The LADYWELL LOCAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday12 May2011

7-9pm

Ladywell Centre

148 Dressington Avenue, SE4 1JF

Minutes of the Meeting

Welcome, introduction & format for the assembly

Cllr Vincent Davis(Chair) welcomed everybody to the meeting. A special welcome was given to Ann Kirsten Vinci who is a local participation officer from Oslo, Norway. Ann is spending some time with the Young Mayors Office and wanted to know more about how local assemblies work.

The format of the assembly was as follows:

  • Lewisham Hospital Foundation proposals
  • Ladywell Parking issues
  • Break for refreshments and opportunity to meet other residents
  • Community Safety Update
  • Launch of Mayors Fund
  • Community Updates
  • Assembly close and date of next meeting

LewishamHospital Foundation status proposals

Lyn Saunders( Director of Business Development and Planning) presented the proposals on behalf of Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust.

Foundation Trusts are part of the NHS, but have more independence to develop services needed by local people. They work closely with service users, patients and local communities, and are more accountable to them.

Foundation Trusts are more independent from government and able to focus on local needs. The aim is to provide the best possible healthcare in the hospital and the community as a whole.

There are a number of initiatives that are being planned at the hospital as part of the process. This includes improved access to outpatient services, building a new urgent Care Centre and building a new main hospital reception.

There are three groups of membership for the Foundation Trust;

the public, service users and staff. A Members Council will be established including 15 elected and 5 appointed members. It is important that the Foundation Trust reflects the diverse community of Lewisham and members from BME groups are encouraged to apply.

Joy asked residents to fill out the questionnaire in the summary or full document consultation document. Comments can be e-mailed to FT.Lewisham@net. Telephone no:0208 314 0481. The deadline for returning forms is 14 May 2011.

The public consultation runs for 12 weeks. There have been a number of public meetings throughout Lewisham which have been well attended.

Further information can be found by visiting

Ladywell parking issues

Leslie Brooks (Service Group Manager, CPZ team, London Borough of Lewisham) made a presentation and answered a number of questions from residents.

Leslie began by outlining the Councils policy which involved managing the demands of parking in a fair and considerate way by addressing all the issues. The Council aims to consult as widely as possible, however historically there has been low response rates which has been difficult to explain. Generally, parking around railway stations can be intrusive and cause problems for residents living in the vicinity. The community are best placed to advise the CPZ team on local requirements.

The Ladywell CPZ was introduced in late 2010 and there was a strong majority in favour of the proposal. There was a wide consultation aimed at avoiding the ‘creeping affect’ of pushing parking onto other roads outside of the proposed CPZ. This is sometimes an unavoidable consequence of introducing CPZ’s in congested urban areas.

Leslie then went on to describe the timetable for the review of the CPZ. The policy guidelines suggest that 6 months should elapse prior to a review of the new CPZ. However, in the case of Ladywell this coincides with the summer holidays and the review has been put back until October 2011. Leslie said that she was aware of complaints from Embleton Road and this will be included as part of the review. The review will also look at the existing zone and the hours of operation of the CPZ. The Council has a duty of care to address parking problems and this must reflect the needs of the community as a whole.

In terms of revenue, Leslie explained that the Council can increase charges under the fees and charges policy agreed by the Mayor and Cabinet. Revenue from parking is statutory ring fenced and will be spent exclusively on maintenance of roads, street lightingand highways.

There were a number of questions to Leslie as follows.

Q Is illegal parking the responsibility of TfL or the police?

A This is no longer a criminal offence and has been passed to the Local Authority since 1994. Local roads fall under the remit of Lewisham Council and major roads are the responsibility of TfL The civil offence appeals procedure applies.

Q Why do we have to wait longer than 6 months for the review to commence?

AThe Ladywell CPZ was fully operational in December 2010. The review was due to take place in July 2011, however this coincides with the holiday period and it has been agreed to now start in October 2011 when the widest possible consultation will be possible.

Q Why has the Council doubled the charges to £120.00 which appears unreasonable given the current financial climate?

AThe Mayor and Cabinet have increased the charges due to the Councils current fiscal position. Since the Council introduced the charges in 1994 there has been just 2 increases which has barely kept pace with inflation.

Liz Dart ( Head of Community and Neighbourhood Services) was also present at the meeting. Liz explained that residents said that they preferred to pay more for services rather than loose them altogether. These were the findings of the recent ‘Our Lewisham, Our Say’ consultation exercise aimed at finding £50 million savings over the next 3 years. A priority for most people was preserving services for vulnerable adults and young people and the Mayor will aim to minimise reductions in these areas. Lewisham still has some of the lowest parking charges in London with some boroughs charging as much as £500.00.

Q Is it possible to buy parking permit for a shorter period than 1 year?

A Yes, it is possible to purchase a parking permit for 3 months costing £35

Q Would it be possible to privatise aspects of parking charges with the aim of saving money?

A The Council is continually looking at different ways of saving money. Some services are already externalised and these will be reviewed again in August 2012.

Q Are there any advantages to becoming a CPZ?

A Living in a CPZ has a number of advantages. Residents will nearly always be able to park close to their homes which is not the case in areas which do not have a CPZ. People with disabilities can apply for a blue badge which will make them exempt from charges.

Q How much income has been generated by the Ladywell CPZ?

AThere are no separate figures for Ladywell as there is no statutory requirement to keep ward based data. The total surplus for 2009/10 is £700,000.00 and this was spent on traffic schemes

Q How was this surplus arrived at?

A The total income was £5.1 million versus the total expenditure of £4.4 million leaving a surplus to be used of £700,000. .

