James Barber

Hi Helga, I'm not happy with the stats but wanted to report them nuetrally rather than make hay from people's suffering. I've done everything I can to ensure we have sufficient primary school places - initating and leading new free school campaigns and giving a great deal of support to all other local free school campaigns. If you'd like to email me privately with your details so I can see how to try helping you and your family now and build up a picture for future admissions changes thatm ight be required.

Will be released 5pm today. I've just received some stats I've posted on a new thread - hadn't spotted this one.

80% of families have received a primary school place of their 1st preference. 2,823 families 15.4% of familes given a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th reference. 553 families 4.5% of families not given a school they showed any interest in. 160 disappointed families. record year for application - thankfully we have several new recently opened or about to open free school - Judith Keer, Harris East Dulwich and Belham to ensure we have sufficient local places. More stats attached. I anticiapte have a postcode breakdown early next week to see how we did in SE22. I hope you have been allocated the school palce you wanted. If you didn't the concil hotline is open until 9pm tonight. Q&A sheet is attached. If you want face to face advice the Admissions team have drop in sesssion Cambridge house 20-24 April - please see attached. You can also ask a local councillor to help. This forum also has great intel from other parents. Any observatinos of how the system could have gone better please tell me.

Hi Mason/Sunil, I don't believe we've had a young lady die at this junction thank god. Really serious injuries as Freda has highlighted. I'm having problems getting couincil road safety to meet me on site to review options. we clearly need to do something. The previous different coloured brick textured effect surface has been replaced with simple black tarmac. And it looks to have changed behaviour as the crashes happened after that change. WRT full traffic lights on that junction. To have traffic lights would require two lanes in both direction free of parking - traffic lights reduce road capacity so the two lanes make up for it. TfL would never allow us to reduce capacity as bus routes would be held up. Traffic owuld divert around this by using side roads creating another problem. But making it two lanes in both directions is likely to speed traffic up. The junction would have a pedestrian phase making it safer to cross but the phasing is likely to result in jay walking. All these factors when discussed with officers several years ago suggested a sum of near zero difference in road safety while creating a very different Lordship Lane. BUT road safety thinking has moved on. Hence my request ot meet council road safety officers at this junction. I'll badger them again and keep everyone posted. Hi Freda, Blimey, you have suffered. GET FULLY WELL SOON.

I've asked council officers if we could use the Localism Act to ban or increase controls for these board. Initial response: " I'm afraid I don't have a quick answer to this question but in short if having considered current enforcement powers it is not possible to enforce a local by-law is an alternative. A point to consider is that these boards are on private land in many cases with the homeowner giving agreement to them being put up, in addition many agents offer discounts on fees if you agree to a board. The fundamental question is whether they are causing a nuisance or are a safety risk? I will ask a member of my team to undertake a short piece of research on the point and come back to you with more information regarding process and cost. " I'll keep you posted...

Great idea about Dulwich Library pocket park.

You are most at risk of being burgled in the first 6 months of moving into a property. These signs I suspect add to that risk. Remove them. I wonder if people could write a letter explaining the estate agent haas one week to remove them before rent will be charged. Any lawyers who can tell us how to write such a letter successfully? Longer-term I'll ask if Southwark council could obtain permission to just ban the flaming things. Under thE Localism Act it could seek this power.

HI OutOfFOcus, Two types. General council decision making where Calling-in occurs where councillors are concerned the decision has been taken without considering all the facts or following the correct constitutional procedures. So the call-in is meant ot ensure the decision is reviewed and if the councillors thinking the decision maker didn't consider al the facts etc they can send it back to them or the relevant cabinet committee to reconsider. They may still make the same decision. Planning call-in where two councillors are very concerned about a planning application and want a committee of councillors i.e a planning committee to decide an application rather than council officers under delegated powers. Variety of reasons why councillors may decide this. I've often done this with my ward colleague cllr Rosie Shimell asking that it be called-in if officers are minded to grant a planning scheme or vice versa. I think I have the record for the most call-ins. Hi patt1980, It depends. I think the premises you're refereing to at the Bapitsts Chrurch at 47 Amott Road. If they've been operating a playgroup for many years there then it becomes an accepted use. If they've obtained planning permission for the use in the last 15 years then that permission may have time limits. I've just searched the council system and no planning permission appleid for or granted. You would be advised to ask the planning department to check if planning permission is required. If you email me I can set the wheel in motion to be doubly sure. Adding 30 nrsery places will be really helpful for the local area but we need to ensure your and your neighbours amenity is maintained.

Hi jacks09, Please email me and I will take up your case.

Hi BNG, The mani round results in around 80% of the money being allocated. Projects don't happen, tings come under budget, etc and the difference is allocated during the year. So wards have had a formal second round. So the next full on round will be late Autumn this year for money FY Apr'15-Mar'16.

