Our Streets (Neighbourhood Enhancement Programme) consultation tonight at Streatham Library!

Come and have your say tonight at Streatham Library on how you think £200,000 should be spent locally.

The Council has repackaged Section 106 money that was already coming to Streatham from the Streatham Hub development along with money from Transport for London into a Neighbourhood Enhancement Programme.  This has now been rebranded as an ‘Our Streets’ programme, and residents views are being sought as to how this money is spent.  (For more details on where the money has come from click here )

It’s really important you say how you would like to see this money spent, whether it be to address traffic issues such as safety, making the area greener, or tackling local grot spots.

What the money is spent on will depend on what residents prioritise. This is particularly important as local residents are also losing out while the programme is in operation. Not only has some of the money that was due to Streatham from the hub development been diverted elsewhere, but the council has also suspended its local road and pavement resurfacing programme while the project goes ahead, so local roads and pavements are not getting the attention they deserve.

The 'Our Streets' programme is expected to take 2 years. The first year will involve consultation and agreeing projects to take forward. Year 2 will be planning and implementation. Selected improvements should be completed by Summer 2017.

The drop in at Streatham Library takes place tonight (Wednesday 2^nd December) from 6.00pm to 7.30pm.  Do come and have your say!   There is more information from the council about the programme here.

St Leonard's Junction - have your say

Aftermath of tragedy at St Leonard's Junction

TfL's proposals for a new pedestrian crossing at St Leonard's junction will be open to public scrutiny at a one-day workshop to be held at Streatham Library on November 21.

The junction - where Streatham High Road meets Tooting Bec Gardens and Mitcham Lane outside St Leonard's Church - is notoriously dangerous for pedestrians, with currently no safe crossing place as it enters "the dip" down towards Streatham station.

After concerted campaigning by the Green Party and others, Transport for London's proposal is to put a new pedestrian crossing a little way down "the dip" near Streatham Green. At the workshop, which will be open from 11am to 4pm on Saturday November 21, various options for this crossing will be presented - and local people's views sought.

When senior TfL managers toured Streatham in September they ruled out an option of phasing crossing times to allow simultaneous Green Man crossing periods across the whole junction - something pedestrians say creates the greatest feeling of safety.

See BBC news report on St Leonard's Junction.

See also for the history at this junction:

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/fatality-at-st-leonards-junction.html


http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/response-from-tfl-about-st-leonards.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/yet-another-collision-at-st-leonards.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/bus-beached-at-junction-of-streatham.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/what-could-be-done-about-junction-of.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/another-collision-at-tooting-bec.html

http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/10024077.Crash_causes_injury_and_traffic_chaos/

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/safety-review-at-junction-of-mitcham.html


 

Free Futsal course for 14-19-year-olds

Futsal - the fast-paced five-a-side football game that helped world-class players like Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar develop their game - comes to Streatham with a free 12-week course starting Saturday 14th Novemeber.

Futsal, which has 30 million players worldwide, is a non-stop, non-contact version of football, that rewards ball skills and supportive team play.

The 12-week Futsal course in Streatham is free to 14-19-year-old girls and boys.  It kicks off  4-5pm this Saturday, 14 November at Streatham Leisure Centre.

A fast-growing sport, usually played indoors, here are ten reasons to play Futsal.

For more information, contact Mark Wood of Streatham Youth and Community Trust: mark@syct.org.uk or call 020 8677 5252.

Trial road closure on Estreham Road

A number of residents have been in touch about a trial road closure which is being proposed on Estreham Road, and in particular expressed their concern about the lack of council consultation.

The Council (along with TfL and Sustrans) is proposing a trial traffic filter (a block in the road to prevent vehicles travelling along it) for three months.

Residents are now being asked whether they want the trial to go ahead.  The text of the letter is below, and this will be sent to residents in the next 48 hours setting out the details.  Please do respond using the online consultation.   There will also be a drop-in session on Saturday 17th of October 1pm-3pm , followed by Thursday 22nd of October 4-7pm at Streatham Scouts, 39 Estreham road, where you can ask questions and make your views known in person.

Dear Resident, 

Sustrans, Transport for London and Lambeth council are proposing a temporary trial traffic filter in order to reduce the volume of traffic cutting through the area. This temporary trial is likely to last for three months starting in December 2015. 

Residents and locals are encouraged to fill out the enclosed survey or the online version so we can gain an understanding of your views.

During the trial Estreham Road would be closed to through-traffic near Streatham Common Station using a traffic filter (position is marked on the map), which would allow us to understand the effects of the change to traffic flow.

A traffic filter is usually in the form of bollards, trees or planters which prevent motor vehicles cutting through.

Residents would still be able to access their homes and local businesses by car.

The formal consultation period would start once the trial was in place. The official consultation will be available at: www.lambeth.gov.uk.

