ellabrunswick

Jonathan (All City Sparks) recently completed first fix and NICEIC certification (installing lighting points, smoke alarms and consumer unit) in a new flat in Ladywell for me. He's very thorough and happy to explain the reasoning behind his decisions in terms of regulations and to discuss design possibilities. He's a pleasure to work with - considerate of people and the space he's working in. He's looking for more work in south London, having moved here fairly recently, so I offered to add a post here. Jonathan 07415 737 073 [email protected]

Part-time opportunity for friendly and organised person, starting ASAP and continuing to September. Full details here: https://www.theruss.org/2023/05/31/resident-sales-contact-job-opportunity/

The dynamic, inspiring German MEP Terry Reintke will talk about the experience of women in politics, the importance of hearing young people's voices and how to get involved, and her work on equalities. She led work in the European Parliament to tackle sexual harassment and was featured in TIME magazine's 'Person of the Year' issue in December 2017, as one of the "Silence Breakers" honoured for speaking out against sexual abuse and harassment. She'll be joined by Gulnar Hasnain, one of the two leading Green candidates for MEP in London, who will talk about the London context. All welcome. Sunday 12 May, at 2pm, upstairs at the Prince of Peckham pub, five mins from Peckham Rye station. Please RSVP https://www.southwarkgreenparty.org.uk/terry_reintke_20190512

Many thanks to Mark and Kate for setting up and chairing the East Dulwich Community Centre hustings last Friday - it was good to meet local residents and hear about their concerns. As I'm not one of the Green Party candidates for Goose Green and Dulwich Hill (they were unfortunately unable to make the date) I'm posting a link to information about those candidates for anyone interested in finding out more. Thanks! Eleanor https://www.southwarkgreenparty.org.uk/dulwich_hill_ward_candidates https://www.southwarkgreenparty.org.uk/goose_green_ward_candidates

Apologies for reviving an old thread, but would you be able to update us on the topiary trees? When the trees first went, there was a message on the school fence saying they were being looked after and would return. But I see that the bed has been tarmacked over...

Just writing to second David's suggestion about getting in touch with Southwark Cyclists. In fact the AGM is tonight and Cllr Darren Merrill will be there (Chair of the council's Joint Cycle Steering Group)so it would be a good chance to discuss the junction with other local people who cycle through it and think about how to make improvements http://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/events/southwark-cyclists-monthly-meeting-and-agm/

There will be a chance to meet all the candidates in the South Camberwell by-election on Thursday 8 October. Hustings will be held 7.30-9.30pm at the Albrighton Community Centre, East Dulwich Estate SE22 8AH (opposite Sainsburys on Dog Kennel Hill). Candidates will have 3 minutes each to present before questions from the audience. Chaired by Linda Craig. Come along and ensure your voice is heard. All welcome!

There will be a hustings for the South Camberwell by-election this Thursday 8 October at the Albrighton Centre, 7.30-9.30pm. All welcome.

It would be great if the feasibility study can look at nearby examples of road treatments and how they actually work - the best thing is to visit and see how it feels. If you have a chance to go to Van Gogh Walk/Isabella Street in Lambeth, that's a great example of how a whole group of local streets can become really pleasant to walk/cycle/sit out on/play on. http://www.vangoghwalk.org/ People can still drive to get to and from home for errands, but all kinds of other uses of the space come first. Nearer to East Dulwich - I've recently started using Kelly Avenue and Chandler Way to cycle between Peckham and Burgess Park. Both have gates or bollards at one end. The streets are wide, with lots of trees, and there seems to be plenty of room for car parking. People come and go by car, but there are no delivery vans whizzing through. Lots of waves and informal 'after you', 'no, after you' negotiation between drivers and cyclists and pedestrians. Especially in this warmer weather, it's really nice to see people standing in the street chatting and children playing on the pavement without huge anxiety about games spilling onto the tarmac. There's awareness of vehicles - I heard kids telling each other, 'a car's coming' - but not that sense of danger being just one step off the kerb. Anyway, do take a walk that way and see what you think. It was quite a surprise to me to discover a couple of almost Dutch streets so nearby.

