intexasatthe moment

And the letter from Southwark supporting the Charter's discredited method of working out shortest walking distance ?

James " it does seem strange that a letter of support from the administration was issued when the evidence was so clearly indicating Southwark Council shouldn't be supporting the status" the report only quotes from comments made by Southwark ,there is no mention of a letter supporting the status. Have I missed it or is it a letter you've seen elsewhere ? Can someone explain how radial distance works - sorry to be dense ! Guess we'd btter hope it's not "radial" as presumably this will be outside Southwark's experience and they'll be at a loss to know whether Charter are administrating the system fairly or not .

Reading the report I am shocked by the degree of autonomy that the school assumed . But this is the situation we have now - all secondary schools in Southwark are their own admissions authorities and this case clearly demonstrates what a strong position they are in to evade the regulations in place to ensure that they conform to the code of practice . ( don't even get me started on the yawning gap between the requirement to be clear and easily understood and Kingsdale's complex arrangement re scholarships ,lotteries ,banding and how they organise the waiting lists ) James seems to be stressing that Southwark have supported the Charter in the dubious administration of it's oversubscrition policy . As far as I can see from the report Southwark commented that they didn't administer any secondary school admissions but that for primary schools they used the "straight line " approach and that they didn't think Charter were in breach of the code . Presumably as the time when Southwark did control admissions to secondary schools receeds ever further into the past they will have even more reason to state as they did in this case that they " are not in a good position to comment on the technical aspects of the case ". I'm not really clear what Southwark should have done ,presumably there were actions open to them . But it's not just the current administration that haven't taken them - this refusal on the Charter's part to recognise a footpath has been going on for 11 years since the school opened . I have a friend who had to go to appeal in 2001 on exactly this issue and she was succesful . Southwark presumably should have taken action before . And I agree with other posters - this corrects the administration for this years intake but has indeed altered the circumstances for applicants to secondary schools this year after they've made their applications .

fox1 - well done on appealing ,it's a long and horrible process I know ,so good on you for perservering . Am glad ( and slightly amazed as IME having "right " on one's side doesn't always mean that one is succesful ) that the school have been told to abide by it's own over subscription rules . Wonder if they'll be as scrupulous at checking out applicants' supposed addresses ?

Huggers - yes that'll be the one ,I read only half of it and want the rest of it ( even thinking of buying hard copy ) for reference . Do you have a link ?

Mmm yes ,tricky . ( sorry tricky not correct/adequate adjective if you're a parent or child affected ) And presumably there may be children currently at other schools who were unsuccesful in gaining entry at yr 7 who would have got in if the school had been recognising shortest/safest walking distance . if they're on the waiting list will this decision give them priority ...

Do you know what will happen to the building now Louise ? And by the way ages ago there was a thread on the EDF which had a link to a lengthy document ,available on line and in hard copy ,with loads of history about the buildings in Rye Lane . I think it was by English Heritage or something like that ? You wouldn't happen to remember it or be able to post the link ?

Have sent you an email James requesting copy . Thank you for the info - correct decision IMO .

James - any views on the suggestion re marking out parking spaces ? I must say as someone who regularly cycles down Melbourne that such a proposal ,if adopted , would appear to free up a few more car parking spaces .

But was found guilty of using threatening words/behaviour and fined so presumably didn't use that line ,or not believed .

Didn't the motorist reply " yes ,yeah I did " in answer to the cyclists question " did you just threaten to kill me ? "

Jasmina - Loz posted the link about 8.30 last night ,it's on the previous page of this thread . But if you still can't find it ,here it is again http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=25008&ISATT=1&bcsi_scan_6BDE16B5925DEBDF=bsVQNVUpm9OZIYogZOdgZGjO/SsKAAAA/elzIg==&bcsi_scan_filename=mgConvert2PDF.aspx

Colin - http://www.doglost.co.uk/

Yes I agree, less traffic around at that time of night, wear something bright, plenty of lights. Should be OK I agree - much safer than hanging around deserted bus stops and train stations at that time of night .

Can't find link to Enviromental Health Southwark - can someone else ?

Phoned and reported ,second report today apparently .not reported before today . Thames Water say they'll be visiting . But apparently up to householder to pay if it's their supply pipe ( is in the front garden so guess it could be )

Mmm I've noticed and wondered about this as well . The leak is coming from the forecourt/garden of the house and I wondered if they'd reported it . I'll check the house number and see if it can be reported on line .

You're right Dorothy ,and those people should remember that they're not just doing the best for their child - they're elbowing some other child out . Moi ? Bitter ?

Agree with Dorothy re catchment for Charter . Perhaps their families moved after getting a place ?

" The second is 'shock' that consultation is not a vote. If you are 'shocked' by this there is no helping you." Hugeuenot - not everyone springs forth into the world with a fully formed intellect . Some of us learn things as we go along ,some realisations come as a shock . Why adopt the view that there's "no helping " such people ? ( I'm not quite sure who or what they're being helped by and with ,though I'm fairly sure you'll tell us )

I wonder if London LA's are more driven by the political wishes of central government ? There was a similar requirement that the LA could demonstrate that they had taken the outcome of the consultation into account but a legal challenge to the imposition of Academy status against such an overwhelming result was unsuccesful . It was only necessary for the LA to show that they'd considered the outcome . But I imagine the CPZ debate is different - not least because elected individuals have stated that they will be guided by the outcome of the consultation . ( whereas parents/stakeholders - at my sons school were clearly told throughout the process that a consultation wasn't "the same as a ballot ,you can't just vote for what you want " .)

Lots of points to be considered here but one thing that many people seem to be in ignorance of is that LA consultations are not the same thing as people/consultees voting for what they want . I was really shocked when I first discovered this ( son's school ,not in Southwark ,made an Academy despite 94% of stakeholders wishes that it should not ) and I think it's wrong and undemocratic ,but it's the case . BH: Er.. er.. I d.. don?t think that the process is er.. is a case of whether people you know, th.. the numbers and exact numbers.. it?s a bit more of a sophisticated process than that.. it?s basically, we?ve got CPZs right across our borough and we.. we give residents the opportunity to.. to respond to a consultation and then what we?ll do is.. is come up with er.. er.. s.. some outcomes out of that and give them the chance to have further say before we.. before we make a decision.

Yes Nat West in Peckham has coin machine ,free ,goes into your account and you get to be entertainment for the queue !

I can't help wondering about the cost effectiveness of using helicopters ,especially since it seems ( I might be wrong ) not infrequent around here . I wonder if there are records showing how often helicopter use results in catching the criminal ?

However I'm making the assumption that there was a planning application - because I'm thinking it's the 2 houses on the corner where applications were submitted . I know a couple of these were unsuccesful so maybe grander plans were abandoned and the work was just renovation and no application was needed or made . Hope I'm making sense....