BrandNewGuy

Better drink beer until they're finished ;-)

No, it's genuine https://twitter.com/kctmo/status/837708770411151360

Six storeys. Here's the relevant bit of what the Council said in its submission to the Planning Appeal which set out five reasons why they would have refused the application if they had gone on to determine it: "Height, scale and massing of the residential development 8.11 The proposed development provides 155 flats in buildings up to 6 storeys in height. The site is located in the Suburban Zone under the Southwark Core Strategy, where development is expected to reflect the local character. The Southwark Plan defined the suburban zone as one which should retain a more open character with larger gardens often associated with houses rather than flats. It is the Council?s case that the housing development does not respond positively to its local character and that the scale and arrangement of the blocks would be overbearing in views across neighbouring open spaces. If the Council had been able to determine the application, it would have refused planning permission for the following reason:- ?The proposed residential blocks, by reason of their height, scale and massing would result in an overly dominant and visually intrusive development which would be out of character with the prevailing built form of the locality. It would be overbearing when viewed from the adjacent open spaces and appear as an alien form within the local townscape. It would therefore be contrary to saved Policies 3.11 ?Efficient Use of Land?, 3.12 ?Quality in Design?, 3.13 ?Urban Design?, and 3.27 ?Other Open Space? of the Southwark Plan (2007), Strategic Policies 11 ?Open spaces and wildlife? and 12 ?Design and Conservation? of the Core Strategy (2011) and Policies 7.4 ?Local Character?, and 7.6 ?Architecture? of the London Plan (2016)?. 8.12 The Council will present evidence to demonstrate that the housing blocks do not positively contribute to the local townscape, and whilst the townhouses lining the southern edge of the block could be successful, the height, form, and singularity of the flatted blocks dominate views across Greendale and St Francis Park. Where at present the long views are dominated by trees, the new blocks would be much more prominent and give the site a highly urbanised character. Whilst in some parts of the borough this form of development would be entirely appropriate, it has not taken sufficient account of the special characteristics of the suburban location within which it would sit."

And talking of low tax agendas, don't forget Guardian Media Group's shady dealings with regard to avoiding tax: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2012-05-16/has-the-guardian-exploited-tax-loopholes-to-save-millions

Dark Star's fine 3.8% Hophead for ?3.70 in the EDT. Probably not the cheapest, but very good value.

Beulah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^I rode over Blackfriars Bridge this morning > during rush hour - was total chaos. > The queue backed up almost halfway. > There was some ex-squaddie fat head - City of > London PCSO type - near the gates at the northern > end who was there to presumably make sure no-one > was hurt - he was just shouting at everyone. It was chaos yesterday afternoon too. I was on a 45 bus that took 20 minutes to crawl from Southwark Station to the bridge. Got out, walked and caught the 45 ahead of the one I was on.

And on Blackfriars Bridge, the northbound bus stop is now cut off from the road by the new barrier and is closed. Presumably permanently.

And we should be cautious about this youth effect until the numbers have actually been crunched. When David Lammy last night tweeted about a 72% turnout among 18-25 year olds, I wondered exactly how he could have got that information so quickly given that it didn't factor into the exit poll. Turned out it was a made-up figure. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40220032

red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > On the subject of the right-wing press, this > result was a massive two fingers to them and the > belief that they sway/win elections, that they can > get away with systematic character assassinations. > With the influence of social media growing by the > day, that's not the case anymore, people can get > their news/opinions from a variety of sources. Yes > Corbyn has his faults, but nothing warranted the > bile that was spewed at him and others. A victory > for hope not hate... Much as I detest the gutter press, the social media liberal-left can't believe both 1. that these evil papers control the thoughts of brainless morons and 2. that these morons can somehow turn round and stick their fingers up at the billionaire press barons. FWIW I think the influence of the tabloids is very much exaggerated ? I never believed that it was The Sun wot won it in '92 and most readers of tabloids read them because they reflect their views not because they're looking for political guidance.

