Lambeth Walk big mural launch event

Ethelred TMO and Creative Sparkworks have partnered together to bring a fun event for the community. Come along to create a legacy for the people of Lambeth Walk.

Saturday 24 May
10am - 2pm
Lambeth Walk Market Square

New windows for remaining parts of Ethelred TMO

The scaffolding is up around Tomkyns House to enable the long-awaited replacement of windows there.

Thanks to last year's transfer of Ethelred TMO Estate to Watmos, there is now money for a comprehensive five year refurbishment plan for the whole estate.

One of the top priorities is to replace the remaining windows on blocks which were missed out the first time that windows were replaced on the estate. Residents of Tomkyns House, Newport Street, Lambeth Walk, Stoughton Close, Saperton Walk, Juxon Street and Ingram Close have all had to put up with draughty windows whilst the rest of the estate enjoyed doubled glazed windows.

Many tenants have already had their kitchens replaced - over the next four years all tenants who need new kitchens and bathrooms will have the work done. The TMO also has other plans for improving the environment around the estate - including planting, painting, and new signage.

Exciting times for the Ethelred Estate

Ethelred Estate Tenant Management Organisation held its AGM this evening, where there was an update on developments during the year.

It's been a momentous year, as the Estate has transferred ownership from Lambeth Council to Watmos, the only tenant-owned housing association in the country. The transfer has unlocked a multimillion pound investment into the estate, which begins next week. Builders and Resident Liaison Officers will be based in a shop in Lambeth Walk to help residents with questions about the works programme, which will last for five years.

At this evening's AGM residents emphasised that window replacement work should be prioritised first.

There has been a big increase in new members of the TMO, which has raised the quorum needed for a valid AGM. Unfortunately there weren't sufficient residents at this evening's meeting, so the AGM business will need to be run again - residents will be informed and encouraged to attend!

Open day at the Old Lilian Baylis - next Saturday

The Old Lilian Baylis site is the former school site which sits in the middle of the Ethelred Estate.

After cancelling the proposed sell-off of the site in 2006, Labour allowed the Sports Action Zone to use the facilities and develop a community sports programme.

Last year, this evolved into the Black Prince Trust, a community trust to which the Council gave a lease for the sports pitches and gyms on the site. They plan an exciting transformation to create first class sports facilities.

The listed school buildings on the Lollard Street side of the site have now been sold to developer Henley Homes. They plan a residential-led development with 40% affordable housing.

You can find out more about the future of the site, and meet the new owners, at an open day on Saturday 31 March, from 10am to 3pm.

Ethelred tenants vote yes to Watmos

Tenants living on the Ethelred Estate have voted yes to transfer their homes to Watmos, a tenant-owned social landlord.

51% of tenants voted yes to transfer on an impressive 68.5% turnout.

Councillor Mark Harrison lives on the Ethelred Estate and campaigned for a yes vote. He said: 'this is great news for the Estate which secures its future for decades to come'.

'This will unlock millions of pounds of investment into the estate, preserve tenants' rights, keep rents affordable, and enhance tenant management'.

Mark spoke about the stock transfer at Lambeth Council's meeting on Wednesday, where he praised Watmos' 'unique model of housing ownership which fits in neatly with Lambeth's Cooperative Council agenda.'

Ethelred Estate showhome open for business!

Today saw the opening of the LATMOS showhome on the Ethelred Estate. The showhome gives tenants an idea of the improvements to their homes they can expect if the LATMOS stock transfer is approved in a ballot this September. Tenants can expect a new kitchen, new bathroom, and full redecoration of their flats. The showhome will also be the base for LATMOS project workers, who will on hand to answer any questions residents have about the project and the ballot.

LATMOS is the Lambeth Alliance of Tenant Management Organisations - three resident-run Lambeth estates which have banded together to investigate stock transfer. They have selected a landlord called WATMOS - the only housing association in the country which is run by tenant managements organisations. By transferring ownership of the estate away from the Council, WATMOS will be able to borrow money to invest millions of pounds into the homes on the estate. Ethelred TMO will continue as it is, and will have more support than it currently gets from the Council.

