We are thrilled that work has started on the new zebra crossing on Norwood Road, next to Harpenden Road.
Road safety is our top priority and we have been really disappointed by the delays to the delivery of this scheme. Initially, a complaint held up the delivery, and then complications regarding road traffic orders. These have been resolved, and in the meantime we organised for the contractors to be on site every morning with stop/go signs to help students cross the road to school.
The zebra crossing was a key aspect of Streetworks, designed by the community in workshops and receiving significant support during extensive consultation. We worked with Elmgreen School as well as local groups like the Norwood and Tulse Hill Forums and the Business Improvement District to ensure residents had many opportunities to have their say including meetings, workshops, market stalls, in-person surveys, social media and letters through every local door.
Results from the final consultation on plans for the new zebra crossing
This an FAQ sheet on the key details of Field Day. For any further queries please look at the Field Day website.
Cllr Fred Cowell speaking on behalf of residents at Field Day’s licensing hearing
The policies descried here are the result of careful work between Field Day, Lambeth Events, the
Brockwell Park Community Partners and local councillors. In Thurlow Park we held previous consultation sessions on events this summer, worked to modify the event through the Licensing Process and have committed to reforming the events policy.
There will also be a consultation period after the event to review how it went. This is intended simply to be a factual overview of what is happening in the park in the next few weeks.
This is not by any means complete or definitive but deals with the most commonly asked questions. We are also hosting an advice drop-in tomorrow Saturday 19th May between 10.30-12.30 at Norwood Lodge in the Park.
What is happening
Field Day is a three day music festival on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of June. It is the only commercial music event in the park this year. On the Friday it will have around 19, 000 people attending, Saturday 26, 000 and Sunday 15, 000. In terms of numbers taken up this will be around the same size as the Lambeth Country show – although there are important differences between both events this is useful as a comparator of scale.
How will the event be set up
The event will be built in the park from Monday the 20th of May onwards. Most of the park will be unaffected during this period as the contractors will build the soundstages first. During this initial period delivery lorries will be turning into the park principally using the Herne Hill entrance. These will be Monday – Friday and limited to a window after 10 and before 3 so as to miss the school traffic and come at times where there is limited pedestrian traffic in the park. Any lories will be accompanied by a qualified banksmen – staff who is there to ensure pedestrian safety in the park and on the turn off from Norwood Road. A Traffic Order allows for the temporary closure of the slip-way between Norwood and Dulwich Road – that will be time limited to the specific times when deliveries are being made during the 10-3 delivery window, so it will not affect rush hour.
Will I still have access to the park
Until the 29th of May apart from three designated areas the majority of the park – over 90% of the park will be freely available. After the 29th of May – the Wednesday before the event a much larger section of the park will be closed. From the 31st of May to the 4th of June 31% of the park will be taken up with the festival. This will be removed on the 5th of June and by the weekend after the event the park will fully cleared.
Will there be road closures during the event
There will be a few roads that will be limited to resident access only during the event days and letters from Lambeth Council will inform residents in these roads about this and the procedure being used. Most of the area will be unaffected there will be some special arrangements made during the exit times of the festival (see below). There will be no bus diversions and apart from a very short window of time at the end of the evening the roads will not be affected. There will be parking enforcement staff on call the whole day on the event days so that if there is illegal parking as a result of the festival it can be dealt with quickly. Based on previous festi
How will people get to the event
The vast majority of access to this event will be by public transport – this is based on the previous experience of the organisers and a mapping exercise of the location of people buying tickets. Herne Hill and Brixton Station will be the principle point of access and according to Transport for London planners – who have been consulted on this – both are able to handle the extra capacity for the event. There will be special designated routes, patrolled by festival security, with partial fences to assist access from Brixton station and Herne Hill station into the park. Security teams will then check everyone going into the event. There is a carefully designed flow system to stop large queues building up, a holding area with toilets at busy times and security teams patrolling the area. This is in part as a response to poorly managed events in the park previously and these plans were carefully designed in consultation with local councillors, park community groups and the local neighbourhood forum.
Will the area be secure while the festival is on
An independent security company Showsec is providing security both inside and outside the event. Due to conditions imposed by councillors and Lambeth’s Licensing Committee there will be more security at this event than at any event in the park before. This will include regular patrols around the park to check for drugs, extra CCTV cameras in the area – some of which will be streamed directly to the Metropolitan Police, stewards on streets across all of the entrance and exit routes (Norwood Road, Brixton Water Lane, Dulwich Road). Over 50 toilets are located on or around the routes people will be taking to enter an exit the festival. There is an extensive drug and alcohol search policy for all festivalgoers, with an enhanced security plan, which has been approved by the police.
