Lib Dems voted for a lower council tax and a fairer Lambeth

Oval's Lib Dem councillors attended Lambeth Council's budget setting meeting this week and voted for a council tax cut and extra funding for key local services.

We wanted to pay for this by cutting out waste at the Town Hall - for example, we don't believe the council should be spending m0ney on a fortnightly newspaper at the council taxpayer's expense. We would also stop the council wasting money on empty buildings like Mary Seacole House on Clapham High Street.

And our budget would have meant more spending on services for young people, the elderly and for our local environment. More details here. Labour councillors voted against these plans which would have helped the Oval area.

Caroline's Safer Stations campaign visits Vauxhall rail station

Local Lib Dems Andrew, Claudette and Ishbel have been joined by Caroline Pidgeon at Vauxhall rail station as part of Caroline's work to help make London's rail stations safer.

We are delighted to report that following Caroline Pidgeon and Cllr Rob Banks raising the issue with Transport for London, the rail underpass at South Lambeth Place (behind the local team in the photo) now has all its lights working properly (8 of them were out on what is a key route from Vauxhall Park to the bus, rail and tube station).

In addition to this, we have got Lambeth to replace the missing litter bins, and finally put up new street signs for South Lambeth Road, South Lambeth Place, Kennington Lane, Harleyford Road and Wandsworth Road - which we hope will help people in finding their way about. Too often residents have had to help lost visitors find their way about!

We continue to wait for the company that owns the advertising hoardings on Parry Street to fix the lights there, which should help with lighting that rail bridge underpass.

Let us know if you have concerns over safety at or around Vauxhall train station and we will take it up with the police, South Western Trains and with Transport for London.

Ishbel and Claudette join Oval Ward Lib Dem team

Ishbel Brown and Claudette Hewitt have joined the local Liberal Democrat team in Oval Ward. They have been working hard with the three of us as local councillors and with Caroline Pidgeon, Parliamentary Campaigner and London Assembly member.

They both live locally in Oval Ward - Ishbel in Heyford Avenue and Claudette on the Ashmole Estate, just off Meadow Road.

As part of the local Lib Dem team, they have been braving the cold weather and knocking on doors to find out how they can help people and to hear what concerns people have - most recently on the Ashmole Estate, Claylands Road and Hanover Gardens.

As a result of this, we have got several broken lights along Claylands Road repaired and have asked the council to do more cleaning on stairwells and corridors on the Ashmole Estate. Although it is due to transfer to the Metropolitan Housing Association soon, following last year's vote of residents, the council's housing company Lambeth Living is still collecting the rent - so they should be providing the service until the estate is transfered.

Helping prevent burglaries

We were concerned to hear recently of burglaries in the Oval ward area, and thought readers of this blogsite would find the information below of use to help make your home more secure.

A decision had been made to extend a scheme which would provide grants for things like window locks and night latches to all residents in Lambeth who wish to have additional security to their properties - regardless of whether you live in a council property, housing association, or your home is privately owned.

Age Concern have been commissioned to carry out this work and they are able to assess and carry out security work to properties referred to the scheme. They are able to secure 120 properties per month. Night latches, spy hole, door chains, locks to windows and patio doors and other security assessments are some of the services provided for free.

Please note that the cut off date for referrals is the 19th March 2010. More information and a form are pasted below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SAFE AND SECURE PROJECT

WHAT IS THIS FUNDING?
Clapham Park Project (a community regeneration project) has been awarded £99, 716 by the Home Office under the Safer Homes Fund. This funding is to be allocated across the whole of Lambeth.

WHO WILL BE INSTALLING THE SECURITY SERVICE?
Clapham Park Project is working with AGE UK (Help the Aged and Age Concern) who will provide locksmiths/handy people to install security measures to your home to make it more secure and help to prevent burglaries.

CONTACT FOR SECURITY SERVICE -0800 085 2378
If you are interested in receiving this service, please contact Clapham Park Project on the free phone number 0800 085 2378. This is an answer phone and you will be able to leave your name, address and contact details and we will call you back to give you more details. If you have any concerns, contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Teams for more information.

BE SAFE, BEAT THE BURGLARS, CALL US NOW
SAFE AND SECURE PROJECT REFERRAL FORM

CONTACT No.: 020 8678 5922/07958 337 305
FAX No.: 020 8678 5901
e-mail: cwong@claphampark.org.uk

Client details

Name: __________________________________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________________________

Post code: _______________________________________________________________________________

Contact numbers: _______________________________________________________________________

Property type (privately owned, rented, etc): _____________________________________________

Landlord’s name and contact details (if applicable):_______________________________________

Name of SNT: ____________________________________________________________________________

I agree for my name and contact details to be passed onto Clapham Park Project for referral to the Safe and Secure Project funded by the Home Office.

Client signature: _________________________________

Date: ___________________________________________

Northern line misery?

We have heard that the Northern Line is due to close an hour earlier on weekdays for up to 18 months and the section from Stockwell to Morden will close at weekends for 16 weeks as engineering work takes place.

