Friends of Larkhall Park AGM - 16th March 2009

The Friends of Larkhall Park are holding their Annual General Meeting at 7pm on 16th March 2009, at Courland Grove Baptist Church Hall (on Courland Grove, funnily enough: MAP).

Members and users are all welcome to attend - more details, and copies of the Larkhall Park masterplan, are available on their website.

Cllr Robbins took the pictures above and below after the snow hit in February - it should be warmer on the night of the AGM.

Larkhall Safer Neighbourhoods Panel - next meeting 11th March 2009

The next meeting of the Larkhall Ward Safer Neighbourhoods Panel will take place on Wednesday 11th March at 7pm in St Johns Church, Clapham Road SW4.

The Safer Neighbourhoods Panel, which consists of local Larkhall resident representatives, meets every three months to discuss local policing issues and to decide what priorities the local Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team are to follow for the next quarter of the year.

The Chair of the Panel, Toby Riley-Smith, is very keen to involve as many local people as possible, and is encouraging new residents to attend.

The Larkhall Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team are all based at the Clapham Police Station in Union Grove and spend all of their time tackling issues in Larkhall ward. The officer in charge of the Team is Sergeant Graham Williamson.

The Team is a permanent fixture in Larkhall, not a 'quick fix' brought in to respond to local changes in crime and disorder. They have been working in Larkhall ward since 2006. The Team’s priorities are decided by the ward’s Safer Neighbourhoods Panel, who put forward their three top local priorities for local officers to tackle.

The picture above shows the Larkhall councillors on an estate walkabout with PCSO's from the Larkhall Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

Fruit and veg to your door - for Larkhall ward residents

Local social enterprise Aardvark is now providing a doorstep delivery service of fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables – at affordable prices - to people living in Larkhall ward.

Aardvark get their fruit and veg from environmentally aware farms that are close to London. This way you get the best UK seasonal produce, whilst supporting local farmers.

With the support of Well London, a Big Lottery funded initiative, they are focusing their services in the Larkhall area offering residents fantastic deals when they choose our fruit and veg boxes. They are also supporting local groups to raise awareness of healthy eating in the Larkhall area. Giving out vouchers to residents and donating one of our boxes a week to community cook and eat courses run by Sports Action Zone: ‘Cooking for Your Family’ and ‘Healthy Eating and Weight Loss’.

If you live in Larkhall ward and you are interested in having a fruit and veg box delivered to your home, or you are a community group interested in setting up a delivery for your users, give Aardvark a call on 0845 337 2939 or visit http://www.aardvarkrecycling.org.uk/

Lambeth young people elect new Youth Mayor for 2009

Lambeth's young people have elected Samuel Manley to be their new Youth Mayor.

The 18-year-old, who lives in the borough, but attends Lewisham's Prendergast Hilly Fields College, won a fiercely contested election. He will supported by deputy mayor, 12-year-old Emmanuel Adepoju from Archbishop Tennison School, in Kennington.

At a glittering ceremony on 27 February, Andrew Short, 15, was elected the borough's representative on the UK Youth Parliament. His deputy is Ify Ossai, 18.

Entertainment at the event, attended by Leader of Lambeth Council, Councillor Steve Reed, included Lambeth dance troupe the Stylinquents, and local actor and musician Arnold Oceng.

New youth mayor, Samuel, said: "Today I aspire to be Youth Mayor for Lambeth - tomorrow I aim to inspire our future young generation to stand up and be positive and influential role models."

Lambeth Labour introduced the Youth Mayor in 2008, and it has been extremely successful, despite being branded as a 'gimmick' by the Lib Dems. This year’s Youth Mayor Elections attracted the votes of over 5000 local young people.

The Youth Mayor acts as spokesperson for young people in Lambeth and provides a link between the young people, media, decision-makers and service-providers. The Youth Mayor is responsible for allocating £25,000 in funding to projects designed for and run by local young people. The Youth Mayor will also work in partnership with other members of Lambeth Youth Council to highlight and campaign on issues which are important to local people.

Read more at http://www.youthmayor4lambeth.com/

Work beginning on Larkhall 20mph zone - victory for local campaigning

Local Labour councillors have been campaigning for better road safety measures in Larkhall ward - and their hard work has paid off, with work beginning this month. 20 mph zones help reduce road deaths and accidents, and Larkhall Labour councillors have been pushing for all local residential roads to be included.

Cllr Neeraj Patil is delighted that the work is to begin: "We lobbied very hard for a 20mph zone in our ward. Many residents had complained about the speed of traffic and noise pollution due to the traffic, especially along Union Road and Guaden Road. We submitted a petition to Lambeth Council calling for action, and we're delighted that they have listened to our arguments. We look forward to work beginning very soon."

After consulting with local residents, Lambeth have agreed to install 15 sets of sinusoidal humps and speed cushions, along with extra signage at key junctions, to reduce the speed of the vehicles along many of the roads between Clapham Road and Wandsworth Road.

Roads covered by the zone include Union Road, Gauden Road, Chelsham Road, Bromfelde Road, Sibella Road, Larkhall Rise, Jeffreys Road, Kelman Close, Albion Avenue, Smedley Street, Union Grove and Killyon Road.

Older persons group for Clapham and Stockwell

ARE YOU OVER 60?? Do you want to meet new people? And have fun in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere?

Then why not come and join the… ST JOHNS SENIOR CITIZENS PROJECT!

