James Barber

Hi Ladydeliah, I get this but you don't need greater than 18kg to stave of osteoporosis. Also much of the equipment is giving sufficient resitance to stave of such conditions, build up strength. BUT as I said. When i pop along on Saturday 1-am for the grand reopening I'll be asking about the free weights.

Hi slims, What I said was a lack of heavy free weights doesn't mean it's not a gym and the assertion that only doing cardio vascular excercise isn't healthy - is a bit silly. I also said when I visit at the official reopening on Saturday I'll make enquiries. Clearly having the kit and keepin it in storage at best odd. Some comments that Lambeth have nominated one gym to really cater well for people who want heavier free weights might be a sensible option. Problem is the centre of the borough would for Southwark would also be Camberwell geographically and the centre for Southwark based on population would be centre Old Kent Road.

Transferring assets to small groups of local residents means they no longer fall under local political checks and balances. So transferring assets to community groups can be anti democratic. Equally where local politicians no longer support a service I can see the attraction of 'taking it back' into the community. But I don't agree with big councils such as Southwark running very local assets. We have 8 community councils who should be running such local services and assets and getting better value from budgets. It would also bring back more civic pride if significantly more budgets and powers devolved. I can;t imagine a local community council or ward council oving to month street sweeping. Local residents wouldnt want don't want that BUT deciding this for 1/3rd million people in an office block near London Bridge by passes local accountability and makes such decision far to anonymous.

UDT, You can't believe the last government devolved more decision making to local councils. They really didn't. The current government is stretched. The Tories idea of localism is bypassing local councils. The lib Dem view is to empower local authorities but with Eric Pickles as SoS...

Hi Alex K, You sound like model rececylers perhaps you should brew your own gin....to recycle gin bottles. Hi sky-blue, I'll take a look at the weekend and then ask council officers to investigate. It can feel lame asking for enforcement officers to visit when I can't quote a named witness who's seen it (EDF aliases don't really do it). OR email me with a couple of registration numbers and I could report it tomorrow.

Hi Hackblade, I was thinking of things like rowing machines - clearly machines that resist and developed upper body strength. I've also yet to see a public health campaign saying people need to developed their strength for a healthier life but we've all seen lots of such campaigns about regular cardio exercise.

IF anything is overflowing onto the public highway/footpath then officers can also servce notices about that.

I was also in Dulwich Park and the same thought crossed my mind and I used to chair Southwark Cyclsits for a number of years. I'll ask if park wardens can encourage more appropriate considerate cycling during busier times.

Hi Chippy Minton, Yes, its crazty to run a pilot scheme involving over 10,000 homes, declare it a success and then do something largely different. One of the concessions I've obtained is blue wheelie bins for those who want them. So yes. Hi Freddy1929, I agree. One of the really useful things about the pilot was for behaviour the counci lwanted to encourage those items were collected weekly and discourage fortngihtly. IT really boosts recycling. I can see lots of people bothering sa little bit less and more going to landfill than necessary. REducing the total amount thrown out. Partly national legislation and agreement encouraging less packaging etc for things sold via supermarkets. Also, we all need to push back on packaging by considering changing who we buy from and of if we think it has too mcuh packaging.

Hi Hackblade, Vast majority of people including me need more cardio vascular excercise to stay healthy. That many of the cardio excercises will increase any lack of strength to a level we need for good all round health. I'll be there on Saturday at 10am at the official reopening. Please do come along and tell me what's missing and why.

Hi Pugwash, I'm sure we can be a little mroe ambitious for what the Stion 106 of the hospital site could procure - but great list for starters! Hi Dulwich House, You PM'd me which I responded to at length. Hi Chippy Minton, The trial involved weekly food and garden waste collections, weekly recyclable collections and fortnightly for the residual waste. A few lesons learnt about some people wanting blue wheelie bins to replace multiple bleus boxes and bags and debate about whether food waste bags should have handles or not - handles costs a smidgen more. BUT this autumn a new scheme purporting to be an extensino fo the food waste trial/pilot will be introduced to the dxisting 10,400 homes and 37,000 other homes. It will be weekly collectinos for food and gareden waste and fortnghitly colelctions for recycleable and fortnightly for residuals. The pilot should high levels of recycling where weekly so they're changing it to fortnightly. In essense the pilot is being ignored and a new untested scheme introduced. Hi PeckhmaGateCrasher, Marmora Man, Noted. Council officers were gonig to go to no handles but have agreed to my request to compare and contrast the two options using four blocks of flats in East Dulwich. 2 have no handles and 2 do have handles. Hi adam85, I don't know the latest news on the Camberwell Gym and will endeavour to find out. Dulwich gym reopens this Saturday at 10am. NOTICE: one of my ward colleagues has had a heart attack Councillor Jonathan Mitchell. All going well he'll be released from hospital tomorrow to recuperate at home. Our thoughts are with him and his family and that he makes a full and swift recovery. While Jonathan isn?t well please contact either Cllr Rosie Shimell or myself if you need any help or have ideas to make East Dulwich even more special.

Hi Miacis, Can you please email me at [email protected] the locations and I'll ask council tree officers to check on the health of these trees.