The Evening Standard has more details:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23801141-signals-upgrade-to-shut-northern-line-early-on-weekdays-for-up-to-18-months.do

16,000 new homes planned in Nine Elms and Vauxhall area

The Greater London Authority is currently consulting on plans for 16,000 new homes and over 20,000 new jobs in an area stretching from Battersea Power Station to Lambeth Palace.

While much of it is in neighbouring Wandsworth, a sizeable amount of the area is in Lambeth, and the effects on things like transport will be felt throughout the northern part of Lambeth.

Local Liberal Democrats recently attended a consultation on the event organised by the Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall Forum at Montgomerey Hall opposite the Oval cricket ground.

We have already expressed concerns over transport capacity (local tubes, buses and trains are already packed to capacity) and over other essential local services that would be needed such as schools and services for young people.

The Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) can be seen at the Greater London Authority's website - http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning/oapf-nine-elms/index.jsp. Note that there is a newly extended deadline for your comments: 5.00 pm on 28 February 2010.

The next public meeting being hosted by the Kennington Oval and Vauxhall Forum about this framework will be: 7.00 pm on 10 February 2010 at Vauxhall St Peters Church, 310 Kennington Lane, (corner of Tyers St), SE11 5HY.

Please let us know what you think of these plans as well.

Lights, pigeons, action!

We have met with senior council officers and have been in touch with Transport for London staff over getting lights repaired and pigeon proofing fixed on South Lambeth Road (by Vauxhall Grove), South Lambeth Place (the underpass leading to the tube station) and Miles Street (the underpass leading to the Bondway self storage site and the bus station).

TFL have now said they will be fixing the lights, and the council will be taking more action over pigeon - proofing the South Lambeth Place underpass, jet-washing the pavements and the area of white-tiled walls, and we have also asked them to replace a missing litter bin. They will also be asking the owners of the advertising hoardings on Miles St to carry out repair work on the hoardings (otherwise rubbish just builds up behind them, looking unsightly) and fixing the lights above the hoardings - surely in their own interest as well so people can see the adverts! This will also help with casting some light onto the pavements until TFL can find the funds for better lighting.

Christmas Tree recycling

Of course it is too early to take down Christmas trees at the moment, but a reminder that if you have the "orange bag" kerbside recycling collection, you can leave your real Christmas tree out on the same day as your normal collection day.

If not, the council are also collecting real Christmas trees at Kennington Park from 11-15 January.

The trees will be turned into wood chip.

Brrr....

The Oval area, in common with much of central London, saw a blizzard on Monday afternoon and we are still seeing the effects of it on nearby streets and pavements which are covered in sheets of ice.



We have reported some local streets and pavements for gritting but if you know of anywhere you feel needs extra attention email us - oval.news@googlemail.com

Last Christmas...

Last Christmas the Labour-run council failed to take steps to prevent the boiler at Sirinham Point on the Ashmole Estate from breaking down over the festive season, leaving residents without heating and hot water.

Not only did that happen, but Lambeth Living (the council company responsible for council housing in Lambeth) refused to send notices round telling people how they could get hold of temporary heaters in the meantime. So we spent part of the last Christmas break putting round notices ourselves about this. We then battled the council to ensure people got part of their rent or service charge re-funded to compensate for the loss of heating and hot water.

We have been reminding the council about what happened last year and, following the boiler breaking down again earlier this month, have been asking for action to be taken. We hope that this Christmas break sees residents get heating and hot water without them having to phone the emergency repair line...

Cycle superhighway to come to the Oval

TFL have announced consultation over plans for a "cycle superhighway" linking The Oval area with the City and going south to Merton. It is expected that work will start next summer if plans are given the go-ahead. More details on the plans here and a copy of the actual map of the route can be found here.

It includes the Clapham Road and Kennington Park Road - both of which can be a nerve-racking experience for cyclists - and of course Clapham Road has been the site of two very sad deaths of cyclists in recent times caused by lorries turning left and not being aware of cyclists between them and the turning.

Let us know any thoughts or comments.

Say it with flowers? Not if you live in Labour-run Lambeth!

Cllr Andrew Sawdon has been supporting local residents who are furious at a recent order issued by Lambeth Council's housing company, Lambeth Living, to remove window boxes because they were deemed a "fire hazard".

This is despite the council running an annual Lambeth in Bloom competition to give a prize to the best window box!

As local councillors, we fully support making sure corridors and stairwells on estates are free of clutter and other obstructions. But where window boxes are clearly not causing an obstruction they should be allowed to stay and we very much hope that the council will see common sense. It looks like thanks to the South London Press picking up the story (see attached coverage) the council will be backing down.

Raising concerns over crime with the police

Oval Lib Dem Councillors have met with the local police team to raise concerns over crime and anti-social behaviour in the ward.

Concerns we raised included a recent death which many suspect was linked to drug dealing and two muggings.

There does seem to be a reduction in anti-social behaviour and gang related activity in the Dorset Road area, so we hope this will continue.

