Increased crossing times for Streatham High Road

Three-quarters of British people over 65 struggle to cross the road at the very places that are meant to be safe for pedestrians – our signalised crossings. It’s a problem for tens of thousands of others as well, including people with mobility issues and parents with young children.

Local residents, including members of the Streatham Mum's Network, asked if we could help to make the crossings on Streatham High Road safer for pedestrians.

We asked Transport for London to improve four crossings near Kingscourt Road, Mount Ephraim Lane, Broadlands Avenue and Drewstead Road as part of the current High Road project. We are pleased to say that they have agreed to do this as part of the works to improve the central reservation.

The crossings will be upgraded including making them more accessible for users with disabilities and making crossing times longer.

We are supporting the current campaign by Living Streets to make crossing times longer throughout the local area.

Sew it Forward - 5th December at The Railway

(photo: Susanne Hakuba)

Local business The Good Wardrobe (run by the energetic and talented Zoe Robinson) is celebrating its first birthday with an inspiring event at The Railway.

Called Sew It Forward this is their frock-friendly, style-hungry initiative which encourages people to share sewing, knitting and mending skills. Guests bring a garment in need of some TLC and learn how to keep it looking good for longer.

They are teaming up with John-Paul Flintoff who will be talking about his Who Made Your Clothes project and his involvement with Fashion Revolution Day. Among other things, John-Paul is a journalist, workshop leader, writer of books and mending enthusiast. His most recent book, How To Change The World, was created with The School of Life for whom John-Paul is a faculty member.

If you have a garment with a tale to tell, you are invited to bring it along and John-Paul might ask you to share the story of who made your clothes (and why it's important to you to know).

Everyone is welcome to the event, whether they are a novice, expert or somewhere in between.

They will also be handing out Sew It Forward gift vouchers so you’ll get the chance to pass on your newfound skills by pledging to Sew It Forward this Christmas.

As The Good Wardrobe website states: "Knowing how to mend and care for you clothes, or even make simple alterations equips you with the tools you need to keep your wardrobe looking as good as it can. Bringing a cherished garment back to life is an amazing feeling and very satisfying, so what better Christmas present to give someone than the gift of mending - it costs nothing but a little bit of your time."

You can find out more about the event, which runs from 6.00pm to 9.00pm on 5th December here and get your free ticket via eventbrite here.

Consultation event at South London Islamic Centre on Mitcham Lane

Quite a few local residents have been in touch to discuss the proposals to develop the South London Islamic Centre at 8 Mitcham Lane.

The application is likely to be refused, according to the planning officer responsible.

The consultation period has now been extended until Friday the 6th December, but a number of residents suggested that it would help to have some dialogue with the mosque about the planning application, which is likely to be resubmitted at a later date.

I have had some correspondence with Mr Mohammed A Ijaz who is Chair-of the Council of Trustees. They will be hosting an event at the mosque this Thursday 28th November at 7.00pm, about their proposals and the planning issues. I asked if I might let local residents know so that they can attend, and he has agreed. However he would like to know the number who want to come so they can provide refreshments.

If you would like to attend, drop me an email: jonathan.bartley (at) greenparty.org.uk and I can give Mr Ijaz an idea of the number who will be coming.

Work scheduled to begin tomorrow to remove central reservation on Streatham High Road

Transport for London (TfL) say work will begin tomorrow to remove the central reservation on Streatham High Road between Leigham Court Road and Woodbourne Avenue.

TfL has appointed CVU Highway Services to undertake the works. This will include the removal of the existing central island planters and the introduction of street trees, a widened bus lane, some repaving work and resurfacing. The plans were set out in the 'Streatham Masterplan' in 2009.

There will be no segregated cycle lane, despite requests from local cyclists. Instead, they will be encouraged to use the enlarged bus lane. A 20 mph limit to improve safety and traffic flow by smoothing the "stop-start" nature of the road, has also been rejected (for details of collisions in previous years on the High Road, including fatalities, see here)

Traffic management measures will be put in place during the works.

The works are scheduled to start on Monday 25 November 2013 and continue for approximately fifteen weeks, depending on weather conditions.

These will be carried out in phases taking place between 7:30 and 15:00, Monday to Friday for works on the southbound carriageway between 10:00 to 17:00 for work on the northbound carriageway.

TfL say they will:

"balance possible disruption to residents with disruption to traffic. Working at off-peak times provides us with the best chance to complete these works safely and as quickly as possible with as little disruption as possible."

"To carry out the work safely, temporary lane closures will be required."

South London Islamic Centre planning application 'likely to be refused'

Correspondence from the planning officer responsible for making the decision on the development of the mosque, the South London Islamic Centre at 8 Mitcham Lane, suggests that the application will be refused.

In an email to local residents he states:

"At this time there are numerous issues identified with the application which mean that the application is currently minded for refusal. A previous scheme was withdrawn on the advice of officers due to serious concerns mainly relating to the scale and design of the building and the potential for the development to result in significant harm to the current levels of parking stress in the surrounding streets. The current application is largely the same as this previous scheme and the fundamental concerns previously identified still exist. I have briefly outlined these issues below.

"The applicant has failed to provide sufficient justification for the principle of the demolition of the existing building which has been identified to be a positive contributor to the character and appearance of the conservation area. The applicant has also failed to provide an up to date parking survey/modal split/trip generation analysis to allow for a full and comprehensive assessment of the likely transport and parking impacts of the development. The scale and design of the proposed building still also provides serious concern however Conservation officers have not been able to carry out a full assessment of the proposals due to the poor quality of the drawings currently submitted.

"As well as the fundamental concerns outlined above there are also potential issues surrounding the residential element of the development in terms of noise transmission and quality of the accommodation along with the narrow width of the footway adjacent to the main entrance creating hazardous highway conditions at times when the congregation is exiting the building through potential overspill.

"For the reasons outlined above, the application is minded for refusal and I do not envisage any scenario where minor tweaking or amendments to the development could address these concerns."

Want to get involved in the Streatham Festival 2014?

Streatham Festival is an accessible arts festival celebrating local talent, presenting a mix of emerging and well-established artists and encouraging the imaginative use of the different venues across Streatham that characterise the area.

The 2014 festival will consist of four days of events from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 July with a festival theme of ‘Street of My Imagination’. The flagship event ‘Streatham UnCommon’ will feature fantastical streets of entertainments, activities and food on Streatham Common. A festival pop-up shop will operate as both an information point and as a venue for exhibitions, workshops and performances, and there will be an umbrella music event the ‘Streatham Strut'. The Lane and Vale Carnival will also be returning for second year

If you are interested in getting involved, there will be an event partners meeting on Wednesday 4 December from 7-9pm at the Hideaway, 2 Empire Mews, Stanthorpe Road, Streatham SW16 2ED.

The event is being hosted by Streatham festival for artists, arts organisations, community groups, schools and colleges and local venues to present the wide range of opportunities to get involved in Streatham Festival 2014.

There will be refreshments, and there will be staff on hand to discuss ideas and answer questions.

RSVP to bec.britain (at) virgin.net to confirm your attendance.

Graffiti at Becmead Avenue (Garrad's Road) bus stop

We have asked TfL to clean the graffiti at the bus stop on Garrad's Road, known as the Becmead Avenue stop (but actually closer to Tarrington Close!). TfL say they aim to clean it in 48 hours.