Work starting next month at Old Paradise Gardens (the Rec)

 Lambeth High Street Recreation Ground will have £150,000 of landscape improvements completed by the end of summer 2013. Landscape contractors, Randall Contracting, were awarded the job in April 2013 and
are due to start works in May 2013. The funding has come from a section 106 agreement with a local developer. The improvement works were  prioritised in line with the refurbishment plan (shown in figure 1 below) which was developed alongside the Friends of Lambeth High Street Recreation Ground and from local consultation results. The works will include refurbishment of pathways, the central water feature, entrances, play area, park furniture and plantings.

Adam Thomas of Amazea Ltd is the landscape architect who designed the improvements and will contract
administer the physical works. The commencement of works has taken longer than anticipated due to the
discharging of planning requirements, as the site has listed features and is an ex-burial ground.

An opening event will be held in autumn 2013 to celebrate the improvement works and the renaming of the
park to Old Paradise Gardens.

The improvements that are included in the £150,000 contract are:

• Refurbishment of the path network (excluding the watchtower area).
• Refurbishment of the central water feature. This includes a water play pump, plantings and seating.
• A new entrance at the corner of Lambeth High Street (the north-east corner entrance to the park).
• Refurbishment of the existing play area and inclusion of a new natural play feature.

Improvement Items that maybe added to the contract depending on the remaining contingency budget include:

• Refurbishment of the Whitgift Street entrance.
• A new perimeter path on the eastern side of the park to connect to the existing perimeter path of the western side.
• Lowering of the eastern wall in the walled watchtower area to create safe sightlines.
• Additional planting works.

The work is due for completion in August.

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.

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.

Friends of Kennington Park AGM

The Friends of Kennington Park are holding their AGM on Monday 13 May.

If you're not already a member please visit the Friends' website to join!

Lambeth Walk Doorstep Green Play Area

Lambeth Council has appointed a contractor for the new children's play area at Lambeth Walk Doorstep Green.

Work will start on Monday 22 April, and is due to finish by 24 May.

Details of the opening event for the community will be announced shortly.

St George's Festival a big success

Hundreds of people enjoyed the first Vauxhall St George's Day Festival outside the Tea House Theatre at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

Entertainment included a dog show, performances of Shakespeare, and dancing in the street.

Day of Portugal Licensing Application for Kennington Park

A Renewal application for a Premises Licence was received by the licensing authority on the 10 April 2013
Applicants Name: Mr Joao Abel Morreira
Premises Address: Day Of Portugal 2013 - Kennington Park, Kennington Park Road, London

Activities/times requested:

Sunday 9 June

Live Music
Sunday   12:00  - 19:30

Recorded Music
Sunday   12:00  - 19:30

Performances of Dance
Sunday   12:00  - 19:30

Supply of Alcohol
Sunday   12:00  - 19:00

Please direct any queries in respect of this application to the following case officer:
Mrs Esther Jones
Telephone: 020 7926 6144 Email: licensing@lambeth.gov.uk

Glasshouse Walk playground work well underway

Work is well underway on VGERTA's transformation of the playground at Glasshouse Walk, on the edge of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

The Vauxhall Gardens Residents Association were fed up with the state of the playground, so organised themselves to draw up plans and bid for money. They successfully bid for over £100,000, and now the work has started.

The new playground should be ready to use by June!

Are you a resident, group or organisation committed to improving the health and well-being of residents on Vauxhall Gardens Estate?

You can apply for funding to help you do this.

Up to £500 (smaller projects) and up to £5000 (larger projects).

Activities should be based around the following main heads any ideas including and beyond the examples welcome:

• Encouraging healthy eating – for example, have you & your neighbours ever wanted to grow your own vegetables or run healthy eating workshops?
• Encouraging the take up of physical activity – for example, start up a walking club on the estate, or run dance classes.
• Promoting the use of open spaces – for example, create ways for the community to use areas outside your home.
• Using arts & cultural activities to develop positive health and well being– for example, start a club in the Carmelita Centre or help the community create an arts trail on the estate.
• Young people – could you develop a project that will interest and engage young people?

To chat about your ideas or apply for an application form, please contact Chris Hadfield on  07730 285820 or chris.hadfield@kcl.ac.uk

Closing Date: 15 May 2013

Short listed groups will present their ideas to the local community on 1 June 2013. The community will vote on which projects best meet their needs.  Because funds are limited, not all ideas presented will receive money. Support with applications is available from Gayle Wallace on 07914 718 548 or gayle.wallace@btconnect.com

Well London is working in partnership with Kings College London Dental Institute, Lambeth Living,  Lambeth Council, VGERTA and the local community.

Good news from the Friends of the Durning Library AGM

Monday's AGM of the Friends of the Durning Library was well attended with lots of good news for members.

There were updates on the Council's plans for the library:

• The consultation phase about the future for the service at the library is over - next month a 'Compact' - partnership agreement will be launched which will detail the service standards that library users can expect. Users can expect more convenient opening hours, better use of the building outside staffed hours, more community influence over the building and service, and better outreach to people in the community currently not using the library.
• As we announced at New Year - the Council has committed £836,000 to the library building. Plans for how this will be spent are being worked up - there might be potential to bid for match funding to increase the investment into the building.

Finally, members congratulated the Chair, Priscilla Baines, for her very well deserved win at the Lambeth Civic Awards. Priscilla won the North Lambeth Civic Award for her service to the Friends and many other community groups.

