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Ivydale Road cats say Meowy Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's been a very hectic first year for the Peckham Rye Labour and the blog is going from strength to strength. There's been lots of news about our area from your local councillors, but we have to admit that over the last 12 months we have not been the star attraction. Oh no. Unsurprisingly, in a sea of council and election related updates, one of the most popular posts on this blog over the last 12 months had very little to do with local government. Top of the pops was when the Ivydale cats - Noel and Liam - wished everyone a happy new year. So, we'll try the trick once again. A big merry Christmas from Victoria, Renata and I, but more importantly, Happy New Year from Noel (right) and Liam (left). They will do weddings, bar mitzvahs and any other social gatherings for three cans of Sheba and pinch of cat nip!

Well done to Bredinghurst School!

Congratulations to all the staff and students at Bredinghurst School on Stuart Road, Nunhead on their Ofsted Report. They are a "rapidly improving school". I'm a governor at Bredinghurst which is a special community school for boys aged 11-16. All the students have a statement of special educational needs for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The vast majority also have further special educational needs and/or disabilities including dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, autistic spectrum disorders and a variety of medical issues. This means that the school can be a challenging place. We welcomed a new Headteacher in July and if that wasn't change enough, the school is about to be rebuilt under Building School for the Future. You can read the full report here but here's a bit of an idea of how well the school did: "This is a satisfactory and rapidly improving school. It has undergone several significant changes in recent years including changes

What do your Peckham Rye Councillors do? 2

A while ago I posted a short case study giving an example of the kind of work we do in Peckham Rye as your local councillors. Well, I thought it was time for another example... Residents from the lower part of Friern Road recently approached me about consistent traffic and parking problems outside their homes, partly as a result of the opening of the Harris Boys Academy nearby. Among other things they were finding parking spaces outside their homes were being taken up and that some pupils crossing Friern Road were not seeing cars turning right from Peckham Rye, raising the possibility of an accident. They were also worried about the general level of traffic on their road. Since hearing of their concerns I set up a joint meeting between the relevant traffic and parking officers from the council, representatives from the school and the Friern Road residents themselves. Last Thursday night we held the meeting at the school and started to get to the bottom of some of these problems. Offi

Simon Hughes tuition fees update

Simon Hughes has just appeared on Newsnight to say that he is now undecided on whether he will abstain or vote against the government's tuition fees policy. Abstaining on a policy which will do so much to prevent young people from less privileged backgrounds from attending university is clearly not enough. Hughes has always presented himself as a progressive politician: now he needs to live up to that image. Anyone tempted by Nick Clegg's rhetoric about how "progressive" this policy is should consider these facts and figures from universities Think Tank million+ "...The Coalition has set out a very narrow vision of 'social mobility'. Social mobility through higher education is about enabling students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter higher socio-economic occupations and improve their earnings compared with their backgrounds, whichever university they study at. The real risk from the current proposals is that they will damage participation

Southwark's Labour MPs urge Hughes to do the right thing

An issue that I know will be of concern to many young people living in Peckham Rye, and their parents, will be the forthcoming vote on the Coalition plans to triple tuition fees for university students. Southwark's Labour MPs, Harriet Harman and Tessa Jowell , have written to Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes to insist that he keeps to the pledge he made before the election that he would not vote to raise fees. The text of the letter is below. ________________________________________ 7th December 2010 Dear Simon, One of the most important changes over the last 10 years is the big increase in the number of young people from Southwark going to university. University used to be just for people from better off families. But that was changed by the last government. Nearly three times as many Southwark young people now go on to university compared to 1997 - and that means opportunities for people from Southwark that they never had before. When you asked for the votes of people in Southwark

Southwark Council submission on 343 buses

Click on the letter below to see the letter which Southwark council has submitted to Transport for London (TfL) regarding, among other things, the 343 bus route. Some readers will recall our submission to the consultation on changes to the bus route. Whilst welcoming the increase in frequency of the buses we wanted the council to make it clear to TfL that 343 buses need to slow down when they go through residential areas. The letter above is from the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Barrie Hargrove to Gary Murphy at the Consultation and Engagement Centre at Transport for London. Councillor Hargrove concludes his letter by writing: "I would be grateful for an assurance that the timetable acknowledges this and that there is no imperative for drivers to exceed this speed in order to maintain timetabled headways." I've asked Cllr Hargrove to keep me updated on whether or not he gets the assurance he asks for. We hope that the message will start to get through to

