Speaking out against the Tories’ failed universal credit rollout and supporting local residents feeling the impact

Last night, Lambeth Council debated the rollout of universal credit, calling on the Conservative Government to listen to the examples from across the country on the flaws and failures of the rollout, and to pause the scheme until it has fixed the significant problems that are causing misery for too many residents.

Thurlow Park councillor, Anna Birley, spoke in favour of Labour’s motion – standing up for residents impacted by benefits cuts and sanctions, calling for proper funding for local councils to provide support and a national safety net which doesn’t push people into poverty or harm.

Her speech said:

“Tonight, I
want to talk about financial resilience.

“But first,
I’ll share a story about one of my residents. I bumped into her as she was
begging for food from a local corner shop. We talked about her situation and
she revealed that her benefits had been stopped as she had missed a couple of
appointments – originally because of a bereavement but when the sanctions meant
she couldn’t afford proper food, she could no longer take her medication on an
empty stomach so missed another meeting from ill health. After two sanctions,
she could no longer afford the bus fare either.

“I drove her
to her next appointments and after some fraught meetings, and support from
Lambeth’s Every Pound Counts and emergency support scheme, we got things back
on track. But the health impact and the trauma of the experience of having so
little she had to unscrew lightbulbs and stop eating will stay with her
forever.

“A benefits
system which forces claimants to wait up to 6 weeks for a payment, and which
has shown from its rollout so far to be flawed in its design and
implementation, will push more people into the same unacceptably difficult circumstances
that my resident experienced.

“For example,
81% of tenants on Universal Credit are currently in rent arrears compared to
38% of all Lambeth tenancies.

“And we
mustn’t lose sight of the fact that most people claim benefits precisely
because they are already in difficult personal circumstances. They have lost
their job, gotten sick, or broken up with a partner and had to move house.

“Those same
circumstances make dealing with bureaucracy more challenging. When the computer
says no, the fact that it stops a single payment of all the benefits rolled up
together can disrupt the only assistance people are getting.

“I’m really
proud of the support that Lambeth provides its residents who are struggling.
Our One Lambeth Advice service has supported over 12,000 residents – over half
of which already related to benefits issues. In the absence of a proper
national safety net, our discretionary housing payment scheme, council tax
support scheme and emergency support are some of the most generous in London –
helping residents with rent, white goods, food, fuel, council tax and
furniture.

“But in an
increasingly flawed national context, even this isn’t enough. 40,000 Lambeth
residents are likely to be affected by the rollout in our borough, and as the
Conservative Government continues to cut the council’s budget and close our Job
Centres, our ability to deliver the financial advice and support that we’re so
proud of to our affected residents becomes harder. The Government must take
urgent action to properly fund local councils to provide vital support and
pause the rollout until it has fixed the significant problems being experienced
across the country.”

The Labour motion is here:

Rosendale Playing Fields – planning consultation begins

Back in October 2017 we wrote on this blog the latest update on the situation regarding the proposed fence. Though we were hoping the planning consultation would begin in December 2017 it is now underway. Lambeth Council have sent a letter to local residents that might be affected by such a proposal.

As you may recall this has been an on-going issue for some time. Following a review of the condition of the fencing around the perimeter of the fields and previous residents engagement we feel it’s necessary to upgrade the existing fencing with new, robust materials.

Three local schools make use of the facilities at Rosendale Playing Fields for physical education activities and outdoor learning. It is also home to the Lambeth & Southwark Primary Schools Football League and its 35 schools that play competitive football every Saturday morning of term time and occasional spring afternoons. Safeguarding these children while they’re making use of the facilities is a priority, as well as making sure that the area remains free from damage that might be caused through anti-social behaviour by people accessing the fields and vandalising the area.

The fence that is currently in place is wooden picket style fencing and we feel that at present, it doesn’t meet our standards and requirements for keeping the area secure, and as part of the Lambeth Parks Capital Investment Plan, we’ve made funds available to install a new perimeter fence around the full boundary of the facility.

This will certainly ensure that all children are safeguarded more effectively, and will also mean that more sport and outdoor learning resources such as new football goals and cricket nets can be installed, free in the knowledge that they won’t be affected by vandalism, which has also been an ongoing concern for its users.

In effect, the proposal is the replacement of the existing timber (picket-style) perimeter fencing with 2.4m high Protek 2000 perimeter fencing. The existing timber double leaf gates will be replaced by Protek Spectator gates designed to compliment the robustness and design of the Protek 2000 fencing.

Details of the planning application, including the drawings and any other related documents can be viewed on the council’s website (www.lambeth.gov.uk/planningdatabase), which also provides detailed information about the planning process, a frequently asked questions page, details of council policies relating to development (Lambeth Local Plan 2015) and links to other useful Planning websites. Comments are to be submitted online through our Planning applications database (www.lambeth.gov.uk/planningdatabase) and searching for the application reference:18/00156/RG3.