You can join the Friends by popping into the library or visiting their website.

See the entries to the Vauxhall Missing Link Competition

Vauxhall Business Improvement District - Vauxhall One - have organised a competition for architects to imagine the future for Vauxhall - 'the missing link between the American Embassy and the South Bank'.

You can view the entries pinned up around Vauxhall, at the Garden Museum, and on this website.

Community consultation on Lambeth's local plan

Waterloo Community Development Groupe are hosting a borough-wide community consultation on Lambeth's Local Plan on Saturday 20 April 11am-3pm.

Lambeth is the fifth densest borough in the country, but has seen rises of 28% in the population of some wards in the past decade. This growth is set to accelerate, along with a growth in jobs. How can this be achieved while protecting the amenity of residents and tackling the significant pockets of deprivation? The answers to this should be in the Local Plan, which is now out for six week consultation. This plan will help fashion all future development in Lambeth for the next decade and contains a lot of new or significantly changed policies.

Lambeth Council are running a couple of evening workshops on affordable housing and town centres by way of consultation. But on the principle that community consultation is most effective when run by the community for the community, WCDG are hosting this borough-wide event at Stockwell YMCA, 40-60 Stockwell Rd, SW9 9ES. A light lunch will be provided.

The purpose of the event is to maximise community involvement in the Lambeth Local Plan, and is primarily aimed at Lambeth residents and voluntary/ community organisations, to help understand how to better influence planning policy and decision-making.

Sessions include:

How the planning process works and how to respond to the draft Local Plan
Improving the public realm and protecting heritage assets
Community facilities - schools, open space, libraries, community hubs - and maximising community benefits through s106 and CIL
Accommodating an increasing population, including affordable housing
Getting more local jobs through new development
How to help regenerate your town centre

WCDG will use examples of things that have worked and things that have not worked over the last decade, and want to hear about what is working in your area. If there is a topic you would like to see covered, all suggestions are welcome.

Please email Michael Ball if you wish to attend.

View designs for the Northern Line head house and community building at the old lodge site in Kennington Park

TfL would like to invite you to view the designs for the head house and community building proposed to replace the old lodge site on the corner of Kennington Park Place and St Agnes Place.

Date: Wednesday 17 April 2013
Time: 15:00 – 19:30
Venue: Cafe in the Park, Kennington Park

The designs form part of the wider proposals to extend the Northern line to Nine Elms and Battersea.  They have been developed following engagement with local resident groups and conservation and heritage experts and wider public consultation as part of the Northern line extension (NLE) consultation in autumn 2012.  Further engagement with representatives from local resident and interest groups has helped to refine the designs.

A permanent shaft is required at Kennington Park to allow air in and out of the proposed new southbound underground tunnel, to help cool the tube and extract smoke in the unlikely event of an emergency.  The shaft itself will be located underground in the park, but an above ground structure is required (known as a head house) to house maintenance equipment and vents for the shaft.  This would be located at the site of the old lodge, a small area at the corner of the park.  The proposal is to replace the existing building with the head house required to build and operate the NLE and, in response to consultation, a community building that will provide facilities for local park related use.  There will be no permanent loss of park land as a result of these proposals.

Visuals of the proposals will be on display and members from the NLE team will be on hand to answer questions.

The proposals will be included in TfL's application at the end of April for a Transport and Works Act Order for permission to build and operate the NLE.  Full details of the proposals will be available at tfl.gov.uk/nle and at a number of drop in events and libraries along the proposed route.

Consultation on strategy for older people's housing

The Council is consulting people about its plans for housing for older people.

It has a new strategy for older people's housing. Our existing sheltered housing is in a poor state, and in many cases not fit for purpose. We need high quality, attractive, flexible, modern older people's housing to cater for our growing elderly population.

The Council's proposals include building new 'extra care' centres. Extra care housing offers older people the opportunity to remain independent in their own homes, but also to access 24 hour on-site care. People can enter extra care housing when they are fit and mobile with the expectation that they can draw on care services as their circumstances change. People who live in extra care housing have their own self-contained homes, their own front doors, but extra care housing comes in many built forms, including blocks of flats, bungalow estates and retirement villages. These developments are intended to bring together people of differing needs to create a more sustainable community. Extra care homes are homes for life that can adapt to a person’s changing needs as they grow. It is a popular choice among older people because it can sometimes provide an alternative to a care home.

The proposals involve changes to existing Council-owned sheltered housing.

Denby Court (pictured at the back of the photo) on Lambeth Walk is not fit for purpose - as half of the flats are only accessible by stairs. The strategy proposes replacing Denby Court with a new Extra Care centre.

Bland/ Burchell House on the Vauxhall Gardens is proposed become social housing designated for older people. It is not suitable to become an Extra Care centre.

The strategy is ambitious and challenging. The Council is well aware that proposing any changes to elderly people's living arrangements could cause distress. Residents of affected sheltered housing schemes have already had meetings to discuss the proposals, and any changes will be phased over time to minimise any disruption.

You can give your views in many different ways - please visit the Council's consultation webpages to find out how.

Friends of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens AGM

Friends of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens Annual General Meeting

Monday 29 April 2013

6.30pm - 7pm

at The Tea House Theatre,
139 Vauxhall Walk, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, SE11 5HL

Please come and support your local park!