When does it close
Music stops at 10:30 on a Friday and Saturday and 9:30 on Sunday and the park has to be vacated from these times. This is later than what the community would have wanted but the Council’s Licensing Committee had to act in accordance with the law and stated policy.
How will people leave the event
Through the two main exit’s – Brixton Water Lane and Herne Hill these routes will be segregated from the main traffic route. These will be stewarded at all key points and toilets and rubbish stations will be on route. This should confine people to these two main routes although it is anticipated that there will be some movement up Norwood Road to Tulse Hill station and provisions have been made accordingly During the egress stage – and at this point only – normal traffic will be restricted at the junction of Dulwich and Norwood Road and on Brixton Water Lane but buses and emergency vehicles will still have full access. The organisers of Field Day project that egress of the entire site should take between 40 minutes and one hour. This is not a fixed time, it is a projection by the organisers but it is hoped that on Friday and Saturday the main group of people will have dispersed by around 11:15-11:30. Community management during the event
Unlike previous events there is a whole team looking after the wider community outside the festival gates. There will be a community hub run by Field Day in Railton Road. During the operational hours of the festival on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd you can call 0203 886 0739 about any issue regarding, waste management, noise, anti-social behaviour or indeed any aspect of conduct on festival. All calls to this number will be recorded to allow teams to respond to them in full. Even if you have to leave a voice message this will be responded to. In relation to the set up of the festival any procedure please contact you local councillors and Kelly@fielddayfestivals.com . This is the fastest way to get a response. A log of all complaints received by Field Day will be forwarded to the events team so that their responses can be monitored. Noise monitoring has been set up at various points around the site set above the ground to monitor noise levels.
Waste management and cleaning of the surrounding area
Field Day are providing large numbers bins along the exit and entry ways and have contracted with Veolia to provide an enhanced street cleaning service on every day the festival is running. This waste will be disposed of independently to all other public waste and the normal park bins and waste disposal will not be used. The festival are going to be using shatterproof plastic glasses and have committed to fully recyclable and biodegradable packaging and cutlery. After the event there will detailed information made available about the levels of recycling undertaken
Park recovery after the event
A detailed inspection is being done of the entire site this weekend before the site is handed over, and an inventory has been done of all trees, saplings, benches and other fixed features of the park at risk from the festival. After the event a full audit will be taken with Brockwell Park Community partners, specialists from the council and local Councillors. Field Day are responsible for restoring the park to its original condition and paying the full cost for doing so. This is completely independent of all income to the park and the council.
Field Day will be beginning to set up their event in Brockwell Park soon, so we have organised a drop-in advice morning to show you the maps and plans, discuss any concerns, take your comments back to the event organisers, and make sure you know how to get in touch.
When? Saturday 19 May, drop in anytime between 10.30 and 12.30
Where? Norwood Lodge – the building in the corner of Brockwell Park by Norwood Road and Brockwell Park Gardens
We are so sad that our former MP Tessa Jowell has passed away. She did so much for the local area and our local residents still remember her often and fondly. She was well liked, hard working and personally behind the building of some of the amazing schools and sure start centres in the constituency.
Our corner of Dulwich and West Norwood was just a tiny part of her incredible work as an MP – at a national level she will be remembered for Sure Start, equalities legislation, creating a regulator for the media, and getting the 2012 Olympics and much, much more. Her work on achieving “better, longer lives for people with cancer” by securing investment and innovation, since her diagnosis, has been inspiring and moving. Tessa was a force of nature and the announcement since the announcement of her death that research funding will be doubled and testing improved is testament to that.
Tessa was a huge inspiration to us, in encouraging us to stand in 2014, helping us campaign, showing us the ropes, and by being such a great political role model. She was always warm, full of advice, kindness, compassion and humour. On a personal level, Tessa was a friend, ready with a hug or wise word to encourage us. We’ll miss her hugely.
There will be a book of condolences for anyone wishing to share their memories and best wishes at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton. Our thoughts and love are with her family.
Thank you to the almost two and a half thousand local residents who voted for us at the recent local elections – we are grateful that you have put your trust in us to continue working hard in Thurlow Park. We love this ward and are looking forward to the next four years of working with you to make it an even better place.