'Peckham's Future' - Meetings on Sat 27 Nov & Tues 30 Nov

Despite the tough economic outlook Southwark is facing, the Council and local Councillors remain committed to bringing regeneration to Peckham - a key Labour promise made during the local elections earlier this year. The next stage of our planning is beginning and in preparation for a 'formal' consultation in February there are two meetings in the next few days to allow residents the chance to give some early feedback. The first is taking place TOMORROW, Saturday 27 November, 12.30pm to 3.30pm, at the Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane. The second will also be at the Bussey Building on Tuesday 30 November 2010, 6.00pm to 9.00pm. There will be displays and information on the emerging 'preferred options' for the Peckham and Nunhead area action plan. Come along and have your say on how we can ensure the future commercial success of Peckham town centre, restore our historic buildings and even how we might redesign the street scene.

Aylesbury Estate Shock

We don't often stray far beyond our Ward boundaries on the Peckham Rye Labour Blog, but today we've had some shocking news about the regeneration of the Aylesbury Estate (east of Walworth Road, and north of Burgess Park) which I thought might interest our readers, wherever in Southwark you live. For more than a decade, the powers that be at Southwark Council (of all political persuasions) have been seeking funding from government to regenerate this huge estate populated by 7,500 people. Tony Blair famously made his first speech as Prime Minister on the Estate. Everyone would admit that there have been far too many broken promises and false dawns for the people living on the Aylesbury. In 2005, work finally began on "phase 1a" of a project that, it was hoped, would lead to the demolition and replacement of the poorly designed 1960's blocks. The Aylesbury regeneration is a huge and complex programme which relies on a number of different funding streams to push it fo

Do you have what it takes to be a Southwark Foster Carer?

One of my roles as a councillor is to sit on the Council's Fostering Panel which reviews our borough's foster carers. I find this an immensely rewarding role. In Southwark we have up to 350 children placed with Southwark foster carers at any one time and the borough is always on the look out for those who might be interested in becoming carers. We need foster carers for both long and short term fostering and respite fostering. We are looking for people from all backgrounds so that we are able to place as many children as possible with families who live in and near to the borough. The council considers every inquiry from a potential fosterer important so if you think you might have the skills to foster them you should seriously consider it. You can read more about how to become a foster carer here and answers to a whole host of questions you might have here .

Community Council - Wednesday 8 December

Just a quick post to get 8 December in your diaries as the next Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council meeting. This is your chance to meet local councillors and quiz them on any local issues you might have. There will also be updates from members of the council cabinet and our Police safer neighbourhood team. The meeting starts at 7.00pm although if you come at 6.30pm you can speak to the Community Wardens beforehand. The December meeting is at Rye Oak Primary, use the Old James Street entrance just off Nunhead Lane.

Crime and Community Safety in Peckham Rye

I'm grateful to a local resident I spoke to at a recent community council meeting for pointing me in the direction of these figures from the Metropolitan Police Website. It gives a very useful comparison of crime figures in Peckham Rye Ward with the rest of Southwark and the rest of London. A very quick analysis shows that we are, on the whole, a pretty low crime area. I'm certain that part of the reason for this is our excellent local police team . Many local people are very concerned that cuts to public spending will include cutting Peckham Rye Safer Neighbourhood Team, along with their crime prevention work. This is certainly an issue for us to keep a very close eye on. If you'd like to know more about community safety in Peckham Rye, a good place to start is the Ward Panel meeting. The next one will be held at 7pm on 25th November at Harris Girls Academy.

Another Bog Standard Update

Many local residents may well be wondering what is happening with the previously proposed development of the toilet block near the junction of Peckham Rye and East Dulwich Road. Before Renata, Victoria and I were even elected as councillors, this had become quite a lively issue. I recently asked officers at the council what is going on, because nothing appeared to be happening with the block. Well, since the last update, this is what has happened: 1. The last proposed tenant - a not-for-profit gallery offering outreach programmes to local schools and groups - dropped out of the process without having made the required planning application. 2. The property is now under offer to a new proposed tenant. They run a children's nursery and wish to expand. 3. They have already made a planning application for a change of use. 4. We are currently waiting for a formal decision from development control so that the lease can proceed. I'll update again here as soon as I have further news. Sp

