kiera

So James, as you didn't know about this event on Goose Green, are you saying that the council carried out a consultation in July but didn't include local councillors? What a strange "consultation" - it seems it didn't include local residents or businesses either - a typical Events Team consultation. Are you going to challenge the council/cabinet member to change the events policy to include consultation with local people?

From my experience, this is as I understand the situation:- The council have adopted policies which commit them to making money from any suitable space, including parks and green spaces - anyone can apply to use anywhere. Council officers decide what's suitable for each space without any consultation with the public. If there was a Friends' group for Goose Green, they would probably inform you of their intentions, but you still probably wouldn't have much influence. There is no commitment to use the money they make to benefit the space they've rented out. Councillors will have been informed of any planned event, but you'll undoubtedly find that they are obliged to defend the policy. I think it's totally wrong that council officers have the power to decide what's suitable, without consultation with residents. I think you are right to raise this with councillors.

Reopening on Thursday this week - 28th

P13 was back to normal, using Whately Rd this evening.

Yes, I used the P13 yesterday and, as it could not use Whately Rd, it was diverted via Lordship Lane and Barry Rd. There were no notices on the two bus stops it could not serve (Underhill Rd/Crystal Palace Rd and Whately Rd) so people were waiting in vain at those stops. There were no announcements for passengers on the bus to let them know the bus was on diversion and it didn't stop at any of the stops on Barry Rd when passengers rang the bell. I was under the impression that the bus drivers had not been prepared for this diversion, so were having to concentrate on following the diversion signs.

Years ago, when I made a pond (in E.Dulwich). I put a large clump of reeds in it and some goldfish. Frogs, toads and newts must have been in the area, as they all appeared in the pond, along with pond creatures such as water boatmen, pond skaters and damselflies. They all bred - plenty of predators in that mix, but also plenty of cover for the fish fry and tadpoles, so plenty of the young survived. Luckily, my frogs didn't get that fungus disease. I don't think we have the same local reserves of amphibians and other wildlife for a pond to colonise naturally like that now - too many ponds have been filled in, garden areas diminished to make way for house extensions/patios and solid fences put up which prevent free movement between gardens of amphibians etc which restricts them to such an extent that they can't survive, such as seems to have happened with hedgehogs, which disappeared from my garden quite some years ago.

You asked when would be the best time to change your pond. I would suggest summer if you have amphibians in the pond currently. In autumn & winter they could be hibernating in the mud at the bottom and in spring they would be breeding, so I would wait until after tadpoles have turned into froglets and left the pond, so, I would suggest August. I apologise if I'm telling you things you already know, but I recommend that you buy a good quality liner - inferior ones can start to disintegrate in sunlight - & that you put a soft layer on top of the bricks to lay it on, otherwise, the weight of the water could cause a puncture in the liner if it's laid directly on the bricks, which could have sharp corners. Also, to make sure amphibians have places where they can crawl in and out.

I can't agree with Penguin that fireworks are a "need". To me, the issue is the enormously loud bangs. It's a natural reaction of people and animals to be startled. Fireworks are primarily a visual display, which can be most appreciated when it's dark and they need explosives to fire them - that much is understandable, but do the explosions need to be so loud? According to the link from first mate earlier today, they don't. To me, that's the issue.

I don't think you can know the site or the planning application at all if you think that Greendale is a wood - it's Greendale Fields. The planning application is to build houses on Dulwich Hamlet Football ground and take over part of Greendale Fields which is open green space, currently freely available to the public for recreational use, The owners of Dulwich Hamlet Football Ground didn't buy the football ground because they love football - they bought it in order to build houses on it and make a fortune for themselves.

As there were only three objections it was not referred to a planning committee -the decision was made by an officer. The Dulwich Hamlet/Greendale thread also reports that Southwark's planning website is down - since Friday apparently.