We stood on our record of the past four years, and on five ambitious local pledges for the next four years:
Prioritise road safety: We will continue to invest in roads and pavements, remove the Tulse Hill one-way system, and campaign for further safety measures.
Secure investment: We will be a positive voice for Thurlow Park so that we can continue to secure millions of pounds investment in improvements in the ward.
Support town centres: Having set up West Norwood’s BID, we will continue to help our town centres to thrive, including creating a new market by Tulse Hill station.
Invest in the public realm: We will tackle flytipping & antisocial behaviour and improve the public realm on local shopping parades with new trees, bins & benches.
Tackle air pollution: We will improve air quality by working with schools to plant green screens, campaigning for cleaner buses and encouraging walking & cycling.
As part of Lambeth Labour, we stood on an ambitious manifesto for the borough too. You can read the full manifesto here. Some of the pledges we are really excited to champion include –
Cracking down on rogue landlords and improving private renting
Supporting those residents who are struggling to make ends meet with new employment opportunities and expanding further our work on the London Living Wage
Welcoming refugee families to Lambeth
Tackling homelessness and building new homes at council rent, as well as innovative new community-led housing and new ways to give our existing tenants and leaseholders more say on improvements on their estate
Boosting recycling, electric vehicle charging points, another 1,000 trees by 2022, and a ban on single use plastics for the council and its contractors
Becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and divesting our pension fund from fossil fuels
Fighting Tory police cuts and a community-focused approach to tackling youth violence and knife crime
Continuing to lead on tackling violence against women and girls
Introducing tougher sanctions on our estates for noisy and nuisance neighbours and improving the borough-wide antisocial noise service
Fighting for fair funding for schools, supporting youth projects and creating over 1,500 apprenticeships for Lambeth’s young people
Tackling loneliness with a new good neighbour befriending scheme, training new mental health champions, innovative projects to improve health and wellbeing like the Daily Mile in schools and Health Parks
Creating affordable workspace and supporting local businesses
Fighting for better train services and helping people walk and cycle more safely.
Although long, it isn’t an exhaustive list and we would love to hear from you about what you’d like us working on and championing. Comment below or email us with your ideas!
A public consultation is now underway on the proposed location of trees, benches and bollards which will go in along Norwood Road between Robson Road and Tulse Hill station under the Streetworks project.
Please advise Streetworks of your views on the types of trees and possible locations, and also on sites for bins and bollards.
Identified actions needed to tidy up the street scene includes repainting all the post boxes, removing redundant street furniture e.g. relocating the temporary bike rack outside The Old Library, and relocation of commercial waste bins.
Since Lovebox and Field Day made applications to Lambeth last autumn to hold events in Brockwell Park, we have been working hard to ensure residents’ views are listened to. We have knocked on doors in the local area, worked closely with community and park
groups, and organised a public meeting last December to consult Thurlow Park
residents.
Reflecting on what you told us, we established some conditions which we felt large events in Brockwell Park ought to meet – these are set out on our blog here.
In January we were able to successfully push for Lovebox to be turned down as we did not feel that they met our conditions and they were not showing willingness to compromise on their plans.
In March, again reflecting what you have told us, we objected to Field Day being granted a licence unless certain strict conditions were met. Our submission to the Licensing Committee called for shorter opening hours, reduced noise levels and a better-managed exit from the park, in recognition of the fact there was going to be a lot of disruption to local area and that people such as shift workers and children doing their GCSE exams needed better protection.
We fought your case hard and spoke on residents’ behalf at the Licensing Committee hearing. The level of scrutiny of the organisers and the number of residents who spoke meant the hearing went on until midnight.
Cllr Fred Cowell speaking at the Licensing Committee hearing
After a further five days deliberation, the Licensing Committee have decided to award Field Day a one year licence to hold the event in Brockwell Park, subject to certain
conditions. You can view the full decision on Lambeth’s licensing site.
Our views of the decision are:
We had a degree of success in securing an enhanced security plan that is far in excess of anything at previous events in the park.
We are disappointed that the hours have not been reduced as significantly as we asked for, but were able to secure a partial reduction in opening times on Friday and Saturday and a fuller reduction on Sunday evening so that alcohol sales end at 9pm and music will end at 9.30pm.
Most importantly the licence is for this year only and we have secured a post-festival consultation at which we will review how it went and, if necessary, block it from ever coming to the park again.