This work is part of creating the Quietway cycle route from Waterloo to Croydon. Estreham Road is already part of an existing cycle route though suffers from a high level of non-residential cut-through traffic. The reduction in motor traffic is expected to make the area more pleasant to live in and support more people to walk, cycle or play.

You can respond to the online consultation here


The following Frequently Asked Questions are also being sent to residents.

Q) What are Quietways?

Quietways are direct and easy to follow cycle routes in London on quiet roads, parks and waterways. They’ll make it easier for many local people who would like to try cycling, but would rather not cycle on main roads. Quietways provide an opportunity for communities to benefit from Transport for London (TfL) investment that can make local streets more attractive for everyone.

Q) Why Estreham?

Estreham road is a residential street and already part of an existing cycle route. Although it is not a perfect cycle route at the moment it is far more suitable for cycling than many of the surrounding streets. The proposed route alignment for the Quietway has been decided with feasibility studies from Transport for London and the borough. 

Q) How will a reduction in motor traffic improve the area?

Neighbourhoods are more likely to have better community links if there are low traffic levels. There are also many examples to show that reducing through motor traffic reduces crime and makes neighbourhoods more attractive to live in and pass through. 

Q) Will I still be able to drive to my home / place of interest during the proposed trial?

Yes, you would still be able to access everywhere on Estreham road by car, although you may have to take a slightly different route. Please see above map to see where the traffic filter would be and how this may change your route.

Q) Why a traffic filter rather than traffic calming measures?

Traffic filters have been proven to reduce the volume of through motor traffic while at the same time creating a nicer environment for people to live, travel, play and shop. Residents would benefit from cleaner air and safer streets. 

Q) Why have a temporary trial?

The temporary trial would give us an opportunity to understand the impact of the changes in the real world that no traffic modelling could tell us. In some cases these changes reduce overall traffic levels. We would carefully review all the data from the trial after three months in order to make a decision about the next steps. We need at least this much time to allow for changes to traffic and behaviour to take place. It would need to go through a formal consultation process for the filter to ever to be made permanent.

 Q) Will this mean heavier motor traffic on surrounding roads? 

People tend to use Estreham Road as a cut through to avoid using Greyhound Lane and Streatham High Road. Some of the traffic would stick to those A roads which are designed for heavier traffic. We would monitor traffic levels on the surrounding network to measure the impact during the three month trial. In other examples we see a permanent reduction in traffic as behaviour changes. This reduction in traffic is usually due to people either combining journeys or changing modes of transport all together.

Q) Will this mean loss of parking?

No loss in parking at all.

Q) What is the consultation process?  

We are communicating the details to local residents via posted letters, leaflets, on street posters, local door knocking, drop in sessions and mailing list email updates. Residents and non-residents are encouraged to fill out a pre consultation survey (link below and paper copy included) this is so we can fairly assess points of view on the trial. The formal consultation would begin with the trial and consist of formal consultation forms and events for residents. Traffic on the wider network would be monitored to assess any impact. 

Broken paving to be fixed on Mitcham Lane

There has been a large area of broken paving on Mitcham Lane, which has been cordoned off for several months.

The area is located opposite St Leonard's school and is a hazard for children, older and disabled people and well as causing an obstruction for other pedestrians.

A number of local people raised this via fixmystreet.com and others got in touch via email, to see if we could help get the repairs sorted out.

The council have how told us that delays in teh repairs were due to a "cheque being lost in the post". Contractors have been engaged and will visit to begin repairs on 3rd November.

Mapping air pollution in Streatham

You may have seen the coverage on BBC London news today about the Mapping for Change initiative, which monitors air pollution in local areas.

We have taken part in this initiative and mapped the air quality in the Streatham area.

Deaths related to pollution in Lambeth are over 100 a year according to Public Health England (over 10 times the number of road casualty deaths).

You can see the results of what we found here (use the map to zoom in on Streatham). 

They results quite a bit of time to load, but in summary we found that levels of N02 breached EU guidelines at several points, including the St Leonard's junction and the junction of Mitcham Lane and Ambleside Avenue.

Our campaign continues to clean up Streatham's air, including a 20mph limit along Streatham High Road, more local "greening", getting buses through Streatham retrofitted or replaced with new Hybrid's and getting the council to stop using diesel cars in its own vehicle fleet.

New promise over Streatham Hill speed camera

Cllr Scott Ainslie and A23 campaigner Chris Holt

It has been revealed that a vital speed camera on Streatham Hill has been out of action for three and a half years - during which time there has been a significant number of serious accidents on this stretch of the A23.

In response to a Freedom of Informtion request by local Green Party member Chris Holt, it has been confirmed by the Metropolitan Police that the speed camera between Downton Avenue and Wyatt Park Road has not been operational since 15 March 2012.

