December 2011, Issue 43 Spot the Difference ! Inside This Issue 2
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1 Common Knowledge December 2011, Issue 43 Spot the Difference ! Inside this issue 2. Community Safety; What to Report to Whom 3. Rookery Centenary 4. Streatham Common in Mitcham?; Memories 5. Recent and Next Events; Filling the Chair 6. Volunteering; Whatʼs Up? Common Knowledge, the newsletter of the Friends of Streatham Common, is edited by Peter Newmark: tel. 020 8679 2908; email: [email protected] Yes, the Park Rangers have finally gone. The top panel has been stuck over the bottom panel on Please join us on Wednesday notice boards around the Common (apart from 7th December at the bottom of one that was missed out). And note that the “local the Common by the Christmas community” - that’s us - has been added as a tree, and later at our party. partner in managing the site. A number of issues related to these changes were discussed at the Friends’ public meeting on Community Safety, where the idea of setting up a Park Watch was floated (see page 2). And there are more changes to come as the reorganization of the Parks de- partment is still under negotiation. Meanwhile a first taste of the effects of cuts in the maintenance budget is already evident, with news, for example, that the memorial benches will no longer receive an annual ‘service’ but instead only be refreshed as and when it is deemed necessary, and that 7.00 pm - mince pies pruning of shrubs will no longer be carried out and mulled wine annually but only every three years. What the 7.30 pm - carol singing Friends will be fighting for in particular in coming 8.00 pm - Friendsʼ Christmas months is that the Rookery is given extra atten- party in the Pied Bull pub tion as well as Green Flag status in the run up to its centenary in 2013 (see page 3). 2 Community Safety ............. ...... What to Report to Whom A public meeting on this topic was organ- Lambeth Community Safety Division works ised by the Friends and held on 21 No- in partnership with Lambeth borough po- vember. Speaking at the meeting were lice and other internal and external agen- Nabil Mezoughi, the local Area Crime Re- cies to tackle and deal with crime and dis- duction Manager, Derek Prentice, Lam- order activities as well as anti-social be- beth’s Assistant Director, Culture and haviour issues. Communities Division, and Sergeant Mark Brindley who is in charge of the Streatham Each of Lambeth’s 21 wards has its own South Safer Neighbourhood Team. Police Safer Neighbourhood Team, made up of a Sergeant, two Officers and at least As a result of the meeting it was agreed two Police Community Support Officers. that there should be prominent notices on The Sergeant also has responsibility for the Common informing the public of how managing a Local Police Team made up of best to report problems. In outline, crimes at least six Officers that work across four and anti-social behaviour are matters for wards doing proactive work and respond- the police, whereas misuse of the Com- ing to usually less urgent calls. mon is a matter for the Council. Details of what to report to whom are in the following The local Streatham South Safer Neigh- article. One problem that emerged is that bourhood Police Team has its priorities set the police have no powers to enforce bye- by the Streatham South Safer Neighbour- laws on the Common and that with the hood Ward Panel, which is made up of demise of the Park Ranger service this members of the community (usually resi- leaves a gap, unless and until the police dents but sometimes also local business can be given the necessary powers, and owners), who are annually elected. At least always assuming they will consider en- four Ward Panel meetings a year are open forcement of bye-laws a priority. Mean- to the wider public, who can thereby influ- while it seems unlikely that much will be ence the crime and anti-social behaviour done about such problems as teenagers priorities that the police team will work on. using the playground or people camping or To find out the dates for these meetings, driving on the Common. please visit the following website: http://content.met.police.uk/Team/Lambeth An idea that was floated was that a Park /StreathamSouth Watch should be set up for the Common. This would be run along the lines of Currently’ one priority for the Streatham Neighbour Watch, with a group of local South Neighbourhood Police Team is to residents who agree to keep a look out for patrol the Common when schools finish to problems on the Common, reporting them reduce the risk of robberies against school through a coordinator to the appropriate children. authority. Visible ‘Park Watch’ signs would appear on the Common. Such a scheme The Common, itself, is managed by Lam- has just started elsewhere in Lambeth - in beth Council in partnership with the local Myatts Field Park, for example. community. We ask that park users help us keep them clean, green and safe for all to Sergant Brindley said that the police sur- use and enjoy. Please report any accidents geries are poorly attended and that if local or damage to Lambeth Parks. residents want any change in his team’s priorities, they need to make their voice If you witness an incident or are concerned heard at the surgeries, via petitions or about any crime / anti-social behaviour even through local newspapers ♦ issue in your ward or on the Common then 3 please contact the most appropriate of the Rookery Centenary following: Planning has started to celebrate the cen- To report any intimidating or threatening tenary of the Rookery in the summer of activities that scare you or cause distress 2013. There are a number of major aims. to you or to your neighbourhood, such as The first is that the Rookery grounds and verbal abuse, aggressive behaviour, noise gardens are brought up to a high standard, nuisance, criminal damage, street drinkers true to the original character of the gar- and so on (most incidents reported on this dens, and in keeping with the fact that the line are shared with your safer neighbour- garden is on English Heritage's Register of hood police team), contact the Lambeth Historic Parks and is a Grade 11* Garden Council Community Safety Anti-Social of Historic Importance. Preliminary talks Behaviour hotline on 020 7926 4000. have been held with Capel Manor College to see if a student project could be based To report any damage, vandalism, squat- on the Rookery Gardens. The second aim ting by travellers or any other issues relat- is to mark the ing to the upkeep of the Common, contact centenary with Lambeth’s Parks and Open Spaces on a major event, 020 7926 9000. possibly fo- cused on the To gain police advice or bring their atten- White Garden, tion to local problems that require long- which is in term solutions, contact the Safer Neigh- need of spruc- bourhood Team on 020 8721 2628. This ing up. Thirdly, number is not for reporting crime and inci- there is the dents because the team is not always on possibility of duty and no one picks up calls for the team applying for Green Flag status for the when they are not on duty. Rookery; this was on the cards until the council’s recent financial restraints took For all non-emergency incidents that re- hold, so now would require a major fund quire police attendance, such as coming raising effort, largely to create the man- home to find you’ve been burgled, intimi- agement plan that is a prerequisite for ap- dation by drinkers or general anti-social plying for Green Flag status ♦ behaviour, call the police on 101. For emergency calls that require immedi- ate police attendance – usually crimes in action, such as seeing a fight, having just been robbed or having lost your child - always call 999. Nabil Mezoughi, Area Crime Reduction Manager In response to a number of requests, we have started to send members timely email reminders of forthcoming ‘The Rookery’ around 1900. Thanks to events. If you have email, are not re- Tony Spain who sent us this photograph of his grandmother, a niece by marriage of ceiving our reminders but would like to, the owner. She is posed in front of the please let us know via: house, which was demolished in 1913. [email protected] 4 Streatham Common in Mitcham? to the pool. It was well attended and popu- Opposition is rapidly mounting to the lar. I remember the nativity crib displayed Boundary Commission for England’s pro- each Christmas by the pool. posals that would make the Common and the area to the south of it part of the Mit- Earlier, as a young child, I got to know cham parliamentary constituency. This is many trees in the wooded area and part of a wider proposal in which other thought there were ‘teddy bears’ there hav- parts of Streatham would end up in two ing their picnic! My grandmother alerted new constituencies, one called Clapham me to birdsong in the woods. My grandfa- Common and the other called Streatham ther often collected conkers for me. My and Tooting. older sister took me to the circus on the Common. At present we have our own MP to speak up for Streatham. Under the new propos- The place that impressed me most was als, no one MP could speak up for Streat- the Rookery.