Hi BNG, The Community Fund and CGS revenue fund have been merged to for mthe Neighbourhood Fund. It's down to ward councillors whether they spend it all in one go or hodl some back for future applications. For East Dulwich ward we've held some back. hope that answers your question? Hi landsberger, I'm afraid I don't know the history behind Three Rivers. Great they still run on the Committee system where every councillor helps decide decisions of the council. I think it leads to more pragmatic and less partisan decision making. But it very tempting when a party has a mjority to release a great deal of their power back to the committee system.

Hi landsberger, They don't run cabinet council there but run on a committee basis. You've compared apples with melons. I never complained when Labour called-in decisions when in opposition. My lot have called-in fewer decisions than Labour did. In Southwark 10 Labour councillors meet in one cabinet and make collective and individual decisions. Scrutiny committees review issues and other topics and scutinise some decisions but most they do not scrutinise. In Three Rivers I believe they don't have cabinet government but committees where all the parties debate decisions before they're decided upon and each committee votes on decisions - hence the chair is held by the majority party for each committee. This is how Southwark used to be run until New Labour introduced "strong government" options and gave councils the option of cabinet government. I prefer the committee decision making process as it keeps all councillors actively involved in decision making and the scrutiny ensures better government. They also have 3 years in 4 a third of councillors are elected. This ensures all parties feel the tug public opinion and don't get complacent. Which system do you think leads to better governance - strong leader/cabinet or committee?

The council have a team for this. They have a 6 month backlog and no plans to clear it. So do apply well in advance. Weird as any delays postpiones extra business for builders which boosts the local economy.

Email me direct and I will take your case up. This is clearly unacceptable in a number of ways.

Latest Network Rail statement - " Good afternoon, A further update for you, normal working has resumed. Southern say service will start to return to normal from 1600 and there are no plans to reduce or amend service this evening. Again, if you need any further information then please do not hesitate to give me a call or email me. "

Hi first mate, As an opposition councillor we have to weigh up what we call-in via Overview & Scurtiny Committee. We appear to have upset Labour when we chaired this committee such that they now have a Labour chairperson - with a majority they decide this although it is breaking a long tradition of the leading party not chairing the committee that scrutinses the ruling party. We have always been reticent about using this call-in power for fear of Labour umbridge and losing it. With a council majority they can change the constitution as they wish. That is my reticence. Saying that in 2014 they changed the constitution to make it possible for Lib Dems to still be able to call-in decisions. I've been copied an email sent to OSC members by residents and am very sympathetic to reasons for call-in B2,B3,B4. B1 at the meeting officers anssered to my satisfaction - turning circles for coaches during rush hour.

Thisi the email I received: " Date: 8 April 2015 14:38:44 BST Subject: FW: BRIDGE BASH NORTH DULWICH Good afternoon, I wanted to update you on a serious bridge bash at North Dulwich. Just before 11am today a lorry with a crane attachment hit a Network Rail bridge on Village Way (A2214) in North Dulwich, with the crane extended. The impact was such that part of the bridge parapet and part of the crane itself fell onto the railway, causing a short circuit and stopping a nearby Southern train. Power was cut off to the conductor rail and the train, which was carrying 89 passengers, was evacuated by bringing another train alongside it. Trains are being disrupted between London Bridge and Tulse Hill with delays of up to 50 minutes. Trains began running with speed restrictions around 2.15pm. An engineer is on site inspecting the bridge further and should any structural defect be found, then we may have to stop trains for repairs to be made. If you need any further information then please do not hesitate to give me a call or email me. " Thankfully no one appears hurt.

Keep the idea coming - and we can then use CGS funding later this year and if applications approved they'd be installed in 12 months time. So plenty of time to work out where to put them.

I can only ask for a call-in via my colleagues sittingon OSC. We'd have to have specific reasons of how this decision has been made incorrectly process wise or is contrary to plans and strategies. I don't think it meets this criteria so any call-in would fail - BUT let me know why you think it should be called-in. Ideally in an email.

Hi KirstyH, If the noise troubles you then please consider joining HACAN who campaign to reduce the noise impact of Heathrow and HACAN East who campaign against the noisei mpact of London City Airport. And the balance between all interested parties in when, where and how noisy planes fly over us is entirely political.

Hi first mate, I don't think so. A lot of time and effort has gone into these proposals by all parties and I can't see how the decision breaches any policies or strategies - which is reqired for a call-in to Overview & Scrutiny Committee. Unless you tell me otherwise...

and if you have ideas for more public located tabel tennis tables let me know...

In the past applications to use Cleaner, Greener, Safer funding have been made to light this path. It was refused on the basis of public safety! If the police have changed their minds then a CGS application in the Autumn when the next round will open for application would be one was of making this happen.

Apart from any concerns about being sited next to a school. Siting a 25m tall 60cm diameter pole with numoerous street cabinets on a prominent street corner aesthetically would be unacceptable. Their are smarter places to house these masts.

Hi landsberger, Yes, and Southwark Council interpret the GLA forecasts. I'm keen to meet with the Southwark people who interpret GLA forecasts. We#ve seen no change in birth rate, rate of people leaving the area, etc but a big reduction inthe forecast pupil numbers. Where would you build the permanent Harris East Dulwich Primary school if not the former East Dulwich Police station?