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The snow was so powdery yesterday that I managed to completely clear the footpath in front of my house with a broom within minutes. It's a bit more compacted today, so I've left it so that sections don't freeze over and create trip hazards. In the past, Lordship Lane pavements have been low down the pecking order for gritting, but I've always had to walk down Lordship with my trowel afterwards to clear the salt out of the tree pits so that the grit doesn't kill off our trees.

Hi Ian... the first thing I did was to look up the roadworks on this useful link, but all I could see was the services installation on the Melbourne house, as per above. But, I just looked now and I could see the notice of an SMA patch in the road on EDG, which is basically a form of heavy tarmac to address the sinking of the existing road surface. So, it does look like there were several things going on at the same time... it appears that the public notices were just slow to be publically posted and officers difficult to contact.

Thanks, James... it's weird, though, as Conways were clear two days in a row that they were removing the concrete underlay "hump" because of vibration complaints. Maybe Conways had to remove the concrete so that the gas people could reach the gas pipes underneath? Conversely, there was simultaneous work being done to install services into the new house that's being built at the EDG end of Melbourne... there were gas vans and I spoke to the Thames Water guys, who were clear that they weren't involved in the EDG end of the works. Maybe the council was actually being efficient (!) and managed to coordinate two or three projects within the context of one road closure??

The Melbourne Grove/EDG junction is now open! However, there are now more roadworks on EDG by the Dutch Estate up by Alleyn's... not completely closed but the road is reduced to a single lane with traffic lights. I think the works up by the Dutch Estate are the gas works, James... the closure down by Melbourne was definitely the removal of the concrete slab hump. Getting a council officer to communicate is impossible, so I'm having to chat to the Conways chaps.

Thanks for the date estimate, Reg. As it happens, the 1996 slot works better with the 1997 slot that I was remembering from my own memory timeline, so I'll flag 1996 to begin with, if I can ever get anyone to speak to me.

FYI, the Conways guys told me yesterday that they hoped to be done by this evening (Thurs) at the latest, but I don't know if they realise yet what possible issues could be involved. Fingers crossed...

Ah yes, Reg... I think replacing the crumbling sewers feeding into EDG was part of the bigger picture as it would be more cost effective to dig everything up at the same time. Or, it's possible that what I think of as an overflow facility was actually enlarged sewers being implemented. But it would make sense that concrete barriers were inserted in order to protect everything from road traffic vibrations. And I also remember it taking weeks/months. Do you remember what year this was? I seem to think '97 or '98, but I could well be wrong.

Yep, Peng, this is what I'm worried about, as my house has been flooded twice due to the chaotic post EDG reservoir sewer re-diversions. But, actually, I don't think the problem is Southwark Council... Thames Water's technical diagrams and management procedures are a nightmare... in addition to the incorrect sewer diagrams, I'm currently in complaint with them regarding damage to my home from a burst water main outside my house because of an incorrect technical clean water road diagram. In the process of resolving all of this, I've tried several times to get a copy of the EDG underground water facility layout, but it sounds like this was never registered with the council?? Bear in mind that I may well be remembering incorrectly, but I'm still trying to track someone down to discuss... if nothing else, it's weird that there was an underground concrete barrier set under the road in this location, so my explanation may be relevant.

mynamehere Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Separately > We?re losing our street trees on Upland Rd and > there?s no announced plan to replace them. I > accept the trees have gone through disease and > safety. But it seems in 2018 we have no solid > knowledge of which trees work and how to plant > them subject to street and pavement restrictions. > > Quite honestly I despair that each and every > amenity to day to day quality of life has to be > begged and fought for. While a line of trees down > a city street is not the canopy nature needs it > does help fight pollution, noise and there?s just > no end of words to describe urban design and > children?s mental health. Hi mynamehere... I totally agree with you! As I have been posting here for a couple of years now, there is funding and technical ways to get around the new street tree planting policies, but I haven't been able to circumvent the "official" communication obstacles. I suspect we're going to have to wait until the May council elections are over and then start bashing away again...

