James Barber

Dulwich Park outdoor gym kit - rowing machine and seated chest press were repaired on Saturday by Fresh Air Fitness. I'm sure the person who left me a phone message will have noticed but they didn't leave a number to call them back on. Grove Vale - the public meeting to review the detailed proposals has been rearranged for 6.30pm 2 June at the cafe at 39 Grove Vale. Be early as it will be a squeeze.

Hi fred, When as the Ashbourbne petiton to close presumably its junction with Lordship Lane made? closing a road is the ultimate traffic calming. One of the issues would be ensuring rubbish trucks can turn around if they can't proceed through a street - or alternatively where could we put the turning point for them? Also shop deliveries. We'd have to ensure they all took place to the front of the shop which can be done but gets complicated. Look forward to your response.

I would like to see the main high street part of LL 20mph. Fingers crossed we'll get our way on this if resident support it. The short term parking proposed on side roads is removing single and double yellow lines. So I'm expecting no overall reduction in parking for visitors or residents. It will have taken us 4 years from when we had Living Street undertake a pedestrian audit to get these crossing in. The coop crossing is obvious. Te crossing outside the bishop is to partly regulate the crossing of east Dulwich grove as is the raised entry treatment linking both side of LL. I'm not sure what the time clocks mean and will find out.

Why don't you have a BA thread to really air these arguments?

What I suspect Fred is talking about isn't as clear cut as we'd all like. Southwark undertook a survey asking amongst other things whether Sunday opening of the Market would be welcomed. The consultation was poorly executed - anyone one rewinding online didn't need to give a names or address so completely unclear whether they were locals or a bunch of mates supporting a particular view who don't live in the area. The consultation due to the online responses was clearly in favour of Sunday opening. I was surprised by the result but took it at face value until a bunch of residents attended the Licensing Committee with me and all of them were against Sunday opening of the Market. So East Dulwich cllrs visited nearby residents to the Market and it was clear near universal opposition to Sunday opening. Residents also created a petition and very eailly and quickly obtain 145 sinature of locals against Sunday opening. We had a Dulwich Community Council meeting to discuss Market changes and residents, teases and shop keepers were all against Sunday opening. So I can understand a conspiracy theorist - and southwards business plan for markets assumed North Cross Road Market opening on Sunday - but I think it was more cock-up Thant conspiracy.

Well done dazeycat. Sorry I didn't get the answer before you did.

A resident had their primary school application form lost in the post. Has any one else had this problem this year or is it truely a problem for one family?

Hi danrees, I'm the LD shadow transport spokesperson. The first set or bollards are from the terrible motorcycle and scooter problems they used to have there. I have panniers - often bulging with LD leaflets I've never had a problem. The anti lorry high islands on Bermondsey Street from memory are to help keep lorries out of the contraflow cycle path. Are you a member of the London Cycling Campaign and/or Southwark Cyclists they loveto have a commuter cyclist added to their ranks giving useful input. Hi Alex K, The developer wh's purchased the Dulwich Garden Centre has two planning applications in and the community gain being offered is a new Grove Vale Library double the size of the current one. I was wondering the oppisite side behind the advertising posters whether any room for cycle lockers...any one able to take a peek this week?

I've had a complaint from a Dunstans Road resident about their hedge. They received a letter from Southwark Council officer asking them to trim back their hedge within two weeks. They asked for a slight extensino due to other commitments. They trimmed the hedge back partly. After the agreed deadline council officers checked and decided it was still partly blocking the pavement and instructed contractors to trim it back. As officers can only trim back to the property line they did. It looks savaged as had clearly been left unattended before the current residents took over the property. So, if you have a hedge please do maintain it correctly to ensure pavements are kept open and to avoid any such hassle. If you need any help let me know and I'll try and put you in touch with organisations to help.

Hi Marmora Man, Parents have more choice but tax payers don't. Not all tax payers want to pay for unusual schooling for the public good. We already have 90% subsidised religious state schools. Happy to continue via PM but ideally this thread would be kept to issue and problems in East Dulwich that I can help with.

Hi Marmora Man, Hmmmm, free schools. Their are some really wacky people out their creating free schools - you only need to look at. Sme of the new academies created with fundamentalist religious beliefs denying respected scientific theories. So personally I don't likes the concept of free schools.

Someone mentioned avoiding general election. I think all the parties want to avoid one. Labout because they could lose all those Scottish Labout seats to the SNP. Conservatives because they want to see the reduction in seats from 650 to 600. Liberal Democrats because the legislation for fixed term parliaments is close to being passed.

Hi Fuschia, I also feel quite concerned - free schools feel bonkers - Academies were a Labour idea which the tories have taken up a notch or two with no opposition from Labour. In a Lib Dem led Southwark we'd done a really job getting school results up and rolling out near universal pupil developement hubs in each school. But many council don't do a good job running education. So I can see the attraction of freeing schools up to fully run themselves. The key seems to be council offering the once held central services to see what the schools actually want to buy. My biggest concern is the governing bodies coping without the council safety net. Also, I can see primary schools going academy and linking up with secondary level academies. The latter are already curting the former. Hi peckhamboy, Yes, that does seem daft. Several aspects of the proposals I formerly and privately have objected to but the Labour councillor in charge Barries Hargrove has the final say. A public meeting was proposed 24 May at the cafe at 39 Grove Vale. But with full council assembly being moved from 18th to 24th that Grove Vale now needs to change.

