The Labour Party are facing calls for an investigation into their campaign tactics after a postcard campaign targeted 250,000 women at risk of breast cancer, saying that a Conservative government would scrap two-week specialist referral for suspected breast cancer patients. Apart from being completely untrue, this type of scaremongering is downright shameless.

Locally, too, Labour have been fighting a nasty campaign with one of their candidates in Knights Hill ward putting up a poster in the window of her £400,000 house saying ‘Don’t vote for rich Tory toffs’.

We think that this is all getting a little silly. There are plenty of important issues to campaign on without resorting to these types of petty stunts. The Labour Party has big questions to answer (such as how come Britain has ended up with a £1 trillion national debt!) and they should focus on answering those questions rather than wasting time on irrelevant negative campaigning.

On Monday, Kemi spoke at the Houses of Parliament, addressing the Southwark Pensioners Action Group. Her speech was explaining what the Conservatives will do to improve the lives of pensioners. The meeting was chaired by Tony Farsky, with Deputy Labour Leader, Harriet Harman MP and Simon Hughes MP, the former president of the Liberal Democrats representing their parties.

Some of the issues that Kemi highlighted included:
1. Restoring the link between average earnings and pensions.
2. The shortage of affordable housing for elderly people and pensioners.
3. Conservatives’ plans for the BBC and the licence fee.

“Ensuring pensioners get a fair deal will be a key priority for the
Conservatives,” explained Kemi to an audience of nearly 100 pensioners.

“People should be rewarded not penalised for being responsible and that pensioners
themselves, rather than the state, know best how to manage for their
retirement.”

She also used the opportunity to reject claims that the Conservatives were thinking about taking away the freedom pass from the elderly.

Kemi Adegoke is the Conservative parliamentary candidate for this constituency (Dulwich and West Norwood).  She will be answering your questions at the Constitutional Club, East Dulwich Grove, London, SE22 8PW

Find out more about why Kemi wants to represent Dulwich and what she plans to do for us if elected to Parliament.

This is a fantastic chance to ask her about local and national issues that matter to you. Whether it be on local schools, transport issues or anything else that you want to get off your chest.

Where: Constitutional Club, East Dulwich Grove, London, SE22 8PW

Date: Thursday 25 February

Time: 7:30pm to 9pm

Free security checks are now available to people across Lambeth. A community project has been awarded Home Office funding to provide locksmiths and handy people to install security measures in homes that help improve security and help to prevent burglaries.

In recent months there has been a spike in robberies across the area and we encourage anyone who wants to make their home more secure to take part. The scheme is being run by Help the Aged/Age Concern (now Age UK), but it is available to people of all ages.

For more information, call the Clapham Park Project on freephone 0800 085 2378. The answer phone service will ask for your name, address and contact details. Someone should then call back to give you more details.

If you have any concerns about your safety, the Gipsy Hill Safer Neighbourhood Team are also available to help. CLICK HERE for more details.

A local community group are running a music production course for young people aged between 9 and 19.

The Mixtape Project is being run by the Crystal Palace Community Development Trust and gives young people the opportunity to take part in various workshops that include MCing, vocal recording, DJing and sequencing software producing.

Each day-long workshop is run by CRB-checked youth workers and offers a brief overview that covers:

• Sequencing – A basic audio/midi introduction to sequencing programs
• Sound synthesis – Demonstrating the basis of how to create a track using midi-sequencing
• Sampling/remixing – Cutting, pasting and editing music to create samples and remixes
• Recording techniques – Recording vocals
• Post production techniques
• DJ skills – Beat matching and cueing

There are only a limited number of places available, so contact Andrew for more information on how to apply by telephone (020 7926 2449) or email (agibson@lambeth.gov.uk).

Opposing Labour's plan to put local families at the back of the queue for school places

Extra school places are to be provided from September 2010 at Kingswood Primary School, Gipsy Road.

