The Salter Statues Campaign – which led the efforts to restore the stolen statue of Dr Alfred Salter and commission a new statue of Ada Salter on Bermondsey Wall East – was named ‘organisation of the year’ at the Southwark Civic Awards on Saturday.
The Honorary Liberty of the Old Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was awarded to the following:
Paul Charter for 30 years’ service as a school governor.
Georgina Cronin for voluntary activity on the Keeton’s Estate.
Sue Heath-Downey of the Rotherhithe & Bermondsey Choral Society
Brian Hodge of the Canada Water Consultative Forum & broadband campaign
Chris Roberts of St James’s Church and School
John and Marie Skelton of the Salmon Youth Centre
Hulusi Yuruten of the Southwark Cyprus Turkish Association
Kaygu Samye Dzong Tibetan Buddhist Centre of Spa Road
Cllr Fiona Colley and Cllr Stephanie Cryan with Redriff Primary School pupils
11-year-olds in Southwark will be given a helping hand with their finances, thanks to a new Southwark Council initiative, believed to be the first in England.
This spring, every child aged 11 in the borough will be offered the chance to set up their own bank account with the London Mutual Credit Union. All those who do so will find £10 in their account, to help them get their savings under way.
The scheme, which will cost the council £60,000, has been designed to help young people understand the concepts of banking and saving from an early age, giving them the tools to manage their money into adulthood.
Cllr Fiona Colley, cabinet member for finance, strategy and performance, said: “For many of us, opening a bank account was a rite of passage, but there is still a surprising number of people who don’t have a bank account, and who therefore are limited in their options for saving and borrowing.
“This great initiative will encourage young people to think about their finances, to plan for the future, and hopefully avoid the lure of payday lenders as they get older.”
As parents must accompany their children to the credit union to set up an account, it is also an effective way to introduce many adults to the benefits of saving with a credit union. It is estimated that as many as 5 per centof people in the UK have no bank account at all. In a climate where many residents are turning to extortionate payday loans to pay their rent or buy clothes for their children, the council is determined to help residents find positive alternatives.
Cllr Stephanie Cryan, deputy cabinet member for financial inclusion, added: “Southwark Council has been working hard for some time to help alleviate the severe financial problems some of our residents experience, by supporting local food banks, clamping down on payday lenders, and offering short-term financial support.
“However, we wanted to do something more long-term to help nip some of these problems in the bud and help our residents take control of their finances. If we can get people back on their feet financially, not only do we give them confidence but we also reduce their dependence on the council and other services – a real example of invest to save.”
The council has written to the parents of all eligible children to invite them to set up an account and claim their £10. Schools have also been encouraged to teach pupils about personal finance.
Millwall FC manager Neil Harris has endorsed Simon Hughes’s campaign for re-election in Bermondsey & Old Southwark.
Neil Harris said: “Simon Hughes has been a great friend and supporter of Millwall over many, many years – no Member of Parliament could have done more.
“I personally really hope that he will be the Bermondsey & Old Southwark MP again after the election.”
Harris isn’t the only local sporting figure to back Mr Hughes.
Danny Maguire, captain of Fisher FC, said: “Simon has been instrumental in bringing Fisher FC home. As always, he has been fully committed to our community and he recognises the importance of having a local football club back in Bermondsey.
“I will be backing Simon Hughes in the upcoming election. He has been extremely helpful to me in my attempts to get onto the property ladder in Bermondsey and goes above and beyond to serve our community with genuine gratitude.”
Rotherhithe has only had two MPs since 1946 – Bob Mellish from 1946 to 1982 and Simon Hughes since 1983.
This week the area faces its most momentous election in more than three decades when for the first time Simon Hughes defends his record as a member of a party of Government.
Over on our sister website London SE1, James Hatts has interviewed eight of the nine candidates vying for your vote on Thursday 7 May.
This evening St James’s Church – on behalf of Christians for Transformation in Bermondsey & Rotherhithe – hosted a hustings meeting for the Bermondsey & Old Southwark constituency.
Chaired by Julian Kelly of City Hope Church, the panel featured:
Andrew Beadle (UKIP)
Neil Coyle (Labour)
JP Floru (Conservative)
Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat)
William Lavin (Green)
Two further candidates – Steve Freeman (Republican Socialist) and Lucy Hall (independent) – were allowed to make contributions from the floor.
Here’s the full audio of the event:
With thanks to Canon Gary Jenkins and C4T for making this possible.
Councillors have deferred a decision on plans to demolish the Clipper pub in Rotherhithe Street and replace it with a four-storey block of flats .
Planning officer David Cliff told the committee that the current pub building did have “townscape merit” but there were no policy grounds to demand its retention.
The committee heard from nearby residents concerned about the impact of the development on daylight and sunlight to their homes.
Andrew Large of the South East London branch of the Campaign for Real Ale also addressed the committee to argue that Rotherhithe has already lost many community (non-tourist) pubs and that – contrary to the planning officers’ assertion – the law does offer safeguards to protect pubs from demolition or conversion to other uses.
Architect Laurence Mineham said his proposal would provide “a high-quality and sustainable mixed-use development” with “much-needed new homes”.
He explained that planning officers had encouraged him to adopt a traditional design for the new flats reflecting the character of local wharves and warehouses.
Mr Mineham said that the existing Clipper building was an example of a ‘pattern book pub’ built to a standard brewery design.
Under questioning, Mr Mineham said that in his experience Enterprise Inns (previous owner of the Clipper) would not sell a pub if it was making money.
Cllr David Hubber said that when he was first elected in Surrey Docks ward there were 12 pubs but there are now five.
“It would be a great pity to see this building go, because it does have local value,” he said.
Cllr Hubber was also critical of the design of the new building which he said had been put together to ensure maximum profit for the developer.
At a midnight session of planning sub-committee B, councillors decided to put a decision on hold to allow them to make a site visit.
A final decision is likely to be made in the summer.