Ryedale and Cheltenham Road - smoother surfaces are on the way

At Monday night's Community Council meeting Coucillors had the opportunity to vote on how to allocate a pot of money for road resurfacing improvements in our area. Residents of Cheltenham Road and Ryedale in Peckham Rye Ward will be pleased to hear that their roads were among the three we agreed to resurface. These two roads were highlighted in the condition survey as being in very poor condition. In particular, residents of Cheltenham Road have suffered more than most because of buses travelling too fast down their street, causing vibration in their homes. We hope that the resurfacing will go some way to addressing this problem. We also managed to secure money to replace some of lamps on St Aiden’s Road which are in poor condition. Watch this space for more information on when that work will be carried out. PS. If you're interested in attending the next Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council meeting, it will take place on Wednesday 8th December at 7.00 pm. Further details o

South London Press Story on 63 Campaign

Just a quick note to point you in the direction of this Friday's edition of the South London Press . The SLP have reported on the growing popularity of the campaign to extend the 63 Bus Route to Honor Oak Park and on our recent joint letter to Boris Johnson. You'll need to buy a copy to see the story straightaway as parts of the online edition of the SLP are restricted to subscribers. We're on page 24. Thanks to Val Shawcross (our London Assembly Member) for her continued support for the campaign and her quote in the story. One particularly interesting section of the story is the quote given by TfL regarding the extension. It was more encouraging than the wording of a previous letter which had claimed that the extension would not be financially viable, speaking of "keeping services under review." Light at the end of the tunnel perhaps?

Welcome for more 343s - but they must slow down

A consultation is currently underway on proposed changes to the 343 bus route (see the letters above). For residents of the Nunhead part of Peckham Rye the good news is that the frequency of buses may be increased. However, local residents are constantly telling us that they are concerned about the speed at which many 343 buses travel through residential parts of its route. I've pasted my response to the consultation below, welcoming the increase in frequency, but asking TfL to take decisive action to deal with this issue. _____________________________ Dear Sir/Madam What follows is my personal response to the consultation to the proposals for the 343bus route. I'm not sure if I need to "declare an interest" regarding consultations of this nature, but in the interests of clarity and openness I should say that I live at 340 Ivydale Road, which is serviced by the 343 bus. I'd like to give my qualified support for the proposal to increase the the frequency of the

Joint Letter to Boris on the 63 extension

Prior to the local elections in May, one of the promises we made to residents of Peckham Rye was that we, if elected as your local councillors, would campaign hard to extend the 63 bus route to Honor Oak Park Station. We said we would get Southwark council to put its weight behind the campaign and seek to force TfL to look again at this issue. The extension would link up local bus users with the East London Line which now travels from Honor Oak Park. It is small change that would make a big difference. Since the election we have pushed the issue forward in a number of ways. At the last Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council Traffic and Transport Sub Group (or NPRCCTTSG as it is catchily and affectionately known by all!) we decided to ask our local Assembly Member, our local Member of Parliament and the Leader of Southwark Council to write to Boris Johnson about extending the 63. Specifically we wanted them to write to him to demand that TfL look again at the financial assumptions o

One O'Clock Club: The official position

For any readers wanting to know EXACTLY what the situation is with the new One'Clock Club , changing rooms and pitches on Peckham Rye Common, the following may be of interest. I submitted a question to the relevant Cabinet Member for last Wednesday's Council Assembly meeting. The response can be found here in the official council papers, but I've also pasted it below:- "QUESTION TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR CULTURE, LEISURE & SPORT AND THE OLYMPICS FROM COUNCILLOR GAVIN EDWARDS What progress has been made on delivering Southwark Labour's manifesto commitment to turn the plans for a new One O'Clock Club and changing rooms and pitches for local sports teams into reality? RESPONSE A development plan for Peckham Rye was completed earlier this year defining sporting facilities and the future development of the cafe area of Peckham Rye Common. This plan has support from the community. The total estimated cost to realise this plan for the Homestall Road Sports Facil