Following pressure from Ms Holt - and other members of the Safer A23 in Streatham campaign - TFL, which is responsible for speed cameras on Red Routes, has promised the camera will now be replaced with a new, functioning digital camera by November 2015.


Data published by the Green Party in 2014 showed that nearly half of all vehicles on the A23 north of Streatham Hill station - the area covered by the out-of-action speed camera - were travelling at AVERAGE speeds that broke the speed limit.

And recent figures released by TfL revealed that there have been 6 deaths and 35 serious injuries on the A23 through Streatham in the five years 2010-2014. There have been more serious accidents - including at least two deaths - so far in 2015.

Mother-of-two Chris Holt, who is helping to run the Safer A23 in Streatham Campaign, said: "Our whole community is suffering from the high speeds of traffic on Streatham Hill and High Road. Crossing the road is a perilous activity - every time my children leave the house, part of me stays alert listening out for the wail of an ambulance siren."

Streatham Green Councillor Scott Ainslie said: "It's a tragedy that this speed camera has been out of action all this time. Instead of helping to reduce excessive speeds through this busy residential part of our community, it has been sending motorists the signal they can break the speed limit here with impunity.

"The lay-out of this stretch of the A23 - with six lanes separated by a central reservation - looks like a motorway, encouraging drivers to speed up in an area where they need to be slowing down. It's sending confusing signals, which is unfair to both motorists and pedestrians, contributing to accidents down the whole length of Streatham Hill and the High Road.

"The Green Party will continue to work in the community to keep up pressure on TfL, Lambeth Council and the Police to ensure Streatham becomes

a safer and more pleasant place for the people who live and work here."
 
The full response from the Metropolitan Police to Ms Holt's Freedom of Inforamtion request is:

"This camera last recorded footage on 15 March 2012.  Although the camera
has not been working for the last three years until the date of your
request, please be aware that this does not mean that the camera is still
out of action.  The camera equipment is due to be upgraded to digital as
part of the ongoing Safety Camera Replacement Programme before the end of
this calendar year."

Streatham Common Co-op to debate council's huge cuts to parks budget

The Streatham Common Co-operative / SCCoop will be debating the huge council cuts coming to parks budgets next year on Thursday 8th October.  

Residents are being invited to hear about the options from 2016 when SCCoop takes on Streatham Common, and highlight the services matter most.

The event will also be SCCoop's AGM and takes place from 7.30pm – 9.30pm at The Hideaway, 2 Empire Mews, Streatham, SW16 2BF

There will also be an update on how feedback from the last AGM was used.

Elections will take place on the night. If you are interested in standing for election to the Board, and application pack can be found here. You need to send your completed nomination form by Wednesday 30th September. here

You can book your free tickets for the AGM here

The proposed agenda is available here

A death or serious injury every six weeks on A23 in Streatham

Latest A23 collision, 9.15pm on Sept 3rd 2015

One person was killed or seriously injured in a collision on the A23 through Streatham every six weeks in the last five years.

A Green Party Freedom of Information Request to TfL has revealed that six people were killed and 35 received life-changing injuries between 2010 and 2014.

Twenty of these collisions involved pedestrians and five involved cyclists. Three of the people killed were pedestrians, two were car-drivers and one was a motorcyclist. All the crashes happened on the A23 between the South Circular and Streatham Common.

There have been at least two more fatal collisions on the road so far in 2015. And last night, emergency services were in action again as a taxi crashed into Xalwo shopfront next to Sports Direct.

"Streatham High Road and Streatham Hill feel like they are becoming the most deadly stretch of road in London," said Green Party councillor Scott Ainslie, who is campaigning to end the exceptionally high death and injury rate in Streatham.

"These latest figures show how urgent it is that TfL and Lambeth Council do everything in their power to make the A23 a safer road for local people. It is time to give our local high street back to the community."

The Green Party is helping to co-ordinate a cross-party "Safer A23 in Streatham" campaign. Local shops and businesses are being asked to display posters supporting the campaign and calling on TfL to include its Red Routes in Lambeth's proposed borough-wide 20mph speed limit.

TfL figures published in 2014 revealed that nearly half of traffic north of Streatham Hill station was breaking the speed limit.

"In places the A23 feels like a six-lane motorway," said Cllr Ainslie, "and this has a knock-on effect as cars speed up, thinking they are entering a fast, arterial road - rather than the busy community high street that Streatham High Road is for local people."

The campaign is calling for reclassification of the road as a high street, along with other measures such as traffic calming, segregated cycle lanes, removal of the central reservation and re-landscaping north of Streatham Hill station, and longer crossing times at pedestrian crossings.

In June it was revealed that plans to remove the central reservation from the remaining stretch of the the A23 between Streatham Hill station and the South Circular have been delayed by TfL until 2019.

