Your Labour candidates for 2014

Our local Labour Party have just selected two of our candidates for the 2014 elections in Kennington & Vauxhall. The final one will be selected in the autumn.


They are:

Chris Marsh
@Chrismarshse11

Chris has lived in North Lambeth for 20 years, and became a tenant on the Vauxhall Gardens estate nearly 4 years ago. He has worked extensively in the local community as a Bar Manager, and then for Centrepoint in a hostel for homeless young people.  He currently works for another London Council managing their team of Neighbourhood Wardens. Chris is keen to represent his community to help ensure we all benefit from the exciting developments like the Damien Hirst Gallery and the Nine Elms development coming to Prince's Ward and the surrounding area. For him the diverse mix of people that live harmoniously in Prince's ward is what makes the area so special. Chris intends to continue the hard work of Steve, Mark and Lorna, in ensuring our wishes and concerns as residents, are always taken into consideration.


Jo Simpson
@JSimpsonLambeth

Jo has lived in the area for four years. An active member of the Lambeth Labour Party, she has a strong record as a campaigner and enjoys meeting people on the doorstep. Together with her co-candidates, Jo has promised to make sure every door in the ward is knocked on between now and May 2014, to build on the hard work undertaken by Mark, Steve and Lorna. She has almost seven years' experience working as a Caseworker for Labour MPs and taking up concerns of local people. Jo is passionate about giving community groups a say and will work to support residents associations such as Vauxhall Garden Estate and organisations like Friends of Kennington Park in their objectives that benefit the community. Jo’s main interest is housing and she is committed to fighting for a fair deal from developers and ensuring Prince’s gets the affordable housing it needs. She is also a keen cyclist and pledges to work together with Council officers, TfL and the London Mayor to not only improve cycling routes, but to tackle problem spots such as the Vauxhall Gyratory and ensure that transport improvements are secured for pedestrians, bus users and pedestrians alike.



You will notice that Steve, Mark and Lorna’s names do not appear above and that is because we have all decided to retire!

Lorna and Steve both stood in the 2002 elections and lost! And then again in the 2006 elections and won! Mark stood in a by election in 2009 and won. All we all were kindly re-elected by you in 2010.

We will have been councillors for a number of years and we all felt it time to let someone else have the chance to represent such a wonderful community.

However, rest assured that we shall remain your councillors until Election Day on Thursday 22 May 2014. So you will still get emails from us, see us at meetings, see us at events and see us at our advice surgeries.

We shall then hand over to whoever you decide to represent you for the next four years.


Pictured: Jo Simpson, Tim from Alford House Youth Club, Chris Marsh

Northern Line Extension: drop in event for Kennington Green and 373 Kennington Road

Drop in event to consider proposals for a permanent shaft and head house at Kennington Green and an alternative location at 373 Kennington Road

Date: Thursday 25 July

Place: Durning Library
167 Kennington Lane
SE11 4HF

Time:  3.30pm – 8pm

TfL recently submitted an application to the Secretary of State for Transport for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) to build and operate an extension of the Northern line to Nine Elms and Battersea. Theit submission marked the beginning of a statutory consultation period which closed on 18 June 2013.

Their submission includes proposals for a permanent shaft at Kennington Green to allow air in and out of the proposed new northbound 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 green, 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 corner of Montford Place and Kennington Road within the Beefeater Distillery site. Full details of the proposals are available to view attfl.gov.uk/nle.

Some responses to the consultation put forward an alternative location for the shaft and head house at 373 Kennington Road.  This site is currently occupied by an artist run space called Space Station 65, comprising offices and studios for creative industries and borders with properties on Aulton Place and 377 Kennington Road.

This event will address in detail some of the key issues raised specific to the Kennington Green site, consider the alternative proposals put forward for 373 Kennington Road and provide a platform for further dialogue and discussion.  Senior representatives from the NLE project team will be in attendance on the day.

Open afternoon at St Luke's Wincott Street - 24 July

Open Afternoon at St Luke’s: 24 July, 4pm – 6pm

West London Mission invites you to an Open Afternoon @ St Luke’s in Wincott Street, to learn about their plans for the building and to ask questions.

A scoping project is underway to determine the use of the St Luke’s site over the next few years. Initial thoughts are that the building will be used to combine an Emmaus Community along with a community hub offering support to local people.

The Community will house about 27 people who have been homeless, but who want to turn their lives around and have come to Emmaus to do so. Residents are called Companions, and one member of the Lambeth Community (based in West Norwood) will be present to talk about his experiences of living in an Emmaus community.

The Hub has been proposed by Lambeth Local Authority, to run a range of activities which can help support local people and prevent homelessness, especially in the current context of benefit changes and financial pressure. Ideas they are working on are as follows:
* a childcare co-operative that will enable young mothers to get back into work gradually;
* a digital inclusion suite where people can learn how to use a computer, and how to access benefits and other services online;
* a debt advice service, where residents can come to seek advice on money management, budgeting and debt reduction.
* A counselling centre, drawing on West London Mission’s expertise in their Highbury Counselling Service

There will be an opportunity to meet staff from both West London Mission and Emmaus, to ask questions and put forward ideas.

They look forward to seeing you there. If you cannot make it feel free to get in touch via my email or phone below.

Pictured: Lorna, Steve and Mark outside St Luke's, when its previous use was causing residents concern

Summer activities for young people

Yet again Lambeth Council is offering a huge range of free or cheap activities for young people over the summer.

The Summer Holiday Activity Programme: holiday activity provision for children and young people (0-19 years inclusive). There are over 100 different free or affordable activities on offer over the summer period.

The Summer University programme: a four week programme running between 5 to 31 August, which offers exciting and innovative recreational and educational accredited short courses and activities. There will be 27 courses taking place across four learning areas including sport, art, media and enterprise offering 500 places for young people.

Find out more at the Young Lambeth website or find out more this weekend at the Young Lambeth Marquee at the Country Show in Brockwell Park.