James Barber

Hi GinaG3, Those were the faulty lights we found when I spent a brilliant evening having a 121 mentoring session on street lighting from southwark lighting guru - who is now in charge of all highway assets.

Hi DJKillaQueen, I thought your figures outlandish and different ball park to those I recalled. So I checked the figures then responded and included the links. As for not knowing southwark's budget - which bit or total or type? Broadly its ?1.5bn pa. The cuts proposed are probably in the region of ?20M pa. But no one knows for sure how the cuts will affect a specific authority until around the 9 December.

All Southwark councillors have been issued the following bulletin: "The weekend?s weather forecast predicts snow on Saturday/Sunday with the likelihood of heavier snow on Monday/Tuesday. The longer term is predicting sub zero road surface temperatures for next week and into the following week. Currently the council is fully stocked with salt and more supplies are due in mid December. We have recently increased our stock of salt bins by 100%, adding 54 more in particularly needed areas. In addition 36 schools have their own supplies already in place but some schools are still waiting for supplies to be delivered but this is because they ordered late. [beggars question why Southwark council can't 'lend' them supplies] Please note that we will have to focus our gritting on keeping key roads and pavements open, making sure access to essential services is maintained. In terms of gritting off road, an updated list has been prepared of vulnerable locations such as schools, transport hubs, medical facilities, elderly people's homes, and shopping centres and will be used by our cleaning service to prioritise deployment of gritting crews. [ street cleaners are used to clear pavements and grit pavements using hand propelled gritters]. TfL is responsible for gritting the roads and pavements along red routes. The council are contacting TfL to make sure they are fully prepared to deal with any snow in Southwark so we?re not left in the same position as last year, with very slippery pavements in red route areas and people having to walk in the roads. There is information on the homepage of the council?s website about our preparation to deal with the snow that is forecast over the weekend and into next week. " I've attached the latest version of the Southwark's Winter Plan which came out on the 18 November.

Hi GinaG3, Which lights did you see being fixed? Hi Eddie, Southwarks contract is on the case for fixing 1 Zenoria. Hi snowborder, Southwarks Night Scouts had already spotted Cyrena Road lamp post 10 as faulty and its programmed to be repaired 2 December - enjoy the dark while you can.

Hi DJKillaQueen, I think you've ridiculously over egging things. The BBC reported Sheffield Forgemasters ?80M proposed government loan would create 180 additonal jobs to make parts for nuclear power stations. Another alternative would be for Foremaster to issue a rights issue or commercial bonds OR it doesn't make commercial sense and the jobs would be short lived. Nick Clegg won with a majority of 15,000 votes with second place to a tory. Attempts to 'de capitate' him are extremely unlikely to succeed but do generate sensationalist headlines. Being in coalition with the tories probably means a proportion of those tory voters will vote for him. So 2015 it seems very likely his majority will rise even if the absolute number of votes he receives is distracted by a spoiler candidate.

Hi ComputedShorty, You're right but several front doors open onto for homes numbers as per other streets. Cyrena does have street lighting.

Hi eddie, I've reported the broken light outside 1 Zenoria. Hopefully it wont take long to get fixed. Hi DulwichFox, Sorry to hear that when you reported a broken street light on line it appeared to take so long. This is unsual. Sometimes its not a simple matter to change the proverbial bulb. Sometimes EDF Energy has to repair the electrics and can take some time. if you spot any more please do let me know.

I found this blog interesting: Has Clegg-hatred become a substitute for political renewal? In summary it suggests: "But outside the ranks of Labour supporters, there is no such anger. A mere 2% of current Lib Dem supporters and a mere 3% of Conservative supporters rate Nick Clegg?s performance as very bad. This anger is an entirely partisan phenomenon. What it means, I think, is that there is a dialogue of the deaf. Current Lib Dems and Tories don?t understand Labour anger. Labour supporters don?t appreciate that their reaction is particular to them. Labour will no doubt feel confident that it will hang onto the support of the very unhappy. But making Nick Clegg into a human pi?ata doesn?t look like a promising way of getting many new recruits."