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In a couple of hours time, Teresa May will go to > Buckingham Palace to seek permission > from The Queen to form a Government. Can The > Queen refuse her. Has that ever happened ? > > DulwichFox No and no. The only time there was a difficult decision to make was when Macmillan was ousted in 1963 in mid-term. The Queen (and her advisors) made it clear that she'd wait until a convincing leader emerged from the Tory infighting. Eventually Alec Douglas-Home told her that he could form a cabinet and gain the confidence of the Commons. If it had been left to the vote of Tory MPs from the moment Macmillan resigned, Rab Butler might well have won and become PM.

Foxy, given its sluggishness, it sounds like it's already been poisoned and is on its last legs.

rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ladbrokes were offering 3/1 on Trump and 1/5 on > Clinton the day of the US election, and 3/1 on > Brexit with Remain odds-on, so they're not always > the best indicators. Indeed. Odds follow the money, not the chances of something happening. When punters piled money into a Clinton victory, the odds shortened. I remember the Tyson-Bruno fight in Vegas back in the pre-internet days. Bruno's odds in the UK were ridiculously short, while all the Bruno fans going to Vegas for the fight waited till they got there to put their money on him at ? justifiably ? much longer odds.

Abe_froeman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How they expect to negotiate a new deal with > someone else while allowing zipcar to park for > free anywhere they like is beyond me. They're not 'allowing' Zipcar to park for free. Without designated bays, Zipcars can park wherever they like in streets without restrictions. I'm all for car clubs and fully intend to get rid of my car at some point soon, but there are three hurdles to overcome: getting a critical mass of local users which will, in fact, free up spaces for car club cars; trying to ensure that the car club 'market' is sufficiently competitive to keep prices down; and stopping the bloomin' council from using car clubs as yet another revenue generator, even though they seem to actually want fewer cars in the borough.

Yep. "F**k you! I'm Millwall!" is on a par with "You ain't no Muslim, bruv". And I don't mean that flippantly.

JohnL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I meant Regan and Carter (they used to have loads > of 'contacts' in the underworld). And they met one of their snitches at DHFC's old Champion Hill ground...

One of Jonathan Meades's TV films features lots of shots of Dawson's Heights from 1997 ? see the start of Pt. 3 here:

Well, the council are looking at doing further ecological survey work on Green Dale ? there are certainly lots of stag beetle larvae among the poplar stumps and old wood on Green Dale in the patch just the other side of the fence from the Abbotswood Rd / Green Dale path. Ditto the probable bat roosts in the trees along the side of Green Dale backing onto the current stadium.

They're fine - pretty much standing room only but not uncomfortably so and if you head for the rear carriages you can find a seat or two.

Yeah, they've been out and about for the last week or so around here. It's quite unnerving when one flies near you ? they fly like those hulking great military transporter planes. Nationally they're rare, so we should take care of our local population ? rotting wood and stumps are great for the larvae to feed on.

The best time to look will be late June and into July after the youngsters leave the nest.

It's better because otherwise it allows the parties to get away it. The IFS looked at the overall figures, not piecemeal for each particular pledge, as the latter can always be 'funded' if you ignore all the other pledges. And I reckon the Beeb has been as hard as it can be on the Tories on the matter of spending plans, even though the Tories craftily decided to put very few figures next to their pledges.

Well, there are issues with costings. The IFS are about as unimpeachable as you can get and they've slagged off both Tory and Labour tax and spend figures: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/26/conservative-labour-tax-spending-plans-ifs-general-election-manifesto

Much as I detest TM, it's a shame people don't know the phrase "naked into the conference chamber" from Nye Bevan's anti-unilateralist speech in 1957. It's been used many times since in the context of tying a negotiator's hands ? but also it's clearly a dig at JC's unilateralism. A tough but not unfair blow in the context of an election campaign?

edhistory Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do they roost near Railway Rise? Possibly. There was some talk of bat roosts when the garden centre planning app was being considered, but I don't think any evidence of such was presented.

Nigello Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Where was the bat? I have yet to see one anywhere > in and around SE22/15/21 but would love to. During a 'bat walk' around Dog Kennel Hill Wood and Green Dale last autumn, three different bats were seen and/or detected ? pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle and noctule. There are plenty of bats around in ED but they tend to stick to travelling familiar tree lines and wooded areas to feed ? they're not keen on flying across open spaces and they tend to avoid brightly lit places, even though those places attract numerous moths etc. You can also see them around the wooded parts of Peckham Rye Park and all along our local railway embankments.