Rockets

James, I added an entry to the interactive map. Will you be alerting us to which plans are being implemented and when, there are a lot of great ideas that have been posted?

A lot are repatriation and cargo flights - even a lot of the passenger planes have been re-equipped to carry cargo. I think Heathrow is running at about 10% of capacity and a lot of those flights are basically empty. Terminals 3 and 4 have been closed, only one runway is operating and I suspect they are funnelling arrivals into windows (much like they used to do at City) so you'll get a flurry of landings at certain times of the day.

James,you started the 3 threads.....;-) You are clearly putting your ideological and political aspirations ahead of the majority of your constituents - you did it with the CPZ, you did it with your canvassing of Melbourne Grove when the Dulwich Village changes were proposed and you are doing it now with the Covid closure of said roads. We are all but a stepping stone in your political career - you seem more interested in keeping the Labour paymasters happy than the people you represent.....expand your echo chamber and you will hear that people want you to do more to represent your community against things like the DV road changes as they will have huge impact on us in East Dulwich - but no, you tow the party line and lobby for them even though the majority of your constituents don't want them. And for the benefit of those who haven't read the blog here are the things you are most proud of in your two years representing Goose Green ward - all very admirable but not a lot there to inspire confidence that you are doing much for the people who voted for you. And with that, m'lud, the prosecution rests their case.....;-) 1) Amplifying the grassroots Change comes from below, not from committee rooms. I see my role as giving progressive campaigns a voice in the Council. After voting against Delancey?s plans for the Elephant and Castle - with its lack of social homes and support for local traders - I have worked with campaigners trying to get a better deal. When Sisters Uncut pointed out that a Home Office immigration officer was working from Southwark Council, I worked with them, the Law Centre and local party members to kick them out. 2) Members shaping the council When it comes to local government, party members often feel shut out. In my first year, I was Secretary of the Labour Group of councillors. In that role, I tried to bridge the divide by liaising with branch secretaries and putting members? motions on the Group?s agenda. More recently I campaigned with party members and fellow councillors for an all-members hustings and member-participation in the vote for the new Leader of Southwark Council. We were successful with the former but not the latter. (This has since been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic.) 3) Supporting trade union struggles We?re called the Labour Party for a reason - the workers? movement is central to everything we do. As a councillor, I have always tried to support trade union campaigns and disputes, from joining picket lines like at the PictureHouse to challenging the Royal Mail on the closure of our sorting office. On a number of occasions, I have aligned council policy with campaigns by Unite, Unison, GMB, TSSA, RMT, and NEU. 4) Engaging with the community I pledged to meet every state school in the ward during my first six months. Since then, we?ve worked together on a number of projects, from road safety to social inclusion. During the coronavirus pandemic, Cllr Maggie Browning and I have hosted a fortnightly coordinating meeting between East Dulwich?s mutual aid groups. These groups show Goose Green at its best: caring, generous and committed to supporting the local community. Finally, I cannot mention community engagement without bringing up the East Dulwich CPZ. This divided opinion in the community and there was no solution which would have satisfied everyone. Nonetheless, I?m proud of the work we did to bridge the divide and carve out a proposal that most people could live with. 5) Getting the work done It?s the four points above that really motivate me. But much of the work of a councillor is unseen. It?s not enough to do the campaigns if the day-to-day work is neglected. I?ve not missed a council meeting in the last year, my record on casework is one of the highest in the borough, and I?ve submitted the most Council Assembly motions of any councillor.

