Cllr Max Deckers spoke at Council last week in response to Cllr Jackie Medlrum’s update to a question regarding Hearing Suppport Services in Lambeth’s schools.

Firstly, let me assure you that we are committed to having in place a Hearing Support Service (HSS) that meets the needs of the children and young people who need it, has the confidence of parents/carers and young people and reflects the best advice that is available about good practice.

Currently the HSS in Lambeth consists of two elements: an Outreach Service and a primary provision based at Jubilee Primary School, a partner school in the Loughborough Federation of Schools. In addition there is a secondary resource base at Elmgreen School for deaf pupils.

I understand that changes at Jubilee Primary School and the relocation of the Outreach Service to the Kennington Park site, to join the Visual Support Service, have caused some concern and uncertainty.

For background, over recent years the provision at Jubilee has seen some changes both in terms of the numbers of pupils attending and the way the pupils are supported. In 2010/11 there were 19 pupils but in 2014/15 numbers have reduced to 4. Pupils now spend virtually their whole time supported in mainstream classes whereas previously they tended to be educated separately in a special unit.

We are currently considering the future of this service. During the autumn term the Council carried out a consultation with families, schools & others to determine the future provision for deaf children and young people in Lambeth. A report describing the provision and how it will be commissioned will be published early in 2015. The recommendations will take into account the concerns and wishes of the parents, professionals and concerned organisations who contributed to the consultation.

Planning Conservation – draft

Working with the Counil we invite your comments on the council’s new draft Building Alterations and Extensions SPD.

Lambeth’s emerging Local Plan is due to be adopted later this year; when adopted it will replace the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) in providing the planning policy for the whole borough. When finalised the Building Alterations and Extensions SPD will help people who wish to alter their buildings understand the planning requirements and will illustrate what is and is not be considered appropriate.

In recent years Lambeth has seen a significant change in its housing market. Rising property prices and stamp duty are discouraging many residents from moving to larger properties and there is greater interest to enlarge existing properties rather than move. This ‘don’t move – improve’ approach is one that is increasingly common across London and the South East.

A number of consultees on the emerging Local Plan reiterated this position and asked the Council to consider a more pro-development approach to extensions than is taken in the Unitary Development Plan (UDP). As a result Policy Q11 of the emerging Local Plan has allowed for a greater degree of interpretation in terms of rear extensions and roof extensions outside conservation areas than was previously the case. The new draft SPD also reflects this approach.

The council’s Cabinet has approved the draft document for consultation and wishes to hear the views of the community on this matter. The consultation period runs from Monday 2 February to Monday 30 March 2015 (5pm)

If you wish to respond to the consultation please e-mail: planningconservation@lambeth.gov.uk

The Future of Cultural Services in Lambeth

The council is launching a consultation on the future of cultural services in Lambeth. This sets out a vision for how we can deliver library services sustainably, in the face of huge cuts to our funding from the national government.

In
2012 we talked to residents about libraries. They challenged us on how we could provide free access to
books wider than ever before. They challenged us to use self serve
technology, volunteers and community spaces to create new places in the
heart of our neighbourhoods to borrow books and embrace reading.

Lambeth Council is now launching a consultation which shares our
vision for how we might deliver this. Please get involved, feedback your ideas and tell us what you think.

Our vision is –

5 town centre libraries where we’ll work with volunteers to extend opening hours
those town centre libraries supporting a wider Network of community
lending libraries in community settings – like the successful one in
Streatham Vale.
community libraries like Carnegie potentially becoming community hubs – including community library provision.

This vision isn’t new – it’s the continuation of a conversation we’ve
been having for a long time. But the pace needs to pick up to achieve the budget
reductions that are now necessary.

We’ll have to make some tough decisions too. Some smaller libraries
simply won’t be able to continue. In West Norwood, we are lucky – the council and Picturehouse have exchanged contracts to develop Nettlefold Hall into a refurbished library and a new cinema for our community. There are going to be lots of opportunities to have your say on what our library will look like – watch this space!

For further information, take a look at Lambeth Labour’s blog here

OUT IN THE OPEN – WEEK 3 KICKS OFF WITH A NEW VENUE AND FREE COFFEE FOR THE PUBLIC OFFICE

Coming up this week

MON – Public Office moves home
TUES – Join the Great Cook or make jewellery at Trade School
WEDS – Help make the Makerspace
FRI – Open Orchard at the L’Arche garden
SAT – The Stitch, making in the company of others

Whatever you are interested in, there is something to join.

