James Barber

Hi EDmummy, Well yes and no. I received an email late yesterday from Southwark's Head of Music Service. Sadly I didn't know such a post existed. They assured me the division lead officer will be in touch with me about STAX.

Hi Peckhamham, Ondine Road is in the pilot but is in South Camberwell ward and i only listed the East Dulwich ward streets involved. Hi TheArtfulDogger, Success criteria - if sufficient food waste is diverted from landfil ie. green wheelie bins to brown bins it will be cost neutral. Veolia the contractor will have delivered something they contractually had to deliver in 2014 at their own expense for no cost to themselves now. Southwark has a higher recycling rate. Residents get to help achieve a higher recycling rate now. Pilot areas can show the rest of the borough how brilliant at recycling they are. Hi Smallfry, I can assure you that your recycling gets er...recycled. The new Integrated Waste Management Facility on the Old Kent Road opens in 2011 and will have a visitor centre so you can go and see/find out exactly where all the waste stream go. It was orignally planned ot open this year but when Ken Livingstone was Mayor of London who tried to take over all London's waste which delayed everything until the then government decided against that idea. 18 months lost at the time 6 months recycled. Until you can visit the new waste centre please keep the faith that it is recycled.

I've just emailed the lead officer about the pilot starting on Monday and got back.....an out of office until......Monday. Peckhamgatecarcher - i'm assured non of the recycling goes to landfill and a contract was agreed this week of where the food waste will be recycled. Please, please, please don't spread such ideas even in jest. EDmummy - evaluation. Currently the total tonnages of recycling and main rubbish is recorded. During the pilot they'll record tonnages for the pilot and the non pilot area. They plan to then calculated the likely original recycling levels by comparing the non pilot lower tonnages with the new non pilot tonnages that covers 10,000 fewer homes. Not highly accurate I suspect but an indication. If more time had been taken some precise pre pilot figures for the pilot area could have been obtained. Phew. As for involving residents no mention so far. To be honest its been hard as a councillor to be involved so far.

Hi Kestonkid, I'll happilly ask for the big brown bin to be removed and replaced with 23L one. Email me you full address. I'd suggest using the kitchen caddy just in the kitchen else it will get wet being outside on rainy days etc. Hi pebbles, Have asked whether they can be relocated to avoid blocking sight lines. Hi Fuschia, Peckhamgatecrachers, Email me with your full address and I'll plead for you both to have big blue recycling bins.

Hi Fuschia, I've before and the answer was no but you can have as many boxes and bags as you like. Order away via 020 7525 2000.

Hi Peckhamgatecrasher, Council officers anticipate each home typically needing 100 of th e biodegradeable bags during the 6 month pilot. 50 were meant ot be delivered with the leaflet this week and another 50 in 3 months time. Worrying you've received a triple dose but perhaps they think you have a big family. Would recommend food in the bags then in the brown bins else your brown bins will quickly get smelly. One central gov't recommendation when introducing these schemes is to start them going into winter to reduce initial smells. Eitherway, good habit to use the bags. james.

Gallery Road is being competely rebuilt and reusrfaced and having kerbs added to both side starting Monday 11 October. Expect severe disruption if you travel via Gallery Road. It will be much better afterwards. I've always thought it strange such a road without kerbs had a nursery school on it. Eitherway, these long held plans will finally come to fruition. Any problems then contact the Conway manager Matt Joel 07919493040 else let me know. james.

Could it be rain getting int othe door bell and shorting the circuit or something? No one selling stuff door to door is going to ring 20 times.

A '6 month pilot' scheme involving 10,000 homes in Southwark starts on Monday 4 October. The pilot involves adding organic waste i.e. food to the weekly recycling collections via 240L, 23L and caddy brown bins and also biodegradeable plastic bags. For non recycling rubbish collections will become fortnightly. This is a big emotive change and frankly looks botched due to ridiculous timescales. The concept is great - we all want to see great recycling but the execution for this pilot is very weak. The pilot was announced about 6 weeks ago and it has been really difficult to get information. I've repeatedly requested a precise list of which properties are in the pilot and this si still not available. Those homes in the pilot should have received a non addressed letter a month ago and another leaflet this week. Hopefully you didn?t miss it! Only 'easy' properties are included - so we have a pilot designed to learn next to nothing as it doesn't attempt to try this extra recycling at properties with less space for extra bins. Clearly many will be surprised come Monday with the letter and leaflet being lost in the general masses of junk mail/leaflets we all receive. To confirm if you?re in or out of the scheme you can call 020 7525 2000 - I was assured people could check this via the web but this is still not up and running. East Dulwich ward street that have properties in the pilot are - Barry Road, Crebor Street, Dunstans Road, East Dulwich Road, Etherow Street, Friern Road, Norcroft Gardens and Upland Road. For those that are in the scheme not all homes on a street are necessarily in the pilot - if council officers felt insufficient room to store a brown bin then you?re not included. So you can expect neighbouring properties to have either weekly or fortnightly ?residial ? rubbish collections - you?ll need to pay close attention! If you have any problems please let me know and I?ll try and help. PS. I've attached a photo of the 23L brown bin, the kitchen caddy and biodegradeable bags.

