James Barber

Tonight is surgery night. If you're around East Dulwich and have any issues you think I can help with feel free to pop along to the East Dulwich Community Centre on Darrell Road between 7pm and 8pm. Whatever it is I'll try to help.

Hi EDdownunder, Tell me where you live via PM and I'll get it chased for you.

Hi nutty, Southwark has kept rubbish and recycling collections going throughout the weather - they're slower than usual so not sticking to normal timetables but they are happening. However, garden rubbish and large item booked collections have been stopped and the people diverted to helped with normal rubbish and recyclnig collections. Tell me your address and I'l ask what's gone wrong for you.

With sub zero temperatures I don't believe concrete sets. Every at just above zero temperatures concrete setting must be slow. This must be severely limiting the speed of reinstatement and cause much of the delays - unless a road works conrete setting expert on the Forum can advise otherwise?

Hi nutty, Where do you live. All normal rubbish and recyclnig collections are meant to be proceeding. The only collections not proceeding are brown bins (garden waste) ones and bulk refuse collections - the staff have been diverted to help with regular rubbish and recycling collections which are taking longer than normal. Tell me your address and I'll ensure they get to you asap - and empty the brown bin that you've used for regular rubbish.

Most road works will have stopped with the snow, then xmas, then new year and then more snow. But yes some modicum urgency would be helpful. I'll chase.

Hi Bob S, Southwark accounts are on public record and this will be in their somewhere. I'm afraid I wont be hunting it down for you though. If you email your email address I'll put you in touch with the case officer.

This is gas works to solve leaking gas into electricity ducts. Electricity and gas don't mix safely. Until southern Gas fixes all the leaks they'll keep digging. As for Boris's piggy backing onto London Councils law changes. He has no shame. Southwark has not joined the first tranche of 16/33 London councils with this new power. Would we really want ot financially incentivise a gas company to not fix gas leaks? Do we really wantto financially incentivise water companies to not fix leaks but instead impose water restrictions in summertime that cost it nothing?

Hi Bob S, Any costs would be attached to the LAnd Registration. I would expect they would be deducted from the CPO purchase price. So no, I would not expect the tax payer to foot those bills. Importantly, this is all close to finishing which will mean officers can concentrate on other issues.

I passionately care about our library service. One of the first things I did when elected councillor was meet the head of libraries at our local libraries - Grove Vale and Dulwich Library - for a full tour. After much badgering Dulwich Library was opened for a 7th day each week and is now a seven days a week service. It was great that library staff in conjunction with their union agreed staffing roster changes making this possible. This has seen a doubling in weekly baby and toddler group attendance from 125 Dec?08 to 268 Dec?09 despite the snow. Weekly films clubs. Hopefully, we?ll have some adult learning soon rather than asking East Dulwich residents to trudge over to Peckham. I?ve asked on many occasions whether a similar change for Grove Vale could be made. What days would you find it most helpful IF Grove Vale library could be open more? I?m hopeful that early in the next Financial Year something may be possible? With an expanding population we need to grow our libraries. Opening for more hours helps but physically making more space for users. I?ve proposed a modest, very cheap, increase to Dulwich Library. Fingers crossed this rearranging will come to pass

Hi Jeremy, Latest news on the Concrete House at 549 Lordship Lane. Last Thursday I sat on the Dulwioch Community Council Planning Committee to hear two planning application for this site - one for the chanes one related to change and its listed status - effectively the same thing. After a relatively swift meeting the changes were approved. This means the CPO with southwark buying the property BUT with a company recommended by English Heritage that now has planning permission to immediately buy it from Southwakr Council. So council tax payers are exposed for the smallest amount of time to this big capital outlay while the property will be amazingly sympatheticially restored into 5 flats. Goods news all round and an excellent application.

Hi Bob, I received an email on on Friday from the Assistant to Board Members. She tells me she'll be in touch after she's investigated East Dulwioch postal problems. Perhaps they prefer letters to email!

Hi dogcat, I'm sorry. As per other posts Southwark's salt replenihsment contract was ripped up by central government last Thursday which means effectively salt/grit supplies nationalised and Southwark has had to ration how and when we use salt/grit. We normally use 150-200 tonnes a day. We've cut back to 100 tonnes per day to keep main routes clear.

Hi Jaws, Unsurprisingly I don't have an emails from 'Jaws'. Could you ping me again an email so I can cross refer your regular email address and work out what I did with your original - please.