 To discuss this application, please contact the Case Officer, Mr Gareth Ball, on telephone number 020 7926 0541, or via email: GBall2@lambeth.gov.uk.

UPDATE – 07 February 2018

Having worked with officers we can inform residents that the deadline for submissions to the planning consultation has been extended. The Planning Department have therefore requested site notices be printed and a press notice be issued, which should help inform the wider public of the proposal.

Site notices were placed/issued on 09 February 2018 which means therefore that the new expiry of the consultation period is set for Friday 02 March 2018.

Lambeth Council announced a new wave of tree planting in the borough, including various roads in Thurlow Park. We’ve always championed the planting of trees in the ward and are really pleased that this further programme will bring the overall number of trees Lambeth wide since 2009 up to 4,000.

This is good news for our community and continues our pledge to make local streets cleaner and greener for residents.

The planting of new trees will include:

Ardlui Raod
Lancaster Avenue
Romola Road
Rosendale Road
Thurlow Hill

Whilst contributing to creating a more attractive environment for all, tree planting will also improve the overall environmental quality, (including air quality and noise reduction), of our roads and local community.

The tree species will be carefully selected and will be appropriate for their locations.

Trees benefit local communities in many ways including:-
*  They absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which in turn helps to combat climate  change.  
*  They offer not only shade as protection from the sun, but also cool places for people to enjoy  during periods of high temperature.  
*  They intercept rainwater helping to prevent localised flooding.  
*  They are an essential element of our local biodiversity, supporting wildlife through providing  habitats for feeding and breeding as well as shelter.  
*  They can help to reduce noise pollution within the busy environment if they are planted as dense  walls, hedges or avenues.

Join our meeting on improving the private rented sector in West Norwood

House prices are putting homeownership out of reach and by the end of 2021 it is predicted that almost one in four households will be renting privately.

Nowhere is this more acute than in London. In 2011-12 the proportion of private tenants in London rose above the proportion of social rented tenants for the first time since the mid-1960s, and this number continues to rise. A growing number of our residents in Thurlow Park, and across West Norwood and Herne Hill, rent privately.

Most private landlords want to ‘do the right thing’ by their tenants but they often lack the knowledge or support to get this right. Other landlords make the most of the unregulated nature of the private rented market. We know from our own experiences of renting locally, that the sector needs to improve. Too often at our advice surgeries hear stories from residents with issues ranging from damp and mismanagement, to excessive lettings agent fees and unfair evictions.

A third of private rented homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard and stagnant wages cannot keep pace with spiralling rents. The housing benefit freeze mean many in the private rented sector now face a substantial monthly shortfall between the housing benefit they receive and even the cheapest rents.

We believe the private rented sector must improve – so we are setting up a new group for private renters in West Norwood so that we can campaign for change. By coming together, we can share our experiences, support each other, and have a louder voice.

Please join our first meeting on 25^th January to talk about how we can work together locally to improve the private rented sector. We have booked a space at Knowles of Norwood, 294-296 Norwood Road, from 7pm, and will be joined by a speaker from Generation Rent. Let us know you’re coming on Facebook.

If you can’t make it, we still want to hear about your experiences – positive and negative – and your ideas to improve private renting for everyone. Please fill in our survey and let us know your views.

Our view on major events in Brockwell Park

Yesterday evening Thurlow Park’s
Labour councillors hosted a public meeting to listen to the views and concerns
of local residents on possible events in Brockwell Park. Since Lovebox and
Field Day, two major events organisers, announced that they were applying to
move their festivals to Brockwell Park in 2018, this is just one of the ways we
have been listening to residents and seeking feedback – we have also heard from
over 100 of you by email, engaged with groups and individuals on social media,
doorknocked locally, and met with parks groups and local resident associations.

No decision has been taken
on the applications submitted by Lovebox and Field Day, and we wanted to ensure
that our residents’ views help to shape the way we challenge and scrutinise
these applications.

Events in our parks are part of a
difficult balancing act – since the Tory Government cut Lambeth’s funding by
over 50%, our parks need income in order to keep them maintained and looked
after. However, large events have a major impact on local residents and on the
fabric of the park – in terms of noise, disruption to transport, a large part
of the park fenced off for a significant period of the summer, anti-social
behaviour, loss of income for local traders, and the sheer volume of people
coming and going. Brockwell Park is such a vital part of our community that any
decision as to its future has to be taken very carefully.

Until
Brockwell Hall is refurbished and able to host such events as weddings and
conferences that would bring in sufficient income for the park, we understand
the need for some events to keep the park usable for everyone the rest of the
year round. However, we have some red lines on their scale and impact, which we
developed after listening to the concerns of residents.