I went down and spoke to them... there appeared to be a hump in the road that has been causing noise and vibrations (causing structural issues) which apparently the houses on either side have been complaining about for some time. So, Conways is excavating it, removing the concrete underlay and replacing it with tarmac so that heavy vehicles won't cause bashing noises and vibrations. They calculate that they will be done by tomorrow (Wednesday), but it looks like they have a displayed highway order up until Friday, presumably so that works can be extended in case anything goes wrong. From memory, I don't think there was an actual speed hump there... there was an assessment years ago to implement a raised table across the intersection of the junction of EDG and Melbourne, but this was advised against - instead, the council only created pavement raised table crossings on both sides of Melbourne, but left EDG untouched. I have a funny feeling that I remember what was behind the concrete reinforcement in this location... from memory, Thames Water installed a very complicated underground water sewer reservoir in this location (in the mid to late 1990s) to address some of the sewer floods in the area and they bookended the reservoir with concrete supports under the road so that vehicles wouldn't bash away at the underground structure over time, which could cause it to fracture and flood. But I can't find anyone from highways to speak to... ironically, the redirection of the sewers towards this underground overflow facility has indirectly been causing other flooding problems up at the Lordship end of Melbourne for some time, but no one appears to have a copy of the EDG drawings. BTW, the Conways guy I spoke to was lovely and very helpful... sometimes it's useful to communicate.

I actually went down there and spoke to the workmen, the guy I spoke to was lovely and very helpful. They'll be done tomorrow...I'll post the full explanation on the other thread.

Can you confirm what's happening with Whateley Road, James? A raised table would be brilliant, we've been campaigning for this for years, ever since Melbourne/Lordship got its raised table(s). They are great for pedestrians, but also serve as a traffic calming measure. I saw some engineers measuring up a few months ago and it sounded like a raised table was being designed, so am assuming this is the purpose of the Traffic Order along that small section?

FYI, Traffic Orders in the Southwark News state that Crawthew Grove will be closed to traffic for roadworks on the 5th-6th March and Frogley Road will be closed on the 6th-7th March, so hopefully this means that they're being properly resurfaced? Then Whateley Road is going to be closed between Lordship and Landcroft from the 5th-23rd of March (Ref 4067/77000421). Not much specific information but, from memory, they were going to implement a raised table junction crossing at the corner of Whateley w/ Lordship (between the Harris school and the shopping parade), and then resurface? Not much information, but phone number 0207 525 2014 listed, so I'll call during the week if I remember or can someone post if they find out more? As per the other thread, Calton Avenue is going to be closed for final arm of the DulVil junction works from 26th Feb-1st March.

FYI, there's a Traffic Order advertised in the Feb 15 issue of the Southwark News stating that Calton Avenue will be closed for Highway works between Feb 26th and March 1st (ref 4082). It looks like the Calton Ave works are going to be the final phase of the junction redesign project? From memory, they are removing the pedestrian islands while taking out quite a few parking places in order to create more passing points, then the whole lot will be resurfaced.

FYI, I made it up to Underhill a couple days ago (yes, I'm sad) and noted that quite a few potholes had been filled in decently - fine, compacted tarmac rather than rough tarmac blobs. So, it looks like council engineers have paid attention! But I saw at least two unfilled potholes on the same day, though, so I don't know if that means that they're new unreported ones or whether Conway's planned to come back the next day to finish off?

This is so frustrating to watch! If it wasn't so cold and wet, I'd walk up there and take photos to Tweet to Southwark Council... sometimes social media is the only way to get someone to pay attention. I may walk up there tomorrow, but please keep complaining... if no one complains, then management will say there are no local issues and funds get diverted into the middle and north of the borough. We need to keep sticking together!

Hmmm, let's keep our eye on it... it may be that treatment is being reassessed in view of the deterioration or maybe resources are being redirected to a "more urgent" location. It might be necessary for residents/councillors to complain in unison again...

Thanks for the update, Peng. The seven days must have started on the 31st, when more residents and councillors complained. So, it looks like the system actually works... residents just need to stick together and whinge in unison. The temporary tarmac bung should be okay as the road is going to be resurfaced soon, so this should all do the trick. Power to the People!

Will be interesting to see if the temporary tarmac blobs are implemented today, which is 7 calendar days from the 29th, or whether it will happen on Weds 7th, which is 7 days from the 31st when it looks like more people plus councillors reported. It always helps for as many people as possible to unite and report anything in tandem, as that tends to generate more attention from highways engineers/council officers...