Recycling pilot in Peckham Rye

Here's me with my newly arrived kitchen caddy for food waste. If you are taking part in the new food waste recycling pilot you can order a caddy by emailing environment@southwark.gov.uk So far I'm finding the scheme pretty easy to negociate. Separating food is easy enough, everything else that can be recycled goes in the blue box and we're actually left with very little in our rubbish bin - in fact I think the current bag has lasted 11 days! There is lots more information about the scheme here and the letters and leaflets we have received have been really helpful. The leaflet has a handy timetable of collection dates on the back of it. If you've lost your's then you can look up your collection dates here. I've been contacted by a few people asking whether or not they are in the pilot. I'm always happy to check but the collection date search also tells you whether you are included or not. Just to be clear, although many properties in Peckham Rye ward are i

"Your Councillor" leaflet on its way to your door

In an effort to keep local people up to date with ouir work and council related issues in Peckham Rye, we've produced the first of what we hope will be a fairly regular "Your Councillor" leaflet. A copy will be delivered to every door in Peckham Rye over the next week or so. You can also see the first edition here by clicking on the images below.

Ed's no mug

We don't ordinarily give much coverage to national politics on the Peckham Rye Labour Blog. Parochial to the last, you'll find more on this website about the Clock House pub than the House of Commons. That said, we thought we'd make an exception following the election of Ed Miliband as the new Leader of the Labour Party. It's been a difficult time for supporters of the Labour Party watching a supposedly left-of-centre Liberal Democrat Party form a Coalition with the Tories, providing cover for cuts which are clearly too early and too deep for our recovering economy. In very testing circumstances our local MP Harriet Harman has done a fantastic job as the Acting Leader of the Labour Party, holding the Government to account every step of the way. Nevertheless, the people we've been talking to on the doorstep have been very curious to know who would be the new Leader of the Labour Party. Victoria, Renata and I are delighted that Ed Miliband is now in the hot-seat. Rig

Extending the 63 - Next step is to gather the evidence that an extension is needed

I thought I’d give a slightly overdue update on how things went at the last Traffic and Travel Community Council 'Sub Group' when we discussed how to take forward the campaign to extend the 63 bus. I gave a bit of the background and informed the sub-committee that TFL are claiming that extending the route would cost £470,000. Val Shawcross, our London Assembly Member was attending the meeting to give us her view on what the next steps in the campaign should be. Val explained that the contract for the route was renewed a year ago and contracts get re-let every 5 yrs. Transport for London can tweak a bus route mid-contract but it needs demonstration of a clear demand. Considering the current climate, the picture is not optimistic, however if there is a case it needs to made and be persistent. One suggestion is that since all the passenger number studies are pre-east London extension, post-East London line data might demonstrate a need so the council might ask for more data regard

Mundania Road Street Party

Victoria, Renata and I today attended the Mundania Road Street Party. This was a fantastic event entirely organised by people living on Mundania Road. Thankfully the summer held out for another day to allow people to enjoy themselves. There were bookstalls, face-painting, football and lots of cake for people to enjoy. Some of the funding for the event came from the Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Fund, which is allocated by local councillors. I think this kind of event is a superb way of building community spirit. Though there are many great things about living in London, life in a big city can all too easily isolate people from their neighbours. But today on Mundania Road the atmosphere was more like a village fete than a street in a city 7.5 million people. Congratulations to everyone involved in the event.

How Labour is making a difference in Southwark

I've said before on this blog that the nuts and bolts of local authority politics can squeeze the enthusiasm out of even the most hardened campaigners. But it is crucially important that all those leaflets, all the time talking to you on your doorstep, and all those votes actually achieves something for the people of this borough. It's been just over four months since the people of Southwark voted for a change in who runs their council. So, has it made any difference? Southwark Labour was elected on a manifesto of creating a fairer, more equal borough and giving people a council that provided good quality services. Whilst doing this Southwark Labour is also having to contend with 25% + cuts to our budget made by the Coalition Government. Given this context, I've listed below Labour's top 10 achievements in Southwark since 6th May. Labour has: 1. Entered a Regeneration Agreement for the £1.5 billion redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle - a deal which includes a mini

Boosting Recycling in Southwark

In October 2010 your newly elected Labour Administration in Southwark will start to deliver on our manifesto commitment to expand the variety of materials that can be recycled in order to boost the recycling rate in the borough. One of the major failings of the Lib Dem-Tory Administration which we have replaced was their refusal to prioritise recycling - leave Southwark with the 6th worst recycling rate in the country. Labour is determined to change this. In October, parts of six wards, including Peckham Rye, will take part in a six month pilot. The most significant change will be the introduction of weekly food and garden waste collections. As part of the pilot you will be supplied with compostable bags which will allow you to collect all food waste. Food waste can then be put into your brown garden waste bin. The council will then collect your food and garden waste each week. If you don’t have a brown bin, the council will supply you with one, in a size suitable for the space availa