But Labour-controlled Lambeth has proposed plans to place local children last in the queue for places. Priority will be given instead to residents as far away as Crown Lane and the Streatham borders at the request of their Labour councillor (even though they have a school on Crown Lane).

We oppose Labour Lambeth’s plans for queue-jumping, which discriminate against Gipsy Hill residents.

Under Labour’s plans, places for Kingswood will be allocated as follows:

• Categories 1-3: Special cases, such as a brother or sister already at the school
• Category 4: Children from as far away as Crown Lane/Streatham borders
• Final category: Children who live near the school

A copy of the map is shown below. The shaded part is the ‘priority area’. Notice how Labour has excluded many houses next door to the school in favour of others much further away. PLEASE NOTE: Lambeth Council changed the boundary of the proposed zone on 12 February 2010 and this map is the most recent version.

Labour’s queue-jumping plans are now out for consultation (ends March 1st).  CLICK HERE to download more details from the Lambeth Council website.

The Council has no plans to anyone about this consultation by post. Also, Labour’s election candidates recently put out a letter welcoming Kingswood’s expansion, but – disgracefully – they didn’t tell you about the consultation or that Labour would place this area’s children at the back of the queue.

Sign our petition below against Labour’s bare-faced cheek and leave your comments on these proposals too.

UPDATE: Labour’s MP for Dulwich & West Norwood has been distributing a letter opposing these plans a week after we first alerted residents.  We welcome her support for our campaign and hope that Labour councillors at the Town Hall will see sense and reach the same conclusion.

I’ve just finished delivering a letter around Poet’s Corner, regarding the state of our streets.  It is a follow-up to a street survey we conducted late last year. 

The biggest concern among the local residents who filled out the survey was road safety in Poet’s Corner and surrounding streets.   Being a Railton Road resident myself, I asked the council to take action.

Unfortunately, they refused to address the problem.  There are currently no road safety measures planned for Poets’ Corner, so I’ve put up a petition here, for local residents who agree with us to sign.

Please Support our campaign for Lambeth to investigate Road Safety Measures in Poets’ Corner and Railton Road.

Kemi Adegoke is the Conservative parliamentary candidate for this constituency (Dulwich and West Norwood) which covers Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction.
She will be answering your questions at the Cambria Pub, on Wednesday the 17th of February.

Find out more about why this local resident wants to represent the people of Herne Hill and what she plans to do for us if elected to Parliament. This is a fantastic chance to ask her about local and national issues that matter to you.

A photo of the Cambria, courtesy of Ewan-M at Flickr.

Details

Where: The Cambria Pub, 40 Kemerton Road, London SE5 9AR
Date: Wednesday 17 February
Time: 7:30pm to 9pm

Following our resident survey and a public meeting with parliamentary candidate Kemi Adegoke many of you expressed concern about the amount of dog faeces on our streets.

We have asked Lambeth Council to tackle this issue by putting up fixed penalty signs on the most severely affected streets and robustly enforcing them.

 Research in other London boroughs has indicated that fixed penalty notices are an effective deterrent; reminding irresponsible dog owners that it is against the law to leave dog faeces in public spaces. 

Lambeth’s current response is handing out bags to dog owners, distributing educational information and sending letters to local residents. We believe more can and should be done to address this problem now.

We are demanding that they put fixed penalty signs’ where required, supported by proper enforcement of this law.

We live in Herne Hill and feel it is failing to realise its potential. Dog fouling is just one example of the small scale persistent anti-social behaviour that holds this area back. It is filthy, annoying, and ruins the streets for everyone else.

After a couple of weeks of hard campaigning and early starts handing out surveys at Herne Hill, Tulse Hill and Loughborough Junction stations, I’m really pleased to say that First Capital Connect (FCC) customers using travelcards can now claim the refunds they deserve for the poor service we received in December and January.

It’s great to know that our hard work achieved something. Lots of us in Herne Hill rely on FCC trains to get us to work and where we need to be. We deserve a better service and we deserve the same refunds as First Capital Connect Season Ticket holders when we don’t get that service.

