Help with Council Tax during the Coronavirus crisis

If you are aware of any residents that have experienced financial hardship due to the coronavirus, they can apply for Council Tax Support online on the Lambeth Council website.

Following a request from Green councillors and many others, Lambeth council has stopped all enforcement action for council tax arrears (apart from an initial reminder).

If any resident is struggling to pay council tax, they can contact the Council's support teams to discuss payment options and possibly deferring payment to later in the year.

Residents can see their council tax account and payments, set up an arrangement to pay their council tax, change the way they pay and apply for exemptions and discounts online, either through their ‘my Lambeth’ account or the web forms.

There is also a Discretionary Council Tax Support Hardship Payment scheme for those experiencing particular financial hardship.

There are other sources of financial help available from Lambeth council too:

The Emergency Support Scheme can provide assistance with food, fuel, furniture and white goods for households facing a crisis or emergency.

Discretionary Housing Payments can help make up rent payments where benefit payments do not cover the full cost.

Streatham Common Rookery closed until further notice

Following a request from the Police, SCoop (the Streatham Common Co-operative) has been asked to close the Rookery Gardens and car park at the top of Streatham Common until further notice.

In a statement, Richard Payne SCoop's director said: "We are obviously disappointed not to be able to keep the Gardens open, but this is perhaps not surprising in the current circumstances.  In recent days the Rookery has been an extremely popular destination, and given the size of the park it is now not possible to keep everyone safe."

The most necessary staff will be kept on site to maintain the gardens and there will be additional patrols during the day to keep an eye on the site.

All events in the park have been cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Staff are continuing to be paid

Update for Residents about Council services (Coronavirus)

The council has launched a helpline for vulnerable people to contact as part of the Community Hub. The helpline number is 020 7926 2999

For those in immediate risk of financial hardship please contact the Emergency Support Scheme 

The Council’s volunteer form for those who want to volunteer is now live if you wish to sign up 

Parks and playgrounds

All playgrounds in parks and housing estates are now closed.

The Lambeth Country Show due to take place in July has been cancelled for this year

The Streatham Common Rookery is now closed

Waste and refuse services

Refuse and recycling services are running but now with a reduced number of staff. The household waste and recycling centres at Vale St and Smugglers Way are closed. Residents are being asked to dispose of any waste responsibly and keep any bulky waste items at home until the recycling centres can re-open. Jet-washing of pavements has been stopped. The disposal of clinical waste is operational.

We would like to extend our appreciation to our recycling, rubbish and street cleaning teams for their continued hard work keeping these essential services running.

Housing update

Choice based letting has suspended allocations. However, anyone who has already accepted a property will continue to tenancy sign-up and moving in, as normal.

There will be no transfers at the moment, only in emergency situations or those covered by other protocols, such as rough sleepers. A message explaining this will be posted on the bidding website so everyone actively bidding will be aware.

Some  housing associations have either suspended lettings altogether or only accepting urgent cases.

Markets update

Brixton Market is now limited only to fruit and vegetable stalls (and one egg stall)

There will be no Feast in April

There is no Streatham (monthly) market  

The Parks and Events department is working with traders to make clear that they are not permitted to trade, but also help them with support.

Please also see Wednesday's update on council services which also includes information on housing repairs and volunteering, here. 

To Sign Up for email updates about COVID-19 from Lambeth –  Click Here

Government instructrions on stopping the spread of Coronavirus

The following is the latest instructions and clarification from Government on stopping the spread of Coronavirus (you can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms).

• Stay at home. Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (if you cannot work from home)
• Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people when you are outside your home
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home
• You can exercise for one hour a day on your own, or with one other person if they are from your household, if you are not displaying symptoms of the virus but stay two metres away from others.

Coronavirus update for residents about council services

This is the latest update on council advice, services and information in the context of the current Cornavirus crisis.

· Following further government guidance, the council has prepared guidance from a Public Health perspective on how to volunteer in a way that reduces any potential health risks, which is available here.

· The council is putting together a shortened, special edition of ‘Lambeth Talk’, entitled 'Here for You'. This will include information for residents around how they can access help and advice.  It is hoped that it can be printed and distributed at some point next week. The edition will contain information in all of the main languages spoken in Lambeth.

· The council is putting in place arrangements to co-ordinate supplies and support to vulnerable people (The Shield) as part of the Government’s plans for councils to lead this work in the coming days.

· The Council has agreed that Adult Social Care’s fees and charges changes will be delayed until October 2020

Advice for volunteers

It is important that anyone volunteering is protected our volunteers, as well as those receiving volunteer support. To protect everyone and prevent the spread of COVID-19, the council is asking that all volunteers follow this guidance:

· Stay at home if you have a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, and follow the NHS guidance.

· Do not volunteer if you, or anyone in your household, is following self-isolation guidance because they have developed symptoms of COVID-19 (a new cough that is continuous, or a high temperature).

· If you live with an extremely vulnerable person who has been advised to following the government ‘shielding’ guidance, you should strictly follow the government guidance on social distancing.

More information is available here

Crowdfund Lambeth

A range of measures and community support partnerships are being put in place, including using a Crowdfund Lambeth scheme to support projects tackling the impact of Covid-19 in their communities. 

Lambeth Council already runs Crowdfund Lambeth, via crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/lambeth helping groups and organisations across the borough to raise funds in order to help turn ideas into reality.

The funding is now being made more easily available through the platform to resource a range of groups including local food banks and those working to strengthen food supply and plan to mitigate anticipated challenges.

This could be around information sharing, signposting and logistical matters such as liaising with supermarkets to acquire surplus foods, appropriate storage for fresh and frozen produce, transport for distribution to groups or home food deliveries. 

To find out more about crowdfunding in Lambeth visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/lambeth. T

o apply for a match fund as part of the crowdfunding https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/lambeth/apply.

Housing repairs

Housing Services teams are now following Government guidance and are currently providing essential emergency repairs only. Essential emergency repairs are as follows:

• Uncontainable leaks leading to flooding

• Back surging drains leading to flooding

• Blocked toilets when it is the only toilet in your home

• Total loss of electrics

• Total loss of heating

• Gas leaks

• Sounding carbon monoxide alarms

• Lift breakdowns

• Total loss of lighting in communal corridors/staircases

Other repairs where serious health and safety problems or severe damage could be caused

Calls are being taken, as usual, to report repairs in these categories on:

020 7926 6000 during office hours (weekdays 9am to 5pm)

020 7926 6666 out of hours.

Any other repair requests should be reported. These will be dealt with as soon as possible, but only once Government restrictions have been relaxed.

Refuse collection and waste

Vale Street and Smugglers Way recycling centres are now closed. The council is asking residents to dispose of any waste responsibly and keep any bulky waste items at your home until the recycling centres can re-open.

Sign the petition to get Babington Road repaved

Following a request from local residents we have launched a petition to get Babington Road repaved.  

It is in a shocking state, and despite requests over the last few years the council have not included it in the Highways Improvement Programme.

Babington Road is used by many residents to get to Streatham Common station, to the youth centre (Streatham Youth and Community Trust) on Conyers Road and to Streatham High Road.  But at present it is a hazard for many older and vulnerable residents as well as very difficult for wheelchair users and those with prams or buggies.

Sign the petition here

Graffiti removed from Prentis Road

As part of our drive to clean-up Streatham we have asked council officers to remove the graffiti at the end of Prentis Road, at the junction with Streatham High Road.  

Officers confirmed this morning that this has now been done.