Cllr McAsh, To address some of your responses: Other Locations: Why don't you do the pragmatic thing and do an area wide review rather than taking this haphazard piecemeal approach? It speaks volumes to the council's ability to deliver on anything, that you have not undertaken an area wide approach to the issues that Covid presents? You have done nothing to help people trying to go about their business on Lordship Lane - there has been an huge amount of inaction on your part. Other local councils seem to be far more coordinated and have responded more quickly. Your approach seems knee-jerk, panicked and suggests a complete lack of preparedness and it makes some wonder why more thought wasn't given to this over the 9 weeks of lockdown. The decision-making process Yes other councils have enacted those powers but have done so in a far more broad brush approach - is the best you can come up with one of your pet projects that you have tried every route available to you to get implemented. I spoke to a lot of people on Lordship Lane today and no-one had any idea that you were planning to do this. All were in shock that you would try to use Covid as the reason to fast-track this through and all said the same thing - what does this mean for the roads and routes around here especially Lordship Lane and why isn't our local councillor doing more for the broader community. Schools Reopening In your role as a teacher and a member of the NEU when do you think children will be allowed back in schools? Many share the same concerns you have but there are also many whose children are missing school, their education and their friends and many parents need to start getting back to work and are beholden to when schools re-open. One of your tweets suggested that maybe schools should not reopen until the summer of 2021 per Cambridge University's announcement of the same for lectures. Realistically, when do you think your union's 5 point plan can actually be met and children should be returning to school? I note on another of your tweets that you said no private schools are returning until after the summer (until someone pointed out to you that the schools you mentioned are secondary schools and would not be expected to under the govts current plans). I know you hate everything about private schools but you do realise some of the ones in your local area are returning on Jun 1st? Your focus to try and close Melbourne, Derwent and Elsie seems to be at the expense of other initiatives that could help more people in your ward. You started a track on this forum asking for input from residents and plenty were given but none have been actioned. I walked down Lordship lane today and it was clear the council need to provide more bike parking structures - that is a simple and effective way of helping people get to and from Lordship Lane and benefits everyone and I am surprised it hasn't been actioned already - you have had fleets of Conway workers doing other work during lockdown so why not divert some of those resources to trying to deliver something tangible to the community. How You Contact Goose Green Residents You're trying to divide and conquer on this one. You should be on here engaging with everyone in the community. When you want something from the community - like your Melbourne Grove survey - you carpet bomb the forum to try and drum up support and then when people start asking you questions you don't answer and suggest email instead. A bit like when people challenged you on the lie that your are spinning about the 40% increase in traffic at the Dulwich Village junction to justify the changes to the road there. You repeat it and then hide behind your colleagues and tell people to lodge a complaint when you get exposed. If there's one thing people hate it's invisible politicians. As I mentioned on another thread the things you are most proud of, per your blog, in your two years in office have little to do with Goose Green and far more about your ideological and political aspirations and this Melbourne Grove farce is a classic example. I will make a prediction now that if you go ahead with it it will cause complete chaos in the surrounding area on a par to Lambeth's folly at Loughborough Junction.

It may have been mentioned somewhere on this thread before but it would be good if the council looked at more bike securing devices along Lordship Lane. A lot of people do want to cycle to use the shops but are unable to due to the dearth of places to secure them.

James, But why Melbourne, Derwent and Elsie? You mention 3 schools nearby but that's hardly justification for emergency closure of roads when none of the schools are open. Given your work within the NEU and your passionate fight against the government for a June 1st return for parts of the school community I just wonder when are you expecting schools to re-open - if September or more likely much, much later given your fight then surely these measures are not urgent and should be properly considered to assess the impact on other parts of the area and within a properly organised and community engaged area wide review? Knee-jerk implementation of such measures will not end well. Am I interpreting your note correctly that your colleagues in the council were about to block those 3 roads without any consultation under the emergency powers you have been given and you had to intervene to give residents a "say"? I am not sure many people trust you that anyone other than the residents of Melbourne Grove etc will be listened to and even if they said no to it you wouldn't rehash the results to give you your mandate as you did with the CPZ. Also, this is a Labour party survey conducted via Google Docs not a council survey so does it count as a consultation? We would be a lot more supportive if you properly communicated with your constituents and didn't make arbitrary decisions that impact everyone. You have been rallying to get these closures in place for some time and it seem to a lot of us that Covid is the trojan horse and it is political opportunism. I have suggested to you before that perhaps you should spend more time on here - this is one of the main community forums and your drop-in, drop-out approach and encouragement to people to email rather than discuss here suggests a divide and conquer strategy. You spend a lot of time on twitter so maybe a little less time there and more here might improve your communication with your constituents as I am sure you can see there are plenty of people locally who are incredulous that you are trying to implement this! ;-)

