Community Shop recently launched its latest Impact Report, tracking the positive outcomes it is achieving in the communities it serves. Now operational across four sites Community Shop – including in West Norwood – is helping to build stronger individuals and more confident communities.

“We welcome and are grateful for the support we have received from you, and Lambeth Council as a whole, and we hope that we can continue to build on our relationships in order to keep delivering fantastic results for the people of West Norwood.”

Highlights from the report include:.

• 98% of members report feeling that they have access to the tools and skills they need to achieve their life goals all or some of the time since joining Community Shop.

• 83% of members report feeling more positive about the future all or some of the time since joining Community Shop.

• 93% of members reported feeling that their mental wellbeing is improved all or some of the time since joining Community Shop.

• Community Shop calculates over 3,832,500 meals have been made using food from its stores in 2016.

https://www.companyshop.co.uk/community-shop/news-and-enquiries/news-centre/community-shop-launches-2016-impact-report/

Council Leader, Lib Peck, Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich & West Norwood and Councillor Claire Holland, Deputy Cabinet member for Children & Schools recently all spoke at a public forum with the Fair Funding for All Schools campaign alongside the NUT, teachers, parents and students plus other speakers to support the national parent-led campaign that opposes the governments cuts to school funding. 

The meeting was held on Wednesday 15 March at a local Lambeth school and was attended by over 250 people. The concern of parents and teachers was clear in the passion of those present.

Sign the potion here – http://www.lambeth-labour.org.uk/protect_lambeth_s_schools

We are rightly proud of our Lambeth schools. Ofsted’s annual report states that, despite high levels of disadvantage, Lambeth has “nothing but good and outstanding secondary schools” . In fact, the most recent figures tell us that 96% of our schools are good or better and 40% are outstanding. That ranks us in the top 15 of 152 local authorities.

Lambeth Labour are calling on the government to invest more funding in schools, and in particular to provide an additional £335m per year (1% of the DfE’s schools budget) to ensure no school loses funding as a direct result of the implementation of the National Funding Formula.

We are working with London Councils and we will be providing a full and robust technical response to the consultation on the National Funding Formula which ends on 22 March 2017.

http://www.lambeth-labour.org.uk/tory_cuts_to_our_schools

http://www.lambeth-labour.org.uk/schools_cuts_government_must_start_listening_to_lambeth_s_parents_and_teachers

Disabled Parking Bays update

A recent public notice which appeared in the edition of The Lambeth Weekender dated 15th March 2017, provided the public with an update about disabled parking bays in the borough. 

As a result of this, we have been informed that Thurlow Park ward has seen new disabled bays added to Robson Rd, Thurlow Hill and Trinity Rise, while also seeing one disable bay being removed from Romola Rd.

If you have any enquiries about the above, please telephone Lambeth Council’s Highways Group on 020 7926 9318 or email: highways@lambeth.gov.uk

Recent Streetworks co-creation workshops at City Heights and the Salvation Army Hall focused on the Tulse Hill Gyratory and saw over 90 people attend.

As well as a general update on the project so far there was further information given about an initially popular co-design idea of the partial closure of the Norwood Road with access only for pedestrians, buses and cyclists as seen in the first image, while there was also the launch of the design competition for the new diagonal crossing as seen in the second image. 

StreetWorks is a community-led project to improve Norwood and Tulse Hill. The project is funded by Transport for London and supported by officers at Lambeth Council.

The Norwood Forum, the Tulse Hill Forum, local councillors and community groups are working together with residents, businesses, schools and road users to design a better space, remove the one-way system at Tulse Hill and provide training and support for future local projects.

If you’d like any further information or want to get involved in the Streetworks project please visit – http://www.streetworks.london/

Network Rail are undertaking essential work in Thurlow Park rd

Network Rail are undertaking essential works in the ward this month and are part of their Railway Upgrade Plan. Essential ground investigation works, which surround the existing railway bridge in Thurlow Park Road will be conducted in order to assist Network Rail in planning any future works.

In order to undertake these works footpath diversions and a series of lane closures are required in Thurlow Park Road.

To minimise disruption our works have been planned to be undertaken over four phases:

• Phase 1 – Lane closure on Thurlow Park Road between the junctions of Norwood Road and Elmcourt Road. Works will be completed between 22:00hrs – 05:00hrs on Friday 17th March 2017, Saturday 18th March 2017 and Sunday 19th March 2017.

