NUNHEAD AND PECKHAM RYE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MINUTES of the Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council held on Wednesday 11 May 2011 at 7.00 pm at John Donne Primary School, Woods Road, London SE15 2SW

PRESENT: Councillor Victoria Mills (Chair) Councillor Mark Glover (Vice-Chair) Councillor Sunil Chopra Councillor Fiona Colley Councillor Rowenna Davis Councillor Gavin Edwards Councillor Renata Hamvas Councillor Althea Smith

OTHER MEMBERS Councillor Barrie Hargrove (Cabinet Member for Transport, PRESENT: Environment and Recycling)

OFFICER Tom Buttrick (Planning Enforcement Officer) SUPPORT: Marian Farrugia (Neighbourhood Co-ordinator Nunhead and Peckham) Nadine James (Community Council Development Officer David Sole (Parking Services & Development Manager Alison Squires (Planning Policy Team Leader) Gerald Gohler (Constitutional Officer)

1. INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME

The chair welcomed councillors, members of the public and officers to the meeting, and extended a special welcome to the newly-elected member for The Lane ward, Councillor Rowenna Davis.

2. APOLOGIES

There were apologies for absence from Councillor Nick Dolezal.

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3. DISCLOSURE OF MEMBERS' INTERESTS AND DISPENSATIONS

There were none.

4. ITEMS OF BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIR DEEMS URGENT

There were none.

5. MINUTES

RESOLVED:

• That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2011 be amended, as follows:

o The references to the location of the disused public toilets to read “East Dulwich Road”, rather than “Nunhead Lane”

o Page 10, third bullet point of the second list to read: “Council officers working together with all parties and groups who have an interest in Peckham town centre.“

• That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2011, including the above amendments, be agreed as a correct record of that meeting, and signed by the chair.

There was a discussion about joined-up working in Peckham town centre. The meeting was told that the Regeneration and Leisure Scrutiny Sub-Committee was looking into this issue, and would be reporting back soon. Councillors were broadly supportive of the principle of the council adopting a joined-up approach for working with businesses, residents and other stakeholders in the town centre around day to day issues.

The chair fed back the following update from Nicky Costin, Road Network, Parking and Marina Business Manager, regarding the road works in Rye Lane:

As part of the Thames Water Victorian Mains Replacement Programme (VMR), Thames Water carried out substantial surveys of the water mains in Rye Lane to establish the condition of the mains. Thames Water identified Rye Lane as a high risk area for water leaks and added it to its London Programme. Due to the poor condition of the water mains in Rye Lane and the possibility of the mains breaking, Thames Water took the decision to put Rye Lane at the head of the new Programme. It was originally planned for Thames Water to start the replacement works first, but once funding had been approved for London Borough to re-surface Rye Lane, it was decided, by both The London Borough of Southwark and Thames Water, that to minimize disruption and to ensure the re-surfaced carriageway would not have to be dug up once re-surfacing had been completed, the water mains replacement would continue after the resurfacing works. A joint letter was sent out to all businesses in the area on or around the 18th March detailing the progress of the works and informing of the works that are still to be completed at the junction of

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Heaton Road. These works are expected to be completed by 31 May 2011 .

Approvals in place As a Statutory Undertaker, Thames Water has the Statutory Right to remove, retain and replace their apparatus within the public highway under The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. The correct Noticing Procedures were adhered to under the Specification for the Electronic Transfer of Notices (EToN) and the works were co ordinated with the L.B.Southwark Street Works team and Highways Department.

Future approach Where collaborative working can be used in the future, London Borough of Southwark will strive to do so. All works durations are monitored by L.B. Southwark Street Works team and we will continue to do so and where we feel works are unduly delay, we will challenge the duration of these works . All re-surfacing works on Rye Lane are now completed; however funding has been secured to allow us to carry out some minor footway improvements which are expected to be completed by the end of May.

Thames Water has completed all the mains replacement from Hanover Park to the junction of Heaton Road. There is a section of main that crosses Heaton Road which still to be laid. The reason for the delay on this section is due to the logistic of crossing a 4 way junction with minimal impact on the road network. 3 Way Temporary Traffic Signal are in place controlling traffic at the moment, although full traffic flows have been maintained.