It was great to see that even the CEO accepted that the service they provided was poor. Click here and here to see the letter she sent in response to my original letter of complaint .

Here’s how you can claim your refund -

You can claim if:
- You have a First Capital Connect or Thameslink season ticket
- You have a weekly or monthly Oyster or Travelcard purchased from any FCC train station
- You bought a ticket on a day when there were delays and you still have that ticket

Click here for more information about who can apply for a refund or discount and how to apply.

For all paper tickets, oyster and travelcards, proof of purchase may be required.
If you have a season ticket – click here for the discount refund form or print out and post this form
If you do not have a season ticket – click here for the single journey delay repay claim form

The footpaths under the railway bridge at Norwood High Street are a disgrace.  They are constantly covered in pigeon droppings, which is slippery and unhygienic.

We have asked the council to jet clean the pavements, which they have done.  To tackle the root cause of this problem we have also demanded that the council has Network Rail make the bridge pigeon-free by erecting netting.  The council agrees that this is Network Rail’s respnsibility and have told us:

“The matter has taken longer to resolve than we would have liked or anticipated and we are pressuring for a resolution.  If this does not materialise soon we will consider taking an enforcement stance and present a notice to Network Rail.”

We will press the council to take enforcement action and to have Network Rail pay for this, rather than taxpayers, as the responsibility is theirs.  We will keep residents informed of progress.

For regular local news updates from your local Councillor Action Team visit www.yourgipsyhill.com.

This morning I was at Loughborough Junction train station, delivering more of the surveys I handed out at Herne Hill last night.

After the loss of our weekend trains into Central London and the unbelievably bad service over the last 3 months, many people believe the loss of trains to City Thameslink, Farringdon, St. Pancras and beyond are the last straw.

I am working hard with Conservative Councillors in both Lambeth and Southwark on this issue and the results will be sent to the Mayor of London and the Department of Transport, however we cannot do antyhing without support from local residents and commuters. Please sign our petiton here

Work is scheduled to begin from 25 January on gas pipes along a section of Hamilton Road between the junctions with Clive Road and Gipsy Road.  The works could continue up to the end of March and during that period it will not be possible to enter Hamilton Road from Gipsy Road, but one-way traffic will be able to travel in the opposite direction from Clive Road to Gipsy Road.

The road and pavement on Hamilton Road is in a poor condition and needs  to be resurfaced.  We have been demanding that Lambeth Council makes resurfacing work in this area a priority for several years, particularly with two sheltered housing blocks in the area, but Labour-controlled Lambeth Council continues to neglect Norwood in our view.

When the utility company is digging up the road, this would be an ideal opportunity to get the job done.  We have asked for this to happen and will continue to press officers to make this happen.

If you experience any problems with the utility company during the planned works – for instance, workmen failing to keep the area around their works safe – please get in touch using our contact details above and we’ll do what we can to help.

A copy of the statutory notice published by Lambeth Council is reproduced below.

- – - – - – - – - -

LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 – SECTION 14

TEMPORARY TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS BERRY LANE, HAMILTON ROAD AND GIPSY ROAD

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, to enable gas main replacement works to be carried out, Lambeth Borough Council intend to make an Order the effect of which would be to temporarily:-

(a) ban vehicles proceeding in Gipsy Road entering Hamilton Road (alternative routes for vehicles would be available via (i) Gipsy Road, South Croxted Road, Park Hall Road and Clive Road and vice versa and (ii) Gipsy Road, St Gothard Road, St Cloud Road, Carnac Street and Clive Road and vice versa);

(b) impose one-way working for vehicles in Hamilton Road between the north-eastern kerb-line of Clive Road and the north-western kerb-line of Gipsy Road in a direction from north-west to south-east (towards Gipsy Road);

(c) ban vehicles proceeding in Berry Lane from turning right into Hamilton Road.