Update from Community Safety Ward Panel meeting

A local resident recently posted on our "Peckham Rye News" Facebook Page asking for an update from the latest Community Safety ward panel meeting. I thought our blog readers might also like to see the response, so I've copied and pasted it below: "The local police team gave an update on their work. They have been particularly focusing on the crime and anti-social behaviour being committed by a small number of individuals in the Peckham Rye area. Their work on this over the summer seems to have been very succesful. There was also some discussion on the issue of dangerous dogs. The police explained that they will act whenever they have reports of people failing to control their dogs or of dogs posing a danger to the public. There have been a small number of burglaries in the area over the last month or so, and the police gave their view that these were opportunistic. They emphasised the importance of locking doors and windows to avoid this kind of break in. On the who

Friends of Peckham Rye Summer Fete

This year's Friends of Peckham Rye Summer Fete will take place on Saturday 4th September . This is a superb event which includes lots of fun activities and stalls. It starts at 12 noon and goes on until 5pm. The FOPR are currently asking for help with serveral parts of the event: - They are looking for book donations for the book stall. Please call 0208 299 2680 if you've got some books spare. - If you can donate a plant or seedlings to the plant stall please call 07968 416108 - If you're a talented baker and can donate a cake for the Tea Tent please ring 07704463614 If you would like to help out on the day, please call 0208 299 2680.

What do your local councillors do? A case study from Brenchley Gardens

Brenchley Gardens estate is in the southern part of Peckham Rye Ward, opposite Camberwell New Cemetery. By common consent it is a pleasant and quiet place to live with a strong sense of community. People living in Brenchley Gardens are a mixture of tenants, leaseholders and freeholders. Following our election in May, members of the tenant management organisation (TMO) approached us to ask for our help with some problems they were having with various charges, repairs and a dispute with the council over the ownership status of a fence on the estate. The problem seemed to be that communication had broken down between the TMO and officers at the council over these issues. Both sides had taken up entrenched positions and meaningful discussion seemed to have completely stopped. As local councillors we were able to talk to both officers and the TMO in a constructive way to see if there was a way we could resolve these issues. After much persuading and several meetings we were able to get ev

Councillor Fiona Colley says, "We won't forget about SE15."

The following news item has just appeared on the Southwark Council website : "The council can confirm that consultation on the Peckham and Nunhead Area Action Plan is to begin in January and planning applications have been submitted for refurbishment in Nunhead this week. Over the past weeks, the headlines have been all about Elephant and Castle as the deal with Lend Lease was finally signed, paving the way to the £1.5 billion regeneration of the area. But if residents live further south in the borough, they may be asking when it's their turn? Peckham and Nunhead are known for their vibrant streets with independent shops and places to go for great food and leisure activities, as well as being a hub for the arts. Today, the council can confirm that in a matter of months, the focus will be on Peckham and Nunhead to enhance what residents already love about them. As a planning application went in this week for new shop frontages on Gibbon road, it won't be long before the re

Local transport meeting - including campaign to extend the 63 bus route

One of the additional roles that I've taken on in recent months is to be Chair of the local community council group on traffic and transport. This is an open, local forum for anyone living in the Nunhead and Peckham Rye area to contribute to debate over local transport policy. At our first meeting following the election I've sought to focus the work of this committee on the priorities that so many local people spoke to their candidates and councillors about during the campaign. So at the next meeting we will be following up on a number of issues raised at previous meetings, but also looking at how we can take the campaign for the extension of the 63 bus route to Honor Oak Park Station forward. Southwark Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment and Recycling, Cllr Barrie Hargrove will be attending to discuss this issue. The meeting will take place on Thursday 2nd September 2010 at 6.30 pm in Room D of Southwark Town Hall, 35 Peckham Road SE5 8UB. Other items on t

Details of events in August and September funded through the Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council Fund

Below is a table showing a list of events that will be taking place in the Nunhead and Peckham Rye area thanks to funding from the community fund. If you're interested in any of the event and you want further details, please e-mail the contact addresses given in the table. If you're having trouble reading the table, click on it to make it bigger.