Hi xone, Appalling. I'm sorry you've had a such a dreadful fright. My memory tells me the street lighting is poor from overgrown garden trees and hedges - is this your understanding?

Hi Sue, If you email me a choice picture and your full name and address, date time of happening I will get a full explanation of how it wont happen again.

Hi skyblue, I spent, with my ward colleagues Cllr Rosie Shimell and Cllr Jonathan Mitchell, Monday visiting ED Harris Boys Academy, Goodrich School and Kingsdale School. Really informative and useful day. All the schools were impressive in different ways. Harris Boys has absolutely no thoughts about changing to coed BUT will be sharing it 6th form with the ED Harris Girls Academy. It plans to invest ?400k in Athenlay sports club to have closer sports facilities - change into PE kit at school and then job across the park to the sports club. I still think it bonkers that they book football pitches in Peckham Rye park but schools from further afield can. One day sanity will prevail. The years 7 & 8 boys were impressive and more advanced than I was at that age. I remember the plans for the school and its a lot bigger on the inside than I'd imagined. I will be amazed if its GCSE results when they start coming through aren't also very impressive. The Harris Federation is looking to have primary schools join it. The head and the Harris Federation Chief Executive were both very generous with the time they gave us and had put together a fascinating and enjoyable programme to demonstrate the variety of teaching the school undertakes. Hearng about the Harris federation confirmed my understanding that they are now bigger than many education authorities with pronounced economies of scale and sharp focus on teacher performance. Goodrich School head was great and I was completely taken by the Sunshine Centre and such a buzzy school of 700 kids and over 100 staff. Lots happening at Goodrich with new reception and entrance area opening on Monday 16th. New Sunshine office about to open. It was good to hear that the website is about to be transformed and I asked if past weekly newslatters could be stoed there. Fingers crossed SATs being taken this week will reflect all the hard work of kids, parents, teachers, governors etc. Goodrich appears to be being courted by both the Harris Federation and Kingsdale as they would like to be involved with such a sucessful school. Kingsdale School was also particualrly interesting with the recent shortage of popular secondary spaces in our area. After siblings they had 15 applicants for every place. They approached three primary schools to forge much closer links - Goodrich, Ivydale and Langbourne. Depending on how close these primary schools forge such links, kids from these schools could be given better chances of going onto Kingsdale (subject to admissions criteria changing after a formal consultation). Kingsdale benefits from influncing its inputs more. This year they've reached 50% girls which is partly from their marketing and I suspect partly from ED Harris Boys changing the mix. The head and chair of governors spent 2 hours with me which was exceptionally generous of them. If anyone has anything to add please od PM me. I'm not looing for this thread to expand on these reflections!

If you're catchin ga bus to ED station then worth staying on and travelling to Denmark Hill and taking train to Victoria which is as good as Charing Cross for Westminster. Cycling would take 30 minutes and safe you buckets of money over the year and you'd get to know London better while getting fitter. Southwark Council will provide free cycle lessons and your trainer would be hapy to rehearse your cycle commute.

I've been assured that these lockers have a waiting list. If we could find more space we'd arrange ore lockers and many people in converted flats don't have anywhere they feel comfortable keeping bicycles.

After allowing for siblings the remaining places had 15 applicants per place this year. So it is a hugely popular school. I can see why.

Hi ceefer99, I've contacted the ehad of highways in the council to ask why these works are taking so long and being done with such a lack of resident consideration. Hi Rusty12, Southwark has just over 5,000 privately owned empty properties. Sadly the council is unable to borrow sufficient money and the compulsory purchase order process is so long to largely resolve this. The disincentives available are flawed because making a home uninhabitable removes any council tax payment. But as Peckham native said if you think it a dangerous structure do let Southwark know and they'll visit and ensure it is made safe - still probably ugly but safe. My experience of bringing empty homes back into use is that its at the very margins we're talking a handful a year. Worth a try but realistically they're not making a dent in the over 5,000 empty homes.

What a lot of rubbish. Whatever your political views having the Prime Minister visit is a great event to make the children feel their school is special. The chair of governors is a Southwark Labour councillor - and has been both for many years. Funilly enoguh I visited the day before and the head and chair of governors very kindly gave me two hours of their valuable time. The kids I met were smart and the school was clearly up to something preparing itself. Had really useful discussions about admissions and I suggested some changes that they were clearly partly already thinking about. I also suggested the chair a cross political party potential way to hel pthe scholl serve Southwark even better.

The election systems, excepting London Assembly and European elections, mean we're rarely not in a two party system in a particular constituency. In Southwark it's two party between Labour and Liberal Democrats.

Hi silverfox, Good to see you're magnanimous in victory.

In case any one asks - Dulwich Cars have placed a number of adverisiments across the road from East Dulwich station entrances, junctions of Lordship Lane with Landells and Crystal Palace Roads. Council officers have written asking them to remove all such unauthorised signs to preempt the council taking enforcement actions.

Hi Victor, Me if it's in East Dulwich. Can you please email me the address and I'll check. It might be a leased flat and not directly rented out by the council.