James Barber

Hi intexasatthemoment, Good news is Dave Taylor is returning to organise the adult Street Leaders scheme. When he used to organise it, it worked really well. Hopefully he'll be at the next Dulwich Community Council Thursday 16 September to talk through the whole scheme at the United Reformed Church on East Dulwich Grove. So once he;s in place you could find a Street Leader via him. So, in the mean time you need a mini graffit kit. If you contact me direct via email or PM with your postal address and phone number I'll try arranging a kit to be depatched to you.

Latest I've found out. As you know most of the play equipment is already open excepting the tower which is due to be handed over from the contractor to Southwark this Wednesday morning and then the fencing will be removed. Clearly the contractor has gone well beyond the timescales agreed and will be paying ?4,000 damages for this overrun. These damages will be added to the Phase 3 budget of ?50,000 raised by friends group from the National Lottery. Phase 3 is planned for replacement swings and kick about area and is currently in the process of being specified with quotes due in Autumn. I wont be able to take a look this Wednesday so if anyone could tell me what they see I'd be grateful.

I've been asked about foxes and Southwark Council's policy. Summary - they are wild animals and if you cull them they increase breading rate so no point even if inclined to do this. Fuller details in attachment.

Report this fly tipping to Southwark Council 020 7525 2000. Quicker its removed less likely to attract other flytipping.

Hi Ms Ryder, I've had confirmation that proper kerbs and indented parking bays will be introduced this year which should make it crystal clear where you can park when the road is resurfaced in October. Talknig with my Village ward colleague Cllr Robin Crookshank-Hilton is took about a year for Dulwich Society, Picture Gallery and other maneity groups to all agree the final solution.

Hi franster, The poll will, as before, be suitable for kids. Hi Sandperson, It's very close to being ready. Then works on revamping the gym will take place. Officers have even mentioned the an opening ceremony to me.

Lordship Lane has a mild hotspot by London standards for reported crime related to alcohol at the northern end. If this was anywhere other than an urban city it would be considered a red hotspot. Local papers reported that since the changes in licensing laws emergency admissions to local hospitals related ot alocohol have risen by 500%.

Hi Malleymoo, The delays are inexplicable. Althought the playground isn't in East Dulwich ward I'll ask and find out what the whole story is and what is going on.

I've just spotted this thread and have reported the issue. Really sad it happens at all but doubly so on a war memorial to those that died keeping this country and ways of life safe.

Afriad not. But I've been told this morning that the pool will open mid September.

I've been asked ot sign a petition about the Charter School taking more time to consult about becoming a new style Academy. From the Dept of Education website they're listed with several other Southwark schools as being an outstnading school expressing an interest. IF a school decides to become an Academy they can do so at any point in the school year. I suspect this is allowed because quite a few schools have expressed an interest but most have not taken up this interest yet and the tory minister needs progress before September 2011.

Over the last 4 years as a councillor I've often had people complain chewing gum. Came across small article about a pioneering Flintshire based company Revolymer has made ?10m investment to come up gum hat doesn't permanently stick to pavements but rather breaks down within a relatively short time or can be blasted by water - quicker and easier to remove and degrade than any current chewing gum. We just need chewing gum manufacturers to adopt this technology. Fingers crossed for the future.

Hi Hackblade, I've pinged of exactly the point you've made and should get an answer this week. Thanks for the prod.

Council Housing Fire Risk Assessment completion dates are now accessible on line at: http://bit.ly/aUvkRG 2.5 meg file which only gives dates for when FRA's were completed but it does explain how to get the FRA for a particular bock related to a property.

Hi Nero, I believe the buses are owned by the bus operating company. The new operating contract up for renewal or replacement in November 2011 will state regualr double deckers and other changes in frequencies. I'd guess the bus operating company will sell them? For such a general query you might like to email [email protected] or contact the bus operator via the following http://www.londoncentral.com/about-us/contact-information.html IF you're interested in potted history of this bus route follow this link .

Thanks EDKiwi. Hi buggie, I hadn't realised the new 63's had this problem. I'd like to refer this to Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon who is vice chair of the GLA Transport Committee. Could you email me the details and I'll then forward to Caroline.

Has anyone used Homes in Harmoney Ltd which appears to be a new East Dulwich business that can help with eco measures to homes?

Hi ludoscotts, I can't wait to take my son to see this when they return from a week with grandma. I hadn't realised before that U graded cinema films is for kids 4 and over. As no film is ever graded lower than a U the censorship board must think all cinema films should be seen by people older than 4. My 6 year old daughter finds all films at cinemas overwhelm her so perhaps censorship people have some research or something to back up the 4 year old. Regards james.

Hi MsRyder, Gallery Road is a mystery to me about car parking and without a proper kerb must be a nightmare to walk young children along. I've emailed officers and await a response.

Hi ruffers, The letter I asked about no.12 bus route changing from bendy bus to regular double decker shows that each bus takes fewer people but more double deckers will be run. Regular double deckers rated to typically take 74 sitting and standing passengers. Bendy buses clearly rated to take more but much higher percentage standing. So overall it should be better and for those living at southern end of Friern Road and along Etherow Street especially they will find the removal of bendy buses as great benefit.

Hi Scootagal, I'd presume so but don't know. Best way to find out is to contact your Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) and ask them. If you email me I'll send you the direct contact details for them. I don't feel comfortable posting them as EDF isn't limited to just residents of that estate in South Camberwell ward.

Hi dukesdenver, I'm not aware of any such plans for Southwark. Southwark has 14 libraries. About two years ago Dulwich Library hours were changed from being open 6 days a week to 7 days a week. Extending Library opening hours was one of our local 2006 Lib Dem pledges. The clever part was this was achieved with no increase in budget but agreeing with staff and unions changes in rostering. I've also been asking about self service terminals where library users swipe books in and out. I've visited libraries in Essex and Dorset to see this in action and we've had this in Southwark at John Harvard Library on Borough High Street since it complete refurbishment and expansion. Again this reduces the number of staff needed while freeing up library staff time to help library users rather than checking books in and out. Talknig to library staff they had feared it would reduce contact time but instead has increased it as they get a chance to talk to people rather than stuck with scanning books. So changing rosters and self service should enable the same library service but reduce the costs of running it. This does assume that capital to roll out self service technology will be made available, that staff and unions will agree changes and most importantly that council library management work to make such changes. Hope this makes sense. Any Librarians out tyheir please PM me to tell me what it feels like in Southwark Libraries.

Hi plimsoul, It transpires that Southern Gas didn't tell anyone they were staring work. They were ahead of their programme so decided to ploug on without telling anyone in advance. I've been assured a letter of apology has been delivered and I've attached a copy to this post.

Hi candp, But it did slip by a month from one side of the election to the next. I don't know if this was officers suddenly being more direct. Change of political priorities. But I was made a real point of asking on several occassions before the election becuase people were asking me. When I asked officers are the election it had changed. The way I stated it was probably unhelpful but you can only guess at the frustration. Anyway, thanks for the kind words about my casework via the forum.

We had the official opening tonight. lots of people stopping to take a look and some had made a special trip. IF you have any old photos of the East Dulwich area or Southwark please do get in touch with me and lets get a copy for the local history library - might be used for the next round of photos to be displayed.