New Peckham Rye Councillors Poster

This new poster showing our contact and ward surgery details will be put up in locations across the ward. Apologies in advance for any children who are frightened by the slightly odd facial expressions in our photos!

Labour keeps free swimming over summer holidays despite Tory-Lib cuts

Great news that children will still be able to swim for free in Southwark despite Government cuts. In even better news this will be at no extra cost to the council and council tax payers after the new Labour administration managed to get Fusion (our local leisure provider) to cover the costs. Southwark Council introduced free swimming in April 2009 with funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Since its introduction there have been 2000 free visits each month at our local pools. Sadly, it looked like this would all come to an end when this funding was one of the things cut in June by the new Tory-Lib Dem Government. The timing could hardly have been worse with school holiday just about to start. So it's a real testiment to the lobbying of the new Labour Council that we managed to secure this agreement with Fusion. From September the council will introduce a 60p swims for under-16s and over-60s. It's disappointing that this isn't quite the same cheap day out

What your Peckham Rye Councillors are up to...

I thought it was about time for a general update on our activities as ward councillors for Peckham Rye. Having been a councillor for more than two months I think we can say that Victoria, Renata and I are starting to get our feet firmly under the table. From my point of view, the work seems to break down into three distinct areas. 1. Casework – These are individual issues which residents living in our ward approach us about because they need some help. Casework can be picked up at our regular surgeries, via e-mail, telephone calls and even just passing people in the street. It is can be particularly rewarding to be able to help people in this way because it’s clear when you’ve got a result. Examples of casework we’ve dealt with so far include: complaints about the housing repairs service, problems with the collection of recycling and a noise nuisance issue in the Nunhead part of our ward. Casework can often put us at odds with the council bureaucracy (which can sometimes also be the so

Peckham Rye Park Community Wildlife Garden

I was delighted to be shown round what will be the community wildlife garden in Peckham Rye Park today. This is a project that has been driven forward by the Friends of Peckham Rye Park. Not far from the park toilets is a fenced off area that I confess I had never noticed before today. Behind the gates is a substantial area that, once transformed, will include a pond, some beehives, a summer and winter garden and a pergola. It's marked on the plan below: Despite the Friends of Peckham Rye Park successfully bidding for several pots of money, only work on the pathway in the garden is complete. Sadly, this project was let down by the previous Lib Dem-Tory administration which failed to make as much progress as it might have done. The Friends are now determined to have one final push to get the wildlife garden completed in time for their September 2011 fete. As well as committing some of their own funds to the project, they are also bidding for National Lottery funding. As a result of

Community Council report back

Last monday Victoria, Renata and I attended our first Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council meeting since becoming councillors. We want this blog to be a source of local news and views, not just for people who can come along these kinds of meetings, but also for those who can't. In that spirit, this post is a summary of the decisions and issues which were discussed at the meeting Victoria was chairing the meeting for the first time and with a packed agenda she had her work cut out. After the introductions and other formalities we moved onto the community safety update from our local police team. The police informed us that in recent weeks they had been concentrating their efforts a small number of individuals in the Peckham Rye/Nunhead area who were responsible for a significant proportion of local crime and anti-social behaviour. There were then several questions from the floor about other community safety concerns. The next item on the agenda was "Introduction to C

Community Council this Monday

Just a reminder about the Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council meeting taking place this Monday at 7.00pm at St Mary Magdalene Primary School, 48 Brayard's Road, London, SE15 3RA. To see the meeting agenda click here . Among a number of other important issues being discussed at the meeting is the latest round of allocations from the Community Council Fund . To see the list of applications for funding for local projects click here . The Community Council Fund is a pot of money which local people and projects can apply for revenue funding for events, festivals, community days, sports days and the like.

Peckham Rye Common Development - Important update

Victoria met with officers from Southwark Council's Park's Team last Friday to talk about the children's facilities planned for Peckham Rye Common. Readers may be aware that the council has £100,000 to spend on a new natural water play area next to the One O'clock Club. Parks officers are already consulting local children about what they want, with a view to start constructing the new play area in the early autumn of this year. The One O'clock Club on Peckham Rye Common is also due to be rebuilt. The previous Labour Councillors for Peckham Rye had, through the community council and over a number of years, allocated £200,000 of "cleaner, greener safer" money towards the rebuild. Sadly, this is well short of the £400,000-£500,000 that is really needed to deliver an adequate, new One O'clock club. The previous Lib Dem-Tory council had failed to allocate any further funding and there was a real risk that this project would continue to be delayed. However,

