New play equipment at the West Norwood Health & Leisure Centre – consultation open

In a consultation last April, residents in West Norwood said that there should be more play equipment installed on the grounds of the West Norwood Health & Leisure Centre to provide more for the growing numbers of children using the outdoor area.

Having listened to views, the council has drawn up some proposals on new equipment that they hope to progress soon. These include:

Resurfacing
Fitting an embankment slide, steps and rope ramp
A jungle walk
Striding stilts
Swinging steps x 3
A gravity rider (can be used by children with mobility impairments)
A Quad Rider in the under 5’s area
An inclusive orbit (a roundabout, designed to be inclusive of wheelchair users and aimed at all ages)

The council hopes to go ahead with all of these suggestions, however, officers would be interested in the level of popularity each item receives, as it is possible final space planning may mean the need to exclude an item or two from the proposals at the final stages.

The consultation is open until 1st March and you can respond online here. You can also express interest in being part of a ‘friends’ group – a community group of users who help to protect and champion the facility.

Customer Care Centre changes

Lambeth council intends to consolidate its customer centre operations, due to significant changes in customer demand and an increase in residents’ use of our digital services. Following a review of our customer services at Brixton Customer Centre, West Norwood Health Leisure Centre and Gracefield Gardens sites, the following changes are proposed.

From Monday 31 October 2016, Lambeth will no longer be offering a counter service at West Norwood Leisure Centre (WNHLC) for benefits, council tax, housing and parking permits or Gracefield Gardens for document submission. We also intend to amend our opening hours at Brixton to 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, the current arrangement whereby Brixton Customer Centre closes at 7pm on Thursdays will change to 5pm.

The reasons for the change are that demand at WNHLC and Gracefield has remained at very low levels since opening, and the vast majority of services are available online. Resident demand for our late night opening at Brixton is also very low, with only 12 visits per week, with all services requested face to face, available online. The proposed changes will not only improve the customer experience at Brixton by consolidating our resources into our most popular location but it will also enable the council to reduce operational costs.

At both WNHLC and Gracefield Gardens access to self-service terminals and telephones will remain in place.

Lambeth will be putting up posters with these details in the fortnight prior to the change in service in respective buildings. These will also include information about how residents can contact Lambeth to raise any concerns

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!

Anna, Fred and Max joined local West Norwood residents at tonight’s NAG community meeting. There were presentations from the Manager of the new West Norwood Leisure Centre and Lambeth’s Street & Highways Manager.

It was clear that the condition of some of the roads and pavements in the area are of concern to local residents so we’ll make sure to be out with our rulers as we look for possible trip hazards! If you have any roads or pavements that you think need resurfacing please contact us.

On the 22nd of July a week before it’s grand opening, Anna and Fred from Thurlow Park and Councillor Niranjan Francis from Gypsy Hill had a guided tour of the new West Norwood Leisure Centre. The centre combines an integrated approach to community health and well being hosting a gym and a swimming pool alongside a GPs surgery and dental surgery.

The state of the art swimming pool has a moveable floor allowing the pool to be used for a variety of different activities and classes. The leisure centre is intended to operate as a community hub bringing together services and the wider community to enjoy an integrated approach to health and wellbeing. It represents a real achievement on the part of all of those in Lambeth Labour and the wider community who have worked so hard to deliver it since 2009.