There was a copy of the Order in the Feb 1st edition of the Southwark News listing all the roads in College, East Dulwich, and Village wards that will be painted with the double yellows (7.5 metres in length unless otherwise stated). There's probably a link to the specifics on the council's dysfunctional website, but I'm too lazy to search. The Order comes into effect on Feb 5th, which is today. In order to save money, the council tends not to get multiple car removal orders to access all the junction corners in one go, it's actually cheaper to have a team drive around the area for a couple of weeks extending the double yellows as cars relocate naturally. You can tell where the double yellows are going to be extended to as this will be marked by a backwards "F" looking symbol. As the Order formally comes into effect today, I would avoid parking inside the F mark gap even if the double yellows haven't been painted yet... Edited to add... the contact details of the relevant Highways officer is email [email protected] phone 020 7525 3197.

FYI, I saw a Conway's lorry driving around on Friday doing temporary tarmac backfillings to potholes on Whateley Road. There's an algorithm that assesses and determines repairs to potholes... serious risk is 2 hours, high risk is 24 hours, but medium risk can take up to 7 days, moderate risk 28 days. The assessment depends on how deep the pothole is and how badly it's disintegrating... I'm guessing Underhill will be done this week sometime as an engineer will have to go out on site to assess and then assign the decided action to the Conway's repair list. Bear in mind that the immediate fix is usually to temporarily backfill the hole with a blob of tarmac, just to make it safe, with a view towards repairing it properly in the future. Proper repairs should be done when the weather is warmer so that the underlay and tarmac doesn't shrink in the cold weather and fall apart again. If there are several potholes close together then the decision to lift and reinstate a whole section of the road will be made, but this will take longer (determined by road repairs budget). Once the temporary tarmac backfill is in place, be sure to keep bugging highways to put the area on the permanent repair list... Can someone post here when the holes are filled with lumps of tarmac, as I'm genuinely curious as to how well the system is working these days (sorry, I'm a highways geek)...

Yes, there's one at the War Memorial Cross on Lordship Lane across from the Concrete House, near the junction of the South Circular. This is the one that councillors and the MP usually attend. There's another one held by Dulwich College, the Cadets and marching bands start marching through Dulwich Village at around 10am, I think the service itself might be in the chapel there. I always go to the one at the Dulwich Hospital War Memorial Cross (which is now listed), but that one was on Friday.

Okay, I've managed to save the scan of the Dulwich Society Report as a jpeg, which I've attached to this post, so hopefully you guys can read it directly. From my own perspective, the most interesting discussion was between an Arts Groups, a music group, and a theatre group that talked about joining forces to create a Dulwich Arts Centre with public meeting rooms, performance spaces, and art galleries with a restaurant/pub on the ground floor. There was a lot of discussion about creating a community action group in general so that everyone can brainstorm. Well done to The Dulwich Society for starting to bring everyone together! Edited to say special thanks to Mick Mac for the above Twitter link.

I went along... it was an extremely useful meeting. The Dulwich Society have tweeted scans of the minutes of the meeting on their Twitter account, which I have re-tweeted on my Twitter account, but I'm not sure how to post a link here... my Twitter tag is in my signature, in case someone can figure it out and post a link?

Thanks for posting the footway refurbishment locations, James... I've walked through them now and it appears that the entire west side of Lordship Lane from Goose Green almost up to Melbourne is going to be refurbished and then the section from North Cross down to Frogley on the east side is going to be done. I'm assuming that they are going to upgrade the pavement to the same granite paving slabs that were used on the side of Lordship from North Cross to Shawbury so that the entire parade eventually matches, but I'll try to confirm this. The one section on the west side that doesn't appear to be included is the really bad patch between Sage Mews and Bassano Street (112-114 Lordship), which I posted the attached photo of on another thread... but conveniently, I've just applied for a Devolved Highways CGS grant to address that section. There are some other serious sunken pavement problems up by Jade and Oddonos which won't be addressed by these works either (which a second Devolved Highways bid that I put in could be used to address), but I'll discuss those on the other thread.