With two weeks to save our police base, campaign reaches ITV News

With only two weeks until the end of Mayor Sadiq Khan's consultation on plans to close Streatham's police base, Green councillor Scott Ainslie met Lambeth's borough commander Richard Wood and other senior police chiefs this week.

Metropolitan Police Force budgets face cuts of around £1billion since 2010 - and savings are being sought across the capital.

But the mayor's proposals to make cuts by closing almost all the police bases in Lambeth - leaving just Brixton open - are facing strong opposition, especially in Streatham, where the new police base opened less than three years ago at a cost of £500,000.

Campaigners meet police over threat to Streatham police base

Jonathan, left, campaigns Sian Berry and Cllr Scott Ainslie

By Jonathan Bartley

Along with local Green councillor Scott Ainslie and London Assembly member Sian Berry I met with police yesterday at Streatham Police base to discuss its proposed closure by the Mayor. 

Greens are opposed to the police base closure and removal of Streatham's police to Brixton. 

The Mayor of London is proposing to close police stations across London as a result of Government budget cuts. We think that closing Streatham police base is entirely counter productive and an inefficient use of resources. 

Have your say on threatened closure of Streatham's police base

Jonathan Bartley and Cllr Scott Ainslie: keeping police in Streatham

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is consulting on plans to close all Lambeth's police stations, except Brixton and Gipsy Hill. The police base in Streatham, opened only two years ago at the cost of £500,00 would be lost, under the mayor's plans.

See the plans and have your say here.

 Local dad and Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley has launched a petition to save Streatham's police base.

Sign the petition here.

'Make public fire risk reports’ says Cllr Ainslie

Confidence in council home safety will only be restored if all fire risk safety assessments are published, said Green Cllr Scott Ainslie in a motion to Lambeth Council in July.

Labour-led Lambeth has refused to publish fire risk reports online, following the Grenfell Fire tragedy.

In March, it was revealed that disciplinary action was underway against Lambeth housing officers accused of giving misleading information about fire and electrical safety risk assessments in Lambeth.

 
“More than 30,000 Lambeth council tenants need to know corners have not been cut with their safety” said Cllr Ainslie.

'Extensive financial mismanagement' at Lambeth council condemned

Lambeth's financial claims questioned by report

Green Party councillor Scott Ainslie has called for a fundamental change in the culture of Lambeth Council after a year-long investigation by Lambeth Peoples’ Audit revealed “extensive financial mismanagement and failings in financial governance potentially costing millions of pounds.”

The full report, which can be seen here, reveals details of mismanagement across the borough including:

• Lambeth selling Streatham council estate plot to developer for £335,000 below market value
• Over-paying building contractors for work on council estates
• Appearance of price-fixing in building contracts
• Doubling of costs of ‘Your New Town Hall’ development
• Behind-the-scenes deal over library closures
• Huge numbers of invoices and records missing
• ‘Industrial scale’ ignoring of rules on competitive tendering

One in six drivers speeding on Streatham Hill

Green Cllr Scott Ainslie monitoring speeds at another event

One driver in every six on Streatham Hill was breaking the speed limit, during a 24-hour survey by Transport for London.

TfL monitored speeds for both northbound and southbound traffic in early February at three sites: north of the Arriva bus garage, south of the junction with Wavertree Road, and at the junction with Cricklade Avenue.

Collisions increase on A23 in Streatham

Collisions on the A23 through Streatham have increased, according to latest statistics from Transport for London.

In the period November 2013 to October 2016 there were 403 collisions, including 5 fatalities and 31 serious injuries on the A23 between the South Circular in the north and the junction of Streatham High Road and Hermitage Lane in the south. This is an increase of 13% on the previous period (May 2012 - April 2015). Fatalities rose from 4 to 5, and serious injuries rose from 24 to 31.