Rollflick - as I said there needs to be pragmatic and rational analysis and your point illustrates that perfectly. Just because Melbourne Grove is a designated cycle route doesn't mean it should be closed. Now I understand why Khan is suggesting closing (amongst others) the route from Waterloo, across Waterloo Bridge and on along Kingsway past Holborn to all traffic bar buses and bikes (one presumes they are encouraging those who have no choice but to travel to Waterloo by train - per my comments on London's linear creation - to do the last part of their journey on bike instead of on the tube) - but I am sure you'll agree there is far less justification to close Melbourne Grove when applying the same rational and pragmatic analysis of transport in the new Covid world - I doubt you'll see flocks of commuter son bikes bombing along Melbourne Grove. Also when you look at the report you linked to there are a lot of other designated cycle routes that are not being closed to through traffic or their residents being consulted by our councillors. So it begs the question - why this, why now and, to your point, why is it being done in isolation and not part of an area-wide consultation? Once again the council and councillors are opening themselves up to a lot of difficult questions, alienating themselves to a large percentage of their constituents but they don't seem to care - they did it with the CPZ, they are doing it with the Dulwich Village "consulation" and now are at it again. They are completely incapable of engaging in any sort of balanced dialogue and use under-hand tactics to lever their projects through.

And also there has to be some rational and pragmatic analysis of where people actually commute to and from everyday. It's all well and good the likes of Khan arbitrarily closing streets in London to encourage more people to walk and cycle due to the limitations on public transport but there is a reason London is one of the biggest linear cities in the world, growth outwards was driven by the rail and tube revolution and the ability to commute long distances to city centres. There are millions of passenger journeys every day to and from London. In East Dulwich we are lucky as we live within 4/5 miles of the city centre which is perfectly doable on a bike - not everyone can but at least it is an option for a few. Not everyone has that luxury and scant regard is being given to them. The parallels are strong with what is happening in central London to what is happening in East Dulwich - pure opportunism and a predictable reaction. And when I read the source of the quote below I cannot help but laugh at the irony (it's a bit like quoting the Daily Mail on immigration....) "We have no choice.. This is not ideological > opportunism. This is a necessity" > > [www.theguardian.com]

The empty roads had encouraged people to drive like idiots. There was an upside in the early weeks though, apparently the police were given permission to chase cars (normally they are not allowed to for fear of causing a crash) and quite a few baddies got the shock of their lives when they got chased and arrested!

There is a huge amount of self-interest driving this. Melbourne Grove seems to be the epicentre of self-interest but they seem to have the ear of the councillors and seem to be listened to more than anyone else in East Dulwich - look at how they were pandered to during the CPZ "consultations" and look at the red-carpet that was rolled out for them at the CPZ council hearings whilst traders and others were given scant regard and were completely overlooked. And James, your assumption that traffic magically evaporates is nonsense - it just goes another way. I was kind of hoping we might get a more reasoned response from the "opposition". ;-) To use the Trojan horse of corona-virus to lobby to try and fast-track this through is beyond belief - you could apply the same acid-test to every street in every city in the country at the moment. I do wonder whether the councillors are trying to force this through before social distancing reduces from 2m to 1m and all this becomes a bit of a moot point. This is political opportunism at its absolute worst.

You need to download and print your permit and put that and a recent utility bill on your dashboard - you also need a photocard driving licence. As you drive towards the recycling centre there is an initial holding point before the roundabout where you stop and they check your number plate, look at your permit and utility bill through the windscreen and then they look at your driving licence through the (closed) car window. If you are early for your time slot you then wait there but I was within the time slot so was waved through. As you enter the facility they stop you again, check your number plate against their records and then radio ahead and wave you through. At the top of the ramp they stop you again to tell you which bay to go to. The bays are bigger than usual and each bay has easy access to the different categories of waste so you don't have to go near anyone.