Cllr Ainslie said: "Consultation for this should have commenced already and the delay is unacceptable. Children going to school and nursery, and older and disabled people are a large part of the community using the High Road - and until something is done to prioritise people's safety, we are all taking our lives in our hands every time we try to cross the road.

"We in the Green Party will do everything we can to create a safer, greener, cleaner Streatham High Road."

For more see:
July 2015 20mph speed limit gets go ahead
June 2015 five-year wait for next phase of Streatham road improvements
April 2015 serious collision Streatham High Road
December 2014 fatality near Streatham Hill
May 2014 Fatality at St Leonard's Junction
May 2014 Fatality st Streatham Hill
Feb 2014: Speeding on Streatham High Road
Feb 2014 Response from TfL about St Leonard's Junction
Dec 2013 Increased crossing times for Streatham High Road
April 2013 Another collision at St Leonard's junction
April 2013 Bus 'beached' at St Leonard's Junction
March 2013 - No dedicated cycle lanes or 20mph for High Road
Feb 2013 - We need more from Mayor on dangerous junctions
Feb 2013 - What could be done about the St Leonard's junction?
Jan 2013 - Safety review brought forward for St Leonard's junction
Dec 2012 - Another collision at St Leonard's junction
Nov 2012 - New signal strategy for St Leonard's junction
Nov 2012 - Review of St Leonard's junction announced
June 2012 - Crunching the collisions on Streatham High Road
June 2012 - What Streatham High Road could be like
May 2012 - Three collisions in Streatham
May 2012 - What could be done about Streatham High Road

Stabbing at Carphone Warehouse, Streatham High Road

At 16:20 yesterday (August 17), police were called to a report of a stabbed male outside the Carphone Warehouse store in Streatham High Road, SW16. 

On arrival, it became apparent there had been a fracas between two groups of males. Two males from the same group had suffered injuries. The first, a 20-year-old, was stabbed in his arm and buttock. The second male, also aged 20, was apparently struck over the head by a heavy object, believed to be a belt.

Officers established the stabbed male had been chased by a group and attacked with a knife. The knife was then dropped by the attacker, picked up by a friend of the stabbed male and used to threaten the attacking group, before being discarded in Woodbourne Avenue. The friend, a 22-year-old male, was arrested on suspicion of affray.

The attacking group had left the scene by the time police arrived. Officers searched Woodburne Avenue and discovered a firearm wrapped in a towel which, following CCTV enquiries, was attributed to the group containing the stabbed male.

As a result of the fracas, Section 60 (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) search powers were invoked by Commander Richard Martin for the following wards: Streatham South, Streatham Wells, Streatham Hill, Tulse Hill, Coldharbour and Vassall. The powers expired at 02:00 today (August 18).

Both the stabbed male and the male who had suffered head injuries were taken to King's College Hospital for further treatment. Neither were deemed to have suffered life-changing or life-threatening injuries.

While at the hospital, the male with head injuries attempted to hide a knife in a bag belonging to his visiting mother. Both the male and his mother were arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

There was another stabbing a few doors away, a couple of years ago.   It will be interesting to hear if police think that more 'safe havens' such as those organised under the City Safe scheme in this part of the High Road, would help to address incidents like this.

At last the promise of 20mph borough speed limit

Streatham Green Party has welcomed Lambeth Council’s decision to put in place a borough-wide 20mph speed limit to reduce the high level of deaths and injuries on the roads.

“Nine years after Green councillors first proposed a 20mph limit it is great news that the council will finally take this long overdue step,” said Jonathan Bartley, one of the Green Party's spokespersons for Streatham.

“We know slower traffic speeds lead to fewer serious injuries and deaths – whilst improving traffic flow. Safer roads, with slower speeds, also encourage more people to travel on foot and by bike.

Jonathan continued: “There are many more measures Lambeth and Transport for London need to take to return our streets to our local communities. Red Routes will not yet be included in the borough-wide limit and speed limit enforcement is key, along with redesigning road layouts in some of the danger spots such as along the A23 in Streatham.”

Average speeds measured by TfL over a week on the A23 north of Streatham Hill station found around half of all vehicles were speeding.

Latest figures show that more people are dying in Lambeth from road traffic collisions than anywhere else in Inner London, making it London’s deadliest borough.  Lambeth also has the third highest figures for serious injuries.

On July 20th Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Environment & Sustainability Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite is expected to confirm a proposal to spend £700,000 from its annual Borough Local Implementation allocation from Transport for London to implement the scheme with street signs and road markings from April 2016. Traffic calming measures are only proposed if speed limits appear not to be observed and further funding becomes available.

In 2006 then Green Councillor for Herne Hill ward, Rebecca Thackray first raised the issue of traffic calming in 2006 and the party has continued to put pressure on Lambeth.