World Cup Football and Shakespeare at the Cafe on the Rye

Football fans can watch all the England games plus the quarter finals, semis and final at the Cafe on Peckham Rye. There will be a 7ft screen, beer and burgers. Sounds good! Luckily there isn't a game on Sunday 4 July when the Festival Players Theatre Company will be doing an outdoor performing of The Tempest at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12.50 / £9.00 concessions and you can purchase tickets at the cafe or by ringing 02086939431. The cafe will be barbequing burgers and will be open for drinks. You'll need to bring along something to sit on.

A day in the life of a Peckham Rye councillor...

As a new councillor I'm just about starting to get into a routine of council work and meetings and my ongoing life working at South Bank university and as a Peckham Rye resident. I've just got back from a Community Council planning meeting and similar meeting seem to take place about once a week - sometimes it will be council assembly other times a scrutiny committee (I'm on Health and Social Care) or tomorrow morning I've got a meeting with officers to agree the agenda for the Community Council meeting taking place on 21 June. There is also a whole host of training sessions for new councillors to attend from planning to IT to a chance to meet the Corporate Management Team (all these have been done in the last few days). I've also submitted a whole host of queries to officers in the last week on primary school places, Ivydale traffic calming, a variety of planning and licensing applications and I'm finally getting to grips with who I should contact about what. I

Sign up for the "Peckham Rye News" Facebook Group

We've set up a new Facebook Group which will make it easier for people living in Peckham Rye to find out about local news and keep tabs on their councillors. You can join the group here by just clicking on "join group" at the top of the page. Among other things, joining the group will allow you to find out the latest on the campaigns to: - Extend the 63 bus to Honor Oak Park Station - Deliver new facilities on Peckham Rye Park and Common - Sorting out primary school place allocations in our area Joining the group will also make it easier for you to let us know your views on local issues and to join in dicussions with other residents of Peckham Rye. Join now to make sure you're kept up to date with everything Peckham Rye.

Community Council has a new Chair (and they live local!)

Your community council is a gathering of local people and councillors which takes place every six weeks somewhere in the area. Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council can refer issues to the council's cabinet and can allocate money from several pots of money to local projects. It is also a useful way of holding council officers to account on vrious issues including planning, licensing and regeneration. Each year the Southwark council assembly elects the chairs of each of the community councils. And this year, I'm pleased to announce, one of your Peckham Rye Labour Councillors, Victoria, is taking the hot-seat. The chair has a crucial role to play in ensuring that local people are able to say what changes they want to see in this area and turning that into a plan which can be delivered. To make the community council more than a talking shop, a strong chair needs to ensure officers and cabinet members listen to what the commuity in Nunhead and Peckham Rye is saying. Last

Our local police team...

Last night I went along to our local safer neighbourhood panel meeting. These meetings are held so that people living in Peckham Rye can get a chance to speak to our local police team , and provide them with feedback on issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour. I was extremely impressed with the detailed knowledge that the local police team has built up from patrolling Peckham Rye on a daily basis. On issues as varied as burglary, anti-social behaviour on buses and dangerous dogs the police team were able to give us a detailed picture of the issues in Peckham Rye and how they have been dealing with them. One issue which I had been asked to bring up at the meeting by several residents was that of dangerous dogs. On the doorstep during the election campaign it became clear that a number of parents with young children were concerned about the aggressive behaviour of dogs which were not on leads around the Park and Common. The local police team have already been taking action to

Council Assembly tomorrow - Labour formally take charge in Southwark

Tomorrow evening is Southwark Council Assembly AGM and will see Labour formally take control of the council. I'm proud that after 8 years of the failed Lib Dem and Tory rule the results of the 6 May elections saw residents decisively put Labour in charge. The meeting will see Labour's leader Cllr Peter John appointed as Southwark council leader and the AGM will also appoint the new 'Cabinet'. Labour has opted to rename the 'council executive' to make it clear this is the political group running the council rather than a group of bureaucrats. I think this is a good move. The meeting will go on the agree Southwark's new Mayor, establish scrutiny committees and also establish Community Councils. I'm delighted that Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council will continue to be made up of nine Labour councillors but even more delighted that with a Labour council we will get the input and attention needed from the leadership of the council. This is going to be