Thurlow Park Labour are backing the campaign being spearheaded by local residents to reduce speeding on Norwood Road.

Between Tulse Hill and Brockwell Park some cars often go dangerously fast creating a risk for residents and the wider community. At this months Council meeting Cllr Fred Cowell presented a petition from 250 local residents calling for greater speed prevention measures along the Norwood road.

Thurlow Park Cllr’s will carry on working with local residents to tackle speeding in the ward as we know this is concern to residents. Use our Speedwatch – https://thurlowparklabour.org/speedcheck – to report any speeding that you see.

Parking tickets on Devane Way

Our new Centre in Devane Way SE27 0DF is designed for walking access only. Following a consultation period there is now no parking on Devane Way. There are a few bays for cars with a disabled parking badge at the West Norwood Health & Leisure Centre and space for a maximum of two or three cars to park for up to 10 minutes to drop off any passenger unable to walk to the Centre from Knights Hill. Medical staff also have their own car park.

For everyone else, including commuters going to West Norwood station, there is no parking. Signs went up last weekend and Parking staff will be speaking to drivers. No tickets will be issued for a couple of weeks to give time for drivers to become aware of the no parking rules.

Pedestrians have priority on Devane Way. All vehicles must be driven very slowly at all times on Devane Way letting people go first. Unfortunately as speedometers are not very accurate under 20mph it is not legally possible to enforce a speed limit under 20mph!

The first ever West Norwood Soup – micro grants for local projects takes place on Thursday 29 January between 6:30 and 8:30pm. The event costs £10.

Otter Trading
17 Knights Hill
London SE27 0HS

Buy a ticket and get a delicious hot meal plus one vote for a project. Come and meet friends, support a high street business, and help a local project develop.

3 projects will pitch on the night. 50% of the ticket price goes to a local cafe to cover the meal and 50% goes to the projects.

Tulse Hill Forum confidence building day

Free event for parents/carers. Highly informative, fun & interactive,

Monday, 16 February from 3.30 – 6.30pm
Venue: High Trees Community Development Trust (corner of Tulse Hill and Upper Tulse Hill) SW2 2NS

This highly educational and interactive workshop focuses on anti-bullying, child protection, anger management and peer mentoring and is delivered through a series of role plays, games and movie clips.

It equips you, as a parent or carer, with life skills and provides you with practical ‘step by step’ techniques to reduce bullying or anger to which your child may be exposed, be it in school, via internet or friendship groups.

It is designed to help you understand how can you, as a parent / carer / professional, help your child confront and overcome this very negative behaviour. This workshop is conducted by Julie Wilkinson who has been a pioneer in this field and has experience in child protection for over 20 years.

This workshop is free of charge. All you need do is register, as spaces are limited! Fun activities for older children and crèche for little ‘uns!.

To register please contact:

Eva Christmas, Roupell Park 07983 584 767
Aileen Garden, Tulse Hill Forum 07886 562 686
Sarah Coyte, Lambeth Council 07852 916 199

Refreshments will be provided.

NEW – the Thurlow speed check

There is growing concern among residents in Thurlow Park about road safety. We want our streets to be safe for everyone to walk and cycle so have developed this tool for residents to report dangerous driving and speeding.

This puts the power back into your hands – your reports will go straight into our inboxes and let us know every time there is an issue.

This information will really help us to take action. We can notify the police when there are regular dangerous incidents, use the data to identify hotspots where we can target speed checks and traffic enforcement, and we can easily produce evidence when we make the case for traffic calming measures or speed cameras. See – http://www.thurlowparkspeedcheck.co.uk

We hope you find it useful – if you have any suggestions on how we can improve the site, please get in touch.

A 6 WEEK SEASON OF 50 CIVIC PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES

For 6 weeks Open Works spills out across West Norwood with;

Weekly Great Cook communal cooking
Two shared high street shops full of local makers
Trade School classes in everything from looking after your new baby, to upcycling clothing, or social media
Fruit tree planting in lots of shared green spaces
Public Office co- working in cafes
West Norwood Soup dinner and micro- granting;
and ending in a huge celebration Pot Luck meal.

Whatever you are interested in, there is something to join. Here are the full listings – http://www.theopenworks.org/events/?view=calendar&month=January-2015