Your Priorities for Kennington & Vauxhall 2014-18

As you will be aware there will be local elections next May. As a result all councillors are looking at what we said we would do over the past four years and what we want to do over the coming four years.

We therefore wanted to take this opportunity to discover what your priorities are for Kennington & Vauxhall over 2014-18. It can be as small as fixing a pothole in a pavement or as big as the level of council tax you would like to see.

All ideas are welcome! To give you an idea, please see the manifesto Steve, Lorna and Mark stood on in 2010. Do you think we kept all our promises? Is there anything we could have done better?

If you can respond by emailing Steve before the end of the year that would be helpful. Steve, Lorna and Mark will then take your suggestions to council officers and our new candidates David, Chris and Joanne to see how we can make them a reality.

Pictured: Mark, Lorna and Steve campaigning in 2010 with local resident Jon

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

Victory for Whitgift Street residents as Planning Inspector throws out Fire Brigade scheme for blocking out the light

In a major victory for residents of Whitgift House and 2 Whitgift Street, the Planning Inspectorate has thrown out the appeal by developers of the Fire Brigade Headquarters sites.

Lambeth Council's planning committee rejected the scheme back in December 2011, but the developers appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. An Inquiry was held in February and March this year.

The scheme would have developed the site sitting immediately opposite Whitgift House, replacing the low-rise warehouses with two huge slab towers of 12 storeys and 15 storeys, which would have blocked out most of the light reaching the residents on the other side of the road. The Planning Inspector agreed that the reduction in light to Whitgift House and 2 Whitgift Street was unacceptable, and rejected the developers' appeal.

He stated: 'there would be harm to the living conditions of the occupiers of Whitgift House and 2 Whitgift Street as a result of loss of daylight which would be a substantial loss of amenity.'

Local residents represented their interests at the Inquiry, presenting their own case to the Inspector. Councillor Mark Harrison and Kate Hoey MP supported residents by giving evidence at the Inquiry.

Mark said: 'I'm delighted that the Inspector has listened to residents of Whitgift Street and recognised this development would block out the light from their home lives. This decision vindicates residents' long and effective campaign, for which they deserve huge congratulations. They have shown that bullying developers can be defeated. We welcome new homes and new jobs in Lambeth, but not at any price. I hope a new proposal for these important sites comes forward which respects the rights of existing residents and brings the benefits from development which Lambeth needs and expect.'

Park Plaza's bid to grow taller deferred by Planning Committee

Last night Lambeth's Planning Committee spent an hour and 40 minutes considering the Park Plaza Hotel's bid to add several storeys to the front of their building. Objectors representing residents of 9 Albert Embankment and Salamanca Place did an excellent job questioning the effect the extension will have on light to their homes (which are already some of the darkest and most enclosed residential areas in the borough). In the end the Committee decided they couldn't make a decision because the information the hotel and the council officers were providing on daylight wasn't clear enough.

Councillor Mark Harrison was at the meeting and ready to speak to support residents before the committee deferred the application. He has written to officers to insist on the following:

• That the information from the daylight/ sunlight study for Block C, 9 Albert Embankment be re-presented in a way which is comprehensible to lay people
• That that new presentation be shared with objectors so they have the opportunity to question it ahead of the committee meeting
• That the effect on daylight/ sunlight in the square in the middle of 9 Albert Embankment be outlined:
• Either with a full daylight/ sunlight study
• Or with a comprehensible impartial expert explanation as to why there is no effect
• That the key points of the management plans (for traffic, servicing etc) which will be conditioned be fully outlined in advance of the committee meeting, and that they are shared with objectors so they have the opportunity to question them.

He has also asked for a committee site visit to take place.

Happy New Year from Steve, Lorna and Mark

Local Labour councillors Steve Morgan, Lorna Campbell and Mark Harrison would like to wish all residents of Prince's ward a very happy 2013.

Please feel free to contact us if you need our help over the year:

srmorgan@lambeth.gov.uk
lcampbell@lambeth.gov.uk
mharrison@lambeth.gov.uk

Brook Drive spared years of construction lorry misery

At a public meeting on Wednesday, attended by Councillor Mark Harrison, developers of the Elephant & Castle Leisure Centre site confirmed that they were no longer planning to send construction traffic down Brook Drive during the three year development.

