Politics « SE16.com

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Yesterday Southwark’s cabinet considered a report on the Canada Water regeneration

You can hear the audio of the discussion below. Key points:

Southwark wants to keep its freehold interest in parts of Harmsworth Quays and the shopping centre
Affordable homes to be built as part of the project will be council homes at council rents
A new 8-lane swimming pool could be part of the redevelopment of the Harmsworth Quays site
The council is keeping open the prospect of new schools being built as part of the development
The council wants to realign Surrey Quays Road and could use compulsory purchase orders to achieve this
Southwark is giving in-principle for the ‘Brunel Bridge‘ proposal between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf

listen to ‘Canada Water regeneration at Southwark cabinet’ on audioBoom

Cllr Peter John, Leader of Southwark Council, said today: “I can now confirm we have issued the High Court with an application for a Judicial Review into the Secretaries of State’s decision to approve plans for the super sewer in their current form, because of the devastating impact the work will have on the lives of the thousands of people who live, work and go to school around the proposed Chamber’s Wharf tunnel drive site.

“Our position was supported by the findings of the five individual planning inspectors who, after six months of hearing from experts and residents alike, concluded that using Chambers Wharf as a drive site would have very significant impacts on the lives of residents and that Abbey Mills would be a more appropriate site with far less impact. This point was ignored by the Secretaries of State who did not even consider the alternatives put forward and simply felt the need for the project outweighed our concerns about the way Chambers Wharf was being used.

“We have discussed this with legal counsel and believe we have a strong case, but we are under no illusions, we are very much David taking on Goliath. However, unlike the Secretaries of State, we can not simply ignore the devastating impact this work will have on the people living, working and going to school around Chambers Wharf and we are prepared to take this to court in order to get the best possible outcome for them.”

Barney Holbeche, chair of the Save Your Riverside residents’ campaign group, said: “It is very surprising and disappointing that ministers chose to ignore advice from the planning inspectorate and therefore go against the national policy statement on waste water which states that the tunnel should only be given consent if significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life from noise have been avoided. The credibility of the planning process is in doubt because of this decision on the tunnel and we therefore welcome the decision of Southwark Council to question the legalities of it.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson says he ‘might well’ consider supporting the construction of a bridge across the Thames for pedestrians and cyclists linking Rotherhithe with Canary Wharf.

At Mayor’s Question Time on Wednesday, Lib Dem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon revealed that transport charity Sustrans is to launch a competition for designs for a new bridge.

Ms Pidgeon said that a new bridge could help relieve overcrowding on the Jubilee line.

The Mayor replied: “Please tell [Sustrans] to come in as soon as possible and we’ll have a look at it … I do agree there should be a crossing in that area. Let’s see what they’re proposing.”

Tbe Mayor joked that a catapult across the Thames could be one option.

listen to ‘’Brunel Bridge’ scheme raised at London Assembly meeting’ on audioBoom

Southwark Council leader Peter John has promised to “bring an end to an eyesore” by demolishing three derelict and “pretty grotty” houses on Albion Street.

The council’s cabinet this week agreed to buy the freehold of the houses at 71, 73 and 75 Albion Street for an undisclosed sum.

In her introduction to the cabinet report, Cllr Fiona Colley wrote: “I’m delighted to bring this report today which represents the beginning of the end of the eyesore that is 71-75 Albion Street. With the purchase of the freehold of the properties we will be able to demolish these long empty, derelict homes and build brand new council homes as part of our 11,000 new council homes.

“This site will become another element of the regeneration of Albion Street with projects including more new council homes on the site of the former library and behind the school, the rebuilding and expansion of Albion School, weekly market and regular Scandinavian Markets and the creation of a new public square outside the beautiful Norwegian Church.

“I have every confidence that Albion Street is on the up!”

From a City Hall report published this week, authorising the expenditure of £20,000 on research about broadband connectivity in London (the emphasis is ours):

Investigating the state of London’s connectivity, providing recommendations to address this and then working with providers to improve the service across London is a critical and urgent piece of work. There are significant issues in important inner London locations (including large parts of the City and Westminster) and in several other locations across London (including but not limited to Rotherhithe, Barnet, Bromley, Ealing and Barking and Dagenham). These issues affect small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and residents disproportionately as big businesses can usually afford to pay for their own leased line. The Mayor is passionate about rectifying this issue as quickly as possible. This issue has also recently been highlighted by the Prime Minister.

