A hundred fly-tippers have been hit with fines in a single month, as Lambeth steps up its assault on illegal dumping.

Lambeth residents are infuriated by fly tipping– bulky objects like old furniture and excess rubbish bags dumped in their streets – and are helping catch those responsible by providing information and evidence through Lambeth’s online reporting system – https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/forms/report-dumped-rubbish-form?utm_source=Sign-Up.to&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=17118-299932-theBALANCE+Issue+12%3A+October+2015

Lambeth recently launched a Not on our streets campaign, warning residents that anti-social behaviour such as fly tipping is completely unacceptable in Lambeth and would be met with instant fines.

But the message that illegal dumping is totally unacceptable has been backed up by a new team of enforcement officers who began work at the start of September. They are tasked specifically with investigating residential fly tips in the borough and fining those responsible. By October 3, the enforcement officers had gathered evidence to hand out 103 Fixed Penalty Notices of £80 (reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days).

Cabinet member for Environment & Sustainability, Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite, said: “These people are dumping rubbish where they shouldn’t be – ruining our environment and infuriating residents. We will simply not tolerate their behaviour.

“A bulky waste collection service is available from the council. Residents should not simply leave old furniture out on the street; that is fly tipping and they will be fined.”

West Norwood cinema ready to roll

West Norwood’s new four screen cinema and library complex has moved a step closer after plans were approved by Lambeth Council’s planning committee.

The cinema, bar and café  will be run by Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd in the Old Nettlefold Hall and Library building, and leased from Lambeth Council.

Cllr Jane Edbrooke, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “It’s been a long time coming, but we really can see the prize at the end now.

“The cinema and library, following on from the new health and leisure centre will really help West Norwood realise its potential as a lively Lambeth town centre.”

Quietways – update from the first workshop

Last week Sustrans held the first of a series of workshop sessions to discuss traffic in Rosendale Road.

This is the start of a programme of community engagement and co-design to look at the possibility of making improvements in the Rosendale Road area. The initiative is part of a wider programme of creating a network Quietway cycle routes.

We, like many of you, were alarmed at initial proposals to close Rosendale Road to through traffic – these plans from TfL had not been consulted on locally and there had been no opportunity for local councillors, businesses and residents to have their say. 

We believe that it is important for local people to lead any change to their neighbourhood and have successfully got the road closure plans scrapped. 

We have subsequently worked closely with Sustrans to organise a series of co-design workshops which will give local communities the chance to take part in the design and decision making, before any formal consultation even begins.

The timeline is –

  • Information gathering drop in – between 225 and 250 people attended on 30th September at All Saints Church. This session was so that Sustrans could gather your feedback on living, walking, working, cycling and driving in the local area so that any new plans are based on local experience
  • Second and third workshops on 10th October at 10.30-1pm and 14th October at 5-7.30pm both at All Saints Church – These two events will be the same, so residents only need to come to one. Space is limited, so please RSVP here. If more people want to take part than there is space for, we will be requesting an additional session be organised. These sessions are more hands-on – people can get involved in creating designs. There will be large scale maps, traffic engineers, tools and data to hand to help you. And as there is currently no plan on the table you can discuss any issue from zebra crossings to street planting.
  • Following the co-design workshops, engineers will work up a number of feasible concept designs. These may vary in terms of scope, scale and cost as they will be completely shaped on the feedback and ideas gathered at the co-design events.
  • Workshop 4 will be a “feedback concept showcase” on 24th October between 10.30 and 2.30pm at All Saints Church. This will be more of a drop in so that you can see the variety of designs drawn up from the previous sessions and choose a favourite. Don’t worry if you can’t make this date – your voice will still count as we will be putting the plans online and sending them out by email for your feedback. There is still scope at this stage for adjustments to be made if your preferred design still has room for improvement.
  • Formal consultation – the design which the majority of local people and businesses choose will then be put forward for formal consultation. This will begin on 17th November

We will work to make sure community expectations and questions are met. We have had mixed feedback following the first workshop and wanted to share what information we have to try and address some of those concerns.

  • Availability of traffic data – this is available online here. We anticipate there being more data available to share shortly and we have created a page on our website here to upload everything we can. Do keep checking for updates.
  • Quality of survey – we have met with Sustrans to feed back this concern and they will take it on board as the codesign process continues. You can feed your ideas into the process without using the survey by emailing us or Ruth on rosendalefeedback@sustrans.org.uk – and we will make endeavour to sure that the formal consultation after 17th November is vigorous
  • Were resident’s points taken on board? We have requested that feedback from the last workshop is shared to attendees and others locally who couldn’t make it in a comprehensive and transparent way. If, once this has been compiled, you are concerned that your points aren’t included, please do just let us know.
  • Some streets missed out on the communications – the map showing where leaflets and invitations were delivered is here. If you are worried that you’re not receiving the information then please let us know and we will double check you are added to the mailing list.
  • The format (post-it notes and maps) wasn’t the best way to discuss – we’ve fed this back to Sustrans and the next workshops will be much more hands on. While there will definitely still be maps, and probably still be post-it notes, we hope that the hands on format will be more conducive to in depth discussions on the areas that you’re most passionate about.
  • The scheme doesn’t join up with other changes happening locally – as local councillors we are involved in all major schemes in the area and will be working to make sure these join up. We have briefed Sustrans on the work happening at StreetWorks on Norwood Road and have spoken to TfL officers about the importance of these projects complementing each other.
  • There is no opportunity to comment on the Quietways route or discuss whether any intervention is needed in the first place – we agree that there should have been proper public engagement when the routes for Quietways were being drawn up. The decision on the routes was made at City Hall by the Mayor of London’s team, and with our local Assembly Member, we will be meeting with that team to discuss why this didn’t happen and to interrogate the process followed.