2. The bans and one-way working would only apply at such times and to such an extent, as shall be indicated by the placing of appropriate traffic signs.

3. The Order would come into force on 25th January 2010 and would continue for a maximum duration of 3 months, or until the works have been completed whichever is the sooner.

Martin Sachs

Head of Transport and Highways

Carl with a keen gardener on South Croxted Road

The introduction of fortnightly green waste collections last year has been extremely popular with green-fingered residents across our area, encouraging more people to recycle more garden cuttings than ever before.

Carl, Andrew and Suzanne support the current arrangements and were shocked that Lambeth Council won’t guarantee regular collections after April, risking a return to the dark ages when residents had to make an appointment for their bags to be collected.

Carl says: “We need to be encouraging people to recycle more, not making it harder. Scrapping such a popular scheme would be madness – the Council must see sense.”

CLICK HERE to sign our petition and demand that Lambeth doesn’t axe fortnightly green garden waste collections.

For more local news visit www.yourgipsyhill.com

Carl, Kemi and Andrew: Speaking up for local families

Four years of empty promises from Labour Lambeth – only Conservatives can offer new thinking on school places

CLICK HERE to sign our petition for a new primary school for Norwood.

Four years after being elected, Lambeth’s Labour-run Council has failed to confirm the site for a much needed primary school in Norwood.

Carl, Andrew, Suzanne and Kemi say ‘enough is enough’. They are demanding Lambeth Council guarantees a new primary school no later than September 2011 by opening on a temporary site and moving to a permanent location two years later.

Last year, local Conservatives suggested a suitable site close to West Norwood town centre. But Labour-run Lambeth rejected their proposal – preferring a cash and carry instead.

To make matters worse, there is a £10 million black hole in Lambeth’s current plans. Because Labour councillors failed to set aside land for a school the Government has only promised half the money needed for new places. Tory Wandsworth had better plans and secured the full amount.

“Lambeth Labour is letting down local families,” says Suzanne. “A new school could open in 2011, but action is needed
now. Currently many local children are being denied a school place of their choice. Sometimes they aren’t offered a suitable place at all.”

Kemi: We need schools, not a cash and carry

Kemi Adegoke, Norwood’s Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, says: “Lambeth must put children’s education first, but the New Labour MP has failed to speak out against the Council’s failure to get a site for a new school.”

“Conservatives agree with parents: We need to plan ahead and provide space for more schools.”

Nationally, a Conservative Government support schools set up by parents if they wish to do so and remove obstacles that delay them. A parent-run school has already opened in Lambeth at the Elm Green School – a UK “first” – with support from local Conservatives. We want to see more initiatives like this to improve access to schools that reflect local demand.

For more local news visit www.yourgipsyhill.com

The next public meeting of Gipsy Hill Ward’s Safer Neighbourhoods Panel will be taking place on Thursday 28 January 2010 from 7.00pm at Emmanuel Church, Clive Road, London SE21.

The meetings provide an opportunity for residents to discuss crime and community safety issues with the local police team and your local councillors. For instance, last week the Streatham Guardian reported that extra police resources have been located in our area Gipsy Hill to combat a surge in crime after the latest available statistics showed that some 123 crimes took place in Gipsy Hill ward in November last year, compared with 91 in October.

The agenda for next week’s meeting is set out below and we hope to see you there.

1. Introductions

2. Apologies for absence

3. Det. Inspector. Christopher Stanley, Murder Investigation Team – Presentation

4. Minutes of previous meeting –26^th November 2009.

5. Police Report:

a) Ward performance figures;

b) Abstractions;

c) Crystal Palace SNT.

d) Controlled Drinking Zone Enforcement – update

6. Inspector Fallowfield

7. Inspector O’Donnell – Communications

8. Neighbourhood Watch: Information and reports from ward schemes.

9. Conclusion of meeting.

Date of next meeting: 25 February 2010.

Lots of people have complained to me about the chaotic train services from Herne Hill, Tulse Hill and Loughborough Junction stations.