I went online and got a slot last week and went today and it was very smooth - in and out in no time at all - three separate checks by staff on they way in, all very efficient and well run.

For any resident in that area it is worth noting: This is one of Cllr McAsh's pet projects that he is shamelessly using Covid-19 as the catalyst for engaging those who live on the impacted roads to get the restrictions put in place. Cllr McAsh was canvassing Melbourne Grove residents some months ago agitating for the closure on the basis that the Dulwich Village Healthy Streets closures would push more traffic along Melbourne Grove. If you have any opposition you have to be vocal directly to Cllr McAsh and the council and make your voice be heard throughout the community - you are his constituents but he only tends to listen to the minority that further his goals. The survey Cllr McAsh has forwarded will exclude from the findings any input from anyone who does not live on the impacted roads. The same happened during the CPZ consultation. If you have any concerns make sure you are heard. He is supposed to represent you and look after your interests not those of his party.

Cllr McAsh was doing door to door lobbying of people on Melbourne Grove using the Dulwich Village proposed changes as the Trojan horse to drive home the changes on Melbourne Grove and now he can't go canvassing support door to door (repeating the 40% traffic increase lie) he is using the cover of Corona-virus as the catalyst to fast track this change through. Using Corona-virus for political gain is the most shameful opportunism and utterly beyond reproach. One would have expected better from Labour.

James, it is quite clear the numbers for DV the council have been peddling are untrue. As the local councillor I would expect you to come back with a definitive answer...you presented those figures as fact yet when challenged seem to be taking what is being said in blind faith. It doesn?t take Sherlock Holmes to do a little research and determine the council?s claim of 40% is utter tosh. Why don?t you back your constituents who have asked you a question and find out whether the stat is correct or not? We have uncovered a significant falsehood used by your council to lobby people to vote for your plans - you would be up in arms if another party did that. You?re lying to us. Then you brazenly send a survey about Melbourne Grove using Corona-virus to help your personal/political crusade to close Melbourne Grove to traffic. This is shameful. Just months ago you were lobbying for the CPZ on the basis that people used Melbourne a Grove to park their cars to use the station...yet now we hear no-one will be using the station so now what is your concern (ahem, sorry the concern of those residents who contacted you in such numbers that you felt compelled to start a new survey). Then you lobby people for more traffic measures on the basis of displaced traffic from the DV ?improvements? and now this... ....do you think we are stupid? You?re out of control and are taking all the residents of East Dulwich for a ride. What are you actually doing for your constituents....I read with interest the 5 things you are most proud of during your 2 years in office thus far https://www.jamesmcash.com/blog/two-years-down-two-to-go And I note there isn?t a lot about things you have done for your constituents, plenty of things you are proud of to further your political aspirations and curry favour within your party but little of tangible benefit to the majority of your Goose Green constituents. Are you in it for the people or the party?

Rollflick, all James cares about is party politics and keeping the comrades happy. I completely agree that the council should be amending Lordship Lane for the new socially distanced world but I think many of our fears are being realised that the council see Corona-virus as a great opportunity to fast-track some of their broader political traffic plans through without any scrutiny. The Melbourne Grove survey is a joke. They are starting the land grab, ignoring the fact that people are likely to look to cars as few return to public transport - it?s going to be chaos. I am shocked by the brazenness of it.

I hope the powers that be at local, regional and national level take a pragmatic approach to this. Yes there is clearly an opportunity to change travel trends and usage in light of the pandemic but they cannot, as they have done in the past, take a sledge hammer to crack a nut and they have to be mindful of what is actually happening rather than pursuing their own agendas. They need to be mindful that the majority of these people will be moving away from public transport - which has, for so long, been lauded as one of the solutions to the pollution problems - that is a huge issue as so much of our road and transport infrastructure is built around, and prioritises, public transportation. Careful thinking and planning needs to go into this - for example, the temporary widening of pavements at choke points makes perfect sense - but this cannot be a trojan horse employed to carve up what is left of the road dedicated to car use - that would be a foolish pursuit as car use will have to increase if public transport is limited. Also I read people lobbying to get e-scooters legalised and whilst they seem like a commonsense approach to travelling longer distances they do come with big challenges, namely rider safety (we have all seen the idiots buzzing along the roads at breakneck speeds on them) and, I visited Munich and they are legal there and the city is littered with thousands and thousands of the things, just left waiting for the next person to jump on one - cluttering pavements and creating a huge eyesore. I sense this may have been more about companies rushing to try and claim a stake in the e-scooter rental market but if you thought discarded Lime bikes were a pain you wait until the e-scooters arrive!