ACTION: Officers to identify a single point of contact for residents and businesses to contact about issues in Peckham town centre.

ACTION: Nunhead and Peckham Rye councillors to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Regeneration Scrutiny Committee on Peckham town centre at a future meeting.

6. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

The chair informed the meeting of the sad passing of the Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Tayo Situ. She said the Community Council would like to express their condolences, and that his passing would be a great loss to the council and to the people of Southwark.

The chair went on to inform the meeting that the next themed debate at council assembly would be in July and on sport and young people. The July themed debate would provide an opportunity for residents to voice their opinions. To allow councillors to receive feedback and views from the community, residents and young people, the council would be holding meetings with young people, debates at community councils and various community forums events to discuss the issues. People were encouraged to keep an eye on the website for further information at www.southwark.gov.uk/democracy

Marian Farrugia, Neighbourhood Co-ordinator Nunhead and Peckham, informed the 3

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meeting that the application process for this year’s Community Council Fund was now open and that groups could apply for grants of £100 to £1000 for non-capital projects, such as events and fun days. The closing date was 16 May 2011. The chair encouraged residents to apply if they had any events in mind which required funding.

7. DEPUTATIONS/PETITIONS (IF ANY)

There were none.

8. METROPOLITAN POLICE PUBLIC ACCESS REVIEW / COMMUNITY SAFETY UPDATE

Superintendent Cheryl Burden informed the meeting about the current Public Access Review consultation which was aimed at finding out how the public preferred to contact the police. The consultation asked residents about the minimum service standards they expected, whether the draft service criteria were right, and which channels of communication they would like to use. The propsal was to have a minimum of one 24/7 front counter in each borough, close to public transport and with good disabled access. The facilities would also meet the needs of those residents whose first language was not English, and of vulnerable people who had been victims of crime. Further information about the consultation and the survey was available on www.met.police.uk until 27 May 2011.

In answer to questions from the floor, the superintendent responded that there was no baseline data, as this was the first time such an exercise had been conducted. There was some footfall data for the counters, on which the draft proposals had been based. The counters in Peckham and Walworth were Southwark’s busiest, but only 12% of visitors reported crime there. 44% of people who came to the two station attended appointments. She reminded the meeting that in an emergency, people should call 999.

Concerns were raised that the plans represented a reduction from six counters in the borough to one, and that one 24hr counter in the borough was not enough. The meeting also heard that:

• the discussion about these proposals should be conducted with transparency, especially in view of the budget situation faced by the police • not all residents had access to electronic means of getting in touch with the police • the survey was repetitive • the idea of meeting the police away from a police station was welcomed, although the system was not widely known and needed to be promoted more widely.

An attendee thanked the police conducting this pre-consultation before the start of the consultation proper.

Superintendent Burden explained that the cost of operating the counters across London was about £27m per year, and that an appointment system was operating in Walworth and Peckham, with a total of eight to ten hours of appointments given each day. The police would seek to improve the communication with Southwark residents. 4

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The chair thanked Superintendent Burden for attending, and reminded the meeting that the local Safer Neighbourhoods teams usually attended community councils, and conducted a surgery before the meeting.

9. UPDATE FROM THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT SUBGROUP

Councillor Gavin Edwards gave a brief update about the last meeting of the traffic and transport subgroup. The main issues which had been discussed at the meeting were:

1. Buses speeding down Cheltenham Road and Ivydale Road which damaged the road surface and houses. This was flagged up to council officers and it was hoped that the road will be repaired soon.

2. At the junction of Friern Road and Peckham Rye traffic was now very busy. This was partly because of the new Harris Academy site now being open. The group had discussed options of how to deal with this increase in traffic, including a temporary closure of the junction. This would have to be reviewed in light of the traffic flows.

10. QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION - ENVIRONMENT, RECYCLING, TRANSPORT AND CEMETERIES

The chair welcomed Councillor Barrie Hargrove to the meeting.