It’s good to know that City Hall officials are taking the issue seriously.

Southwark Council is to allocate £82,750 towards a feasibility study and consultation on setting up a controlled parking zone (CPZ) for Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays.

A controlled parking zone is an area where all parking is restricted to people who hold permits, vouchers or pay and display tickets. Around half of the borough of Southwark currently falls within a CPZ.

The funding for a CPZ study in Rotherhithe is part of a £1 million package of projects funded by section 106 contributions from developments in the area set to be approved by the council’s planning committee on Tuesday night.

Read the full council report here (PDF).

The council has a guide to how controlled parking zones work on its website.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has indicated that his priority for the cycle hire scheme is adding more docking stations to the existing area before further expansions of the scheme into new parts of London are considered.

Labour London Assembly member Val Shawcross asked the Mayor:

What plans do you have for increasing the coverage of the cycle hire scheme south of the river? Ideally the scheme should come to Surrey Docks, Rotherhithe, go south to Camberwell and Brixton and also take in Clapham. What discussions are TfL having with Southwark and Lambeth Council respectively?

Boris Johnson replied:

The main focus for the cycle hire scheme at present is to identify locations for more ‘intensification’ sites with our borough partners within the footprint of the current scheme. By increasing the density of docking points, particularly in central London, users will have greater opportunity to hire and dock bikes and the redistribution operation will be more efficient.

The most recent expansion of the scheme includes Clapham Junction with nine docking stations at and around the station. There has also recently been three new sites built near Clapham Common Southside.

That said, I view the scheme as an expanding programme and TfL is more than happy to look at suggested sites and areas subject to a range of criteria that must be met for docking station installation. These include topography, operational considerations and available funding.

TfL remains engaged with both Lambeth and Southwark boroughs regarding intensification and any possible future expansion.

Southwark Council has commissioned consultancy firm Atkins to examine potential solutions to the lack of high-speed broadband internet service on the Rotherhithe peninsula.

News of Atkins’ involvement comes in a blog post from London Assembly member Val Shawcross which attempts to draw together the various initiatives currently under way.

From the blog of Riverside Lib Dem councillor Anood Al-Samerai:

I also went along to our ward Safer Neighbourhood police meeting to raise serious concern about the area around Bermondsey tube station. It seems to have become a location for street drinking, begging and littering instead of the proud entrance to our area it should be. The police team agreed this as their priority for the next six weeks, our panel chair (another marvellous local resident) is writing to the Borough Commander and I am also raising the matter with the council.

C10 bus London Assembly member Val Shawcross recently tabled this question to Mayor of London Boris Johnson:

I understand that the C10 has a problem due to traffic in the Rotherhithe area and are working with the operator to resolve it. Can you provide details of what the problem is and what is being done to resolve it?

Boris Johnson replied:

Approximately 6 per cent of trips did not serve the Rotherhithe peninsula in the 12 weeks from 24 May to 15 August 2014 as a result of congestion along Jamaica Road and the Rotherhithe Tunnel area.

To address this, and overall reliability issues, the operator of route C10 (Abellio) and TfL are planning a more robust schedule that is expected to be introduced by the end of the year.

In the meantime, TfL has stressed the importance to the operator of managing the route effectively.

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Category Archives: Politics

Canada Water regeneration at Southwark cabinet

Chambers Wharf – Southwark challenges ‘super sewer’ in ‘David and Goliath’ fight

‘Brunel Bridge’ Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf crossing plans to be revived by Sustrans

Council to demolish Albion Street ‘eyesore’ houses

Boris ‘passionate’ about solving Rotherhithe broadband problem

Council considers controlled parking zone for Rotherhithe & Surrey Quays

Mayor lukewarm about bringing cycle hire to SE16

Rotherhithe broadband: council hires consultants to examine problem

Councillor’s ‘serious concern’ over street drinking, begging and littering at Bermondsey Tube Station

C10 bus: 6 per cent of trips bypassed Rotherhithe peninsula