Hi Snowy, taper, You're correct. The GLA doesn't have such funds. I should have stated the Mayor of London. The GLA scrutinise him and other bodies such as TfL, Met, etc. I think my point still stands. London Councils started funding voluntary bodies when the GLC was disbanded (out of what appeared pique from Thatcher). When the GLA and London Mayor was created for pan London government London Councils didn't stop or hand over this. I think they should have and still should take this role on.

You, we, I need to cut our absolute carbon use by 80% by 2050. If we nationally do that then we can afford carbon prices to rise by 500% and we'll still be spending the same ratio on energy as we do now. With expected productivity growth of 1 0r 2% in real terms pa that would mean nationally we can sustain even higher global prices. The key is to start insulating now and building renewable energy generation now. Nationally the Green Deal is coming starting with insulating 3m homes for the poorest. after a couple of year green mortgages tied to homes will be in place enabling us all to invest in bigger insulating projects such as all those solid East Dulwich Victorian walls. In East Dulwich in January we'll have ?140,000 in place to offer insulation to the fifth of roofs in East Dulwich ward that don't even have loft insulation.

Hi Meadow408, I've been assured that EDF Energy did start these works but due to a number of water leaks had to cancel them. These have been repaired and I've been assured these lamp columns will be attached 1 December. I suspect your prod via me has helped. Hi Ddoublesj, Tomorrow Southwark's contractor will be visiting Copleston Road to remove the redundant lamp columns. Again I suspect your prod via me has helped move things along. Many thanks. NB. I should point out Southwark lighting team have from memory 18,000 lamp posts to keep track of and many thousands of illuminated road signs and bollards. So it is always helpful to point out anything untoward.

Hi TJ, IF a CPZ was introduced operating in the middle of the day for one hour it free up parking currently used by rail commuters for shoppers to visit. It would mean that businesses could'nt park without a business permit or they'd have to mvoe their vehicle at some point in the day. Hi Penguin68, Hopefully the irony of you whining about the assumption I've had people whining isn't lost on you. I've never said I've had people whining. For example I've had people explain real problems they have getting young kids in and out of car with shopping when they can't park anywhere near their homes or on the street they live on. I'm afraid Im on of those people that when they hear of a problem like to try finding a solution.

Thanks to the several emails pointing out other broken street light. We've finalised probably the last bit of Lib Dem devolved lighting budget for East Dulwich ward. ?50,000 worth of improvement. We?ll allocate our funds to fixing ?red? lamp posts which are 70%+ corroded at the base. Eight of them. We?ll fund the upgrade to lighting on Crystal Palace Road, Dunstans Road and Friern Road replacing old yellow SOX lighting. CPR will get SON lighting for the majority but Cosmo lights at the Lordship Lane end. SON lighting all along Dunstans Road and Cosmo on Friern Road local Police are concerned that earlier in the year it suffered a spate of car crime - hopfeully it will help deter that again. We?ll then have ensured all East Dulwich street lighting has been modernised by the end of the financial year.

Hi Bunny19, Southwark is charged ?100 for every tonne that goes to landfill. It's called Landfill Tax. I don't know how much these people collected in the 3/4 hour but suspect its cost effective compared to it going into normal rubbish. What is coming is co mingled rubbish where all recycleable materials are seperated at the Integrated Waste Transfer Facility being built on the Old Kent Road. That speeds up collections as all goes into the truack ithout having to be sorted on the streets. We had hoped this would be universal by now but new deadline is November 2011. If the food waste and fortnightly rubbish collection 'pilot' is successful - which it appears in the rounds it is so far - then you'll have that probably introduced at the same time next Autumn.