Residents had been horrified to learn that dozens of lorries a day were to be routed down Brook Drive - a narrow residential street with parking on both sides, width restrictions, and Victorian housing which has suffered serious problems with subsidence. The proposals would have caused serious disruption to Cycle Super Highway 7.

The developers have now relented and proposed other options, which mostly involve routing traffic down Oswin Street, over the border in Southwark.

London Assembly Member Val Shawcross has promised to explore further options with the developers and Transport for London to see what can be done to avoid construction traffic going down any residential streets in the area.

Council Leader sees Vauxhall Five's new windows for himself

Leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed was shown round SE11 by local councillors Mark Harrison and Steve Morgan last week.

They took him to the Vauxhall Five Estate to celebrate the work taking place to transform residents' homes.

After decades of neglect, the blocks are having new windows, roofs, and concrete repairs, as part of a multimillion refurbishment.

Residents have campaigned for new windows for many years - the previous windows were over 60 years old and left people's homes draughty and cold. Local councillors and Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey supported the residents campaign and persuaded the Council to put the Estate at the top of Lambeth's housing capital programme.

Cllr Mark Harrison said 'it was great to be able to show Steve Reed the results of years of campaigning and lobbying - the new windows are already making residents' homes warmer and cheaper to heat.'

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.'

Planning Committee see Whitgift Estate's concerns for themselves

On Saturday morning members of Lambeth's Planning Committee made a site visit to the Fire Brigade HQ and associated buildings which are the subject of a major planning application. Dozens of concerned local residents joined the visit to make their objections to the scheme known.

Residents of Whitgift House showed how the proposed new residential slab blocks would overshadow their building, depriving it of almost all daylight during the winter months. The Friends of Lambeth High Street Recreation Ground explained how shadowing from the new buildings would affect plant and tree growth, and make the new play fountain prone to moss growth. And local councillors Steve Morgan and Mark Harrison explained how putting all the social housing for the scheme into a building on the other side of the railway tracks would contribute to social segregation in the area, and not create a mixed and balanced community.


The application is due to go to the Planning Committee tomorrow evening.


Pictured: participants in the site visit look across to the Whitgift Street site from the back of the Fire Brigade HQ.

Lambeth councillors run for charity

A team of Lambeth councillors donned their trainers on Wednesday to take part in the '5K Your Way' run. The event is an opportunity for thousands of London local authority staff and councillors to get involved in fun physical activity.

Lambeth councillors chose to raise money for a local charity, Disability Advice Service Lambeth. Over £500 has been raised so far and there is still time to sponsor us!

Lambeth was the third most active borough overall, and had the most councillors running. Prince's ward councillor Mark Harrison was pleased to finish first out of the Lambeth councillors!

Pictured: Lib Peck (Thornton), Matthew Bennett (Gipsy Hill), Florence Nosegbe (Brixton Hill), Mark Bennett (Streatham South), Ameeta Rowland (Labour Group Office), Alex Bigham (Stockwell), Mark Harrison (Prince's), Pete Robbins (Larkhall), and Dave Malley (Streatham South).

Vauxhall Five windows - project about to start!

After many years of pressure from residents, Kate Hoey MP, and councillors; work to replace the Vauxhall Five's windows is due to start at the end of this month.

Windows in Braham, Darley, Grover, Leary, and Simpson Houses are 1930s crittal windows which are in an appalling state, leaving residents with sky-high fuel bills in the winter. In addition, concrete from the balconies is failing, causing a serious safety hazard.

A 52 week major refurbishment programme will begin on 27 June. Roofs, windows, balconies, brickwork and concrete will all be brought up to a decent standard. Each individual block will take around five months to complete, depending on what concrete repairs are required.

Whilst major work like this will inevitably be disruptive, there will be Resident Liaison Officers from the contractor and Lambeth Council available for residents to speak to throughout the process. Work in flats will be done by appointment.

Many leaseholders will be concerned at the large bill they will have to pay. Lambeth Living should provide advice, support, and payment options to help leaseholders who will struggle with the bills.

Local councillors will be monitoring the project closely, and on hand to help if problems can't be resolved with Lambeth Living or the contractors.

Councillor Mark Harrison said: 'after more than a decade of pressure residents are finally close to seeing the work started which is so badly needed. We won't be celebrating until the windows are replaced and the contractors are offsite, but this month's news is really encouraging.'

Pictured: Mark Harrison with a petition for new windows he organised back in January 2009.