I used to regularly take the train from Herne Hill into central London but had to stop because of
- the non-existent service at the weekend
– the shortage of carriages from the station which meant that several times I was unable to catch a train into work because it was too crowded.

The chaos during the snowy weather in December and January was the last straw and I now make the longer journey to Brixton tube station which is further away but more reliable.
Members of the Conservative Shadow Transport Team are working on this First Capital Connect issue too and an early day motion about First Capital Connect has been signed by 16 Conservative MPs, This morning I sent a letter to the Chief Executive of First Capital Connect (FCC), Mary Grant, requesting a refund for everyone who used the service during these months and not just Thameslink/FCC season ticket holders.

Those of us who buy travel cards because we are continuing our journey after the FCC service, but who rely on the service to get us there from Herne Hill, Tulse Hill and Loughborough Junction stations – should not be denied compensation simply because we buy a travel card. We rely on that service too, suffered the same inconvenience and deserve the same compensation.

Click here to read the letter I sent to Ms. Grant

Lots of people have complained to me about the chaotic train services from Herne Hill, Tulse Hill and Loughborough Junction stations.

I used to regularly take the train from Herne Hill into central London but had to stop because of
- the non-existent service at the weekend
- the shortage of carriages from the station which meant that several times I was unable to catch a train into work because it was too crowded.

The chaos during the snowy weather in December and January was the last straw and I now make the longer journey to Brixton tube station which is further away but more reliable. 
Members of the Conservative Shadow Transport Team are working on this First Capital Connect issue too and an early day motion about First Capital Connect has been signed by 16 Conservative MPs, This morning I sent a letter to the Chief Executive of First Capital Connect (FCC), Mary Grant, requesting a refund for everyone who used the service during these months and not just Thameslink/FCC season ticket holders.

Those of us who buy travel cards because we are continuing our journey after the FCC service, but who rely on the service to get us there from Herne Hill, Tulse Hill and Loughborough Junction stations - should not be denied compensation simply because we buy a travel card. We rely on that service too, suffered the same inconvenience and deserve the same compensation.

Click here to read the letter I sent to Ms. Grant

Please click here to sign our petition against the proposed cuts.

A licensing application was submitted before Christmas by new owners to keep open Scandals night club (formerly Southern Pride) until 5am, Monday to Saturday.

This would have meant continued early morning disturbance to local residents.

Andrew appeared before the Committee and argued that these licensing hours were too late and that the club should close earlier. As a result, the club will now close at 1am Monday to Thursday and 3am Friday and Saturday.

In our view, the weekday times especially are still too late, but the decision is at least a substantial improvement when compared with the original application.

Nowadays, very late-night drinking is more readily available because of the 2003 Licensing Act, introduced ironically by this area’s New Labour MP with a fanfare in the 2001 election campaign when they sent a text message to young voters:

“cdnt give a XXXX 4 lst ordrs? Vote labour on thrsdy 4 xtra time.”

The national Government has implied that it will correct her mistakes but has yet to do so. Meanwhile, we will continue to fight against late-night drinking in residential areas such as this.

Charters Close was one of many areas badly affected during the ‘Big Freeze’ this winter

During the recent ‘Big Freeze’ Carl, Andrew and Suzanne demanded that the Council prioritise streets in Dulwich and Norwood.  With more snow forecast for later today we’ll be monitoring Lambeth’s response.

While the gritting lorries did a better job on the main roads than last winter, several side roads and pavements became ice rinks, making it difficult for people to leave their homes.

Andrew says: “Our hilly terrain and micro-climate mean that icy conditions affect our roads and pavements more severely than areas closer to the city centre.

“It also causes road surfaces to crack and fall apart and Lambeth must make sure that any damaged roads are repaired.”

Get in touch with Carl by email (carlbelgrovegmail.com) or telephone (07900 958348) with details of any pot holes or problems in your street relating to the snow and cold weather.