At the end of 2010 Lambeth Council said it aspired to have a 20mph borough-wide limit. It then appeared to change its mind in 2012 but after campaigning by the Green Party recommitted to it in 2013. The Labour Party amended a council motion in July 2014 tabled by the Green Party councillor Scott Ainslie, removing all references to a timetable for implementing a 20mph limit.

Green Party members are part of a new community campaign group dedicated to improving safety on Streatham High Road and Streatham Hill. The Safer A23 in Streatham campaign is calling for the 20mph speed limit to include the Red Route, plus urgent works to upgrade the road north of Streatham Hill station and reclassification of the road as a high street prioritising the needs of local people and businesses.

Five year wait for next stage of Streatham central reservation replacement

Discussing the second stage of central reservation improvement

It could be a five year wait until the third section of the central reservation is replaced on Streatham High Road, north of Streatham Hill.

The second stage of work, dealing with the section south of Streathan Hill down to the Kwik Fit garage, began in April 2013.  The final trees didn't go in until a few months ago.

A Green Party Freedom of information request to TfL has revealed that the work on the third stage is 'likely' to begin in Summer 2019.  

Based on the time the other two sections took to complete, it is unlikely it would be finished before 2020.  That is also assuming there are no delays.

The FOI response in full:

TfL Ref: FOI-0218-1516

Improvements are planned for many roads in Lambeth, some include kerb realignment. The major project in the 2015-2020 period is a regeneration scheme to improve the urban realm in Streatham Hill between Streatham Hill Station and Telford Avenue. The intention is to continue the improvements recently introduced to Streatham High Road south of the station. The cost of the scheme will be in the region of £3m. This work is likely to begin in the summer 2019 and details will be published on Transport for London website in Autumn 2018.

TfL's plans to improve Mitcham Lane/Ambleside Junction - What do you think?

Some good news!  Transport for London have finally come forward with specific plans for improving the safety at the Mitcham Lane/ Ambleside Avenue junction.

This is something we have been campaigning for, for several years, following a number of fatalities there, mainly involving cyclists, but also pedestrians.

We launched a petition in 2012, with a demo at the junction involving children from nearby St Leonard's Primary School.   We then had correspondence with TfL and a meeting, organised by Green Party London Assembly members. We were however told that there would need to be another fatality there, before action was taken.

We videoed buses jumping the lights and narrowly missing pedestrians on the crossing.  We also continued to record the frequent collisions.  Eventually TfL agreed to review the junction in 2013. They then came forward with some suggested improvements.  But sadly, there was another fatality in November 2014.

We collected more signatures, and delivered another paper version of the petition to TfL in January to reinforce the urgency, and the need for much more than they were offering.

A few days ago, TfL finally sent around a letter to local residents setting out their plans.  The letter is reproduced in full below.  But in summary this is what they are proposing:

• New trixi mirrors on the signal poles to increase visibility of cyclists
• New pedestrian countdown crossings
• Realigned and widened pedestrian crossings
• New tactile paving
• Modernised traffic signals to reduce pedestrian waiting times
• Modernised streetlighting
• New advanced stop lanes for cyclists
• Narrowed traffic lanes to slow down vehicles approaching the junction
• New textured and patterned imprinted high friction road surface on the junction itself to reduce vehicle speeds, improve stopping distances, and increase driver awareness of the crossing
• New combined red light and speed camera (but this is not in the right place)
• 1.5m cycle lanes on Mitcham Lane

A lot of this looks good.  But we have a number of reservations.  We are not convinced that the proposals will solve one of the major problems with the junction, and that is buses heading south on Mitcham Lane, and turning right into Ambleside Avenue who jump the lights,over the pedestrian crossing which is used by schoolchildren.

You can let TfL know what you think by emailing consultations (at) tfl.gov.uk   Do copy us in to your emails streathamgreenparty (at) gmail.com   You can also post comments on this blog below.

[Update 22/6/15 - TfL have read this blog and kindly sent through better quality Pdfs of their letter an design which we have put below]

Estreham Road Closure

The Council have told us that there will be some overnight road closures on Estreham Road over a three month period, beginning on 6th June.

It is to enable the operation of a crane, in conjunction with works taking place. 

Estreham Road will be closed to the north of Lewin Road, for a 36 metre stretch. Alternative routes will be open via (1) Natal Road, Streatham High Road and Greyhound Lane; and (2) Lewin Road, Streatham High Road and Natal Road and vice versa.

In practice it is anticipated that the road will only be closed overnight on a handful of dates from 10.00pm till 9.00am the next morning on 6th June and 3rd, 4th and 5th August 2015. 

If the works cannot be carried out or completed during these times however then the road will also need to be closed on subsequent dates.