We will carry on working with local residents to raise concerns over crime. Please let us know if you have any concerns - or you can contact the Safer Neighbourhood Team on 07747790001. As always, call 999 if you think there is a crime taking place.

Also, the council's safer neighbourhood co-ordinator mentioned that there was a limited fund of £700 which can be spent on crime prevention initiatives - let us know if you have any good ideas.

Planning committee lobbied over "Octave" Tower at Bondway

Local residents, supported by Lib Dem Councillors for Oval Ward, spent a large chunk of yesterday evening in front of Lambeth's Planning Committee giving our concerns over the proposed 42 storey tower block on Bondway.

As said in the previous post, many people are worried about the impact the tower would have on neighbouring residential streets. Clear evidence was presented to the planning committee over the loss of sunlight to nearby homes and Vauxhall Park, parking pressure and extra strain on Vauxhall tube station among many other factors.

Some members of the committee expressed concern over issues like the availability of green open space for the residents in the block and the impact it would have on the surrounding area.

The plans will now come back for full consideration by the committee at a future date - when we hear anything we will post a comment here.

Bondway's "Octave Tower" - first hearing at Lambeth Town Hall, Weds 25th at 7pm

The application for the controversial 42 storey "Octave Tower" block on Bondway by Vauxhall tube will have its first hearing at Lambeth's Planning Committee next Wednesday (25th November). The area it would go is the other side of the railway line (behind where we are standing) and would dominate Vauxhall Park and the surrounding residential area of Vauxhall Grove, Bonnington Square, Langley Lane and Lawn Lane. Evidence collected by local residents shows a clear loss of sunlight to the surrounding residential area.

Over 120 people have objected to the plans.

Details of the report from Lambeth Planning Officers can be found here. As local Lib Dem Councillors, we will raise our objections over the current plans.

The hearing will not actually give permission for plans to go ahead, but instead will give councillors on the planning committee the chance to give a "steer" over the application - ie if they support the general principle of the plans.

Members of the public are welcome to attend this meeting, which takes place at 7pm at the Town Hall, Brixton Hill, SW2 1RW.

Another great Kennington Park event!

Local Lib Dems recently went along to the opening of the Kennington Park Nature Trail. It is the culmination of lots of hard work from the Friends of Kennington Park and parks staff.

We were delighted that Simon Hughes MP was able to join us. Congratulations to all involved with the project and we look forward to supporting it as local councillors in the years to come.

Don't close our library this winter!

Oval Lib Dem Councillors joined in recently with other local people who use the South Lambeth Library to call on Lambeth Council to ensure there are no more random closures of the library this winter.

Last winter, the failure of the Labour council to invest in a new boiler meant the old one kept breaking down, meaning the building had to be heated by electric heaters. But again, because the wiring had not been updated it meant that a fuse was blown and the electricity supply failed.

Most recently, earlier this month, the library was again closed due to staff sickness. People often fall ill over the winter months, so we are calling on Lambeth Council to plan ahead in future and ensure arrangements are in place so staff on sick leave can be covered for and the library can remain open.

Let a thousand flowers bloom in Vauxhall Park!

We braved the bad weather and lent a hand on Saturday to help the Friends of Vauxhall Park with their bulb planting day.

The Friends planted over 1,000 bulbs and also planted some new trees in the park. Well done to everyone who came along and helped, it should help the park look better than ever!

Redevelopment plans launched for New Covent Garden market

Bordering onto the Oval area, plans have been launched for the re-development of the New Covent Garden Flower Market - details here. What do you think? Let us know!

What's your vision for Vauxhall?

There have been 2 new developments regarding the Vauxhall area's future from the Mayor of London and Lambeth Council.

1. The first was at last week's meeting of Lambeth Council when Cllr Andrew Sawdon raised concerns over the council's future plans for the area (known as a Local Development Framework). In particular, Andrew raised concerns about the need for enough local services (eg schools and decent transport links) to be in place and planned for before permission is given for more development. His proposal was voted down by Labour. You can see the council's draft planning document here - and comments need to be with the council by 14th December to
planningpolicy@lambeth.gov.uk

You can see the report from the Council's consultants here, which is critical on the current plans for Vauxhall, saying that the Labour Council's area plan is "less convincing than the Waterloo policy in terms of enabling essential infrastructure to keep pace with growth: it may improve access to jobs and housing - but there is little detail on other essential infrastructure such as schools, health facilities and services, water and sewerage. If the policy results in greater road travel, particularly private car use it could worsen existing congestion and contribute to air quality and climate change problems....it also fails to address the issue of retrofitting - how the bulk of the areas existing buildings will reduce their impact on carbon emissions".

2. The second was a report in yesterday's Evening Standard that highlighted the proposal for a new "wobbly bridge" linking Vauxhall with Pimlico, as just one of many different ideas for the area. A 12 week public consultation has now started for the Vauxhall and Nine Elms area, and you can have your say here

Keep us in touch with what you think - or comment below!