Earl Aelfheah

Argh, that sucks. Some classic South London venues on that list. Hope they manage to successfully reinvent themselves.

Those views have been expressed and reflected upon (almost ad nauseum) for 4 years. There have been various consultations and a local election since then. Removing a popular pedestrian / seating area and a safe cycle route used by lot's of school children so that cars can sit in a queue, idling at the junction again, is an odd thing to put years of energy into.

No, that wouldn't be a poll. It would be an opinion, which is why it was proceeded by the words 'I suspect'.

Show me any polling data that shows the majority of Londoners are against LTNs and / or ULEZ.

All polling has shown the same thing - that LTNs have majority support. The same is true of ULEZ. Whilst there is a lot of noise from those in favour of car priority in all cases, there is no evidence that their views are widely held. In the local elections, across London those who implemented LTNs were overwhelmingly returned to office with even greater majorities. I strongly suspect that if Dulwich Square were ever torn up so that cars could queue there again, you would see a lot of people and businesses up in arms. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2023/07/13/latest-polling-shows-overwhelming-public-support-for-ltns/

Sunak ordered the DfT to undertake an official study of low-traffic neighbourhoods amid efforts to stop them being built / exploit a potential wedge issue / culture war. It concluded they are generally popular. Despite a very angry minority of people who will not accept even a modest attempt to address (almost total) car dominance of our public spaces, the majority welcome them. Likewise, polling shows that ULEZ has majority support in London. People want safer, quieter areas where one can linger and where (especially kids) can walk and cycle a bit more comfortably / safely. The Dulwich LTN has been in place around 4 years now. The Square is hugely popular and the shops around it are booming. The absolute obsession of those determined to rip it out so that their car can have priority in all cases, is almost pathological at this stage.

Not suggesting any incompetence. But reading the info, it suggests that the bunds are being put in place to hold water in the park: “capturing about 6 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of surface water and releasing it very slowly”. …so I’m interested whether this will lead to the park being more regularly waterlogged. I would have thought that the responsibility for drainage / flood avoidance is a joint one with the private companies who run this infrastructure, alongside the local authority, but may be wrong. Again it would be interesting to know the answer.

Thanks Renata. Are these works likely to lead to the park being waterlogged more regularly? Also, are the sewerage and water companies picking up any of the cost?

I really hope this doesn't lead to parts of the park being permanently waterlogged, as it did when they undertook similar work in Dulwich park. This quote (below), doesn't fill me with confidence.... The cynic in me wonders whether this is a a case of an under investment in our infrastructure / drainage and sewage systems by private companies, externalising the costs of mitigation to councils (and to the detriment of our open spaces).

🤣 Fair Here is a less partisan summary: The council closed the junction of Calton Avenue and Dulwich Village to through traffic around 4 years ago. The road connects East Dulwich and the Village. They have pedestrianised the junction and created what has been called 'Dulwich Square' (the bit where there is seating outside the bookshop / cheesemongers / café). There are some people who would like to see the junction returned to how it was previously (like this). 'One Dulwich' are a group who have been campaigning for this. The constitution of 'One Dulwich' has been criticised for being opaque. The council are currently looking to do some landscaping / make the area look a bit nicer. How's that? All still factual but this time non-emotive.

The council closed the junction of Calton Avenue and Dulwich Village to through traffic around 4 years ago (can't remember exactly when). The road connects East Dulwich and the Village. A lot of children use it to walk and cycle to school, and motor vehicles were using it as a rat run. They have pedestrianised the junction and created what has been called 'Dulwich Square' (the bit where there is seating and a lot of people enjoying the space outside the bookshop / cheesemongers / café). It previously looked like this Opponents claim both that there was no problem with lot's of through traffic, and that there is now a problem with large amounts of displaced traffic as a result of lot's of through traffic having to take a different route (go figure). They would like to remove the seating / community space and the safe cycle route, in order to shave a few minutes off a local car journey. 'One Dulwich' are an organisation that puts out regular 'missives' (some unkind souls would say rampant misinformation), arguing that car drivers should have priority to the exclusion of all else. No one really knows who they are or how they're constituted. There are a number of similar 'One' groups around London, all similarly opaque. There are a handful of people on the forum who have relentlessly moaned about the new space that's been created (and one of very few, relatively safe routes for kids walking and cycling locally) and will probably never stop. In many cases, this extends beyond simply objecting to the LTN, to generally being opposed to cycling, or the extension of pedestrian spaces, or any restrictions or regulations on motor vehicles (ULEZ / 20 mph speed limits etc). A few minutes looking around the 'roads and transports' section and you'll get the gist. The council are currently looking to do some landscaping / make the area look a bit nicer.

That's a shame about Oliver Bonas. Always seems very busy / popular.

I struggle with this. With Brexit, people were asked to give a simple answer to a complex question, surrounded by disinformation and dishonesty. So my instinct is to give people the benefit of the doubt. But to still be supporting Farage now? Reform Ltd are nakedly xenophobic and Farage has been completely exposed for the divisive, self serving grifter that he is. They deserve to be called out on it. To treat them as unfortunate pawns is to patronise them. If you're voting Reform, like Sephiroth says, you're either unwell, unpleasant, or incredibly stupid.

Maybe we could get a pound stretcher to compete with pound land across the road.

Absolutely incredible how many people are willing to support Farage after the damage he has already done to the UK. I can understand people perhaps being taken in by his phony promises and breezy insouciance at one point - simple answers to complex issues have always held sway with the hard of thinking. But he's spent years taking money from taxpayers as an absent MEP, as a rent-a-gob for anyone who will have him on a TV show and is now taking in 'donations' to Reform Ltd - a company for which he is Director and majority shareholder. It is quite clear that his ridiculous Brexit project has absolutely failed and that he is nothing but a divisive, attention seeking grifter. Are people really so keen to be treated as fools? Are Reform supporters suffering from some sort of Stockholm syndrome? It's embarassing.

Their menswear is very conservative / dull. Agree with CycyleMonkey - weekend clothes for finance bros (that's not a bad tagline for them). Never good to see a business fail, but I am a little surprised they've kept going as long as they have. Hopefully it will be replaced by another shop quickly... it's a fairly big unit for the Lane.

At least it's only 3 days. Brockwell Park seems to have been properly taken over for weeks on end.

The OP is asking for advice in dealing with a difficult neighbour (and what sounds like an extremely stressful situation) and it feels like they're being slightly attacked. It's quite possible that the individual does have serious mental health problems - the OP is in a better position to judge this than those responding to the thread - as they say, they're not saying this to stigmatise anyone, just providing relevant context.

The Lordship is a good call. The Greyhound in Peckham also has a basement space for hire I believe

Hi. I need to get my bike serviced. Does anyone have any local recommendations? Thanks

Not sure were you're getting 'cool rishi' from. I thought he had quite a reputation for being tetchy.

What do you typically do with an ostrich egg that's different to a hens' egg? Do they taste different? I'm not sure I've ever heard of anyone cooking with them. You would need some big bread soldiers if you're having them soft boiled.

Yeah, I kind of agree. I don't know why they do it at the back of the park where it's more landscaped / undulating, rather then the 'common' part (in front of the café), which would seem better suited (effectively a big flat field). This is where they put the circus when it's in town.

He looks like he'd be rather in favour of Mickey Mouse degrees

Cheaper, quicker and greener than a car