If you have any questions about the closures, do get in touch, and we will do our best to get the answers!  streathamgreenparty (at) gmail.com

Attention Lambeth Living residents - Your say on repairs and maintenance

Lambeth Living is procuring the South Area Repairs and Maintenance Services and would like residents to help with the process.

You are invited to a Residents’ Workshop on Wednesday 27 May 2015, 6:30 – 8:00pm at the Community Hall, Drew House, Sackville Estate, Leigham Avenue SW16 2TH 

Lambeth Living would like your direct input and experience of the repairs services to help inform their new procurement process (that they are currently working on).  This is your opportunity to say what has/ has not worked well and what you think can help improve delivery of the repairs services in your area.  

Programme of Workshop:

•          6:30 – 7:00pm  -  light refreshments

•          7:00 – 8:30pm  -  Workshop group discussion

NOTE THE EVENT IS OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF LAMBETH LIVING ONLY (THIS ALSO INCLUDES LEASEHOLDERS AND FREEHOLDERS). 

Places are limited and you should confirm your attendance by telephoning Adelle Pobee, Project Co-ordinator, on 020 7926 6951 or email apobee (at) lambethliving.org.uk

List of Streatham constituency general election hustings meetings

A few people have asked for a list of the hustings that are happening in Streatham, so I thought I'd do a post with them all on, and try and keep this page updated as new ones are arranged...

3rd Feb - Organised by Keep our NHS Public, Streatham Library

12th March - Organised by United Nations Association, Dunraven School,

25th March - (7.00pm) - Organised by Streatham Action, Heart Streatham, Save the Children. 38 degrees, at The Hideaway, Streatham High Road

7th April - (7.00pm) Age UK Lambeth (Streatham Library)

9th April (2.00pm) Wavel Court, 10-12 Leigham Avenue, Streatham, SW16 2PU

9th April (4.00pm) Lambeth Disability Forum Election Question Time 3rd Floor, 336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA

14th April - Organised by Love Streatham, Streatham Baptist Church, 7.00pm, 20-22 Lewin Road, SW16 6JR

16th April - (1.30pm) Organised by Lambeth College, at the Clapham Campus

23rd April - (7.30pm) Interfaith Hustings, at the South London Liberal Synagogue, Prentis Road

1st May - Organised by Hyderi Islamic Centre, Estreham Road, SW16

5th May - BBC Daily Politics BBC 2 Live TV Debate (not Streatham, but I'll be going up against Iain Duncan Smith (Con), Rachel Reeves (Lab) and Steve Webb (Lib Dem) in an hour long live TV debate on Welfare)

5th May - 8.00pm Hustings, White Lion, Streatham High Road, SW16

Another day, another serious collision on Streatham High Road

I have spoken with police at the scene of this afternoon's collision.  It happened between a large vehicle and a pedestrian about 100 yards south of the St Leonard's Junction on Streatham High Road, about half way down to The Dip'.

The police I spoke to say they believe that the driver did not see the man, but the collision happened at fairly slow speed. Nevertheless the man was run over by the vehicle.

Police said they believe the injuries won't be fatal thankfully in this case, but that has still to be officially confirmed.

There was a fatality at that same spot several years ago.  There was also a fatality further up at the St Leonard's junction almost a year ago.

The campaign continues to make Streatham High Road safe.

For more see:

December 2014 fatality near Streatham Hill
May 2014 Fatality at St Leonard's Junction
May 2014 Fatality st Streatham Hill
Feb 2014: Speeding on Streatham High Road
Feb 2014 Response from TfL about St Leonard's Junction
Dec 2013 Increased crossing times for Streatham High Road
April 2013 Another collision at St Leonard's junction
April 2013 Bus 'beached' at St Leonard's Junction
March 2013 - No dedicated cycle lanes or 20mph for High Road
Feb 2013 - We need more from Mayor on dangerous junctions
Feb 2013 - What could be done about the St Leonard's junction?
Jan 2013 - Safety review brought forward for St Leonard's junction
Dec 2012 - Another collision at St Leonard's junction
Nov 2012 - New signal strategy for St Leonard's junction
Nov 2012 - Review of St Leonard's junction announced
June 2012 - Crunching the collisions on Streatham High Road
June 2012 - What Streatham High Road could be like
May 2012 - Three collisions in Streatham
May 2012 - What could be done about Streatham High Road

Where do Streatham MP candidates stand on privatisation of the NHS?

The Lambeth Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) campaign, will be outside the Streatham Odeon this Saturday (28th March) between 11am  and 1pm  - to hold candidates to account for their pledges for the NHS in the General Election.

At the hustings last week, they distributed these "score cards" (see left) marking candidates in Streatham over NHS privatisation.