Councillor Hargrove gave an overview of his portfolio which comprised the following areas:

• Public realm – including highways, parking, parks and open spaces, tree management and air quality management • Sustainable services – including waste management, street cleaning, carbon reduction and climate change • Transport planning – for example, the Local Implementation Plan schemes funded by the Mayor of London, and lobbying and representing residents at Transport for London about public transport issues

Councillors asked the following questions of Councillor Hargrove:

• Whether parking charges in Peckham town centre could be reviewed. Shops needed to attract customers in light of the economic downturn

• Whether the negotiations around parking permits for users of the mosque could be speeded up

• Whether a request by shopkeepers in Rye Lane for more disabled parking bays could be looked into

• Whether the council could look at introducing a maximum time limit of 30 minutes for parking around the shops in Bellenden Road during the day, to stop commuters blocking the parking spaces which shoppers could use. 5

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Councillor Hargrove responded that he would be happy to look at possible changes in the parking charges, but reminded the meeting that Southwark’s grant allocation had been cut substantially. There were, therefore, budget constraints on how much the charges could be varied. He would get the parking department to look into the issue of parking permits for the mosque, and was happy to look into the request for more disabled bays in Rye Lane. In terms of the 30min parking restrictions in Bellenden Road, this would also be looked at and local business and residents would be consulted.

ACTION : David Sole to report back to a future community council meeting on the progress around parking permits for visitors to the mosque.

Councillors and residents raised the following issues:

• Security cameras were needed on the corner of Parkstone Road and Rye Lane to combat the drug dealing. The Lane councillors said that they would take this up with the cabinet member responsible.

• Dumped rubbish at the back of the shops in Rye Lane. The chair said that the environmental enforcement team had been invited to the next meeting, to present an update and to listen to concerns.

• Problems with the 343 and 484 buses being delayed on Cheltenham Road and Ivydale Road, or turned early around at Peckham Rye. The chair said that Peckham Rye councillors were working on this. Councillor Edwards fed back the that councillors were trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting with the company which ran the 484. A community speed watch would be put in place, in which residents would be issued with speed guns and could report back to the police. A resident said the fact that cars were now allowed to park on both sides of the road in Nunhead Lane and Ivydale Road caused buses to be delayed. There was a discussion about whether there was increasing residential density in the area, and whether it was the cause of these problems.

• Large recycling bins on estates boundaries were not always emptied, and seemed to duplicate recycling collection in the clear plastic bags. Councillor Hargrove responded that these ‘bring sites’ should be emptied regularly to make recycling easy for residents. The sites had been put in to help people recycle even more, not to replace the clear plastic bags which were very popular.

• Traffic calming measures in Pomeroy Street and Montague Square which caused the traffic to back up. The meeting heard that the council had taken the measures to limit the amount of parking to combat the traffic congestion. Councillor Smith said she had done a walk about with Transport for London (TfL) in Clifton Street and Pomeroy Street areas, and said she would report back. Councillor Colley said that she and Councillor Hargrove regularly met with their counterparts in Lewisham, in order to discuss cross border issues.

• Food recycling on estates. Councillor Hargrove responded that this it was currently being piloted in 10,000 homes, and to be extended to up to 40,000 street properties in the future, and eventually to housing estates. This kind of recycling

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was more difficult on estates, but it would also be looked into.

• Burial space in the borough. Councillor Hargrove responded that the council had launched a consultation strategy on this issue. Burial space would start running out in the next few years. The council would consult people on options on how to move this forward. He encouraged people to participate in the consultation.

The chair thanked Councillor Hargrove for attending.

11. ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT AND PLANNING ENFORCEMENT UPDATES

Tom Buttrick, Planning Enforcement Officer, introduced the written feedback about recent planning enforcement activity which had been distributed as part of the agenda pack.

In answer to a question from councillors, Tom responded that 40 Queens Road had been served enforcement notices, and that council officers were now dealing with family members of the owner, on account of the owner currently being in prison. Officers would continue to pursue this matter.

Residents asked the following questions:

• Whether any planning applications had been put in for the vacant site next to the council’s housing office in Bournemouth Road. Tom said he would check with his colleagues in the council’s planning department and report back.

• Why the bike sheds for Rye Hill Estate funded through Cleaner Greener Safer needed planning permission, when BT Boxes did not. Tom responded that certain types of development had pre-approved planning permission. This applied to BT boxes. They only required a notification by BT, upon which council officers would check whether the plans were permitted and whether they would cause a problem.

• What the statute of limitation on illegal changes to buildings was. Tom explained that breaches of planning regulations on residential properties received automatic permission after four years; and breaches of the ‘use categories’ for non-residential properties after 10 years.