Southwark Council uses glyphosate (Roundup) This was discussed on the forum last year here: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?20,1334257 Since that time, further concerns have been raised by the World Health Organisation. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/21/roundup-cancer-who-glyphosate-

Thanks intexas and Lucy! The roof garden is on the existing plans - it's proposed to cover it with astroturf and have some natural play equipment there. It's L-shaped - a rough guesstimate gives 3.5m x 6m for one leg and 12m x 5m for the other (with skylights taking up some of the available space).

I walk and cycle along Bellenden Road and the topiary trees are a delight at all times of year. They compliment the architecture of the building and make excellent use of a narrow space. They make me smile - and many others too, I'm sure. I've only just learned from this thread who was responsible for the years of work it's taken to shape the trees - thank you Lucy for all your work on making them so beautiful. The architecture of the building will be considered as part of the planning application - and the heritage report shows there's been careful thought about how to make a historical building work as a modern school. Similarly, I think the new school could really make a feature of what it has inherited in the topiary display - it's a huge investment of time, money and imagination by both the council and local people. There is not enough detail on the planning application to judge how the proposed space would actually be used for gardening by the children, especially as they are proposing a planter containing an 'instant hedge' in the same narrow corridor. From the 'Design and Access statement' of the planning application: Growing area The strip of land along Bellenden road will be connected with both the main and the Reception playground. A new planter with instant hedging set behind a new vertical bar metal fence will separate this space from the street, safeguarding pupils. It will enhance the street setting of the school and provide a learning resource through proving planting space for all the Years of the school.' From looking at the drawings, I can't agree that this hedge will 'enhance the street setting of the school' more than the existing topiary. I think the school should retain the yews, and simply keep that strip closed off to pupils (to avoid any risk of accidental consumption of leaves). Yes, it is a small site for a school. So small that playtimes will apparently have to be staggered. But there is a roof garden proposed which could offer much better conditions for growing food in containers than the strip between the high school building and a hedge. There are two great gardens - Marsden Road Wildlife Garden and Bellenden Road Nature Garden - within short walks of the school, the latter perhaps in need of a school partner now that Highshore has moved. There are lots of possibilities that would connect the school with the local community. I am going to respond to the planning application with these points and suggest anyone else interested should do so with their comments too. You can write by email [email protected], stating the application number 15/AP/0174 and your postal address (if you don't want your address and email address to show on the scanned version of your comments published on the website, make sure you ask for these to be redacted before being published).

This is a great idea - please do keep us posted here. My other dream continuation of this route from Queens Road would be east along Besson St, over the parking in front of New Cross Sainsbury's and right over the railway tracks, using a cycle and pedestrian bridge (like the railway bridge in Cambridge http://tinyurl.com/mvr4m97 )descending by Fordham Park and joining up with existing routes to Deptford and Greenwich. It would be great to be able to avoid the narrow, busy road outside New Cross Gate station.

Just a reminder that the deadline is this Friday. Still time to apply with a good idea - for cycle parking or anything else that fits the cleaner, greener, safer description!

If you want to cycle but can't because you have nowhere safe or accessible to keep a bike, you might be interested in Southwark Cyclists' new guide on how to get cycle parking http://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/cycle-parking-guide/ There are links to various websites where you can request cycle parking of various different kinds, from Sheffield stands - the usual U-shapes found on shopping streets - to individual lockers and the new 'breadbin' style hangars for six bikes. There's also some specific advice on proposing locations for cycle parking to the council's Cleaner Greener Safer scheme. Several EDF people applied last year - and two were successful, in Heber and Ulverscroft Road, thanks to supportive councillors. The hangars haven't yet been installed - but they will be! The deadline this year is 7 November, and it's a very simple online form, so it's well worth applying if you have a good idea.

I've also had the same problem - the half-completed form (2 pages) disappeared when I clicked on 'next' with no 'submit' button or request for contact details. James, the link you provided takes me to a page headed 'Green Dale Fields Consultation Questionnaire' but has the following message underneath: 'No Form Identifier retrieved' and no form. There is a link to the online form on this page: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces/3569/green_dale_fields This does go to the form ...

And here's a view of the whole street...