Q I go to work at 4am, get home at 11pm and can barley park. Why can’t we have a 2 hour parking and this will also make it easier for utility companies, etc when they are required to attend properties?

A a shorter zone period will need to address the parking issues. This is potentially something that the review could examine in more detail.

Q I live near a station and I experience problems with visitors, in particularly workmen, parking close to my property?

Ait isimportant that engineers are made aware of the difficulties prior to booking appointments. It is possible to purchase passes for visitors to your property and you will need to speak to visitors prior to their arrival.

There followed a short interval where residents were given the opportunity to meet the presenters and other residents

Community Safety Update

PC Brian Jemmet spoke on behalf of the Safer Neighbourhood Team.

The previous ward priorities were burglary, theft from motor vehicle and anti-social behaviour by youths at Greatfield Close and Slagrove Place. Robbery has now replaced burglary due to an increase of incidents in Ladywell.

Robberies have increased for several reasons. A number of commuters accessing Ladywell Station display their MP3 players and this has lead to a number of snatches from perpetrators. Residents were advised to be discreet with their MP3 players and other computer equipment when entering and leaving Ladywell Station. There has also been increase in robberies around Hillyfields and residents should exercise caution in this area, particularly after daylight hours.

The majority of shops in Brockley Road have received alert boxes resulting in a reduction in crime and improved community spirit. AHOY has undertaken courses with a number of youths delivered by experienced sea cadets. 5 young people have achieved level 1 accreditation and none have returned to criminal activity.

PC Jemmet concluded his presentation by giving advice on how to avoid a burglary. Residents must never leave their windows open, particularly during the summer months and make sure that there are curtains, blinds or nets. ‘Beware of Dog’ signs, stickers, automatic lights or hall lights are not really a deterrent as the perpetrator will look for other visible signs that the property is not being occupied. Decent fences, trestles’ or good locks on windows are more likely to be effective against a potential burglar. Neighbour watch schemes are another good way of preventing burglaries and can reduce insurance premiums by up to 10%. There are currently 19 schemes in Lewisham Central and that figure is increasing,

Joanna Bish, Winston Rock and Denis Salvin, Community Safety Service introduced the new team and the functions are as follows:

  • work with all sections of the community and partners to improve neighbourhoods and reduce anti-social behaviour and crime
  • focus on reducing reoffending
  • work with Safer Neighbourhood Teams to improve enforcement
  • offers community events and local surgeries to give advice about crime prevention
  • support victims of crime and antisocial behaviour by working with different partners
  • develop projects and plans to focus on the Safer Lewisham partnership’s crime reduction polices, such as domestic violence and youth crime.

The Neighbourhood Community Safety Service hold drop in surgeries across the borough. At these surgeries residents are asked for their views about crime and anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood. Ladywell is covered by the north team which also includes Evelyn, New Cross, Telegraph Hill, Brockley and CroftonPark. The surgeries take place on the last Tuesday of every month.

There were a number of questions as follows:

Q There is a problem with speeding cars along Chudleigh Road. Is there anything that can be done to encourage drivers to slow down?

A There probably needs to be improved signage such as 20 mph signs. This is the Council’s responsibility, however firstly we would like to see more restraint shown by drivers prior to mandatory controls.

Q I live in Elswick Road and there are problem with drink related to anti-social behaviour. What can be done about this?

A We can speak politely and advise perpetrator of the legal consequences involved. If the problem persists, anti social behaviour contract or order is possible and this is something that the new community safety team could get involved with. It is important that a record is kept of incidents, in the event that the complaint can be taken forward.

Q Do the teams work closely together?

A Yes, The Safety Neighbourhood team and Community Safety team compliment each other and have developed a close working relationship.

Q What times will the new community safety team be available?

A The team work normal office hours and are contactable Mondays to Fridays between 9 am and 5pm. The surgeries will be held in the evenings and will be an opportunity for people who work to speak to a community safety officer.

Launch of Mayors Fund 2011/12

John O’Reilly (local assemblies coordinator) explained that £43,750 was available and organizations are invited to apply, provided they meet one or more ward priorities.The coordination group would particularly like to encourage applications from organisations who work with young people. In particular, a summer event, mainstream youth activities or crime prevention programme. The summer event may include such things as special training events, theatre, sports or similar activity. Application forms and guidance were available for collection after the meeting.

Community Updates

Muhammad Rahmani (Lewisham Youth Services Manager) invited assembly members to the launch of the LadywellYouthVillage which will take place on Saturday 28 May 2011. The Mayor will be there from 12pm and there will be plenty of activities for children. Muhammad said that this would not be possible without the contribution of £10,000 from the Ladywell assembly and he looked forward to working with the assembly on other projects.

Moira Tait also thanked the assembly for the award of £3,000 towards the Brockley Max festival which will take place in June 2011. There will be a number of activities for people of all ages with a new roller skating programme which was paid for by the Ladywell Locality Fund.

The launch of the parklands improvements will take place at Ladywell Fields on Saturday 28 May 2011 between 10am and 1pm. The Mayor will officially cut the ribbon at around 1pm.

Assembly close and date of next meeting

Cllr Davis concluded the meeting by thanking everyone for attending with a special word of thanks to Lyn and Leslie for their presentations and time taken responding to questions from residents.

The next assembly will be held on Thursday 22 September. The venue will be decided nearer the time, The meeting will focus on the Mayors Fund and Cllr Davis reminded interested parties to submit their applications by the closing date of Friday 29 July 2011.

There being no other business the meeting was concluded at 9:05pm.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting

1