BrandNewGuy

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi BNG, > In East Dulwich ward we've ensured we have much > better car club coverage with more cars and vans > than other parts of the borough. We used some of > our Cleaner, Greener, Safer money to achieve this. > And despite having more car per head of population > we have slightly higher utilisation per car. > > Two weeks ago I asked if we could get lots more > and how we could help make it happen. Research > suggests that each shared car over time takes up > to 25 private cars of off the road. So great for > easier parking pressures. > But the exclusive contract with Zipcar has > slightly less than a year to run so the > procurement exercise to select the operator after > the current contract is about to kick off and we > now have to wait for that to run. If a new > operator were selected they may have different > views on where they want cars for example. > Frustrating. > So yes I'd love suggestions but in about a years > time. Thanks, James. We'll revisit it then, but it seems to me that greatly increased car club provision and usage will cut the Gordian knot of increased parking pressure, hopefully without us having to go down the CPZ route.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The catchment is likely to be much larger than > half a mile. The current Charter School's > catchment is typically 1 mile and this school will > be significantly larger. Either way, most pupils > should be able to commute via public transport but > suggesting the catchment will be half a mile is a > but alarmist / unrealistic. It was a rough guess, to be honest, so don't worry yourself. Anyway, a mile is twenty minutes walk. Piece of cake for most 11-18 year olds.

James, a while ago I think you posted something about Southwark Council asking people to suggest possible spots for car club spaces (in this case, Zipcar). Do you know if that's still the case? And if the Council intends to expand the scheme? Perhaps better would be promoting the 'e-car' system for car club use, in conjunction with TFL: http://www.carplus.org.uk/bollore-to-put-3000-electric-cars-on-londons-streets/ I would be more than happy to ditch my car when it reaches the end of its 'life' if I felt there was sufficient local provision for car club cars.

worldwiser Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's almost as if by not > replying they believe they can retain total > deniability. Do Conway have a lengthy iron-clad > contract or something which makes it nearly > impossible to fire them? Of course - low above-the-board cost but juicy below-the-board 'benefits'. Same as it ever was. Good luck with FOI request.

'Poor transport links' is perhaps a red herring. Curmudgeon pointed out a (probably far from unusual) school with excellent public transport links and still loads of staff who drive. House prices local to their work are out of reach for millions of Londoners who have to commute and seem to do so willingly. Why do teachers get a blanket exemption? Teachers? main pay range in Inner London starts on ?27,819 and goes up to ?37,862. And upper pay ranges go from ?42,756 to ?46,365. And more for ?leading practitioners?, heads etc. Is there really nowhere reasonably commutable to ED for these salaries? Disappointed to see the 'lug their marking' meme crop up. As I mentioned above, it would be nice if the education business considered entering the 21st century. I'm not being 'anti-teacher', but in a situation as complex as transport and parking in an inner London borough, we should look at all aspects of what is creating stresses and not unthinkingly give some a 'free pass'.

No, it was a lengthy (!) debate and consultation a few years ago about a CPZ for the area of north Melbourne Grove and the roads to the east near the station. The forum search can't find it at the moment, but the main reasons for opposition were: 1. It would reduce the amount of local parking not increase it 2. The knock-on effects on streets not in the zone weren't properly considered 3. Cost ? what guarantee would there be that the council wouldn't put up the permit fee remorselessly? The opposition won the day.

Go to the link I put above and you'll see that the 'chateau' and entrance are to be retained: http://www.chartereastdulwich.org.uk/_site/data/files/users/2/68364016F0E646B3810036D83AC73AC4.pdf

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > They said 90-95% of current Charter pupils walking > or public transport. Risk at new school of 5-10% > of pupils being driven/collected which would > September 2016 equate to 6-12 cars am and pm > expanding to ultimately possible 120 vehicles when > school finished. So initially no problem. Bigger > risk I suspect is staff driving to/from school. > Has to be said it appears the nearest private > schools have much higher proportion of pupils > being driven to/from schools. So any work to > reduce the Charter East Dulwich pupils being > driven needs to be applied in the private school > direction as well. Well, the private schools' intake is entirely different from what will be the Charter School's as they take from far and wide. Apart from pupils with disability issues, there's no excuse for any Charter pupil not walking, cycling or hopping on a bus given that no pupil is likely to live more than half a mile away. As you suggest, it's the staff who will be the issue when it comes to car use and particularly parking. Incidentally, pdfs of the full information panels from the consultation are now available here: http://www.chartereastdulwich.org.uk/_site/data/files/users/2/68364016F0E646B3810036D83AC73AC4.pdf

I don't want more parking spaces! What I don't want is a school crowing about its green credentials when dozens of staff drive to work and park in nearby streets. Of course the kids can walk or cycle - none of them will be more than half a mile away. Every time someone mentions teaching staff not driving, we get the 'carrying home piles of books' scenario. This is 2015. When my father used to 'bring work home', he had a huge bulging briefcase. When I take work home, I carry a slim laptop. It can't be beyond the wit of the system to come up with a solution that works in every other area of work and society.