TUESDAYS - 10.30 am to 12.30 pm

THURSDAYS - 1.00 pm to 4.00pm

Everybody Welcome! Just £1 per session

St Johns Community Development Project, 386 Clapham Rd, SW9 9AR (Click here for map)

Includes….trips, holidays, chair aerobics, singing, dancing, socialising, discussions, theatre, meals out, board games, bingo, raffles ,and refreshments!!

For further information ring ROZ or MARIE on 0207 978 2878

Community Buildings in Stockwell - a workshop for community organisations

A workshop and learning event for Stockwell organisations on

Community Buildings in Stockwell

How can we improve our buildings?
How can we work together more?
Can we get funds?
Can we share some of the management tasks?
Are there common issues we should work together on?

Monday March 23rd 2009
12.00- 14.00 (lunch provided)

Springfield Community and Medical Centre – 110 Union Road.
The venue is fully accessible

Sean Creighton – researcher and author of the recent major study of the Community Buildings in Stockwell - will be leading this workshop which is hosted by the Stockwell Partnership.

Everyone who runs or is responsible for a community building in Stockwell is invited to join this workshop. Those who have projects they would like to run in partnership with community building organisations are also welcome.

Participants are asked to bring with them an A4 sheet setting out news of recent developments, plans, and activities to share with each other.

Through small group discussions the emphasis of this workshop will be on reaching agreement on which recommendations in the report, and which priorities, can be agreed as a basis for continuing joint working to strengthen all the community building organisations in Stockwell.

The full report evaluating Stockwell Community Buildings, and just the Executive Summary and Recommendations are available by email from Stockwell Partnership. Photocopies of the Executive Summary and Recommendations are also available on request to the office.

Please let us know if you are coming by emailing Info@stockwell.org.ukor call into the office at 157 South Lambeth Road Tel; 0207 735 5051 or calling into the office.

Community groups leading Stockwell’s future

Stockwell Partnership are holding a workshop and learning event for Stockwell organisations on

The Stockwell Neighbourhood Action Plan

and the

Future Stockwell Framework

Monday March 16th 2009

12.00- 14.00 (lunch provided)

at the

Springfield Community and Medical Centre at 110 Union Road
The venue is fully accessible

Come and hear about the Stockwell Neighbourhood Action Plan and discuss how community organisations can work together to plan the services that people need and the projects to make Stockwell an even better place to live.

See how Stockwell organisations can support each other to run more activities and deliver more services.

Hear about the Future Stockwell Framework, update each other about your work and see if there are any other projects that you would like to see or your group could be running.

Please let us know if you would like copies of the documents or their summaries and if you are coming by emailing Info@stockwell.org.uk or call into the office at: Stockwell Partnership, 157 South Lambeth Road Tel; 0207 735 5051.

Lambeth Labour councillors back council tax freeze

Cllrs Pete Robbins, Raj Patil and Tina Valcarcel, Labour councillors for Larkhall ward, have voted to freeze Lambeth’s council tax for the next two years.

At Lambeth's annual budget meeting, Labour councillors voted through their plan to ensure there would be no increase in your council tax this year or next. The two-year freeze is a stark contrast with the 40% council tax hike forced through by the Lib Dems and their Tory allies while they were running Lambeth before 2006.

With the credit crunch hitting local households, Labour is determined to help in every way we can. We know that keeping council tax bills down will help. After tonight’s vote, Lambeth now has the sixth lowest council tax out of the 33 London boroughs. Even better, we’ve been able to freeze council tax without the vicious cuts to services seen in Lib Dem and Tory-run boroughs this year.

So how has Labour done this? Freezing council tax, protecting frontline services, and investing in more and better services all at the same time is quite an achievement. Quite simply, it’s because we’ve managed the council’s finances much better than the Lib Dems did. They put council tax up 40%, costing every household an extra £1000, but at the same time they cut services and left the council with zero financial reserves. People paid more but got less – that’s the Lib Dems for you.

With Labour back in charge since 2006, we’ve cut out the Lib Dem waste and reduced the council’s overheads by £35 million. That’s meant more money to put into frontline services and keep council tax bills down.

When we were elected three years ago we promised Larkhall residents that we would give residents a council that’s 'on your side'. At the budget meeting, we made that promise real.

Lunch clubs for older people will open in every town centre. Youth clubs will have their opening times extended to seven days a week. There’s more money to help people through the recession with better debt advice, benefits take-up, advice to keep fuel bills low, and training to get people back to work faster. There are no service cuts. And there is a two-year council tax freeze. Amazingly, the Lib Dems AND the Tories VOTED AGAINST the freeze. How’s that for the difference voting Labour can make?

Lambeth Labour back free travel for the elderly

Lambeth has secured a deal to allow older residents free travel on most buses, tubes and trains 24 hours a day – a deal guaranteed until 2015. The extension to the council-funded Freedom pass scheme was agreed as part of a five year deal negotiated between London’s councils and Transport for London.

Each year Lambeth pays Transport for London and rail operators in the capital to allow older and disabled residents to use their services free of charge. For 2009/10 Lambeth will pay £5,877,576 to give 32,196 elderly and disabled residents free travel.

At a meeting of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee Lambeth along with their fellow Labour boroughs, voted to extend the free travel scheme for elderly people.

Cllr Raj Patil said: "The Freedom Pass is almost entirely funded by London councils like Lambeth and from extra grants from the Labour government. We are pleased to be part of a scheme that continues to benefit thousands of elderly and disabled residents in the borough.”

Open letter to Lambeth Living tenants from your local councillors

We will soon be writing to everyone living in a council property in Larkhall ward. This is what we will be writing:


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 has 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 or housing association 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,

Pete Robbins, Raj Patil and Tina Valcarcel
Labour Councillors for Larkhall ward