Tag: lambeth

Labour in Lambeth guarantees weekly bin collections in Lambeth

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

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Lambeth Council announced a new wave of tree planting in the borough, including various roads in Thurlow Park. We’ve always championed the planting of trees in the ward and are really pleased that this further programme will bring the overall number of trees Lambeth wide since 2009 up to 4,000. 

This is good news for our community and continues our pledge to make local streets cleaner and greener for residents.

The planting of new trees will include:

Ardlui Raod
Lancaster Avenue
Romola Road
Rosendale Road
Thurlow Hill

Whilst contributing to creating a more attractive environment for all, tree planting will also improve the overall environmental quality, (including air quality and noise reduction), of our roads and local community. 

The tree species will be carefully selected and will be appropriate for their locations. 

Trees benefit local communities in many ways including:-
*   They absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which in turn helps to combat climate 
change. 

*   They offer not only shade as protection from the sun, but also cool places for people to enjoy 
during periods of high temperature. 

*   They intercept rainwater helping to prevent localised flooding. 

*   They are an essential element of our local biodiversity, supporting wildlife through providing 
habitats for feeding and breeding as well as shelter. 

*   They can help to reduce noise pollution within the busy environment if they are planted as dense 
walls, hedges or avenues.

Lambeth Council’s consultation on the Local Plan is almost at an end. If you haven’t already you can have your say right now by going to:

lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017

Lambeth is a great place to live, work and invest because of its location, its people, its character and assets. The existing Lambeth Local Plan, adopted in 2015, contains a strong vision for the development of the borough to improve opportunities for local people.

However, Lambeth Council need to partially update it and this updated Lambeth Local Plan, together with the Mayor of London’s London Plan and neighbourhood plans, will set out the vision and robust planning policies needed to direct and guide development in the borough over the next 15 years to meet our future needs.

As a part of updating Lambeth’s Local Plan we are consulting with residents and stakeholders – and want local residents to have your say. You can have your say right now by going to:

lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017

Lambeth Council are at the beginning of the process and this consultation is your chance to tell us what issues you think need to be reviewed in the Plan. Follow this link to the survey:

lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017

You have until Monday 4 December 2017.

Lambeth Local Plan Review: Your chance to shape Lambeth’s future

Lambeth is a great place to live, work and invest because of its location, its people, its character and assets. The existing Lambeth Local Plan, adopted in 2015, contains a strong vision for the development of the borough to improve opportunities for local people.

However, we need to partially update it and this updated Lambeth Local Plan, together with the Mayor of London’s London Plan and neighbourhood plans, will set out the vision and robust planning policies needed to direct and guide development in the borough over the next 15 years to meet our future needs.

As a part of updating Lambeth’s Local Plan we are consulting with residents and stakeholders – we want you to have your say. We are at the beginning of the process and this consultation is your chance to tell us what issues you think need to be reviewed in the Plan. 

Follow this link to the survey – https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/consultations/lambeth-local-plan-review-2017?utm_source=Sign-Up.to&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=17118-407546-Lambeth%20Local%20Plan%20Review%20generic-Preview

Lambeth – Electoral register update

Lambeth’s Electoral Services has started the process of updating the electoral register for 2017/18, during which every residential property in the borough will be contacted. Household Enquiry Forms have been sent to around 142,000 residential addresses in the borough. 

The quickest and easiest way to respond is online at householdresponse.com/lambeth.  Residents will need to enter both parts of their security code to confirm existing details or add/delete names.  If current details are correct, a response can also be completed by telephone or SMS by following the instructions on the form.  Using the automated response options is the most convenient way of responding for the majority of residents and reduces the cost of the canvass to council.  However, residents can also complete and return paper forms using the pre-paid envelope provided if preferred.

Reminder HEFs will be sent to all non-responding properties on 28 September and canvassers will be making personal visits to non-responding properties and individuals from 12 October.  Lambeth currently has the second highest electorate in inner London, with almost 240,000 voters.  Initial forms should start to arrive this weekend and the beginning of next week.

