first mate

What would be refreshing is if they could simply tell the truth; they desperately need money; some bad decisions had been made in the past; in future they will dump the vanity projects and focus on the basics and essentials- none of those are 'sexy' and probably quite dull for those of the councillors that are career politicians, but dull and dutiful is what we need.

I believe Openreach is a wholly owned BT subsidiary company, so the notion that BT workers can only contact OR via foreign call centres seems absurd. BT also now owns EE. It was suggested to me that I could have a new BT contract and better internet speeds but when I pointed out that the wires into my home were copper and, I have been told by OR and BT, are unlikely to be replaced any time soon, it could not be explained to me quite how performance would improve. However fast the fibre signal to the cabinet is, it will degrade as it goes through the copper- at least that is my understanding.

Has anyone else noticed the xmas lights hooked up to lamp posts down NX road. They were on today at 4pm?!

Just checking again, did anyone ever get one of the 8000 leaflets Cllr James McAsh is on record as saying were sent out around a week before the consultation closed?

Good news that for this year they have dumped the 6 day event and reverted to three. Is the whole build and dismount process within the same timeframe or has that been reduced? Problem is they have the premises licence in perpetuity, so I think they'll try to extend the event again next year and the year after that. Cllr Catherine Rose, the Cabinet member in charge, really, really wants many more events and, of course, the income, so she'll be looking for ways to make the extension happen, I'm in no doubt. Be prepared to fight on!

Thames Water has been installing smart meters for each home. You can lift off the covering and see the meter. Before you go to bed go out and take a reading (photo). Ensure that overnight nobody flushes the loo or turns on taps. As soon as you get up and before you fill the kettle, go out and take another reading. If it is the same as the other reading then I doubt you have a leak. If there is a difference then you need to investigate. I think at that point you could turn off your water at the mains and watch the meter, if it turns then it could be a leak external to your property.

If this consultation ( the one on Southwark's website) is genuine then why are we not able to see the input and comments? It seems Southwark is keeping the public response under wraps, although presumably sharing those with Gala, hence a further meeting with Gala in March? It says the Council consultation closed late January, so why can't we see what the public response was?

Fair enough. If all sorted at the contractor's expense and properly sorted then at worst an inconvenience.

But remember, Southwark Council is the great protector of the environment and champion of climate change. I agree, you couldn't make it up. How on earth do they imagine those trees will get water...bizarre.

But Cllr Leeming's tweet referred to the effect on cars not bicycles. I don't think anyone has ever suggested LTNs increase cycle journeys? Not sure what your point is.

I do believe that it was Concordia (the old Melbourne Grove Practice, super GP Practice owner) that merged with another private Super GP practice and were effectively 'gifted' the wonderful site at TJ. It is an absolute disgrace that a prime piece of NHS real estate was seemingly just handed over to one of Southwark's pet health providers. I think the board is/ was made up of a bunch of city boys, with one or two doctors. Concordia at Melbourne Grove practice were beyond awful and it was on the cards that the TJ GP Practice would go the same way. MG was good under Dr Sheila Grant but as soon as Concordia took over the place rapidly went down hill. I could not believe it when I saw they had got their mitts on the Tessa Jowell site. I meant to say that it is interesting that Evergreen/Omnes, the new version of Concordia, have put a lot into developing an app to offer personalised health data collection from a variety of sources- yes I can see this is useful for the patient but sooooo useful to the company as well.

Without a doubt, all the big ones are at it. Where will it all end?!

Love the bit about "Amazon will securely store your DOB in its system". So it has your name, your address, your phone and email, info on your shopping habits, your card and some banking info, possibly a recording of your voice? But we must not worry as it is all 'safe' and securely stored with Amazon. So what is next, face i/d next, DNA?

What do they consider proof of identity. What do they do with that info, is it scanned in? Just curious.

Does Amazon routinely ask for DOB at point of sale? Surely the recipient on the doorstep can just be asked to tick a box saying they are over 18, if they are younger and the delivery person is not sure? With many people it will be fairly apparent they are over 18, making the question about DOB unnecessary?

Tony, thanks so much for addressing this. I for one was completely unaware. Sounds like it could be awful, especially as the planes will be much lower than at Heathrow. So this must mean quite an increase of plane use and number of planes? How, I wonder, might this affect air pollution locally?

