weekdays please let us know.