David, Chris and Joanne show Council Leader Lib Peck round Kennington and Vauxhall

Yesterday your Labour candidates for Prince's ward showed Leader of Lambeth Council Lib Peck around our area.

David Amos, Chris Marsh and Joanne Simpson took Lib to see parts of Kennington and Vauxhall she didn't know so well, pointed out some of the successful community initiatives and new developments in the area, and highlighted some of the campaigns they are running.

David, Chris and Joanne took Lib to see Ariel Court, Falstaff Court, Brangton Road and Aveline Street - where they are pushing Lambeth Living to install double glazed windows. They discussed some of the issues facing local shopping clusters like Kennington Cross, Vauxhall Street and Lambeth Walk. They celebrated the fact that well-loved heritage buildings like the Durning Library and the Beaufoy Institute are seeing huge investment for the future. And they visited fantastic community success stories at VGERTA's Glasshouse Walk playground and the Lollard Street Adventure Playground.

Letter from Lib Peck about Vauxhall Bus Station

To the Chair of the Kennington, Oval & Vauxhall Forum

Dear Malcolm

I wanted to reassure you that the views expressed at last week’s meeting have been relayed to me, and I understand the concerns and priorities of your  members and others who attended the meeting.

I believe we share the same goals for  Vauxhall – to make it a thriving district centre and the gateway to Nine Elms  on the South Bank, underpinned by  excellent transport connections. This is the Council’s adopted planning policy. The question is, how is this achieved?

Transport for London,(TfL), is responsible for managing and maintaining the capacity on this strategic part of the road network in London, so the traffic interchange has to work, especially for buses. No changes can go forward at the expense of the transport interchange. There is considerable technical analysis underway to establish whether the gyratory can be made to work two way and to understand the consequences of achieving this, if this is what is ultimately agreed. The programme for this work was shared with KOV last week. There will be no final decisions in relation to this for several months.

TfL have advised the Council that the traffic modelling results, that will assess whether or not two way working is possible, will be available at the end of February. If it is possible, then we will look further at what that will mean for the design of the district centre and the interchange arrangements, including the bus station. As part of this process, we will be preparing a design framework for the district centre that takes the policy within the Vauxhall Supplementary Planning document to a more detailed level of implementation. Things are changing within the Vauxhall area, as we have seen from the new shops and restaurants that have come, now
that there is a wider awareness of the Council’s ambitions. This change will continue with the implementation of Vauxhall Square and other exciting developments that the Council has supported.

The workshop next week, (29th January), will provide a useful starting point for this conversation and will help shape future consultation. At the workshop we will be sharing the results of the traffic modelling thus far, what the volume of users by mode has been, and discussing the issues and opportunities that the district centre and two-way working present.

It is essential that full and meaningful consultation follows this first stage of technical investigation, and the council passed a motion to this effect at the beginning of last week. There is clearly a challenge to TfL, and  the Council, to demonstrate that any options or proposals will improve the existing situation, and not make it worse. However, I would also ask that you keep an open mind about the potential benefits that change might bring. These need to be articulated through the process so that everyone can come to a view.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Lib Peck
Leader, London Borough of Lambeth

Leader of Lambeth Council walkabout in SE11

Leader of Lambeth Council Lib Peck will be doing a walkabout with local councillors Lorna Campbell, Mark Harrison and Steve Morgan on Saturday 27 April.

Lib was elected to be Leader of the Council in November, replacing Steve Reed, who was elected to Parliament.

If you have a suggestion for a particular place Lib should see, or would like us to call by to say hello, please let us know.

Labour wins cash boost for Lambeth homes

Labour has secured over £100 million to improve sub-standard homes in Lambeth. Labour councillors have spent months lobbying Government ministers for funding to complete upgrade works on 15,000 homes that need new windows, doors, kitchens, bathrooms and central heating to bring them up to minimum standards.

Labour’s Lib Peck, Cabinet Member for Housing, and Council Leader Steve Reed both wrote to Government ministers repeatedly to press the case for Lambeth’s tenants. The money will come through over the next four years, although there is disappointment the Government is delaying half the funding until 2014, and the total sum available is less than half the amount needed to complete work on all substandard homes.