Councillor Mark Harrison has lived on the Ethelred Estate for six years, is a member of the Ethelred Board, and is closely involved in the LATMOS project. He said:

'I'm supporting the stock transfer as it's the only way the Estate will get the investment it needs. We'll preserve tenant management and all the rights that tenants and leaseholders currently enjoy from the Council.'

Pictured: Olu Leigh and Glenn Upton, who will be working on the estate over the coming months, in the showhome kitchen.

Plans for Old Lilian Baylis site

A planning application has been submitted for the next phase in the redevelopment of the Old Lilian Baylis School site on Lollard Street.

Lambeth Council is looking into handing control of the back portion of the site to a new community trust, which will run the site for sports and leisure use, continuing the excellent work of the Sports Action Zone.

New buildings will be erected to house changing rooms, offices and community facilities.

You can view and comment on the application here .

The front of the site, containing the listed school buildings, will be dealt with separately by the Council.

Lambeth Walk anti-social behaviour meeting

A follow up meeting for residents of Lambeth Walk on anti-social behaviour has been organised for tomorrow evening.

Residents of Lupino Court, Pory House, and Lambeth Walk are invited to a meeting at 7pm at Pory Hall. The Police Safer Neighbourhoods Team, the Peabody Trust and the Ethelred TMO will all be attending.

Minister visits Ethelred's 'green roof'

Environment Minister Hilary Benn visited a pioneering eco-friendly housing estate in Lambeth on Monday to hear first hand how local people are working with us to tackle climate change.

In the week that world leaders meet in Copenhagen to hammer out a deal on climate change, the minister was keen to stress that the efforts of local communities like those in Lambeth are just as important in helping to reduce CO2.

The minister visited the Ethelred Estate in Kennington to see one of the estate’s green roofs, which are surfaced with sedum plants. The green roof is covered in a type of sedum grass instead of traditional flat roof surfacing and attracts wildlife such as birds and insects. It also improves air quality and absorbs rain water, so has a role to play in reducing urban flooding.

The Ethelred Estate is the UK's largest green roof project and covers 10 buildings, with more than 4,000 square metres of roof space covered in sedum plants.

Lambeth secured special government funding for the project, which cost £716,000, and have completed further green roofs in nearby Stockwell and a 'biodiverse brown roof' in Clapham.
The Ethelred roof project was a partnership between Lambeth Council and the Ethelred Tenant Management Organisation (TMO). Mr Benn met David Girdler, the Chair of the TMO, Councillor Lib Peck, Cabinet Member for and Housing and Regeneration on Lambeth Council, as well as our Environment Manager Jon Lissimore, local ward councillors and residents.

Mr Benn was also made an honorary Lambeth 'Green Community Champion'. Lambeth's Green Community Champions scheme is seeing hundreds of volunteers across the borough trained by the Council in sustainability issues, so they can help and inspire their neighbourhoods to be more environmentally sustainable.

For details on how to become a green community champion and for useful tips on going green go to our green champion page or email greenchampion@lambeth.gov.uk.

Photo and story from Lambeth Council's website.

Improvements to the Ethelred Estate underway

Improvements to the Ethelred Estate and surrounding area's roads and pavements are continuing.

The work is part of the Better Neighbourhoods Programme. This has been set up by Labour to improve areas in Lambeth which were previously neglected.

The extra money has been made available because Labour has managed Lambeth Council’s finances prudently. Reserves have been built up, and now there are extra resources which we have chosen to spend on environmental improvements.

The Ethelred Estate and its surroundings is one of six areas chosen to receive intensive work under the scheme. Too often in the past the Estate has been overlooked and neglected, and local councillors wanted to change this.

The improvements include
-new pavements for Black Prince Road, Lollard Street, and Old Paradise Street
-resurfacing of Gibson Road (pictured)
-resurfacing of the car parks outside Malam House and Michelson House
-resurfaced pavements around the estate
-10 new trees planted
-repaired walls around trees

Councillors are keeping a close eye on the work, have undertaken a walkabout of the estate with the contract manager, and have asked that some refinements to the work be made. Please do let us know if you have any concerns or suggestions about the work, or if you have suggestions for where the new trees should be planted.