I think MPs should sort their pensions out - fat chance of getting a majority for that - to show leadership. Private companies pensions also need to be fixed. Board directors should not be allowed to have seperate schemes from employees. They'd then have an interest in ensuring company schemes were good for all employees. Several parts of the public sector have no pension fund. I recall a report about the fire service stating they dont have a pension fund but instead pay pensions from current revenue. This clearly needs to be fixed. Linking public sector retirement age to the state pension age makes sense. Equalising the retirement age for men and women makes sense. But I can see some public sector areas where people don't currently last until 60 let alone raising it for employees such as teachers who seem to often burn out well before 60. Lifetime employment practices need to put in place to make such retirement ages work. 2007-08 report has been quoted saying the funding was secure and reducing proportion of GDP. That would be the year Ed Balls received a treasury memo saying stop spending money like crazy. Since that time the nations finances have been revealed as crazy and completely unsustainable. In Southwark from memory we have another 15-20 years before the Southwark Pension fund is fully funded. Currently lots of extra contributions to catch up. Another help would be pension funds having to take a long er view and not findin it so easy to make withdrawals when they appear at an instant in time to be over funded. My biggest fear in all this is poorer pensioners which could result in deflationary pressure as they compose as ever greater part of the economy.

The Orange Book came out in 2004 and 2007 Reinventing the State came out to redress the balance in the Lib Dems. I think you'll find ministrerial seats in both coalition parties were agreed by both. So you wont find the right wing of the tories in govt posts generally or bvice versa. Hardly surprising. As for centralists Lib Dem tendancies. Poppycock. The NHS reforms are now delivering 22 of 24 changes that the Lib Dem last conference wanted.

I thought the theatre was built to support the national youth theatre which originated andISS still based there.

Councillors are always mindful that when refusing planning permission against council officer advice to grant permission that they absolutely must have sound planning reasons to do this. Else any appeal would be successful and costs awarded against the council. This is as it should be. This deters any political grandstanding. I looked at this scheme as I also had concerns about light pollution and I could not see any grounds for refusal.

Hi Pugwash, I've just received a call from the council manager who assures me that he will be challenging SGN to complete the works 8 weeks quicker ie finish before Xmas OR stop works 31 November until the new year ot give peopel some respite over Xmas. It is complicated by keeping gas supplies in place throughout while replacing them.

I'm finding this puzzling. Our area has something like 450 reception places every year. Plans were in place for extra 75 bulge places on top of the permanent 15 extra plces at Lyndhurst. That's 20% extra capacity. We now hear of an extra 60 emergency places on top of this another 13% that gobbles up the few remaining options for buldges in 2012. At no point has anything about this been communicated to ward councillors. Decisions have been taken. When I've asked for details I've been told I'll recieve something in 10 days time the maximum allowed time for a councillor query to be responded to. Its now 9 days since asking - but if the evidence was avaiable for the caibnet member many weeks ago to make such radical decisions I find it difficult to understand why the delay. This feels like covering up which I'm sure it isn't.

East Dulwich Police station is open.

Only one more day to enter the competition for year long leisure passes to Dulwioch Leisure Centre. To enter visit - www.southwark.gov.uk/dulwich Also, just 9 more days unti lthe Gym has its grand reopening 10am Saturday 25 June.

Hi redjam, Sorry you've missed out this time. Guess council officers doing it 100m from each proposed crossing. It's always a fine judgement between maximising consultation and cost. Fingers crossed people agree with you and me!

This application had 27 objections and one supporter from neighbours as per the council officers report pages 163-177 - http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=4005&T=10 I've read the officers report and all the oducmentation of the applicant. Street lighting produces light levels of circa 15 lux at the worst affect home and the floodlighting when on will have 1-2 lux falling at that worst affect homes front door. As council officers said 'minimal impact'.

Hi Fatherjack, The councillor Education Scrutiny committee is going to discuss school admissions on 28 June 7pm at Southwark Town Hall. If you have specific examples and it clearly sounds as though you do then can I request that you email the committee chairperson [email protected] so that the committee can investigate all issues. Hi redjam, I'm afraid you're outside the consultation area of from memory 250m radious from Lordship Lane. Hi Freddy1929, The planned rollout of food waste recycling is Autumn. So you might want to share a brown bin for food waste. BUT the non food waste will be collected fortnightly. So probably best to see how it works out and then if you decide you only need one green wheelie bin call 020 7525 2000 and ask for the spare one to be removed. You'll also have the oppotunity to have a blue wheelie bin for all your recyclables. Probably best to for your two flats to start with one blue wheelie bin and then request another if you both find you need them. On Lordship Lane I'll pass on your kind comments to the council officials concerned - thanks for taking the trouble to make them.

After council officers challenged SGN about the length of works it transpires two main phases each with two sub phases: 18/07/2011 - 09/11/2011 Norcroft Gardens to 206 25/07/2011 - 31/10/2011 Peckham Rye to 42 24/10/2011 - 24/02/2012 42 to 126 04/11/2011 - 17/02/2012 126 to 206 Southern Gas Networks have now told ocuncil officials they have a 15 year plan. I've asked the chair of the Dulwich Community Council whether we can invite SGN to talk about that plan and its impacton our area ASAP. SGN have been 'invited' to visit council officials to explain why they can't compress the works or as I requested why if more works were done in the summer its wouldn't be quicker.

I've asked the chair of the councillors Education scrutiny committee Cllr David Hubber to look into this which has agreed to do and he intends to investigate at their next meeting 28 June 7pm Southwark Town Hall. If anyone has useful information or experiences about this years buldge classes please email [email protected] and ideally CC me [email protected] as I hope to attend this meeting. If you'd like to attend please contact me and I'll explain how to do this.