Local news and opportunities to get involved from your local Labour and Co-operative councillors in Thurlow Park.
We are aware that there was a fight on Rosendale Road yesterday involving knives. The incident is being investigated and we are in regular communication with our Safer Neighbourhood Police Officers who will be looking to increase patrols in this area.
If you have any information or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us or with our local police using these contact details. If you witness a crime please always call 999.
We have been made aware of further urgent works commencing from Monday 13 February 2017. Due to the ongoing flooding issues in and around the Tulse Hill area Thames Water need to install a line stop and isolate a 21’’ main. This is to mitigate and prevent a future burst on this main.
The contraflow bus lane on Norwood Road will be closed and as a result there will be a bus and cycle diversion along Christchurch Road, Hardel Rise and Tulse Hill.
Work will end on Thursday 23 February 2017 at 18:00. Traffic management systems will be put in place.
As a Council we face huge financial challenges. The Government has cut our funding by over 56% since 2010 and this has meant that the parks budget has reduced.
However, our priority has been to manage this challenge in a way that minimises the impact on parks users. We have cut back office costs, brought the maintenance service in-house and introduced a ‘Parks Investment Levy’ so that the proceeds from major events can be reinvested in our parks.
All this while we receive Green Flag park status across twelve of our parks in Lambeth – including Brockwell Park – meaning that they are officially ranked amongst the very best in the country.
We have also looked at opportunities for augmenting the reduced budget by earning more from the parks’ assets, such as introducing licensing for fitness trainers or professional dog walkers.
We are confident that the vast majority of residents won’t have noticed any difference in their local park – and we want to keep it that way. The council works very closely with Friends of Parks groups and together a new Parks Charter is being drawn up. This will set out and define the partnership between Lambeth and the Lambeth Parks Forum (the representative body of park users) and will cover things like oversight of the budget, maintenance, consultation on nearby planning applications and how any available money (Section 106 or CIL) will be spent. It will also create a forum where users can propose initiatives, express concerns and receive regular feedback on the management of parks.
Finally, on a very positive note, in January 2015 Lambeth’s Cabinet approved a “Parks Capital Investment Programme”, paving the way for over £20m of investment up to 2019. Around £11m of this will come from Lambeth and the remainder from external sources such as the Heritage Lottery. We are determined to see our parks protected so future generations can continue to enjoy them.
You can find more details on our website: https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pts-draft-parks-capital-investment-plan-2014.pdf
The West Norwood Masterplan refresh is in the final stage of consultation. Work on the masterplan began over a year ago and it’s purpose was to refresh the 2009 masterplan to acknowledge the new changes in the area, provide a detailed economic survey of the area and develop a Co-operative Local Investment Plan.
The Masterplan has focused on four areas between West Norwood and Tulse Hill. These are the Tulse Hill station area, the central retail area, West Norwood Station and the Commercial and Industrial Area. There has been extensive consultation on priorities for the area and detailed engagement with stakeholders, such as the Norwood Forum. The Masterplan is designed to create a dynamic new series of opportunities for the area and is being used to attract new sources of private and public money to help improve the area.
You can see part of the final report here – https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pl-Public-Consultation-final-boards_0.pdf
Thames Water are in the process of hand delivering letters to the immediate vicinity of recent water leaks, which will include Leigham Vale, Palace Road and the affected part of Norwood Road.
In regards to continued leaks in the local area Thames Water have carried out repairs at the following locations:
Half Moon Lane (small leak near Herne Hill) not on Norwood road although traffic may have been impacted. Now complete.
Tulse Hill (leak on trunk main) single lane closure on Tulse Hill, again may have impacted traffic but no work on Norwood road.
Palace Road/Norwood road junction (leak on 7”) main. Have been working since Friday but have had some challenges repairing the leak. We have a team on site working to repair this and hope re-open the road as quickly as possible.
The next Thurlow Park Panel Meeting will be held tomorrow, Thursday 2nd February, at 7pm. It will be held at the Chatsworth Baptist Church, Chatsworth Way SE27.
Safe Neighbourhood meetings are an opportunity to hear about the work of the local police, find out details of crimes in the area and to help decide their priorities for the coming quarter.
Thames Water are currently carrying out multiple repairs on the Lambeth network. To enable these works to happen Thames Water have had to either install temporary traffic lights or implement Lane/Road closures (see list below). This may cause delays at peak times and Thames Water advise residents, where possible, to seek an alternative route.
As the Central and Southern London rep for the Thames Flooding and Coastal Committee Cllr J Brathwaite will be raising these repairs at the next committee meeting. In the meantime she will also be writing to the CEO of Thames Water for an explanation.
Coldharbour Lane – Westbound directional closure between the junction of Atlantic Road and Brixton Road 01/02/2017 – TBC
Shakespeare Road – Closed at the junction with Coldharbour Lane, Access only 31/01/2017 – TBC
Leigham Vale – Closed at the junction with Palace Road to Railway bridge, Access only 09/12/2016 – TBC
Half Moon Lane – Temporary 4 phase traffic lights at the junction with Dulwich Road 31/01/2017 – TBC
Norwood Road – Temporary 4 phase traffic lights at the junction with Croxted Road 31/01/2017 – TBC
Brixton Road (TFL) – Northbound lane closure opposite Brixton Station Road. Ferndale Road Closed 31/01/2017 – TBC
Tulse Hill – Northbound directional closure at the junction with the South Circular 04/02/2017 – 05/02/2017
A few years ago Lambeth held an extensive consultation to design a rain garden scheme to reduce flood risk around Ardlui Road. Following this engagement, a design was agreed, but unfortunately there was a delay in implementation. Lambeth is now ready to build this scheme and will be doing so in the coming months.
The changes form part of Lambeth’s flood risk reduction strategy, particularly relevant in this part of the ward because the River Effra runs underneath the streets and houses here. As the area has become more tarmac-ed and built up, rainwater runs off much more quickly down drains and into the Effra, which is now a mains sewer. If a large volume of water flows into the Effra all at once, there is a risk that it will overflow into streets, homes, gardens and basements. The proposed greening would slow run off into drains, because of more permeable surfaces, more plants to intercept rain and new sustainable urban drainage systems.
There were some concerns about the design of the scheme, and some residents were not part of the workshops a few years ago, so we will be organising a public meeting to discuss the plans with officers.
Some residents have suggested they would like some street greening on their streets too. We have looked at securing some additional budget to do this and officers are happy to discuss your ideas for Hexham Road, Tulsemere Road, Towton Road, Chatsworth Way, Lavengro Road, and Chancellor Grove. We will ask for feedback at the public meeting, once the date has been finalised, and you are welcome to email us with your thoughts too.
The public toilets towards the Norwood road end of Robson Road that have stood unused for several years are about to be transformed. They were bought from Lambeth at public auction in May 2015.
Cllr Fred Cowell and Cllr Anna Bierly recently went to have a look and discuss future plans.
The new owners are looking for planning consent for A1 use, as a cafe, but plan to apply for a licence so that they can run a bar/kitchen. They aim to keep as many of the original features as they reasonably can including retaining the first row of urinals in the Gents, with shelves between each one so that people can sit at them with their laptops. They also hope to retain a couple of cubicles in the Ladies, opened up, to provide intimate alcoves.
Work will hopefully start soon!
Thurlow Park News 