Collective Punishments on Lambeth Citizens
Our long suffering citizens are being lined up for yet more punishment from our masters. First, our secondary schools are being starved of resources, except for a handful of institutions favoured by the 'Blair Babes' running the education service. One angry secondary school headteacher, who I interviewed last Friday, described some of our Council's officers as "incompetent" and told how she'd been hectored by a Labour councillor who told her Lambeth had no need for more faith-based school places, but needed more places for the children of the middle classes. The particular school in question is much favoured by parents from all walks of life especially our black community and has eight applications for every place. It is not likely to get any resources under the so-called Building Schools for the Future programme until 2009. Some of the metrics used here have been changed to protect the innocent from reprisals.
In the Shrek movies, they had a particular name for the 'Blair Babe' fantasists in our Town Hall who think church schools are unpopular - 'the land of far far away'. But in the meantime, our customer friendly Comrades have been lining up collective punishments for those areas in the south of the borough that don't vote Labour at local elections. Gone is the proposed GB pounds 500,000 in Norwood lesiure facilities. Cut is the proposed GB pounds 1.387 million investment at the Vale Street recycling site, a popular facility that badly needs a makeover to keep local people satisfied about its green credentials. Slashed is GB pounds 500,000 of investment in street wardens and cut to GB pounds 100,000 are the budgets for the area committees which are especially well attended in Norwood and Streatham.
Hardly any of these proposed 'deletions' from the budget have any impact on Brixton or Vauxhall, but motorists everywhere are not going to escape unscathed. Not only are there plans for differential charging based on the size of engines, but there are strong indications, leaked to Conservative members by some of our more upstanding officers, that the GB pound 60 parking permit will have its price at least doubled and perhaps put up even more. Our people are told that this will be offset by improvements in the parking service where courtesy and fairness are now the proper way of working. Yet only the other day I received a letter from a woman in Deronda Road who says she lived in Czechoslovakia under Communism. The sight of a marauding pack of traffic wardens (they operate in threes like buses) makes her wonder whether they are coming to get her or a neighbour. It can only be a matter of time before everyone is hammered.
In the Shrek movies, they had a particular name for the 'Blair Babe' fantasists in our Town Hall who think church schools are unpopular - 'the land of far far away'. But in the meantime, our customer friendly Comrades have been lining up collective punishments for those areas in the south of the borough that don't vote Labour at local elections. Gone is the proposed GB pounds 500,000 in Norwood lesiure facilities. Cut is the proposed GB pounds 1.387 million investment at the Vale Street recycling site, a popular facility that badly needs a makeover to keep local people satisfied about its green credentials. Slashed is GB pounds 500,000 of investment in street wardens and cut to GB pounds 100,000 are the budgets for the area committees which are especially well attended in Norwood and Streatham.
Hardly any of these proposed 'deletions' from the budget have any impact on Brixton or Vauxhall, but motorists everywhere are not going to escape unscathed. Not only are there plans for differential charging based on the size of engines, but there are strong indications, leaked to Conservative members by some of our more upstanding officers, that the GB pound 60 parking permit will have its price at least doubled and perhaps put up even more. Our people are told that this will be offset by improvements in the parking service where courtesy and fairness are now the proper way of working. Yet only the other day I received a letter from a woman in Deronda Road who says she lived in Czechoslovakia under Communism. The sight of a marauding pack of traffic wardens (they operate in threes like buses) makes her wonder whether they are coming to get her or a neighbour. It can only be a matter of time before everyone is hammered.
Labels: Area Committees, Education, Leisure, Parking permits, Parking wardens, Play areas, School places, Street wardens
posted by Cllr John Whelan on Monday, November 27, 2006
10 Comments:
The cuts to the Vale street budget, and to the Norwood budget, are a disgrace. Why won't our local MP stand up for this area? Why do Labour hate Norwood!
By
Anonymous on 8:34 AM, November 29, 2006
Thank you for the updates through the letterbox - two in one week down Carnac Street. I appreciate it. I received a letter from Tessa Jowell, which made no mention of the dustcarts - but for those who live near the site, that is the main issue.
By
Anonymous on 1:48 PM, November 29, 2006
Tessa Jowell claimed credit for gaining money for the MUGA - but residents had already won that money through the Lambeth Opportunities Fund.
Cllr Steve Reed, Lambeth Labour leader, claimed credit for "saving" the MUGA, despite the fact that it was only his Council that put it under threat.
Neither mention the dustcarts in their letters to residents and ocal papers because they know what is happening - Labour is dumping on Norwood again.
By
Cllr Andrew Gibson on 1:52 PM, November 29, 2006
If the Labour councillors knew the area, they would not consider putting HGVs here. The buses were bad enough years ago. This is a residential area - narrow roads, a school, a tight bus run. MADNESS!
Taxi Driver
By
'Taxi Driver' on 1:56 PM, November 29, 2006
Their behaviour over Vale Street is appalling. As usual, Jowell toes the party line rather than standing up for residents.
By
Anonymous on 3:33 PM, November 29, 2006
It is nuts to put heavy vehciles back in Vale St. In one direction you have a sharp bend at St Gothards Road. In the other direction you have a sharp bend at the Elm Wood school entrance. In the other direction you have bends and residential areas along Hamilton and Clive roads. How will these trucks get out of the area?!
By
Hamilton Road on 11:48 AM, November 30, 2006
We have now heard that the temporary MUGA is likely to close in early January. There are lots of promises flying about about putting up a new one, but that won't be for years and years - if it happens at all. As someone else says, Labour seem to hate Norwood. I am not sure what Labour they mean when they say they have 'saved' the MUGA. They don't seem to have 'saved' it at all.
By
Anonymous on 12:23 PM, December 01, 2006
Did anyone see Tessa Mills' letter in the SLP today? Smarmy and mis-informed or not. But as Cllr Pycock said in another letter, does she oppose the dustcarts or not?!
By
Parky on 1:05 PM, December 01, 2006
I have just received a newsletter from Knights Hill Conservatives. This is the first I had heard of the dustcarts and there impact on Knights Hill. Why weren't we told about this earlier by our own councillors? Where are they?!
By
M Khan, Tivoli Rd on 10:49 AM, December 04, 2006
How can doubling the cost of parking permits be in line with the promise made by Labour during the election to make parking fairer?
By
Anonymous on 6:15 PM, December 06, 2006
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