Hi Reg Smeeton, Head Teachers decide whether to open or close a school. School Governors hold heads to account and stretegically guide a head. I have found it surprising that nearly all businesses, shops, GP's, clinics, transport have been running but that quite so many schools were closed last week. It has been argued that many teachers live some distance away. Many people from such locations have travelled to non school work. Perplexing. Eitherway, today of the state schools in Southwark 2/3 Childrens' centres open - the one closed boiler has broken and has no heat. Seems reasonable. 63/64 Primary schools open. 13/14 Secondary Schools open 3/3 pupil referral units open So 83/86 open.

Hi Joel_mole, Probably a good idea to tell the South Camberwell ward Safer Neighbourhood Team about every indicent as they cover your road. They're not 24/7 but they will work is crime and anti social behaviour reduction and look for patterns etc. They'd probably benefit from any numbers plate information. Contact details for them are. 020 8721 2448 [email protected]

Hi Sue, East Dulwich Grove outside Dulwich Hospital has been kept clear of snow and ice but not all the way to Lordship Lane. Yesterday and today around 9am I walked along it. With the government cancelling the salt replinishment contract Southwark has and effectively nationalising salt suppliers the salt stocks Southwark has can't be used to clear East Dulwich Grove pavement from Melbourne grove to Lordship Lane. We would normally. Extremely frustrating.

Understand all the UK excuses but the Dockland Light Railway was extended by 2.5km at a cost of ?180M and it required much larger bore tunnelling. Almost a factor cheaper than the Jubilee line extension.Temperatre doesn't vary much 50m under ground. Tunnelling machines are an international commodity. They don't have TfL or Network Rail. The French also can build things much quicker. Their approach for compulsory purchase is to pay 125% of the genuine market value. People positively welcome schemes rather fighting blight and being ripped off. Spanish and French seem to understand the social and political requirements of building infrastructure. UK High Speed 2. Talk about it taking 20-40 years. Spain in the last 10 years decided to do it and have nearly finished 1,800km. Matter of national vision and will.

Hi Eileen, I was left a garbled message which sounded like TfL and as I described. I then received an email that was very different and I immedaitely edited my post to explain SOuthern Gas. They still have gas leaking into electricity ducts and have to find the leak and although it was all meant to finish today will still require further holes to be dug.

I have met Southern and Network Rail at East Dulwich station in the past to ask about the steps. To remove the steps extending the ramp, the whole ramp I was told would need to become DDA (Disabilities Discrimination Act) compliant. That means 1 in 20 slope with flat areas every 20m. In reality this means a doubling in slope length. That would mean buying land from the building centre or creating switch backs. If we wanted to put steps directly upto the platforms. Again a DDA option would have to be created. Lifts have been costed at around ?100,000 IF a new retaining wall on the south side was built. This retaining wall has been calculated at around ?1M. Buidling anything next to the working railway is horrendously expensive. BUT when I asked Barry what could Southwark Council help with to support all his good efforts he immediately told me an extra waiting area. so waiting area is what I have applied for funding for. I suspect next years recommended addition will be an additional covered waiting area on platform 2.

I believe the tailback was due to Southern Gas works. They were due to finish today but have found gas is still leaking into the electricity ducts. Clearly electricity and gas are not a good mix so they'll keep digging holes until they fix the leaks.

I've attached an article on how the Spanish extend tubes lines in Madrid - cut and cover ?35M/km deep tunnelling ?55M/km including station, signalling, etc. They can build from conception to trains running within 4 years - whole tube lines 20km long. TfL talks about 20 year planning. They nearly did a five year project extending the Docklands Light Railway into Woolwich Arsenal 2.5km ?180M. Wierdly the same distance to extend the Bakerloo line to Denmark Hill as started in 1950.

No those would be the toilets at the Leisure centre.

Hi timster, Its not my ward and I've been trying to get a sensible answer. The southern Gas works were due to finish today. BUT gas is still leaking into the elxtricity ducts and they keep working until this is fixed. So today they should end......but reality they'll need to dig at least another hole. :'(

With Southwark's delivery of 500 tonnes of salt by its supplier to blocked by central government and the weather forecast of up to another week of freezing weather Southwark has to reduce its daily consumption of salt from 150 tonnes to 100 tonnes per day. Attached is plan for revised pavement clearing in addition to all major roads being kept clear. This is a new document that I've 'feedback' on already.