A '6 month pilot' scheme involving 10,000 homes in Southwark starts on Monday 4 October. The pilot involves adding organic waste i.e. food to the weekly recycling collections via 240L, 23L and caddy brown bins and also biodegradeable plastic bags. For non recycling rubbish collections will become fortnightly. This is a big emotive change and frankly looks botched due to ridiculous timescales. The concept is great - we all want to see great recycling but the execution for this pilot is very weak. The pilot was announced about 6 weeks ago and it has been really difficult to get information. I've repeatedly requested a precise list of which properties are in the pilot and this si still not available. Those homes in the pilot should have received a non addressed letter a month ago and another leaflet this week. Hopefully you didn?t miss it! Only 'easy' properties are included - so we have a pilot designed to learn next to nothing as it doesn't attempt to try this extra recycling at properties with less space for extra bins. Clearly many will be surprised come Monday with the letter and leaflet being lost in the general masses of junk mail/leaflets we all receive. To confirm if you?re in or out of the scheme you can call 020 7525 2000 - I was assured people could check this via the web but this is still not up and running. East Dulwich ward street that have properties in the pilot are - Barry Road, Crebor Street, Dunstans Road, East Dulwich Road, Etherow Street, Friern Road, Norcroft Gardens and Upland Road. For those that are in the scheme not all homes on a street are necessarily in the pilot - if council officers felt insufficient room to store a brown bin then you?re not included. So you can expect neighbouring properties to have either weekly or fortnightly ?residial ? rubbish collections - you?ll need to pay close attention! If you have any problems please let me know and I?ll try and help. PS. I've attached a photo of the 23L brown bin, the kitchen caddy and biodegradeable bags.

Dulwich Infants - I've wrongly stated that this would increase by one class size permanently. I should have stated it is likely o take bulge class Sept'11. Apologies for my error.

BT Openreach have contacted me to talk about their superfast broadband - initially 40Mbs downstream and 10Mbs upstream. The Dulwich exchange will have super fast broadband from March 2011. I've done a little investigation and all exchanges serving Southwark will have been upgraded to superfast broadband by end of 2011 - back end loaded Sept-Dec. www.superfast-openreach.co.uk (Bermondsey Sep'11, Beulah Hill Mar'11, Brixton Sep'11, Forst Hill Mar'11, Gipsy Hill Sep'11, New Cross Dec'10, Southwark/Borugh dec'11, Vauxhall/Kennington Oct'10, Walworth Dec'11). Not clear about Southbank but suspect it doesn't serve homes. To make this work they are talking about Fibre To The Cabinet so we may see some BT digging but mostly cable pulling in the next 15 months across Southwark and in Dulwich during the next 6 months.

Entry treatments are a different colour and usually blockwork to give a different pattern. They have nobbly paving to give a tactile reference you're about to cross the road. Blind people are more likely to trip over a regualr kerb which is an issue they don't have with entry treatments. The highway code makes it clear to give way to pedestrians when enterring a side road. Cyclsits. Some of my friends are cycling into their late 80's and they cycle over hills. I suspect one of the reasons they are so well is that they have always cycled and make me feel quite inadequate puffing up hills when I'm cycling. If hills are to much for a cycle walk your bike up them or get better gears.

Hi TJ, The pool temperature increase would have a coresponding pool air temperature increase. Good practice says the air temperature around the pool should be 1c higher. Changing room temperature. That is tricky. I've not found any recommendations fo what that should be and its currentl;y shared with gym users while that part of the centre is rebuilt/renovated.

Hi Peckhamgatecrasher, All the crossings are helpful for pedstrians. moving them wont aid any pedestrians and wont make much odds to vehicles using the roundabout as it wont be balanced anymore with pedesitrans breaking the traffic flow allowing other arms of traffic to go onto the roundabout. It's also horribly expensive to move crossings and we should spend any money on reducing collissions where they are actually occurring. Apologies for grumpy coldy day. Regards james.

