Peckham Rye Labour

The Green Chain Walk, which started back in 1977, was set up to protect green spaces from development, and promote the enjoyment of the outdoors. Some locals will be aware that it’s now, pretty much, reached our bit of Southwark. This Sunday 31st January, Walk London is offering a guided walk of the Southwark extension from Nunhead station to Crystal Palace, which will pass through Peckham Rye ward. Leaving Nunhead station, the Green Chain will pass through Nunhead Cemetery and then to Camberwell New Cemetery. It will then head up the steep path to the top of One Tree Hill. The Oak of Honour This Sunday they’ll then be a chance to meet with resident, Ian White, at the pioneering self-build housing in Walter's Way for a talk. Then on to the Horniman for lunch. The walk continues on to Sydenham Hill Woods Nature Reserve, past the modernist 'Six Pillars' and the 'Dulwich Wood House' into the former Upper Sydenham railway station, then a look at the Paxton Tunnel, a c...

We’ve just been given some really shocking news about the school admissions forum – the body which oversees almost all aspects of Southwark’s school admissions. Many readers will already know about the chaotic allocation of primary school places in East Dulwich and Nunhead for 2009-10, when the council hugely underestimated the demand for places in local schools and failed to provide enough staff to administer the process adequately. Having a cross party appraoch on the admissions forum was essential to ensuring that officers were challenged to improve the process this year. With the apparent support of Peckham Rye Lib Dems, Southwark’s Lib Dem/Tory coalition, have thrown the Labour representative off the committee, without any explanation. Southwark Labour’s Education spokesperson Cllr Veronica Ward had been a member of the School Admissions Forum for almost four years, before being chucked off at a meeting of Lib Dems and Tories on Monday night. She had attended the forum far mor...

This is notice of films being screened, free of charge on a big screen, locally: WHEN : Every Friday lunchtime in February at 1.30pm. WHERE : Buchan Road Tenants and Residents Association Hall, Buchan Road SE15 (near Smiths the butcher). WHAT : Casablanca (1943) Friday 5 February Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) Friday 12 February Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Friday 19 February Old London on Film (1896-1953) Friday 26 February Watch a great film on a big screen and have a chat with your neighbours before and after. Enjoy free tea, coffee and biscuits. There's no need to book and everyone is welcome. Call 020 8480 1921 if you have queries. With thanks to the Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council for funding this and thanks to Nunhead Forum and Nunhead Rocks! for bringing this to our attention.

Speaking to people when we're out and about in Peckham Rye, there does seem to be some confusion about how well Southwark is performing on recycling. Tory and Lib Dem canvassers seem eager to muddy the waters on this important issue. What follows is a quick summary of the facts and our own position on recycling. In November 2009, the latest official league tables for recycling rates in England were published. Incredibly, the figures reveal that Southwark council has become the 6th worst council in the country for recycling. Southwark recycles less than 21% of household waste and the Lib Dems and Tories couldn't even manage a 1% increase in the recycling rate over last year. When they took charge of Southwark in 2002, the Lib Dems and Tories promised to increase the borough’s recycling rate to 30% by 2010. Not only have they failed to meet that promise but, when compared to the rest of the country, they have dramatically moved backwards. Recycling rates in neighbouring Labour La...

Many readers will already know about the chaotic allocation of primary school places in East Dulwich and Nunhead for 2009-10. The council hugely underestimated the demand for places in local schools and failed to provide enough staff to administer the process adequately. As a result, many children were allocated to schools far away from where they lived and many parents were left in the dark about the status of their applications. Following pressure from local parents, Labour councillors and MPs, the council has promised to provide extra classes in local schools for 2010-11 and to employ more staff to improve the administration of the applications process and communication with local parents. In recent weeks, after a successful campaign by our local MPs, Tessa Jowell and Harriet Harman, highlighting the acute shortage of primary school places in our area, the Government has reacted by allocating an additional £12million to Southwark council to address this problem. This is a serious am...

Just a very quick reminder that today sees the introduction of Oyster Pay As You Go on Southern and South Eastern trains. After a very, very long wait, this means that people travelling from Nunhead, Peckham Rye, East Dulwich, Honor Oak and Brockley can now travel using this form of payment. Frustratingly, some stations don’t yet allow you to update your card at the station, meaning you might need to go to a local newsagents instead. Also, some of the changes to ticket prices don’t see that fair. You can see more info from the train companies here and here . It may have taken years to reach this point with the train companies, but its better late than never.