Local residents and ward councillors asked the Council to remove the dustcart depot from Vale Street by this September, as the council had promised.

The Council’s decision?

It has decided to keep the dustcarts in Norwood for at least four more years and increase the likely frequency of truck visits on Saturdays.

In 2007, Lambeth Council gained temporary planning permission to site dustcarts at the Vale Street Depot.

Labour-controlled Lambeth and the local MP said this was only a stop-gap solution.  Residents and ward councillors strongly opposed having dustcarts on Vale Street at all, as we didn’t trust the council to remove them as promised.

Now, at a Planning Committee, the Council has confirmed its betrayal.

Gipsy Hill councillor Andrew Gibson says:  “The best way to get rid of the dustcarts from our residential area now is to bring about a change in control at Town Hall.  We have the opportunity to do that next May at the council election.  We must never forget Labour’s betrayal of Norwood.”

John Whelan outside the Rainbow Pre School Group on the Peabody Estate, West Norwood

Conservative Councillors in West Norwood have used the new annual “Ward Purse” scheme to support two worthy community projects in Thurlow Park as well as a much needed pavement improvement scheme outside a shopping parade.

With only £12,000 to divide between up to three different projects and tight deadlines to meet, Councillors John Whelan, Irene Kimm, and Clare Whelan nominated the Rainbow Pre School Group, which operates on the lower Peabody Estate and offers affordable pre-school care. The pre-school group will spend the money on new fixtures and fittings.

Clare says: “We then worked with All Saints Anglican Church in Rosendale Road to provide support to equip its new Community Room which will be open to outside groups and has been worked up with help from Age Concern Lambeth.”

Finally, the remaining funds were used to top up the council budget to improve the pavement outside the Rosendale Road shopping parade opposite the Rosendale Gardens Estate.

Irene says: “This improvement project is popular with local residents and welcomed by the shopkeepers are traders who were fully consulted beforehand.”

Photo: John outside the Rainbow Pre School Group on the Peabody Estate, West Norwood

There are rules regarding the allocation of this money.  The main ones are:

• No more than three projects per ward;
• No award to be less than £1,000;
• Essentially, only schemes within Lambeth are permitted. We also have to avoid things that are already funded from other budgets;
• Only capital schemes qualify: i.e., no scheme with revenue implications is allowed. The best example there is CCTV (disallowed because of related running costs).
• Tight deadline – all paperwork needs to be completed and sent by us to the Council by mid February and the money spent by May.

Andrew Gibson, a Conservative councillor in Gipsy Hill ward, says:  “A typical example might be a photocopier shared and maintained by community groups.  Any expressions of interest or ideas would be most welcome.

“If we cannot accommodate a particular suggestion in 2009 it may be that it could be considered for a future year if the funding continues.  Alternatively, we could lobby for its approval from a different source of funding.”

CLICK HERE to view a copy of the form that councillors have to submit to the council.  This gives you an idea of the information needed from you if you make a bid.

London Fire Brigade offers free fire home safety checks by qualified firefighters

Following the tragic death of a Lambeth council tenant in a fire at her flat in Petrel Court, West Norwood, Thurlow Park Ward Councillor John Whelan is calling for home fire safety checks on neighbouring properties.

Cllr Whelan, a former member of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, says:  “Naturally, my first thoughts are with the family after this tragic death.  It is a miracle that her teenage daughter escaped helped to safety by a hero.

“However, it is vital that all the neighbouring properties on the Rosendale Gardens Estate are checked to ensure they have working smoke detectors.  This is an old Lambeth estate built in the 1950s — known locally as “The Birdies” — with a lot of elderly and frail residents and there is a back log of maintenance jobs.

“I have urged the London Fire Brigade and Lambeth Council to work together to raise awareness of the importance of having operational smoke detectors preferably hard wired and not operated by batteries.  The London Fire Brigade offers free fire home safety checks by qualified firefighters and if something positive emerges from this tragedy it could be that other lives are not put at risk.”

However, Councillor Whelan says that only a fortnight ago a tenant on the Rosendale Gardens estate, where fire killed a 35-year-old woman on November 15, came to his weekly advice centre to complain about a “green light” shining from her smoke detector.

“She told me she had disconnected the smoke detector by removing the batteries,” he says.

“I urged her to contact the London Fire Brigade for a free home fire safety check and will now double check that this has happened.”

Artists impression of existing plans for Herne Hill junction

Local residents and the Friends of Brockwell Park are promoting a “green alternative” to Labour’s plans to build a motorway-style slip road across part of the much loved park at Herne Hill Junction.

Lambeth transport officials have already been briefed on the alternative which would result in only half the amount of green space disappearing so as to improve traffic flow at Herne Hill. The next step is for the campaigners and local people to seek planning permission.

Mayor Boris has authorised spending on a feasibility study for the Council’s traffic scheme, but the commitment so far only goes as far as that, according to a letter from Boris to local Conservative councillors.

Clare says: “The green alternative plan deserves a hearing especially as Labour makes it clear that they cannot provide a similar amount of green space elsewhere to make up for the land taken from the Park. However, we support urgent improvements to make the junction safer. If there are going to be any further delays, interim measures must be considered.”