If you wish to be kept informed please contact Sustrans at rosendalefeedback@sustrans.org.uk to be added to their email update list. Otherwise, you can always email us with your points or concerns and we will be sure to keep you in the loop.

And don’t forget to RSVP for the 10th October or 14th October workshops

New allotment on Guernsey Grove!

Residents on Guernsey Grove wanted more space for growing and suggested to councillors that we help organise a community gardening space at the estate on the corner with Croxted Road. 

We’re really pleased to see that, following conversations with Lambeth Housing, new raised beds have been installed! We’re looking forward to seeing these planted up and full of fruit and vegetables (and will happily lend a hand with our forks and trowels!)

Business Improvement District – progress

In May 2014 we committed to working with local businesses to improve our local town centre. We have been working with businesses to take the necessary steps to become a Business Improvement District. The Means were recenty appointed by local businesses to take this work forward in West Norwood and Tulse Hill and the first steering group meeting last month resulted in lots of positive conversation about the issues the BID could tackle. 

If you own or work at a local business, we would love to have your input. Our next West Norwood and Tulse Hill steering group meeting will
be held on:

Wednesday 30th September 2015, 6-7.30pm at

Portico Gallery
Knights Hall
23a Knights Hill
SE27 0HS

Great turnout at the first StreetWorks co-design workshop

Following a petition from local Labour councillors and hundreds of local residents, the Mayor of London granted £5m to transform the one-way system in Tulse Hill. Officers secured an additional £2m to improve Norwood Road.

We believe that local people and businesses are best placed to make decisions about how to improve their neighbourhood, so Cllr Anna Birley has been working to ensure the project is led by the local community. StreetWorks was therefore set up to create a partnership between the Norwood Forum, the Tulse Hill Forum, local councillors, residents and businesses, Lambeth Council and Transport for London. The budget for community engagement has been devolved to StreetWorks and the community chose the design consultants to support the project.

To ensure as many people as possible can have their say, we have organised a series of co-design workshops. These are a forum for local people and businesses to feed in ideas and suggestions, and to choose the final scheme design. 

The first StreetWorks co-design workshop was last Tuesday and it was a huge success! With 50 people attending, the discussions were lively and constructive. Updates will be posted to www.streetworks.london – you can also post further ideas on the online forum and find out how to get more involved.

The next workshops are – 

  • 13 October 2015 
  • 10 November 2015
  • 8 December 2015

– all at 6.30-8.30pm at the Salvation Army Hall on Norwood Road.

Bridge strikes on the South Circular

In the last few weeks, the problems of lorries driving into the railway bridge over Thurlow Park Road near Tulse Hill have resurfaced with two recent strikes which delayed trains into London and closed off the South Circular. 

image

We have been talking to local residents about the problem of this low bridge – not only is it hugely disruptive to local people, drivers and passengers, it also means most large vehicles are rerouted down Lancaster Avenue, a residential street with speed bumps and a 20mph limit. 

Cllr Anna Birley has had a number of discussions with Transport for London regarding the bridge. They have acknowledged that it is in the top ten railway bridges in the country for strikes by vehicles and that this causes huge cost and disruption to their strategic network. They have agreed that this should be a priority to fix.

However, there is no quick solution. In the short term, TfL hope to improve signage to prevent large vehicles travelling under the bridge at all. This will prevent strikes and delays but will not solve the problem of large vehicles travelling along Lancaster Avenue. We have asked that any new signage includes clear reminders of the 20mph speed limit to try to mitigate the impact of the lorries.

Anna has also ensured that officers only see this as a short term approach, and that it is essential in the longer term to either raise the bridge or lower the road so that larger vehicles can fit under the bridge without needing to divert along Lancaster Avenue. 

Officers have agreed to look at how this could be funded but are keen to stress that it would be a very difficult and expensive project. TfL have conducted an initial report into the situation and have spoken to Network Rail. They have agreed to try and conduct some tests in the road and pavement below the bridge to identify the location and depth of utilities, and we hope this can be completed over the next 6-12 months. This should help to identify viable options and will support the work we are doing to find funding.