worldwiser

Absolutely without question go Saturday AM. Friday at that time will be hell on earth. We often do this on a Saturday and can do ED to M3 in about 45-50m if we leave before 9.

Definitely agree there should be staff on the platforms and out and about. But having them behind an old-fashioned ticket office counter is of precious little use to 99.9% of travellers. They should carry a portable machine to deal with ticket/Oyster queries.

Don't make them unemployed: give them something useful to do. There can't be much satisfaction in doing a job that a machine could do more quickly and efficiently.

It would be nice if they just got on and finished it (presumably they do intend to at some point) but I do love the fact that we have our parking spaces back that they were squatting on. Their absence has made a huge difference on that front. I did speculate that if the site had filled with water in the recent heavy rainfall this may have created some additional issues and led to a suspension of works..

We've tried super cheap and eye-wateringly expensive and experienced much the same service with both. The only difference with eye-wateringly expensive is that they have a shop-front on a nearby street where you can make a nuisance of yourself. Super cheap means a call centre somewhere far away which makes it far more difficult to hassle people.

The thing I resent is that estate agents are usually the slowest link in the chain. Always find it hilarious to get a call from the agent saying, 'we've managed to agree x or y with the buyer/seller' and my response is usually, 'yes I know, I spoke to the buyer/seller and agreed it 2 days ago.' If you want your property transaction to take 4 months, leave it to the agents and lawyers. If you want it done in 6 weeks, do it yourself.

AddLee is a ?75 fare to Heathrow from ED. Not the few pounds more than local firms. It's double. And they have no idea where they're going half the time.

The fact that the one on Frogley at 895 is still not sold tells me everything. Popular properties at a vaguely credible price go before they come to market. Properties still on the market after 3 weeks will inevitably be reduced and leave the owner with their greed publicly and hilariously unsatisfied. There's currently hardly anything on the market so anyone who's in a mood to buy at that price would already have done so.

How does one go from accusing an elected official of 'deliberately avoiding questions' and 'contempt' in a tone which badly reflects the apparent 'respect' in which he is held, to offering an emoticon to convey a change of mood after receiving an undeservingly pleasant reply. Sometimes (by which I mean often) the normal protocols of human engagement are really evanescent on this forum.

Patience!

Islington, for instance, allows one car per person and vehicles for business have to be parked off-road or display a business permit for use only in specific business spaces. Works very well.

Another problem a CPZ would kill overnight.

Probably the shop on the corner of Melbourne Grove and Grove Vale - v helpful guy in there.

James Barber's response to me here: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,336529,page=116 goes someway to answering this. Although I'm very sympathetic to your viewpoint and wish there were far more transparency in this area. Lordship Lane itself has some appalling sections - one of the area's busiest roads - and yet sideroads are being prioritised. Makes no logical sense to me.

Firstmate, if so it's a shrewd and cunning plan. I'm not even clear why they felt it necessary to hold a referendum about this in particular. In three London boroughs I've previously lived in, CPZs were simply imposed and to a general outcry. Soon afterwards, when people discovered they were almost guaranteed a spot outside their house, they shut up. They work when done properly without being excessive.

There is plenty of parking in ED to absorb local demand. Obviously, however, there isn't enough to absorb demand for the whole of the borough. If people would realise that a low key (ie a mere 2 hours per day) zoned parking scheme were introduced, there really wouldn't be an issue. A huge proportion of parked cars around Melbourne Gv that was mentioned are cars that are owned by commuters who live miles away! You can't insist on free-for-all parking and then stifle all future development into the bargain. People of ED have made their bed. Sleep in it.

Amazed they cancelled it in those circumstances. Parking there is basically sticking two fingers up at mothers and fathers who greatly appreciate the extra space while trying to turn car seats into buggies in preparation for dragging their little darlings around the supermarket. No none takes their child to a supermarket by choice so, next time, perhaps you'll be a little less unfeeling. These spaces are there in a spirit of community of which you clearly seem to have very little.

SteveUK - as I suspected. Winkworth have already reduced the Frogley house to the far more reasonable 895 :-) At this rate, come summer it'll be affordable!

There literally is only one thing you could to arrest property prices: stop international buyers from buying in London. Unless you're prepared to do that (and I doubt anyone is) you could build skyscrapers of flats on every square foot of available land in zones 1-6, 24 hours a day for the next 25 years and still make no appreciable dent in demand. Trying to grapple with prices in a territory where there is insatiable demand for property is a waste of time - you'd be far better off finding another city to live in.

Blame estate agents for all kinds of things if you want (and I do.) But surely don't blame them for crazy prices, that can only ever be the buyers' fault.

Oops... Barber not the jacket.

SteveUK1978 - wow. That house on Frogley at 925 is a proper shock. That's a tiny house - on Worlingham (a much nicer street) you can have a house twice the size for 950. Clearly it's a mistake. The 2 bed house on Crawthew at 720 is hilarious too.

Surely this belongs in 'items for sale' ?

Totally agree. Barbour is untouchable on this - he's been for it all the way. Whether you agree with his views or not I've rarely found a councillor more engaged in local issues.

Best way is to force the freeholder to sell you the Freehold once you own the flat. You need 50% of the current leaseholders to force it through under collective enfranchisement: with a long lease such as yours it should be relatively inexpensive compared to the peace of mind it will bring and the added value to your property. We've done it twice in the past and collectively saved ourselves and neighbours thousands on bogus or unnecessarily complicated maintenance work and ultimately gained total control of the buildings. Freeholders are a historic anachronism and they shouldn't exist anymore.