Hi Bobby P, I'm in opposition. I'm not in the administration so I'm absolustely not proposing this to raise revenue. Even when my party was in power I would'nt have proposed this as revenue earning. It wouldn't be worth the grief if residents didn't want it! My interest stems from residents who live in the Grove Vale, Melbourne Grove, East Dulwich Grove triangle raising the issue repeatedly with me during and since the May elections - and having recently sat on a committee where residents pleaded for the Herne Hill scheme to be extended to them. A smaller number in the triangle Lorship Lane, Melbourne Grove East Dulwich Grove have raised such concerns but this seem related to Lordship Lane businesses rather than commuting so a small CPZ window wouldn't in my mind help much with this. I'd hope the increasing numbers of Car Club cars we've been getting and continue pushing for will help but I'd still like to find a solution for residents car parking problems. So, if we think CPZ isn't the solution what is?

Hi apmuso, Apologies. I had imagined we'd have reached more homes by now. When we've been out we've been rather to chatty. PM me your address and I'll ensure your next.

Hi AllyCat, Residents are required to keep their gardens from overspilling onto the public footpath/highway - ie. keep hedges and trees cut back. Happilly this also is excellent crime prevention advice - more open a front garden the more neighbours can keep an eye on things. Rubbish bins and boxes should also be kept within the curtilage a home. Realistically this isn't piossible on all roads for all homes so some commonsense is needed. If a home could keep its bins in its grounds and isn't the council can insist - but hopefully a sensible conversation would precede this to point out they have the option of being more sociable. Which road are you specifically talking about? Can I help?

Hi Loz, Do you live on Melbourne, Derwent, Elsie or Tintagel? Do you park a car and commute by train? I ask as people's responses seem very different depending upon the answers to these two questions.

This years leaf collections, for me, feel worse than previous years. I formally asked this question to the director for Environment. She was clear no change since last year. I asked whether the same number of temps employed to augment the workforce and to help with autumn as last year - she said yes. But it doesn't feel as effective. I wished I'd asked how many hours are available for street cleaning just to kill this concern. If you feel a street isn't being cleaned sufficiently - ask your councillor/s about it. For closest houses to Good Green playground that would be The Lane ward and one of the councillors for that ward is also the cabinet member for environment Barrie Hargrove.

Southwark visitor permits are ?1.20 each. Seems to be two arguments. Full on CPZ that nearly everyone things just would not be suitable for the area. CPZ lite a la Herne Hill that appears 50:50 whether it would be suitable BUT people near the station seem much more favourable for and those further away not so interested. Or have I missed something?

According to train station usage figures - the latest I can find on the web date from financial year 08/09: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529 Herne Hill station had 2,686,386 entries and exits whereas East Dulwich station 'only' had 1,515,942. So realistically it would only take a tiny proportion of those exits and entries to drive and park nearby to cause a significant problem. Which is what residents who want to use their cars during Mon-Fri or have visitors who drive are reporting.

Hi Meadow408, I've reported Peirmont Road lights 05 & 06 as not working and asked when they can be fixed. Hi WrightC, Last night I reported all Crystal Palace Road broken street lights - all 5 of them - lamp column asset no's 2598 - 07, 09, 14, 29 and 39. These reports have been formally acknowledged. Hi Ddoublesj, I've reported these and asked when will they be removed.

I spent last night checking council officer street lighting records for Friern, Dunstans, Goodrich and Cryala Rpalace Roads. I was amazed to see so many street lights not working - 6 on Crystal Palace Road, 1 on Crebor, 3 on Friern Road. Southwark has a full time employee who patrols the borough looking for broken street lights. Seems surprising so many, which get proactively replaced before end of design life, should have failed. Can you please look at the street light outside your home and tell me if yours is broken (with the 6 digit number on the lamp post)? We'll then get an idea where those patrols have failed to reach.

Hi 5imon, Those 3 news flats look good. Lets see what happens with those garages and ex.carpentry workshop. Hopefully they'll be sold and new owner will put them to good use which will result in them being cleared up.

But what if we had the Hern Hill type system? Lots of people sagainst the usualy blanket all day long schemes - I agree they're painful and I've lived in one and having visitors was a nightmare. But the Herne Hill type scheme operating for 1 or 2 hours a day for streets within 5 mins walk of East Dulwich railway station would surely help residents on those streets.