• Phase 2 – Footpath diversion beneath Thurlow Park Road rail bridge. Works will be completed between 08:00hrs Monday 20th March 2017 and 18:00hrs Friday 24th March 2017. Our working hours will be 08:00hrs until 18:00hrs.

• Phase 3 – Lane closure on Thurlow Park Road between the junctions of Norwood Road and Elmcourt Road. Works will be completed between 22:00hrs – 05:00hrs on Friday 24th  March 2017, Saturday 25th March 2017 and Sunday 26th March 2017.

• Phase 4 – Lane closure on Thurlow Park Road between the junctions of Norwood Road and Elmcourt Road. Works will be completed between 22:00hrs – 05:00hrs on Friday 31st March 2017, Saturday 01st April 2017 and Sunday 02nd April 2017. 

If you have any questions /comments please contact us or visit www.networkrail.co.uk/contactus or telephone our 24-HourNational Helpline on 03457 11 41 41.

Network Rail investigating long term solution to bridge strikes

Anyone who lives near Tulse Hill station of commutes to work will know that the bridge over Thurlow Park Road is regularly hit by lorries who are too tall to travel underneath.

We have been championing this issue with Transport for London and Network Rail. TfL have installed new technology which has reduced bridge strikes by a third, which means the trains are less disrupted and the South Circular is shut and completely rerouted down Lancaster Avenue  less frequently.

However, oversized lorries are still sent down Lancaster Avenue, which is a residential street and inappropriate for large articulated vehicles.

We are very pleased that Network Rail are exploring longer term solutions, in partnership with TfL, and will be conducting ground investigation works around the railway bridge to help them plan future works as part of their Railway Upgrade Plan. This includes boreholes, bridge abutment examinations and trial pits.

While in the long term we hope this will lead to them investing in either raising the bridge or lowering the road, in the short term we appreciate it may cause some disruption. Local residents will shortly receive a letter from Network Rail setting out the local impact.

As it is important for train passengers, road users , residents and staff to be safe, this type of work can only be carried out when trains are not operating and therefore they will mainly be taking place overnight and at weekends. We have been assured by Network Rail that staff and contractors have been briefed on how to work responsibly with the local community but would encourage you to get in touch with us if you experience any problems.

Our South Circular safety campaign

Earlier this year, one of our local residents, Jaz, was tragically killed crossing Thurlow Park Road on the zebra crossing at the bottom of Birkbeck Hill. This is not the first accident on the South Circular, but we want to work with Transport for London and local residents to make it the last.

This crossing is particularly dangerous – vehicles speed  from the lights by the gyratory, the road narrows from two lanes to one, and the crossing is obscured by the hill and the railway bridge.

Together with local residents, we would like to find a way to improve safety at this dangerous crossing and across the South Circular, so hopefully further loss of life can be avoided.

Please join us, Jaz’s friends and neighbours, local residents and parents, TfL officers and our local Assembly Member Flo Eshalomi on 21st March for a walkabout to show the problems of the unsafe crossing and speeding on the South Circular, and then a meeting to discuss potential solutions and campaigns.

Everyone is welcome – you can let us know you’re attending here southcircularwalkabout.eventbrite.co.uk

We are making recycling and rubbish collection easier for everyone with a new neighbourhood based approach that means all your recycling and rubbish will be collected and your street cleared of litter on the same day.

The weekly collection includes:

Black bins for rubbish
Green bins for recycling (or recycling sacks if you still use them)
Food waste
Garden waste if you subscribe to that service
Pre-booked bulky waste collections

This new co-ordinated system will make our service more efficient and convenient for you while at the same time improving the environment and the cleanliness of your street.

For more information please visit – https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling/rubbish-collections/find-your-bin-day

Royal Mail sorting office closure

Royal Mail have announced their intention to close our local sorting office meaning residents would have to travel to Penge. There is no direct public transport there and elderly residents and those with mobility issues will be detrimentally affected in West Norwood.

We have spoken with our local MP Helen Hayes who has been incredibly responsive. We will join her in March to meet with Royal Mail managers and with the postal Union CWU to discuss.

Please get in touch if the closure will affect you, your business or your neighbours.