We
believe applications from event organisers should meet these criteria:

40,000 people, as
proposed by Lovebox and Field Day, is too big for a park the size of Brockwell. We believe around 25,000 people per-day
should be the ceiling for large commercial events in the park.
Outsized
or large events which involve more than 20,000 people per day over multiple days must be limited to one a
year. There simply isn’t the scope alongside hosting the Country Show to
have more than one major commercial event and keep the park running for all
users to enjoy.
Set-up
and pack-down times must be kept to a minimum. The current proposals from
Lovebox and Field day shut off a significant portion of the park for many weeks
over the summer – this is unacceptable. Event days and set up and set down days
are the same thing for many park users who are blocked from their regular use
of the park.
The
‘footprint’ of the event must be limited and the days the park is fenced off
must be kept to a minimum.
Any
commercial event in Brockwell Park should be an accredited London Living Wage
employer, and should make this a condition in their contracts and
sub-contracts.
Commercial
events organisers should have a local procurement strategy – councillors
and the local community should have a key role in designing this strategy and
an ongoing role in monitoring its implementation.
Event
organisers should have a robust and detailed local travel plan that takes
into account not only Brixton tube station, but Tulse Hill and Herne Hill
stations, local buses, parking and pedestrian congestion.
On top of paying for additional policing, commercial event organisers should have
visible security staff in surrounding streets to prevent anti-social behaviour.
The wellbeing of local residents should be at the heart of any event organiser’s event planning and delivery. There should be a dedicated number for residents to call and a quick response time to any issues raised such as excessive noise.
As well as paying for the clear-up in the park
afterwards, events organisers should be
responsible for clear-up outside the park’s fences too – from littering,
anti-social behaviour and damage to property.
Any
commercial event organisers coming to Brockwell Park must provide high quality
apprenticeships to local young people. The number of apprenticeships should
be proportional to the size of the event.

As it currently stands, neither
event meets our criteria, so we oppose either application being progressed
unless they are prepared to make significant changes to their events.

From what we understand to date, Lovebox
have not yet made any indication they are willing to reduce the size of their
event, and have refused our request to stop selling tickets until their
application has been progressed. For this reason, we do not currently think
Lovebox should come to Brockwell Park.

Field Day have suggested that they are open to making some
changes to their application and we are open to working with to see if
something can be delivered that works for the park.

We also believe that it is not
appropriate to offer multi-year deals to new events. As we saw with Sunfall,
some event companies promise one thing but fail to deliver, causing disruption
and damage. We think an annual review of applications allows councillors and
the community the opportunity to reject event organisers who have proven
themselves to be irresponsible.

In assessing these applications,
we have identified some areas where Lambeth’s event strategy may need benefit
from a refresh – for example, it currently only talks about event days and does
not take into account how long it takes companies to set up and pack down their
stages and equipment. We think this is an opportunity to involve experts and
members of the community to address issues like access to the park, event
footprints and duration, an upper limit on volume of people, noise, anti-social
behaviour and other local impacts.

We also believe it is an opportunity
for a transparent discussion about park finances and the need for investment,
and to develop a stronger commercial offer which adds greater value to our
local community in the future for events wanting to come to Brockwell Park.

Parking, Harpenden Road & new Zebra crossing proposal

Lambeth Council have issued a notice about proposals to ban vehicles proceeding in Norwood Road (with the exception of cyclists) from entering Harpenden Road, ban vehicles (all vehicles) exiting Harpenden Road from turning right into Norwood Road, make changes to the existing residents’ and shared use parking places in Harpenden Road and impose at any time waiting restrictions (double yellow lines) at those locations instead.

The notice also looks to re-define the existing free limited time parking places so they better reflect the situation on the ground, install a new entry treatment (road hump) in Harpenden Road at its junction with Norwood Road and provide a new zebra pedestrian crossing in Norwood Road by Harpenden Road.

The general effect of the Orders would be:–

(a) to remove a length of shared use parking place outside Nos. 1 to 7 Harpenden Road and reduce a length of shared use parking place in Harpenden Road at the side of Nos. 248/250 Norwood Road and impose at “any time” waiting restrictions (double yellow lines) instead;

(b) ban vehicles proceeding in Harpenden Road from turning right into Norwood Road;

(d) impose a compulsory left turn from Harpenden Road into Norwood Road;

(e) redefine the length of certain existing Free Limited Time parking places in Harpenden Road so that they better reflect the situation on the ground (there will be no change to the terms and conditions of use).