Thank you Renata, This is very good news. By chance, on my way through Victoria this afternoon I saw a lovely avenue of plane trees on Morpeth Terrace with a school wall built to zigzag around them. (The trees belong to the school.) This way, both children and pedestrians get the benefit of the trees - cooling, shading, cleaning the air - and there's room to walk. Eleanor

To reply to my own question... I made a complaint about the felling notice to the Trees Department just before posting here and I've just had a long phone call back from a tree officer explaining the reasons for felling. In this case it seems there were two problems: subsidence to the boundary wall and narrowing of the pavement. The subsidence could mean the council being sued and being ordered to cut the tree down. The narrowing of the pavement is a different matter. It clearly needs to be sorted at this point, since you can't get a buggy through, let alone a wheelchair. The Highways Department argues that build-outs can't be used here because of a) the loss of parking and b) problem with sightlines/narrowing the road on approach to the junction. But the second reason is undermined by the first - since there are always cars parked here, the sightlines are always obscured and the highway narrowed. A build-out would be no worse than a car or van - in fact, of course, it would be narrower and lower. Those consulted were 40-50 residents on Grove Lane, contacted by hand-delivered letter. Others in the surrounding areas were thought to have 'less of a vested interest'. But precisely because I don't own any trees, I have a strong vested (personal) interest in the street trees I walk past! And a wider interest in how a community decides to use any given square metres of street space, whether we choose to reserve it for the parking of one private car, or reserve it for one public tree. From my conversation with the officer this afternoon, I don't know what the balance was in this case between the two reasons given for felling. But I would like this kind of discussion to be public, and look at a wider definition of interest. I can only report that the officer says that a new plane tree will be planted at the start of the new planting season and that it will be as large as it can be with a hope of establishing itself well. Information about the reasons for felling and the plans to plant a new tree should be added to the notice by the contractor this afternoon or first thing on Monday. And the tree felled on Tuesday.

Hello, I've just seen a Southwark Council notice announcing the intention to fell the mature plane tree outside 201 Grove Lane, next Tuesday, 20 May. The notice is attached to the tree seven foot up, so it is neither obvious nor easily readable. Nor is the 'reason for felling' section filled in. I've just been told by the council that there was a consultation meeting about this last September and residents on the whole of Grove Lane were invited. Did anyone reading this attend? I am not a resident of Grove Lane but I walk up and down it frequently and the lovely old plane trees are both a delight to look at and play a role in countering the air pollution on this busy road. It's also a conservation area, where mature trees are supposed to enjoy particular protection. I would like to know more about the reasons for felling the tree and the consultation process - can anyone help? Thanks! Eleanor

Hi intexasatthemoment, Both parts of your story chime with many others we've spoken to - theft and the effort of hauling a bike up and down stairs. >I would be thrilled to have a nearby hangar and didn't realise about applying for storage .Presume one applies as >part of a group for funding ? How ,when .who to ? Southwark Cyclists encouraged people to apply via the Cleaner Greener Safer fund this time and we were delighted that about ?80,000 was awarded for various kinds of cycle parking (sheds, lockers, hangars, racks - for estates and streets across the borough, most of them making independent applications, not to do with the Southwark Cyclists campaign). Individuals can apply to the CGS with any 'good ideas' - you don't need to be part of a group, but it helps to get the support of neighbours, Tenants and Residents Associations etc. Look out for the next funding round in the autumn... But in my view the CGS is not the most efficient way of deciding on such a crucial bit of infrastructure (imagine if individuals had to bid for parking spaces one at a time!). There are economies of scale (in consultation, planning process, purchase and installation etc) to be gained by installing lots of storage at once as part of a plan for future transport/healthy living. (See http://www.vangoghwalk.org for a lovely example) >But was sure I read a post from JB on hangars saying that Southwark had refused applications on grounds of not >wanting more street clutter .So this must be a change of heart . This is a pilot project, trialling 5 hangars in Southwark. (Your memory is right, but I think James Barber was referring to Cyclehoop's most famous (up till now!)invention, the eponymous cyclehoop http://www.cyclehoop.com/products/cyclehoops/ that attaches to lampposts to make it easier to lock to them without bikes falling over. I think they are great solutions for some spots, but some have been installed in quite silly places... maybe that's why there was a 'ban' in Southwark?) >Exciting news . Indeed!!