Cllr Lib Peck said: "I am pleased our hard work has delivered some good news for Lambeth’s tenants. It’s not right people should be left to live in sub-standard homes. This money is a real boost but it is less than half the amount the Labour Government promised so we still have a significant challenge ahead of us."

Cllr Steve Reed commented: "It’s disappointing the Government is delaying this funding while bringing forward their cuts, but we welcome this news. Labour councillors and Lambeth’s tenants made such a strong case together that even this Government found it hard to ignore us completely."

Pictured: the money means Lambeth will be able to carry out more window replacements programmes, like the one at Haymans Point, as well as works to upgrade tenants' kitchens and bathrooms.

Labour keeps rent rise to a minimum

Lambeth's Labour Cabinet yesterday approved a rent increase of 3.14% (£2.60 extra per week) and a 5.75% rise in tenant service charges. Both of these figures are in line with the government's recommended figures.

Lambeth housing tenants will also see the repairs budget increase with a further £3.3 million going forward into providing repairs and new windows to help enable all Lambeth residents a comfortable property to live in.

Labour will continue to work with Lambeth Living to find the most effective way of finding savings and help to reduce the deficit left by the previous Liberal Democrat and Conservative administration. There is still a lot of hard to work to do to help get Lambeth tenants into suitable housing as well as complete the extensive repairs project.

Cllr Lib Peck, cabinet member for housing and regeneration said: 'We have listened to what our tenants have said – that is why we are working to secure the smallest possible increase of £2.60 per week. This is in line with Government guidelines.
I am pleased that we have managed to secure an extra investment of £3.3 million into repairs; and to freeze any increases in hot water and heating charges.
'We remain firmly committed to working closely with Lambeth Living in the next few weeks to agree a workable and reasonable housing management fee for them to provide housing services for Lambeth tenants.'

Pictured: tenants at Dumain House will be pleased that the rent increase has been kept to a minimum

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.

Letter to tenants from Steve Reed and Lib Peck

Labour activists have been delivering this letter to tenants on housing estates across Lambeth, to explain why rents have had to rise this year.

Dear tenant,

Rent rise will pay for a better housing service

After decades of failure Lambeth’s housing service is getting better. But it’s still not as good as it should be. Labour’s invested millions of pounds to put in new windows, roofs and doors, but there is still much more to do. Despite the improvements, too many repairs are not done on time or to the standard you expect. Too many families live in overcrowded homes. It’s time to put that right and give every tenant the high quality housing service you deserve.

The problem is, fixing all of that costs money. At the moment there’s not even enough to pay for the services we already have. That’s why some services get cut year after year.

There are two things we can do to bring in the extra money to pay for better services. First, we must work harder to cut out waste and bad management. We will make sure that happens. Second, because rents in Lambeth are low compared to other councils, we have to ask everyone to pay more. We know that’s not easy when times are hard, but the alternative is worse. If rents don’t go up, the council will have to make £9 million of cuts to your services.

Without the rent rise, the cuts could mean:
All CCTV switched off and safety patrols removed
Repairs cancelled
Estates getting dirtier with less cleaning
Homes left damp and unheated
Much longer waiting times when you phone the call centre.

We know you don’t want cuts like that. So, from April, your rent will increase by more than usual. But don’t forget you will still be paying much less than privately rented homes in Lambeth. And your rent will still be lower than the amount charged by Tory or Lib Dem councils like Wandsworth and Islington. Extra help will be available for people on low incomes, and if you’re already receiving housing benefit the amount you receive could go up. If you need help to pay your rent, please call the Customer Centre 020 7926 6000.

We know this year’s rent rise won’t be popular. But the alternative of massive cuts is far worse. This is the only way we can guarantee the better housing service you want and need. Please get in touch if you want to discuss this or any other issues with us. We are here to work for you, and we promise to do everything we can to improve your housing service.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Steve Reed
Leader of Lambeth Council
sreed@lambeth.gov.uk

Cllr Lib Peck
Cabinet Member for Housing & Regeneration
lpeck@lambeth.gov.uk