Local news and opportunities to get involved from your local Labour and Co-operative councillors in Thurlow Park.
Max, Anna & Fred were joined by former Thurlow Park Cllr Ann Kingsbury, and Dulwich & West Norwood parliamentary candidate Helen Hayes as we all enjoyed the All Saints Church autumn fair. It was lovely to see all the various stalls and talk with local residents about what was happening in their area.
On Sunday 01 June 2014 Friends of Brockwell Park held their Annual Tree Celebration. Every year people pay to have trees planted to remember loved ones, celebrate family or in thanks of people’s service to the local community other events. Former Thurlow Park Cllr, Ann Kingsbury was given such an honour.
Labour candidates Anna, Fred and Max are honoured and privileged to have been elected to Lambeth Council. We are humbled and will work hard to support residents, their concerns and continue the excellent work of former councillor Ann Kingsbury who has worked tirelessly for the people of Thurlow Park ward.
On Saturday 29 March Cllr. Ann Kingsbury alongside a large number of residents of Avenue Park Road and Maley Avenue met the Chair of Planning Applications Committee (PAC) – Cllr. Diana Morris – on Saturday morning when she visited the site of the proposed Avenue Park Road development.
The proposal to build a large block of flats alongside the railway line at Tulse Hill Station, comprising 42 dwellings and 2 commercial premises, which will extend from the South Circular to roughly the junction of Maley Avenue and Avenue Park Road has caused concern to local people.
Site visits are common for large developments. One or more members of PAC attend in order to see the physical context of a planning application before it goes to the committee the following week. On this occasion only Cllr. Morris was present from PAC though she was supported by 2 of the planning officers and a representative from the developers – Mayfair 500.
The purpose of the visit was an opportunity for local residents to discuss the proposal and to point out any specific issues /concerns that they want considered by the PAC. Cllr. Morris was asked to look at the site from Avenue Park Road, from the station and from local gardens to assess the impact of the proposals and to tour nearby streets where residents had asked her to consider the effect on a district already under parking stress.
The PAC meets to consider the Mayfair 500 application on 1st April 2014.
Lambeth Council’s plans for this junction were halted when Transport for London decided that the remodelling would have to include banning a left-hand-turn from Norwood Road. However, following intense lobbying by Labour councillors Ann Kingsbury and Jane Pickard and a decisive intervention by our London Assembly member, Val Shawcross, TfL withdrew this condition.
The Robson Road junction will now be remodelled to have green man crossings on both arms and advanced stop line for cyclists, a big increase in safety for these two groups, and great news for resident of Thurlow Park ward and all those who cross that particular road.
Meeting residents on Rosendale Road
The location of Peabody Hill can make it difficult for some people with young children, the elderly and those with disabilities to access the local shops, transport connections, places of work and other services. We want to help fix this, and so, have ben campaigning for a new bus route.
Your local Labour councillor, Ann Kingsbury and Labour Action Team see this as a priority for the area and have submitted have spoken with Lambeth Council, Transport for London, Peabody and the London Assembly and have worked with residents ho have organised a petition.
We are delighted that Lambeth Council have given their full support to our request ad have submitted their views on the urgent need for a service during recent TfL consultation. In response to a question from Val Shawcross AM, the Mayor has written saying that TfL understand the need for a service but caution that it will cause changes to traffic management locally.
As a result TfL have acknowledged our views on the ned for the bus service and have agreed to begin discussion with lambeth on how it can be delivered. Your Labour Action Team and Lambeth Council will continue to make the bus service a priority and will campaign to improve access across Thurlow Park ward.
Cllr Ann Kingsbury wrote to the Head of Transportation at Lambeth Council to express her strong support for the views of the Norwood Forum and Norwood Action Group in response to traffic plans of the Norwood Road /Robson Road junction.
As you may well be aware, there has been extensive consultation on the junction and there seems to be widespread approval for Lambeth’s proposals – which also include a pedestrian crossing and better design for cyclists.
From the pedestrian point of view the introduction of staggered crossings is not an improvement in either safety or amenity, as its quiet possible that people will be tempted to cross the road in a straight line and will take risks in doing so.
The current Lambeth proposals should result in improved safety, but it would appear that the TfL modifications give pedestrians and cyclists safety and amenity a lower priority. It also appears that these modifications could lead to a loss of road space and force cyclists to compete for access.
In any case, banning a left turn at the junction with Robson Road will presumably force traffic to turn into Ernest Avenue or Hannen Road to join the northbound traffic on Knight’s Hill and then right into Robson Road. This will effectively create a new gyratory system and introduce the possibility of the junction being blocked by the 322 bus turning right. The plans do not seem to allow for a permitted left turn for buses, an it is difficult to see how this will improve journey times for passengers on the 322 in the Crystal Palace direction.
Furthermore, the route along Robson Road, turning left at West Norwood is the only direct route between West Norwood and West Dulwich. Although only a small proportion of West Norwood traffic takes this route, the amount is still sufficient. If redirected down other left turns off the Norwood Road an increase in traffic would be to the detriment to the centre.
We want to ensure that Tulse Hill is a safe, pleasant place to live, work and cycle. Currently, the busy traffic on the gyratory makes it unsafe and there have been a number of accidents. Your Labour Action Team have been campaigning for the improvement of the junction since 2010.
In October, Val Shawcross AM presented a petition, collected by Thurlow Park ward Cllr Ann Kingsbury and local campaigners; calling for TfL to give Tulse Hill gyratory urgent priority for road safety measures, following a long standing issue with collisions and accidents.
Many of you signed that petition last summer and we are delighted that TfL have listened to us and announced a £5 million investment to redesign the junction as part of the London-wide junction improvement programme.
A response to the petition from the Mayor of London has now been received and you can read this here. Val said ‘I’m delighted to see that TfL have allocated £5million of funding for improvements in the Tulse Hill area’
Improvements include –
1. Removing the current one-way gyratory
2. A new road system which prioritises the needs of pedestrians and cyclists
3. Intermediate measurers to improve safety until major measures can be implemented
Thank you to everyone who signed our petition and joined the campaign. This investment will greatly improve the lives of residents living close to and working around the gyratory.
Safety surrounding the Tulse Hill one-way system has been a concern to many resident in Thurlow Park ward and the Norwood community as a whole. The Labour Action Team, Anna, Fred and Max, and Cllr Ann Kingsbury have been working with members of the Tulse Hill Forum and Assembly Member Val Shawcross to press for changes. Safety concerns have become very severe recently; a car spun off the road in Hardel Rise and demolished the front of one of the houses, the fourth incident of its kind.
In response to a question from Val, TfL agreed to look at the junction to see what could be improved and were due to report later this year but this incident has convinced them that they need to look urgently at safety. It now seems that TfL would be willing to look at redesign of the junction and Lambeth will start talks with them to consider this. In the short term, Lambeth are looking to put in measures to protect residents of Hardel Rise.
Your Labour Action Team will be campaigning for the junction to be improved very soon; look out for our petition calling on the Mayor to take action. If you have concerns about the junction, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Ann at akingsbury@lambeth.gov.uk if you want to know more.
Thurlow Park News 