Peckham Rye Park Update

Last Wednesday I went along to the Friends of Peckham Rye Park Meeting at the cafe on the park. I'd strongly recommend getting involved in this group to anyone interested in issues relating to the park. Meetings are very relaxed and informal and a great way of finding out what is going on.

At the meeting last week we were given an update from Council officers on the planned development of new facilities including the One O'Clock Club and changing facilities for local sports teams. The officer addressing the meeting said that he hoped work would start on the new developments in the next few months, subject to some final consultation on the specifics of the plans. I'll keep you posted on this issue as it develops.

Many of you, especially those who attend Community Council meetings, will have been following the plans for the new facilities for some time. I know there were differing opinions about how the various facilities should be delivered, but I think that now a decision has been made, the council must make sure it delivers on what it has promised to local residents and groups.

We were also briefed by the park manager on recent developments, which included news of a spate of thefts of park benches. There is some suspicion that the thefts were carried out to order, but police have not been able to identify the perpetrators thus far. Enquiries are ongoing. Personally, I was shocked that someone would steal a park bench and really disappointed to hear that the thefts would put a significant hole in the park budget.

Anyway, if anybody lives locally and is interested in joining the friends of Peckham Rye Park, their website is here: http://www.foprp.org.uk/

Comments

Know Your Ryes!

A few weeks ago I was in a meeting with some local residents and council officers. During the meeting one person started referring to Rye Lane, when in fact they meant Peckham Rye East. Later on another started talking about Peckham Rye Common and it took us a little while to work out that they really meant Peckham Rye Park. You can't really blame people for getting a little confused. There are so many references to "Rye" in our little bit of South London that even the locals can get mixed up. So I thought I'd have a go at writing a little glossary of all the Ryes hereabout. Clearly I'm making a rod for my own back here, so please point out any errors I've made in the comments box below. Anyway, here are my definitions of the ubiquitous Ryes. Some serious, some not so serious, and in no particular order: Peckham Rye Ward - The council ward area. Peckham Rye Ward was created out of Rye Ward, Waverley Ward and Bellenden Ward following the Local

Lib Dems claim they're not in charge in Peckham Rye

(A tweet from the Peckham Rye Lib Dems) Peckham Rye Lib Dems are now claiming that Labour 'run' Peckham Rye (take a look above). When asked by a local resident "Am I right in thinking Lib Dems run Southwark but Labour run Peckham Rye?", a Peckham Rye Lib Dem candiate replied, "Yes you're right. For the next three months Lab run Peckham Rye. Then we take over..." Given that, just like every other area in Southwark, Peckham Rye is run by the Lib Dem-Tory Executive it seems this is just the latest in a string of attempts to mislead people into thinking they've got nothing to do with Southwark's failures. Of course, Peckham Rye does have three Labour councillors, who do a great job of representing our area and our concerns at the Town Hall. However this is very different from 'running' Peckham Rye. If only we could just opt out of the Lib Dem chaos! In truth, the policy levers and almost all the money spent by the council are under the cont

Peckham Rye Playground Opens

Gavin and I were delighted to open the new playground on Peckham Rye this morning - and to test out the equipment! The opening marked a long year of campaigning to get the playground built after many years of delay. As locals and regular visitors to the Rye may know, the new playground has been in the pipeline for some time. To make matters worse, back in August 2010, the Tory-Lib Dem Government ‘clawed back’ most of the funding for the project, leaving its future in doubt. Following a lot of hard work we are really pleased that in the end we secured the funding and that the work has been completed - just in time for the school holidays. During the election last year we made a firm promise that we would get the playground sorted-out. Today has been brilliant because, despite Government cuts we have kept our promise and local children have another great area for play.

Peckham Rye Labour

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