Ethelred Fun Day 2009

Children enjoy the merry-go-round and slide

Board members Anne-Marie and Pearl

North Lambeth's new curate David Longe meets new Estate Director Paul Reeves

Ethelred Estate benefits from major environmental investment

Work has begun on improvements to footpaths in and around the Ethelred Estate, that are part of a £3.5 million programme of investment from Lambeth Council.

Footpaths on Lollard Street (pictured), Black Prince Road, Old Paradise Street, and throughout the estate will be replaced, and new trees will be planted.

The work is part of Lambeth's 'Better Neighbourhoods' programme.

RESIDENTS MEETING - Pory House and Lupino Court

Wednesday 19 August at 7pm

In Pory Hall, first floor above the shops on Lambeth Walk (ring the ground floor outside buzzer for access).

Last Friday's stabbing incident/anti-social behaviour at Lupino Court.

As you will know, last Friday there was a serious stabbing incident involving youths from the flats in Lupino Court.

Please come and meet other concerned residents, and talk to representatives from Peabody, Ethelred TMO and the local police, to discuss what needs to happen next.

We are extremely lucky that what happened did not lead to a murder. We need to make sure that this never happens. Come and tell your community representatives what you think needs to happen now, and find out how we can put an end to the anti-social behaviour at Lupino Court once and for all.

The following people will be there:
Claudius Opadiran - Peabody Neighbourhood Manager
Gudrun Burnet - Peabody Community Safety Team Leader
Judith Ihonor - Peabody Community Safety Officer/ Community Safety Team
Julie Fulgence - Ethelred TMO Estate Services Manager
Patricia Bogues - Ethelred TMO Senior Housing officer
Mark Harrison - Lambeth councillor for Prince's ward
Police officers from Prince's ward Safer Neighbourhood Team

Mark campaigns for security doors on Ethelred

Mark Harrison, Labour's candidate in the Princes ward by-election, explains what he is doing to help get security doors on the Ethelred Estate fixed.

All in a week's work for SE11 Labour

Last Saturday residents from the Ethelred and Whitgift estates met at Pory Hall for a coffee morning with councillors and Kate Hoey MP. It was a good chance for people to meet their neighbours and chat, discuss some of the problems both estates are facing, and an opportunity for Ethelred TMO board members to update councillors on efforts to get the Council to sort out the estate's CCTV and doors. There is some optimism that the new Lambeth Living Chief Executive is keen to sort the problem out, but there is a still disagreement about the service charge residents will be expected to pay.

On Monday the Vauxhall Gardens Estate Tenants and Residents Association met for the first time in a few months. Major works are underway across the estate, and there was concern that scaffolders are blocking streets and car parks, and that builders are not cleaning up after themselves properly. Mark Harrison offered Labour activists' assistance in taking round a petition against coaches parking on the streets around the estate at weekends, which has been causing a nuisance in the area for several years.

On Tuesday the Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall Forum held its quarterly public meeting at the Pedlars Acre Hall in Kennington. There was concern that pavements are being left in a poor state when street lighting is replaced. Complaints were raised against the lack of a review of the Kennington controlled parking sub zone, which Cllr Stephen Morgan promised to take up. There was an update on the Mayor of London's cycle hire scheme - Lambeth will be applying for planning permission for around 30 docking sites in the north of the Borough. John Kazantzis, Lambeth's Cabinet Member for Business, gave a overview of how Labour is trying to help small business in Lambeth through the recession. Finally, Stephen Morgan gave an update on plans for a craft school and museum on the Beaufoy Institute site in Black Prince Road, and plans for a community hub on the old Lilian Baylis School site. Both are progressing well, if slowly.

On the same evening Labour supporters joined members of the Portuguese community at the Casa Madeira restaurant on Albert Embankment for a fantastically-successful fundraising dinner. Leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed, and London Assembly Member Val Shawcross both practised their Portuguese, to the pleasure and amusement of everybody there.

Ethelred coffee morning announced

Our next community coffee morning will be for residents of the Ethelred Estate, Whitgift Estate, and Ethelred Towers. Over the next couple of weeks people will be receiving invitations to this event, which will be held in Pory Hall, on Lambeth Walk.

The coffee morning will take place from 11am to 12:30pm, on Saturday 4 April. Pory Hall is on the first floor of Pory House, above the the ACA Enterprise shop. In the picture shown it is behind the murals. Many thanks to Ethelred TMO for allowing us the use of the hall.