Very late last night it was agreed to raise the pool temperature. Please try it again and let me know how it feels - I would try it myself except my cough is nearly gone to be replaced by man flu (and feeling rather sorry for myself). Gym. I've asked and will ask more today.

The Crime Stoppers has loads of realy really helpful crime prevention ideas and tips: http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention

Hi Loz, Lordship Lane is much more successful now that 10 years ago and Lordship Lane roughly carries ther same amount of traffic. So the through traffic doesn't appear to have revitalised Lordship Lane. Most of the traffic goes through never stopping to shop. Half of all the vehicles moving at any one time in Southwark start and end their journeys outside Southwark. Majority headed into town where free to use business parking makes this possible. Hi PeterW, The Dutch invested a lot of money over several decades to encourage and make attractive using bicycles and other public transport. With a little money relatively, London has seen a doubling in cycle use.

Hi cheerdisco, Goose Green roundabout defies transport planners theories in having far fewer collissions per pedestrian and vehicle movement that other styles of junctions. I think the tight small roundabout with zebra crossings makes everyone driver more slowly and with care to avoid scrapes. Some years ago it was proposed to increase the size of the rounabout - about 10 years ago from memory - to increase traffic flow but it was acknowledged it would gobble up parts of Goose Green and potentially have more collissions. Popular opposition killed that idea. Of more concern to me is that Lordship Lane and to lesser degree Grove Vale and east Dulwich Road are ribbons of collissions that we need to fix. In particular the junction of Lordship Lane with Northcross Road.

One of the Alleyn's team responded very quickly today, as the head teacher is away, but I've only just had chance to read and pass on the response. They have contacted the Foundation Coach Service manager and have requested coach drivers don't leave engines running and park more carefully. When he gets a resppnse he'll let me know. Apparently some of the islands make manuevring the coaches tricky so i'll pass that ot one of the village ward councillors to see if this can be looked at.

The feedback I've had from head of leisure is the newly reopened Dulwich Pool is at the following temperatures: Male change 21c Female change 21c Family change 22c Poolside 29c Pool water 28c Looking around the web suggests for excercise swimming pools 27-29.5c with the ambient temperature 1c higher - not just for comfort but to avoid condensation. Apparently Dulwich College pool 28c today but I thought Dulwich College pupils are 13-18 probably expected to swim athletically. Peckham Pulse apparently varies between 28c-29c but normally 28c. The following website seems authoritative: http://www.caromal.co.uk/Resource%20Page%201.htm It states: Recommended Maximum Pool Water Temperatures Competitive swimming & diving, Fitness swimming, Training . . 27 deg C - (80.6 deg F) Recreational, Adult teaching, Conventional main pools . . . . 28 deg C - (82.4 deg F) Childrens teaching, Leisure pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 deg C - (84.2 deg F) Babies, Young children, Disabled & handicapped. . . . . . . .30 deg C - (86.0 deg F) So my overall conclusion is Dulwich Pool needs to be 0.5c->1c warmer and the corresponding air temperature higher. However, first few hours 6.30-8.30am and 7pm-9pm could potentially be kept at the current temperature when adults swimming lanes. I've requested they try 0.5c higher and gauge peoples reactions. I thought it might be a nice touch to give people a bead or somthing similar and have three perspex boxes so users can place bead in cold, hot, just right boxes. that way most people will comment publicly. Until this is agreed I would'nt dream of taking my kids to this pool.

Hi coopsey76, Dulwich infants will have a bulge class. EDITED as I wrongly state permanent expansion - apologies for causing confusion. Regards james.

Hi Sebedee Tring, I'll happilly contact the school and ask that they request coach drivers to not leave engines running needlessly. I'll also make a point of travelling more along Townley Road at school morning times to experiences the problems for the next fortnight.

Hi coopsy76, You need to visit schools. They all have slightly different vibes and some will resonate with your child better than others. That should temper the order you place the schools on the form. Ofsted reports lag behind where a school is and the definitions Ofsted use aren't necessarily ideal. long way of saying don't rely so much on Ofsted. Southwark will attempt to maximise 1st preferences while maximising people getting one of their four choices. With reards to Dulwich Infants/Junior. You'd need to speak to the school and existing paretns experiences.

Hi Vik, Understand the point you make about Dog Kennel School having an SE22 post code. All the schools I've listed have kids from East Dulwich ward attending them. regards james.