Outside of the licensing process, we have secured a commitment to review the parks events policy later this year, including looking at a cap on overall numbers at events and a trigger for public consultation, which would affect any event applications for 2019.
In the short term events provide a means of managing the vast funding shortfall that parks are facing as a result of the huge cuts to local authority grants imposed by the
Tory government. In the medium to long term, we want to move away from music festivals as a source of income and are working with park groups and the Council on a project to redevelop Brockwell Hall to allow it to be used for weddings. Brockwell Park is at the very heart of our community and we remain committed to safeguarding it with tangible action not empty promises.
In the latest development the planning based public consultation ended in March 2018 having been extended because of our work along with officers to give residents more time to engage in the proposal. This included letters being sent to residents, print signs being placed along the proposed fence route, and the local press being notified.
We are pleased to inform the local community that based on resident feedback the planning department wish to investigate further into the proposal to better understand resident questions specifically about the level(s) of the fence around the site. Therefore, further drawings have been requested by the planning department before a second planning based 21 day public consultation is to be held.
As and when we know more about the dates of this future public consultation we will update this page accordingly. If you have any questions please contact us.
Lambeth Labour has committed to maintaining weekly bin collections as part of its manifesto for May’s local elections.
Despite government funding cuts of over £250 million forced on Lambeth council by the Conservatives, Labour has pledged to protect weekly collections of residual waste and recycling. Across the country, over three-quarters of councils have abandoned weekly collections due to government cuts in funding but Lambeth has always maintained the service.
Since 2014, Lambeth Labour has saved £450,000 a year by introducing new green bins and at the same time increased the rate of recycling.
Councillor Jennifer Brathwaite, Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing said: “Collecting people’s bins is the most basic service that the council delivers – and residents rightly expect that it should happen regularly and efficiently.
We guarantee to collect people’s bins every week – it’s one of the key services that residents pay their council tax for. We’re able to do that because Labour has managed Lambeth council well, improving services and cutting down on waste despite huge government cuts.
And after the Green Party leader, who is standing for election in Lambeth, went on national TV to argue for an end to weekly collections, residents rightly are concerned that Lambeth could end up looking like Brighton when it was run by the Greens, with huge mounds of rubbish piled up in the streets.”
Ambitious plans to make Lambeth cleaner and greener are at the heart of Labour’s manifesto. Labour has committed to continuing its record investment in fixing potholes and resurfacing roads. The Vale Street recycle and refuse centre will be kept open and free to use, and we will continue our crackdown on fly-tipping and littering by expanding the street enforcement team.
Labour’s full manifesto for a better, fairer Lambeth is available at lambeth-labour-manifesto.org
We are thrilled to let you know that after a number of months delay, the zebra crossing on Norwood Road, by the junction with Harpenden Road, will be installed this Easter.
We have been pushing for a safer crossing on this section on Norwood Road for the last three years, as it is a busy and dangerous place to cross for many Elmgreen students travelling to and from school, and residents using the bus stops and local shops.
We secured funding from TfL as part of the Streetworks improvements to West Norwood, and the design for the crossing was developed collaboratively in workshops and public events with students, parents, local residents and businesses. Around 15,000 leaflets were distributed across West Norwood over a period of many months inviting residents to regular consultation and design events.
Hundreds of you took part, and this showed in the formal consultation when 82% of respondents supported the final plans, as shown in the breakdown of results below –
Work began to install the new crossing with the removal of the central reservation. However, a late complaint stalled the continuation of works while it was investigated.
As your local councillors, we have been very concerned that despite hundreds of residents and students taking part in designing the proposals, and the overwhelming support for it during the extensive consultation, one complaint has held up its construction. The scheme being put on hold while this one complaint is investigated means the crossing is even more dangerous than it was before. We have had hundreds of emails from parents and teachers frustrated with the situation.
The delay has been exacerbated by local Conservative and Lib Dem candidates trying to use the complaint to score political points. We don’t believe that it is right to put party politics above young people’s safety on our roads.
As your local councillors, we called for urgent work to install the community’s original plans for a zebra crossing, and for local opposition to put safety before political point scoring. We are really grateful for the support of parents, staff and students at Elmgreen School in writing to officers and Lambeth’s cabinet to speed up the delivery of a safe crossing – and we’re thrilled that your work has paid off! Work to install the crossing will start in the Easter holidays.
Thurlow Park News 