Surprise, surprise. Cllr McAsh knew exactly what he was doing there: use a failing and unreliable service to deliver within a very tight deadline, expecting the system will fail but secure in the knowledge the Council will not be held accountable for that failure. Meantime, as few residents as possible are alerted to an extension for the consultation. I really hope that the residents who got the last extension now ask for another, despite the Council's announcement that the consultation is over.

Yes, I would think anther extension would be required. I wonder how much it costs to do one door to door mail drop to 8000 residences (although we know only some of that was actually done) and then a mail out of 8000? No doubt the Council/ Cllr McAsh will pull the 'it's not our fault if the mail is not working' stunt.

Well, today is the deadline. Did anyone receive a leaflet on CPZ consultation from the Council?

In the latest council meeting, Cllr McAsh said that letters were to be mailed out to residents in DV about the consultation. I am interested to know if anyone has received a letter? The latest mailing was necessary (possibly to meet legal obligations) because somehow the original hand mailing, street by street, seems to have missed whole streets and houses on streets. Given the consultation period, albeit extended, ends on 28 January, it is cutting it a bit fine. If residents have had their letters that is great, but interesting to know, given the parlous state of the post.

Eh, what Malumbu? First you complain about the former post being in the wrong thread, then when it is posted in the right thread, you try to take the subject off thread. This thread is about CPZ consultation. To get back on thread, as Rockets stated earlier, Cllr McAsh states that the consultation on CPZ in Dulwich Village has been extended. Do watch the resident deputation approx 18 minutes in. It is rather revealing and indicates that Southwark may have been using flawed (completely invented) data to support its rationale that DV needs CPZ.

Rockets Posted 15 hours ago (edited) Ha ha…Cllr McAsh seemed to be squirming a bit….here is the link…20 mins in - interesting that the meeting on the 10th at the library about 100 people turned up but were told it was 1:1 format and people had to register. Certainly when I saw the invite to the event there was no mention of 1:1 format or the need to register a second time. Cllr McAsh’s explanation is bumbling to say the least and he doesn’t sound too convinced of what he is relaying to the deputation group. It seemed to me it was a community meeting not this “drop-in 1:1” format that the council now seems to prefer….are they trying to divide and conquer, they really seem to hate having to address an audience of constituents….? - also interesting to hear that an FOI showed there had been no requests for CPZs on some of the roads that, on the council materials, had shown requests had been made. Another oversight per chance…..? - Cllr McAsh admitted there were problems with deliveries of the consultation leaflets and that there could have been issues with the company they use with the addresses…..this is rather odd because if you say hand-deliver to every house on Eynella Road how difficult is it….? The fact they are going to re-issue the documents is very interesting but they will have to get a crack on….and he seemed to indicate they will be posted rather than hand-delivered so expect to receive them one week after the consultation closes at yet more expense to the tax-payer! 😉 - his mention during the drop-in discussion about the active community in Dulwich Village makes me suggest they have a fight on their hands and maybe this isn’t going to be plain sailing for them….but also the fact that the council has, again, messed up communication. His closing comments on that part are incredible….that somehow because the local community had to rely on word of mouth to communicate about the meetings and more people turned up than the council was expecting, because people hadn’t received the council’s documentation, is a poor reflection on the council’s communication skills. His reminder that it is a consultation not a vote is a clear indication that the council is likely to ignore the views of residents and push forward with the CPZ regardless of the outcome. Oh my, we have seen so much of this type of behaviour before from the council - how many more times can they pull these tricks….? Edited 15 hours ago by Rockets

Just watched the meeting. To paraphrase Cllr McCash : We at Southwark are delighted to have consulted with you the residents ( not least because to be able to push through CPZ we have to tick that legal box) but, any shortcomings in the consultation process to date are absolutely not Southwark Council's fault. In fact, you the residents are at fault for spreading the word and turning up to the meeting in far greater numbers than we had hoped. Nonetheless, we will extend the consultation period because, at the end of the day, it is only a consultation not a vote. Rest assured, we are listening to you we really are and well done to you all for telling us what you think, but if we decide you should have CPZ anyway then you'll just have to suck it up!

Would also be interested to hear more from Glemham about the meeting.

Thanks for the heads up.