Ahead of Full Council tomorrow evening here is Cllr Fred Cowell’s exchange during the last Council meeting in October 2016 where he asked the Leader of the Council what plan there was locally to handle the impact of Brexit within Lambeth. 

Cllr Cowell went on to say that central government seems to have little by way of a plan to help local authorities with the impact of Brexit. The LGA has alerted the government to the £5.3 billion that has been allocated through the European Social fund across the UK, including £750 000 here in Lambeth all which is being spent promoting social inclusion and providing employment support for those furthest fro the job market, all of which is set to disappear.  

In closing Cllr Cowell gave the example that in Thurlow Park, much like across the rest of the borough, 4 out of 5 residents voted to Remain in the EU and given that it is not clear why the most vulnerable of Lambeth should suffer post Brexit. 

In response the Leader of Lambeth Council, Cllr Lib Peck, said that she was working with other council leaders to devise a lobby strategy to ensure that communities such as Lambeth don’t suffer when Britain leaves the EU.

Lambeth is helping local businesses cut CO2 emissions from supply chains

As part of a wider strategy to improve the air quality in one of the most polluted areas of the UK, Lambeth LBC is working in partnership with Wandsworth, Southwark and Croydon LBCs to improve air quality by reducing the number of delivery vehicles travelling into each borough.

Lambeth is helping local businesses cut CO2 emissions from supply chains

Helen Hayes MP writes about homelessness

Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood explains why she is supporting a private members bill which calls for measures to reduce homelessness.

Helen has been doing a lot of work on housing, through casework at her regular surgeries with residents and through her role on the Communities and Local Government Committee. It is a huge issue here in Lambeth – every week residents come to us and to Helen for help as they are threatened with homelessness or have experienced it.

While the council is doing all it can to build new council homes and support vulnerable residents, more needs to be done to ensure that people who are in desperate housing need are not turned away. The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act of 1977 went a long way to ensure homeless people with priority needs are housed – Helen’s work with her colleagues on the Select Committee will, almost 40 years later, seek to build on this reform.

You can read Helen’s article here –

Labour MPs must unite in support of the Homelessness Reduction Bill

Update on Quietways next steps – changes we’re pushing for

Last Autumn a surprise announcement of an experimental road closure on Rosendale Road mobilised the community. As your local councillors, we worked with businesses, residents and community groups to oppose the closure and successfully got it taken off the table. We organised a series of codesign workshops to make sure that TfL, Lambeth and Sustrans listened to residents’ concerns and ideas. We have consistently said that we are keen to encourage and enable cycling, but that this should be done collaboratively with local communities, not in a way which creates conflict between cyclists, local residents and local businesses.

Once the feedback from workshops was brought together, the designs went to public consultation – advertised online as well as in letters which went to 4,200 addresses in Thurlow Park. Over 250 residents responded to the consultation, and many got in touch with us too.

Residents who contacted us were also keen to understand the next steps, and we’re aware that there has been a long period with no updates on progress. The mayoral election caused some delay, but mostly the volume of responses meant it has taken officers a long time to process everything. Their published report will provide a detailed response to every query raised by you in the consultation.

Timeline:
September – The report with answers to queries raised in the consultation and a breakdown of people’s answers will be published
September-October – New proposals will be published and put to formal consultation
January – If the new proposals are agreed from the second consultation, work will take place

From talking and corresponding with many of you, we’re aware that there is still a lot of unhappiness with the proposals. We have been pushing for changes to the proposals ahead of any new designs being put forward. We’ve met with the cabinet member and officers in Lambeth, and highlighted the changes we need to see in any new designs for the scheme to be acceptable to local residents as well as improving cycling.

In particular, we are working on:

  • Significantly reducing the number of parking spaces lost
  • Ensuring good access to the allotments
  • Greening at the junction of Rosendale and Turney Roads
  • Tackling rat running on Dalmore Road and Carson Road
  • Preventing any changes to the junction of Rosendale and Parkhall Roads which make traffic worse