All objections and other representations relating to the proposed Orders, cycle tracks or pedestrian crossings must be made in writing and all objections must specify the grounds on which they are made and should be sent to Barbara Poulter, Highways and Enforcement Group, Lambeth Council, 5th Floor, Blue Star House, 234-244 Stockwell Road, London SW9 9SP, by 5th January 2018.

Have your say on our school admission arrangements 2019/20

Lambeth Council is aware that for parents/carers and children getting a school place can be stressful. That is why Lambeth Council want to ensure that the allocation of school places is clear, objective and provides fair access to our schools – schools that are among the very best in the country and continue to improving teaching and learning.

Lambeth Council want to hear from parents/carers, schools staff, registered early years providers, governing bodies, diocesan representatives or other (relevant religious authorities), admission authorities in other boroughs and anyone who has an interest in the proposed admission arrangements.

Both Rosendale Primary School and The Elmgreen School are consulting on changes to their admission arrangements for the 2019/2020 academic year.

All comments will be taken into consideration in determining our final admission arrangements by 15 January 2018.

Here is the link – https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/school-admission-arrangements-2019-20

Lambeth Council’s consultation on the Local Plan is almost at an end. If you haven’t already you can have your say right now by going to:

lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017

Lambeth is a great place to live, work and invest because of its location, its people, its character and assets. The existing Lambeth Local Plan, adopted in 2015, contains a strong vision for the development of the borough to improve opportunities for local people.

However, Lambeth Council need to partially update it and this updated Lambeth Local Plan, together with the Mayor of London’s London Plan and neighbourhood plans, will set out the vision and robust planning policies needed to direct and guide development in the borough over the next 15 years to meet our future needs.

As a part of updating Lambeth’s Local Plan we are consulting with residents and stakeholders – and want local residents to have your say. You can have your say right now by going to:

lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017

Lambeth Council are at the beginning of the process and this consultation is your chance to tell us what issues you think need to be reviewed in the Plan. Follow this link to the survey:

lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017

You have until Monday 4 December 2017.

Proposed Lovebox and Fieldday events in Brockwell Park – we want to hear your views

Two companies responsible for designing and building
large scale music events have approached Lambeth with a view to hosting events
in Brockwell Park. These events – Lovebox and Fieldday – were previously held in
Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets and are now looking for a new home.

It is important to emphasise that no decision on either
event has been made and all events that take place in the park are subject to a
rigorous scrutiny process. Both companies are cooperating fully with this
process and are engaging with the community.

We understand that there is some anxiety about a repeat of problems experienced at last year’s Sunfall Festival. There has been no application up
to now for the Sunfall event which took place over the last two summers to be
held next year and at this stage it won’t happen in 2018.

It seems there has
been some advanced advertising by both Fieldday and Lovebox which has led to residents
enquiring whether a decision has been taken already. This has no bearing
whatsoever on the decision process and is a commercial matter for these
companies – we are asking them not to preempt the decision process and to stop
advertising their events in Brockwell Park until any decision has been made.

In coming to a decision on whether any event takes place
in the park – including these two – the council will need to weigh up a number
of factors including any reduction in access to the park for the community, the
effect of the event on the condition of the park and maintenance of the grounds
and the impact on local businesses and transport networks.

There is the opportunity for some much needed investment
into the park which is important because of dwindling public resources for
investment in parks due to continuing Central government cuts. An event of this
scale would enable much more to be spent on improving green activities and play
facilities.

However the applications for these two events are far
larger than any private event that has been held in Brockwell Park for many
years. There is significant concern about the amount of the park that will be
fenced off and the level of interference in the use of the park by residents.
The overall scale of disruption caused by the set up and set down period of an
event this size has also been raised by local residents.

We have been working hard with the Brockwell Park Community Partners, neighbourhood forums, community groups and local residents to understand these concerns. We have met with the events organisers to ask for answers to these issues and for them to consider how they can support local businesses, minimise impact on the park during set up and pack down, keep nuisance to a minimum during the event, and pay the London Living Wage. We attended a public meeting organised by Fieldday and are following up concerns raised by attendees.

To support this work, we need to hear your view. We are organising an event to listen to concerns and answer any questions we are able to and relay questions to officers and organisers that we don’t yet have answers for.

Please join us on 11th December from 7pm at Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Rise. So we have an idea of numbers, please RSVP here: brockwell-events-your-views.eventbrite.co.uk

The one-way system in Tulse Hill is changing to become a two-way system. This is phase two of the StreetWorks scheme. The project has seen the design work for this, with residents suggesting that the road between the station and Tulse Hill Hotel be closed to cars, but remain open to buses and bikes.

TFL are funding and managing this part of the project, and want to update the local community on what is happening. This will happen on Tuesday 05 December from 6:30pm registration for a 7:00pm start, and held at the Salvation Army, 246 Norwood Road.

If interested do pop along.