James, Are you telling us porkies.... the numbers below that were posted on here sometime ago suggest something completely different.... Can you provide a source for that please? Soutwark Council's own traffic surveys do not support that. Their figures for DV over the last few years show: 2014 = 15,414 movements 2015 = 15,055 2016 = 14,822 2017 = 10,007 low because of works to DV 2018 = 14,375 estimate because they changed the reporting basis 2019 not yet published According to those figures there has only been a 47% increase between 2017 and 2018 when the DV works were being carried out. Also, as you were canvassing the Melbourne Grove area were you offering your support to your constituents to lobby against the plans your colleagues in the council are suggesting for the DV area to reduce the impact on their area or were you merely lobbying for additional restrictions on Melbourne Grove as a result of the plans in DV?

Cllr Mcash what was the feedback from those residents you were canvassing in the Melbourne Grove area? Were they aware of the impact on their streets and what was your message to them? Are you opposing the measures on their behalf or lobbying to extend the programme to include their streets? BTW your twitter photo is brilliant - that may be socialism in action but the man in the photo is looking at you like a man who isn't convinced! ;-)

The council manipulating and fudging figures for their own benefit....surely not..;-).....they did it for the CPZ consultation and are doing it for the DV activities too. The 47% is a good headline figure for them to rally support for their proposals but scratch beneath the surface and you realise it's complete nonsense and nothing more than misleading propaganda. They shouldn't be allowed to do it but they always get away with it....zero accountability, it's why so many of us have lost all faith in politicians.

There were notes being left on cars on Woodwarde Road today by Conway workers after they put no parking signs along the road to commence works. I do hope everyone was able to move their cars before they were forcibly removed. All seems a bit bizarre and badly thought-out given the current circumstances.

But are the police there to move people on or get their own takeaway they are actually checking out the menu! There seems to be a serial leaker of stories or a Daily Mail journalist within our midsts.....

We should all take every article with a huge pinch of salt....it was only a month or so ago that media were reporting that more men in China were dying of Corona-virus because so many of the male population smoke there. The issue is no-one really knows much about what works, or doesn't work, with this virus. Also there is a lot of noise about flights still coming in but only about 10% of flights are still running, most are desolate, many are carrying nothing but cargo (they are covering the seats with netting to load cargo instead of passengers) and some are re-repatriation flights (we saw a plane heading over East Dulwich towards Heathrow a week or so ago which was, I think, Trident Airlines - not an airline anyone would have heard of before it had been chartered to bring people back from Florida). One thing to say about Trump is that his nightly press conferences, which have become must-watch in our house, are pure comedy gold; it's by far the most entertaining thing on TV (just a shame the subject matter is so serious)...last night's entry to which The Standard's article refers should have been entitled When Science and a Deluded Narcissist Collide.

Seenbeen, I think there is an issue for a lot of households given the fact many families are consuming more as children are at home rather than at school. I also think a lot of people have been taking the opportunity to do a bit of spring cleaning during the lockdown. We went for a cycle today and followed the recycling lorry along Friern Road and the road was strewn with recycling debris - my initial thought was that the waste collection teams were being a bit careless but the issue was that every bin was over-filled and were depositing items as they were wheeled to the lorry and then as they were lifted. It resembled the Old Kent Road on a Sunday morning by the time the lorry had departed but completely understandable given the amount that was being crammed into each bin.

That French story has so many layers it's just begging to be peeled! Selfish so and so's. And in Dulwich Park this morning police were on bikes having to move people on who weren't exercising.