Their three "asks" are:

- Repeal of the Health and Social Care Act
- The NHS (Reinstatement) Bill
- Keeping Health out of TTIP

I have been very happy to support all three, as the Green Party Parliamentary candidate for Streatham. Green MP Caroline Lucas tabled the NHS Reinstatement Bill in Parliament, and I am completely opposed to TTIP.  All these are crucial in order not just to stop the ongoing marketisation and privatisation of the NHS under successive (Labour and Conservative) Governments, but also to reverse it.

I also believe that it is wrong as a MP to take money from companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), who are involved in the privatisation of the NHS.

The current MP, Labour's Chuka Umunna, supports only the first one.  He is in favour of TTIP and opposed to a NHS Reinstatement Bill as the campaigners point out on their scorecard.  He also takes donations from PwC.

Lambeth KONP have promised a very colourful banner and leaflets displaying their views, and postcards people can send to candidates standing in Streatham about their voting intentions.

Petition to bring Streatham railway services back into public hands

Commuters from Streatham's railway stations are understandably sick and tired of the poor service they receive.

We have launched a petition today, calling for:

1. The Management of London Bridge Station to come back under TfL

2. Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink franchises to come back into public ownership

The Green Party is the only party calling for the railways to come back into public hands, with Labour still supporting the right of private companies to bid for rail franchises.

You can sign the petition here.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party Candidate for Streatham, visits Spires, centre for homeless

Today, I was lucky enough to accompany Jonathan Bartley, Green Party candidate for Streatham, to a visit to The Spires centre. Spires is a South London based charity that helps hundreds of homeless and disadvantaged people all year round. They work to improve the quality of life of people who are homeless, insecurely housed, unemployed or suffering from the effects of poverty, mental ill health and loneliness.

Jon and I were given a tour of the services and given a chance to meet and have a chat with some of the people who use the services on offer about their concerns and needs.  It was clear just how invaluable the centre is to the clients there, with people telling us that they travel from as far away as Croydon and Vauxhall in order to get help there.

The range of help on offer is diverse and staff said that it was never just one problem that resulted in homelessness for their clients, but a range of different issues, all contributing to their situations.  They told us that the problem of homelessness needs to be tackled holistically.  Staff also told us that they were seeing ever-increasing numbers of people accessing their services, the problem being exacerbated by lack of access to affordable housing, with the uncontrolled housing and rental market in London, zero hours contracts and drastic cuts in rough sleeping and substance misuse services. Spires offers a range of help and developmental services through the centre and also holds outreach sessions, enabling users of the centre to move away from the chaos of the streets and towards greater lifestyle stability for a more hopeful future.

Some positive news from the visit was that the centre is now offering a Volunteer Training Program, helping people back into work, to enable them to help other people who have faced the same problems in their lives.  Lucy Barrett, Director at Spires Centre, told us that the next round of 12 trainees were due to commence their course shortly and that they have had a great rate of success with it in helping people into work and to get their life back on track.

Jonathan spoke with staff and service users about the Green Party's belief that society should guarantee access to basic material security for all and that it was very worrying, just how little value the other parties seemed to place on the needs of people who are in difficult circumstances.
Jonathan, along with Cllr Scott Ainslie, will be returning to Spires on 26th March, to contribute to the centre's Active Citizenship program, encouraging service users to register to vote and engage in the political process in order to get their voices heard.

@spireslondon  @lambethgp @jon_bartley  

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party Candidate for Streatham with staff from Spires 

New Streatham police base official opening

Cllr Scott Ainslie, the Borough Commander and Jonathan Bartley

It was great to be at the official opening of Streatham's new police base this week.

It was the culmination of years of campaigning, to get a decent base that was fit for purpose and accessible to the whole community.

In May 2013, we finally secured the commitment from the Mayor of London (via London Assembly Member Jenny Jones) that the old police station would remain open until the new one was built.

But even during the local election campaign last year, the issue was still hotly contested.

Air pollution campaign update and stall at Streatham Market

We ran another stall at Streatham Green Market yesterday, and collected another couple of hundred signatures on our petition for cleaner buses on Streatham High Road.

There are more details about the campaign to clean up the buses here.

If you haven't had access to a paper copy of the petition, you can sign it online here.

Thanks to Joanna for organising the stall, and to everyone who helped out during the course of the day!

The first stage of our air pollution monitoring project ends tomorrow, and we will be collecting in the diffusion tubes that have been placed around the local area, and sending them off for analysis.  We will update you on the results!

Green London Assembly member Jenny Jones, also tabled a question to the Mayor of London about his plans for hybrid and electric buses on local routes, last week.  We should get a response in the next week or so.

Resurfacing of Streatham High Road, bus diversions and road closures

Transport for London (TfL) will be carrying out resurfacing on Streatham High Road, between the junctions with Gleneagle Road and Penistone Road.