A resident praised the work of the enforcement team for following up on reports made, and keeping residents informed about the enforcement action. The chair asked Tom to come back to future meetings for further updates.

ACTION: Planning officers to provide feedback on the vacant site next to the council’s housing office in Bournemouth Road.

ACTION: Planning officers to provide an update on the application for bike sheds on Rye Hill estate.

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12. CHARGES FOR RESIDENTIAL PARKING BASED ON CO2 EMISSIONS

David Sole, Parking Services & Development Manager, explained that his team were consulting community councils on a proposal to base residents’ on-street parking charges on their vehicles CO2 emissions. The proposal tied in with Southwark’s commitment to promote sustainable forms of transport and to reduce levels of air pollution resulting from road transport. David presented the two options:

Option 1 was an across the board increase for all residents’ permits. This would mean the cost of a residents parking permit will increase from £99.30 to £125.

Option 2 consisted of charging motorists for permits based on CO2 emissions, and engine size, if the vehicle pre-dates 2001. This meant cheaper permits for residents with low emission vehicles and higher charges for cars that emit more CO2. With this option 47% of car owners would be paying less for their permit than the Option 1 flat rate of £125. The scheme would be based on the DVLA Model with 6 bands. Vehicles which pre-dated 2001 would be charged on the vehicles cubic capacity. Vehicles of CC less than 1600 will pay less than option 1. With this option 42% of car owners would be paying less for their permit than the Option 1 flat rate of £125. Vehicles of CC more than 1600 would pay more.

David invited people’s views on the options. These would be fed back to the cabinet member for consideration.

Responding to questions, David explained no figures were available which would give information about the effectiveness of the CO2 based permit schemes, as these had only been introduced fairly recently. The DVLA had started basing road tax bands on emissions nine years ago, and there had been a general trend away from high emissions vehicles. He went on to explain that while there was no exemption built into the proposals, people who were blue badge holders did, in most cases, not require a parking permit and would, therefore, not be affected by the change.

Councillors discussed the two options.

RESOLVED:

That the Community Council endorses the introduction of an emissions-based scheme, on the condition that disabled residents whose cars have a larger engine will not have to pay increased charges.

13. RESIDENTIAL DESIGN STANDARDS / PECKHAM AND NUNHEAD AREA ACTION PLAN

Alison Squires, Planning Policy Team Leader, informed the meeting that there was currently a consultation about the updated Residential Design Standards Planning Guidance underway. The document was aimed at ensuring that there was good, high quality design in the borough. One of the changes proposed was a 10% increase in minimum home sizes (compared with the planning guidance already in place). She

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encouraged people to participate via the council’s website or by filling in one of the forms she had brought along. Councillors said they were pleased that the larger home sizes featured in the document. This had originally been added to the council’s core strategy, but had been deleted by the Planning Inspector.

Alison went on to explain that the Peckham and Nunhead Area Action Plan, was now in its ‘preferred option’ consultation phase. The consultation document was on the website for the next 12 weeks. She asked to come back to the September meeting to report back. The chair said councillors were keen to have the Peckham and Nunhead Area Action Plan on the agenda at a future meeting.

14. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

There were no public questions.

15. LOCAL PARKING AMENDMENTS

Executive Function

RESOLVED:

That the following local parking amendments, detailed in the appendices to the report, be approved for implementation subject to the outcome of any necessary statutory procedures:

• Clifton Way – Install one disabled persons’ (blue badge) parking bay and at any time waiting restrictions

• Waghorn Street – Install one disabled persons’ (blue badge) parking bay

• Consort Road – Install one disabled persons’ (blue badge) parking bay

• Underhill Road - Install one disabled persons’ (blue badge) parking bay

• Forest Hill Road – Install at any time waiting restrictions and 30 minute time restricted free bay, Monday to Saturday 8.30am - 6.30pm

• Holmestall Road - Install at any time waiting restrictions.

17. SCHOOL GOVERNORS APPLICATIONS

Executive Function

RESOLVED:

That Mr Leslie Alden be re-appointed as school governor for St. Mary Magdalene Church of England Primary School. 9

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The meeting ended at 9.40 pm.

CHAIR:

DATED:

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