Your councillors and Labour Action Team will be there, along with TMO Board members, and committee members from the Whitgift and Ethelred Towers boards. The police Safer Neighbourhoods Team have been invited.

Community garden for Sugden boiler site?

A group of local residents have begun investigating the possibility of setting up a community garden on a derelict site at the corner of Lambeth Walk and Old Paradise Street.

The site has been empty since the demolition of Sugden House nearly a decade ago. The awkwardly shaped site surrounds the main boiler for the Ethelred Estate, making development difficult. Two applications for housing development have been turned down in previous years, being too large and unsuitable for the site.

Now local residents Trevor, Rachael and Mark have begun to investigate whether a community garden can be set up, at least temporarily. An initial survey of neighbouring residents shows that reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The process may take some time, but hopefully the transformation of this neglected site may be a bit closer!

If you'd like to offer your support for the project, or get involved, please email boilerhouseproject@metronet.co.uk

Newsletter delivered about proposed 'community hub'

Residents around the old Lilian Baylis School in Lollard Street should be receiving a newsletter this week about future plans for the site.

Lambeth Council, Kate Hoey MP, and Labour's Action Team are supporting plans by the Sports Action Zone, All Nations Church, and Ethelred Nursery, to create a community hub on the site.

You can read the newsletter here.

Pictured: Cllr Steve Morgan, Kate Hoey MP, Mark Harrison and Cllr Lorna Campbell at the old Lilian Baylis site.

Lambeth Walk market area is finally cleared up

After months of wrangling, Lambeth Council have finally admitted that they are responsible for maintaining the paved area by Lambeth Walk, next to Pory Hall.

The area had been unmaintained for months, with rubbish dumped alongside the shop fronts, and the newly-planted trees left to be drowned out by weeds.

Ethelred TMO and Councillor Steve Morgan repeatedly told the Council that the area was their responsibility, but it took months for them to acknowledge this.

Finally, the area has been cleared up, and officers have told Councillor Morgan that the area has been added to their cleaning rotas.

Action Team update Ethelred residents on security system service charge problem

Kate Hoey MP joined Councillor Steve Morgan and Ethelred Estate resident Mark Harrison to deliver a letter updating residents on the ongoing dispute over how much residents should be charged for Ethelred TMO's new security system.

Kate, Steve and Mark braved the appalling weather to speak to residents in Gibson Road, Pory House, and Tomkyns House. You can read the text of the letter they delivered below.

Once the campaigning was over the three warmed up with a cup of tea at the Kennington Association's fundraising bazaar, at St Anselm's Church Hall.

Pictured: CCTV outside Fortune House, currently unmonitored because of council officers' incompetence.

Dear Neighbour

I wanted to write to update you on the long-running problems the Ethelred Estate has been facing in funding the CCTV and concierge system. Along with Ethelred TMO and your other councillors, I’ve been working hard over the past year to push Lambeth Housing to sort this situation out.

As you might know, the situation arose several years ago when the previous Lib Dem councillors got a government grant to pay for the installation of the new cameras and security doors, but lacked the forethought to work out who would fund the day-to-day running and maintenance of the scheme! Since then Lambeth Housing and the TMO have been in dispute about how to pay for the system.

I know many of you were alarmed to receive a letter from Lambeth Housing earlier this year informing you that your service charge was to rise massively to pay for the costs of running the system. I immediately objected to this proposal, and asked for a full break down of the costs. I think we all accept that there will need to be some rise in the service charge to pay for the cameras and concierge, but it must be at a level that residents can afford. Your Labour councillors will not sit back and allow your bills to spiral at a time when many residents are facing financial difficulties.

I’m sorry that I can’t provide you with a more comprehensive update, but the situation is still unresolved. Please rest assured that your Labour councillors are doing everything in our power to sort this situation out. Your Labour Action Team member, Mark Harrison, lives on the estate and shares the concerns of neighbours and residents. We continue to take the fight to Lambeth Housing to get this resolved.

Please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments about this issue, or any other that might concern you.

Yours sincerely

Steve Morgan

Councillor for Prince's Ward