The decision to fell is the council's. The planning application which was open for objections was last year. The London Wildlife Trust objected at the time. Most people probably didn't know anything about it until after the council had given themselves permission to fell the two mature and healthy oak trees. https://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9581175

Gillette offer recycling of razor blades - it's not clear whether or not it's only for their own ones:- Gillette https://www.gillette.co.uk/recycle.list "Simply email us your name and delivery address and we will do the rest [email protected] We will send you a free post envelope in 2-3 weeks to put your blades in and send by Royal Mail. It's completely free."

Only items put in recycling bins is sorted in Southwark, at their Veolia depot.

They had large recycling containers on Peckham Rye which had to be removed due to people abusing the facility and using the site as a rubbish tip (as they did everywhere else where these containers were sited) so the council will probably be resistant to the idea after that experience. I think you're suggesting small recycling bins alongside the rubbish bins within the park and that's much more likely to work.

The bus stop opposite Dulwich Library (where the 12 and 40 terminate) is temporarily out of use, due to Thames Water works. There was a large amount of water running down Lordship Lane past the library yesterday, so it's now being fixed. The sign says the work will be going on until 2nd July.

At least Marks and Spencer's olive oil is not produced by the night time vacuum harvesting method which kills millions of birds. A number of newspapers reported on this last month:- "Every year, millions of songbirds are brutally killed by suction olive harvesters as they rest at night in olive trees. In many regions, this industrialised slaughter takes place because harvesters have switched to night time harvesting simply to improve the flavour of the olives" https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/songbirds-death-toll-millions-mediterranean-olive-harvesting-winter-a8916471.html Apparently the colder night time temperatures better preserve the flavour. In the daytime the birds can fly away, but at night they are trapped. "Ethical Consumer are currently looking into the best brands to buy if you want to be assured that your olive oil has not contributed to the slaughter of wild birds. Whilst the full report is still in progress, they have released the following statement to help concerned buyers in the meantime: "In response to queries, Ethical Consumer magazine has been contacting brands about what their policy is relating to birds and olive oil. The following brands have replied to say that they do not use the olive harvesting method that leads to vast bird deaths: BionaOrganic, Mr Organic, Marks and Spencer. A more detailed report from one of their researchers is soon to come." From the Olive Oil Times https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-basics/millions-of-birds-killed-by-nighttime-harvesting-in-mediterranean/68111 Martin Harper, the RSPB?s director of conservation said, ?Numbers of farmland birds in Europe have plummeted by 55 per cent over the last three decades and this is another shocking example of how modern agricultural practices are impacting our bird populations, including some UK species passing through the region.? Andalusian officials have recommended the practice stops but unless legislation is passed in the next few months the ?massacre? will start again in October, researchers warn. Petition http://chng.it/zDmy4rzC64

This doesn't answer how the smart meter is powered but if Dulwich Fox's water pipes are shared, that could make his house unsuitable - from Thames Water's website:- "We aim to fit your meter in the footpath outside your home so it can be fitted and maintained without disturbing you. This will be done roughly four weeks after we write to you, you do not need to be home for this. If this isn?t possible, for example your pipework is shared with a neighbour, we may need an appointment with you to look for an alternative place to fit your meter. This could be next to your internal stop tap. If this is the case we will call you to arrange a convenient time to carry out this work"

James - do you know whether the former paper sacks for garden waste will continue to be collected after June 1st as they won't have been paid for. It's more than likely that the new ones they say they are going to sell will be distinguishable from the ones for which we didn't have to pay. NB I know they won't be collected automatically after June 1st - I know that a collection will have to be booked.

tortor Wrote: --------------------------------------------- > Of course the other way of looking at it is that Southwark are trying to hard to raise revenue to reinvest in parks, despite massive budget cuts from central government. That's incorrect - the money raised is not for the parks or even for essential services - it's to put on more events and build up the events team & pay their salaries, with the aim of making events self financing. In other words, empire building.

You don't have to use the pharmacy across the road. I've seen people queuing up outside that one, still waiting to go in after the time it should have reopened after lunch. There are other pharmacies.