Council Leader walkabout in Vauxhall and Albert Embankment

On Friday afternoon, in glorious sunny weather, Leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed was shown round the areas of Prince's ward which will be affected by the Vauxhall- Nine Elms- Battersea redevelopment project.

Steve is now chairing the Strategy Board which will guide the redevelopment of the area, so local councillors Mark Harrison and Lorna Campbell wanted to show Steve how the changes will affect things on the ground.

Important issues discussed included ensuring local parks are improved - particularly Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens which has a redevelopment masterplan which needs funding fully. Supporting cultural activities and businesses will be important, as will improving Albert Embankment for pedestrians. Links and connections need to be improved through the railway viaduct, and across the gyratory system to Vauxhall station.

Most importantly the existing residents of estates bordering the area - Vauxhall Gardens, Whitgift, and Ethelred - need to see real benefits to their environment from the huge changes to the area.

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.

2011 Community Coffee Morning announced!

Local Labour councillors have announced the third annual SE11 Community Coffee Morning, after successful events in 2008 and 2009.

Residents of Prince's ward are invited to a community coffee morning on Saturday 29 January, from 11am to 12:30pm, at St Anselm's Church Hall , Kennington Cross.

It will be a chance for residents to meet their neighbours and local councillors, and to discuss issues affecting the area. Kate Hoey MP, London Assembly Member Val Shawcross, and Leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed will also be attending. (If you have an issue you which you want to discuss privately, it might be better to attend one of our surgeries.)

We hope to see many residents there!

Newport Street nightclub rejected after residents' objections

Lambeth's Licensing Committee have backed local residents by rejected an application for a nightclub in Arch 145 Newport Street.

18 objections and two petitions against the application were received. Three residents joined Councillor Mark Harrison to speak at the meeting.

The Committee agreed that the pavement area adjacent to the venue was indistinct and inadequate, and was therefore not suitable for the number of people able to attend the venue to queue and go through the security procedures safely.

They also agreed that the arrival and departure of guests would result in noise causing a public nuisance to residents in Newport Street and Lambeth Walk.

Strong local reaction against proposed Newport Street nightclub

Local Labour councillors are supporting residents objecting to a nightclub opening in Arch 145, Newport Street.

The applicants have applied for a licence allowing alcohol sales, music, refreshments and entertainment until 6am at weekends and 4am on weekdays.

Councillors alerted local residents to the application by sending a letter. Lambeth's Licensing Department have received 18 objections, as well as a petition with 24 signatures, ahead of next Tuesday's Licensing Committee meeting.

Councillor Mark Harrison is planning to speak against the application next week. He said:

'Newport Street is a quiet residental street and is not appropriate for a late night club. Noise from the club and its customers risks disturbing residents of Newport Street, Lupino Court, Whitgift Street, and Gabriel House. I'm a supporter of our Vauxhall nighttime economy, but nightclubs can't be allowed to spread into quiet residential areas like this.'

Belated KOV Forum update

The SE11 Lurker has been doing an excellent job writing very detailed updates from last week's KOV Forum, but we thought we had better summarise the main issues from what what was a packed meeting.

Network Rail explained their plans to renovate Vauxhall Railway Station, making it more accessible to people with disabilities and hinting at a possible supermarket in one of the arches.

Brian Dickens from the Sports Action Zone updated the meeting on the activities happening on the Old Lilian Baylis site, and the fact that SAZ have the prospect of accessing around £2M from Communitybuilders funding. The Council's cabinet will be considering a proposal to split the site, handing over ownership of the sports facilities to a trust which will be able to bid for these grants. The split would leave the listed school buildings in the Council's hands.

An officer from Lambeth Council spoke about the Cooperative Council programme. The Cooperative Council Commission is finishing its evidence gathering and will be writing its report about how cooperative principles migth be applied in practice to Lambeth Council. It will report in the New Year, 12 pilot schemes will begin in February, and the Council will formally respond in May.

There was an introduction to the idea of setting up a Business Improvement District for Vauxhall. Currently businesses in Vauxhall are being consulted on the proposal, which would see every business in the area paying a levy to fund additional works and services to make the area better for business. BIDs currently operate in Waterloo and Bankside, as well as many other places across the country.