The works will start on Monday 16 March and should carry on until Monday 20 April.  They will be done through the contractor ConwayAecom.

The work will take place overnight between 21:00 and 06:00.   TfL say that working at the weekdays with traffic management exclusively on off-peak night time hours provides the best chance to complete the works as quickly as possible, with as little disruption as possible.

The works will be divided into stages, always trying to maintain both directions of traffic flowing. However, diversions will be in place for local accesses.

During these works, between the 2 and the 27 of March, bus routes 50, 60, 109, 113, 118, 159, 249, 250, 255, 315, P13, G1, N109 and N133 will be diverted between Streatham Station and Green Lane.

The following side roads will be closed one night each to aid resurfacing works:

Station Approach, Stanhorpe Road, Hopton Road, Streatham Common North, Barrow Road, Greyhound Lane, Westwell Road Approach, Streatham Common South, Baldry Gardens, Heybridge Avenue and Guildersfield Road.

Access to properties will be maintained, however there could be no through access to Streatham High Road and diversions will be in place.

Greens back Wyatt Park and Wavertree residents

Streatham Green Party are supporting Streatham Hill residents who are fighting a huge property development being built overlooking their homes.

The residents have made a video warning others in Lambeth: "If this could happen to us, it could happen to you."

The development of six luxury five-bedroomed houses and six two-bedroomed flats by Kent-based Hambridge Homes was granted planning permission by Lambeth Council in January 2011 - but without having given the adequate notice they were legally required to do, according to local residents.


People with homes neighbouring the Pakefield Mews development between Wyatt Park Road and Wavertree Road, Streatham Hill, cannot recall receiving letters through their doors or seeing notices posted on lamp-posts before the planning permission was granted.

Some say the first they heard of the plans was when they woke to the sound of bulldozers in November 2013. Now they have 3-storey blocks of flats and houses being built directly overlooking their homes, bedroom windows and gardens.


The houses, which are on the market for over £1.2 million and are due to be completed in mid-March this year, appear not to follow Lambeth's own guidelines advising against balconies overlooking private spaces and the angling of glazing to avoid breaches of privacy.

Hambridge Homes, which currently has 42 developments in Lambeth, claims it is building in accordance with the planning permission granted.

But residents' repeated attempts to see those plans have been thwarted. They say those provided by Lambeth Council are consultation documents from 2010 and 2011 - not the plans dated 22 October 2013, which builders were working to when Green Party councillor Scott Ainslee visited the site recently. Councillor Ainslie is now pursuing planning officials to clarify whether building works are in accordance with the planning permission and whether public consultation requirements have been properly followed.

Meanwhile, the residents have started an online petition and fundraising appeal for £20,000 to take legal action to halt the development. And they hope their short video will warn others to be on their guard.

Petition to get clean buses (not retrofits) on Streatham High Road

As part of our long-running campaign to improve local air quality, last week we launched a petition to get cleaner buses on Streatham High Road (as well as in Brixton and Vauxhall).

Poor air quality is the second biggest killer after smoking in Lambeth.  

In 2012 we discovered that it was running at dangerous levels.   We then measured air quality in side streets and found it running at 90% of the levels on Brixton High Road. This is of huge concern as Brixton has some of the worst recorded NO2 emissions in London. 

For a while this went unrecorded as Lambeth Council opted out of the London Air Quality Network. However, we successfully campaigned to get the three air pollution monitors back online.  

We are now also running air monitoring projects, as part of the "Mapping for Change" initiative around schools in Vauxhall and Streatham. 

There are several causes of air pollution including domestic and commercial heating systems, construction, industry, cars, buses and taxis. Lambeth Council also incinerates its waste having an impact on air quality outside the borough. 

Using data from TfL published on Green Assembly member Jenny Jones’ “how polluted is my road?” web site, we estimate that between a fifth and a third of pollution in Lambeth comes from buses, so we want TfL to clean up their fleet. This is one part of concerted action that both Lambeth Council and Transport for London need to take to clean up our air.

One option is retrofitting buses to lessen the pollution they give out. But this won't get buses to as high a standard as hybrid or electric options - and with Lambeth's very poor air quality, the issue needs to be taken seriously. 

If you want TfL to get a move on and give us hybrid or electric buses, please sign the petition here: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/give-us-electric-or-hybrid-buses-in-vauxhall-brixton-and-streatham.html 

New Streatham police base to open 16th February

Inspector Morag Palmer has had it confirmed that the new Streatham Neighbourhood Police base will be open from 9am on Monday 16th February.

 

The front counter service will be the same hours as at the existing police station;

 

Monday to Wednesday     9am -- 5pm

 

Thursday 12 noon to 8pm

 

Friday 9am - 5pm

 

She has asked that the message be spread far and wide!

 

There will be an official opening by the Borough Commander in March.