Hi all, The Dulwich hangars are to be in Heber Road and Ulverscroft Road (subject to usual consultation, I imagine). Thanks to James and the other Dulwich councillors for supporting these applications! I'd be really interested to hear from other people who applied for cycle parking locally and/or would cycle if they had somewhere to keep a bike - with other members of Southwark Cyclists I'm interested in gauging the hidden demand, and finding out whether providing secure storage would make a significant difference to the number of people who cycle/how often you can cycle/whether families and flatmates can cycle together etc. Eleanor

Woke up this morning, put on my tin foil hat, munched a bowl of hand-knitted muesli and thought I'd have a go at Huguenot's challenge ("I'm fascinated to discover the solution that Southwark Greens propose to solve this crisis"). First, is Southwark Green Party being 'alarmist' as computedshorty suggests? No, I don't think so. Air pollution is now the second cause of early death after smoking. Computedshorty points out that you can't see modern air pollution, unlike the smogs of the 1950s, but that doesn't mean it's not there. 4,000 people died in the 1952 Great Smog. Now, as many die each year through heart attack and stroke caused by air pollution (according to the Mayor of London's study quoted by Inthepink at the top). I'm afraid this Guardian article starts with Justin Bieber, but once you get past that, it's pretty good: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/19/uk-air-pollution-health-crisis I'm not writing on behalf of Southwark Green Party, and I don't have 'the solution'. I don't think there is one single solution. The one-off answers seem to be suggested by people who just want to knock them down, to say: Ban driving - well that's never going to happen, is it? No, it's not. But a 15% reduction in car journeys? More possible. Have you ever heard a parent say they *love* doing the school run by car? So if it felt safe and normal for children to walk or cycle to school, parents might be happy to stop driving the mile or half mile along rush hour East Dulwich streets...? To make it safe and normal to walk or cycle takes lots of small changes - but a council is in a good position to oversee lots of actions in different areas (e.g. Transport Dept - putting in cycle lanes, making junctions safer, putting cycle stands and hangars on streets; Housing - installing cycle lockers on estates; Education - putting cycle + scooter sheds in schools). And councils are (from April) responsible for Public Health. That's why I think it is worth asking Southwark council to discuss this issue. Here are some of the other approaches that are being talked about more widely: lobby TfL to convert buses to cleaner fuel (they did it in Putney http://www.richardtracey.co.uk/newsdisplay.php/2012-03-30/85_of_putney_high_street_buses_will_be_cleaner_by_2013); ban the oldest diesel engines from London; return to a stricter emissions testing schedule for taxis; discourage idling by coaches, delivery vans etc; plant hedges of pollution-absorbing plants... But I'd better stop before Huguenot gets distracted from the solutions by my tin-foil hat!

Hi James, Thanks for letting people on the forum know about this planning committee meeting. However, just to clarify, this application does not include the 1-11 Pytchley Road site (the derelict yellow brick block on corner of Bromar Road discussed on this thread). The two sites being discussed next week are: 1) the parking area on Pytchley Road near the traffic lights at the junction with Dog Kennel Hill. This was the site of Gatebeck House, which was knocked down 14 years ago to reduce the density of the estate. 2)the caged football 'kickabout' area and parking area on Pytchley Road opposite the junction with Quorn Road. This was the site of Southdown House, which was knocked down by the GLC in the 1970s because of problems of severe and persistent damp. The problems with water can still be seen today - in the permanent lake on the parking area, and the water trickling through the boundary walls and over the pavement around the P13 bus stop!

Thanks for the link to the cycling mums piece Jakido - interesting. Yes, I agree Townleygreen folding bikes look like a good solution for some people. (I've never tried riding one!) The proposed Brompton hub at Peckham Rye station could be interesting... There's a very impressive Brompton hire dock at Manchester Piccadilly. But my feeling is that - as you imply - there isn't one solution that works for all. We need to make it possible to ride safely and conveniently on bikes of different sizes, adult trikes, cargo bikes and box bikes, when pulling trailers or using child seats ... lots of different answers.