Finally Councillor Mark Harrison updated the meeting on the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area. The area from Lambeth Bridge to Battersea Power Station has been designated an opportunity area for major development by the Mayor of London. 16000 homes and 25000 new jobs are earmarked for the area. The latest news is that a Strategy Board has been set up to coordinate the project, consisting of the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, Wandsworth Council, Lambeth Council and major Nine Elms landowners. A detailed study into the infrastructure needed by the development, and the amount of money that can be raised from developers, has concluded that the scheme is viable, including the proposal to extend the Northern line to Battersea. Mark asked the meeting how local community groups would want to engage with the new Strategy Board over the coming years.

Pictured: Vauxhall Gardens Community Centre, where the meeting took place.

Thames Tunnel consultation event at Albert Embankment

At the request of local councillor Mark Harrison, Thames Water have organised an additional public consultation event for their plans for the Thames Tunnel and its proposed construction site on the Albert Embankment foreshore.

The Thames Tunnel consultation exhibition will be held on Saturday 6 November (10am - 4pm) at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, 18 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJ(pictured).

The venue is close to two combined sewer overflows, adjacent to Vauxhall Bridge, which the Thames Tunnel needs to intercept.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to ask the project team about any proposed site or any of the tunnel route options.

Councillors will be writing to residents of 93 Albert Embankment to ensure they are aware of the event.

The 'Thames Tunnel' is a massive infrastructure project which will divert sewage from the River Thames.

Currently London's Victorian sewers carry untreated sewage directly into the river whenever there is heavy rain. The proposed Tunnel will run underneath the river, intercepting the sewer overflows and carrying sewage directly to the sewage treatment works in east London.

Building the Tunnel will be massively costly and challenging, and will require many large construction sites along the route of the river.

Unfortunately two 'Combined Sewer Overflows' reach the river at Vauxhall. A construction site will be needed to connect the sewers with the Tunnel.

Thames Water have decided their preferred site is here, on the riverside of Tintagel House and 89 Albert Embankment. (Their non-preferred sites are the riverside of MI6, the riverside of St George Wharf, and a site at Claylands Road in Oval.)

The whole site would need to be used for construction for three years. Thames Water are likely to require some permanent aboveground structures on the site after the construction work has finished. In order to accommodate these structures, they propose to extend the existing river wall to create a new area of hard-standing.

You can download a pdf explaning the proposals for Vauxhall in more detail here

Information on all the construction sites and the consultation process is available at http://www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk/

Vauxhall City Farm and the Cooperative Council

This morning Leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed paid a visit to Vauxhall City Farm to discuss issues affecting charities and voluntary groups, as part of the consultation process on the 'Cooperative Council'.

Along with local councillor Mark Harrison Steve met Farm director Linda Craig and chair Faith Boardman. The councillors learnt a lot about the good work the Farm does, some of the issues it is facing in the future, and how some of ideas in the Cooperative Council white paper might work in practice.

Pictured: Faith Boardman, Mark Harrison, Linda Craig and Steve Reed, next to the chicken coop (co-op?!)

Kennington parents meeting on primary schools

Kennington parents held a passionate and helpful meeting last night in St Anselm's Church on the subject of primary school places.

Parents were concerned that two local schools, Henry Fawcett (pictured) and Vauxhall, had recently been through special measures, and that Archbishop Sumner's is oversubscribed.

In attendance were headteachers from Henry Fawcett and Archibishop Sumner's; Cllr Pete Robbins, Cabinet Member for Children & Young People; Kate Hoey MP; Cathy Twist, Lambeth Council's Assistant Director for Standards; and Mark Harrison, Councillor for Prince's ward and Chair of Lambeth's CYPS Scrutiny Committee.

An important point made at the meeting is that the Council intervened decisively at both Henry Fawcett and Vauxhall, and both schools are now out of special measures and are showing excellent improvements. The Associate Headteacher of Henry Fawcett invited parents to visit the school to see the improvements for themeselves and speak to her and the staff.

There was a strong feeling that Archbishop Sumner's should be expanded. Pete Robbins promised that this would be considered, and expansion onto the site of the Olive School on Oakden Street has not been ruled out. However, the extreme pressure on primary places in the south of the borough means that money for expansion of primary schools has to be focused there over the coming year.

Finally there was a discussion about admissions policy. Lambeth can only follow guidelines on admissions that are set nationally. Parents express a preference, and can't always be guaranteed a school of their choice. An important change this year is that primary admissions will be changed to a London-wide system, so parents can apply for primary schools in other boroughs and are not restricted to one borough.