And the Daily Mail rails against something it spent seven years campaigning to introduce...

Agreed, but the school needs to be firm about its green transport policy. Why not fly the flag and aim for a 'zero impact' on the local area?

They could take the 'green' initiative and insist on staff using public transport. But I suspect they won't... As I mentioned to someone from the Council, if this isn't addressed satisfactorily, I would seriously consider a local CPZ (which I opposed before). The ball is in the school's court.

Interesting evening looking over the temporary and long-term plans. There's not much point going into detail here, as they'll be putting up pdfs of the presentation on the website tomorrow: http://www.chartereastdulwich.org.uk Nice to see that they're intending to keep the 'chateau' and entrance drive intact, but I still have concerns about the impact on local congestion and parking, given that there will be minimal provision for parking. Which is fine for the kids, as they'll all be local and will be encouraged to walk or cycle, but I'll be interested to know what they'll do to minimise the staff's use of private cars.

I didn't say it wasn't there. I just queried why your only possible explanation was that it might have been some sort of protest. For which you have no evidence.

That's fine, but they're not at the moment and the current signage is incomplete, confusing and incorrect. So no out-of-towner - or even out-of-borougher - is remotely certain of getting it right.

ed_pete Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A bit like plastic bags > and smoking in pubs eventually it'll be forgotten > and everyone will accept it as the norm. The trouble is this is not a blanket national policy but a piecemeal one. How is someone from outside the borough supposed to know about the 20mph borough-wide limit if it isn't properly signed?

bawdy-nan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > rode that junction with my 10 year old coming from > Calton to Townley via the new cycle path the exit > of which some knobber had parked across with their > car. I do hope this wasn't some manly small minded > "protest". And your evidence for that is what?

Either date is fine for us.

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The mounds in Horniman Triangle Gardens (Sydenham > Hill) are in fact mass graves for hundreds of > victims of the great plague. The dead were taken > far away from the urban sprawl of London out to > the then countryside, presumably to prevent spread > of the disease. > > Louisa. Not according to this: http://www.dulwichsociety.com/newsletters/38-summer-2007/303-villagers-notebook

James, Just another quick nudge to see if there has been any movement on the development of the old garden centre site. Last news was February and with Morrisons selling off their M Local stores, what is the deal looking like? And if there's no prospect of immediate action, can the developer be asked to secure the demolished site sufficiently to move those horrible hoardings back off the pavement?

Received this note today: "Pre-Planning Consultation Public Exhibition of the proposed options for the new school building opening in September 2016. It is our intention to submit a planning application in November 2015 for the school to open in temporary accommodation on part of the site on East Dulwich Grove currently occupied by the East Dulwich Community Hospital. The school plans to open to students in September 2016. A further planning application will be made for permanent accommodation on the site in Spring 2016. Please come and discuss our proposed options for the new school buildings with the project team and put forward your views. These will be considered before a formal planning application is submitted. Public exhibitions Tuesday 6th October 2015 6pm ? 9pm (drop-in at any time) Saturday 17th October 2015 1pm ? 4pm (drop-in at any time) United Reformed Church East Dulwich Grove London SE22 8RH Alex Crossman, the newly appointed Headteacher, representatives from the local authority and the architects, as well as Trust members and local parents behind the new school will be present to answer your questions. http://www.chartereastdulwich.org.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=15&type=pdf

Had some great croissants in France recently (Castries, near Montpellier). Went to the 'boulangerie' nearly every morning for them. Packed with non-middle-class French people it was. The croissants were delicious - had them with apricot jam and a strong coffee on the side. I suppose they're pointless, though, as are most things I enjoy.

People who read a thread they have no interest in so that they can be outraged by it.

Will do - when I'm not crouched under a brolly :-)

Traffic tailing back east on EDG past Melbourne Grove at 8.10 this morning. And that's before most of the local school traffic kicks in.