5 Most Recent Press Articles

Lib Dem Action for North Lambeth

Published on Mon 1st May 2006

Lib Dems have protected and invested in our valuable green open spaces

Investing £16.7m to resurface and repair roads and pavements across Lambeth. The budget for road and pavements repairs is now six times what it was when Labour ran the council.

Lib Dems have helped Lambeth deliver the biggest drop in reported crime in inner London. Wardens in Prince's ward are patrolling the streets in support of the work of the police in fighting crime - they will be rolled out across the borough from April 2006, covering gaps left by underfunding of the police by Labour's Mayor.

Introducing a £10 discount to the cost of parking permits for residents within the Congestion Charging Zone and campaigning for a congestion charge discount for Kennington residents living just outside the zone.

Securing PFI credits for the £114m refurbishment and redevelopment of the Myatts Fields North Estate. And under the Lib Dems the illegal squatting of St Agnes Place has come to an end to make way for more social housing.

Successfully pressing the council to make a commitment to open a new leisure centre in North Lambeth.

Calling on the Mayor of London and the government to sort out the mess that is the Northern Line and rein in the contractors who are variously blamed for the line's woes under the public-private partnership.

Fighting to protect North Lambeth from over-development, using the planning system to protect green open space, improve the quality of the built environment and increase the amount of affordable housing.

A massive £3.6m invested in North Lambeth's parks and open spaces - like Archbishop's Park, Jubilee Gardens, Lambeth Walk, Kennington Park and Vauxhall Park. What's more, the council's annual parks repair and maintenance budget has been increased from around £225,000 to £640,000 to allow more repair work to be done as it's needed.

Lib Dems have reversed the decline of North Lambeth's libraries - with a massive programme of refurbishment, and increased spending on the book fund. We're also committed to expanding library facilities in North Lambeth in the future and have called for the various options for a new permanent library in Waterloo to be investigated in detail.

Over the last three years the Lib Dem-controlled North Lambeth Area Committee, with a devolved budget from the Town Hall, has invested £400,000 in environmental and community safety improvements across North Lambeth. These include: -

• Upgrading street lighting in Vassall and Oval Wards

• Improving lighting in Kennington Park, Spring Gardens and on eight housing estates

• Gating alleyways in Waterloo to prevent anti social behaviour and street drinking

• Extending the Lambeth Walk open space

• New equipment for Lollard Street Adventure Playground

• Landscaping on Myatts Field South Estate

• A new playspace for older children in Paulet Road

• Improving four youth facilities as recommended by the Youth Council's Peer Inspectors

• A trim trail around Archbishop's Park

• A playground in Wyvil Estate

• A tenants room on Mawbey Brough Estate

Making sure that much-needed Kennington parking sub-zone will go ahead. Lib Dems on the council have also increased funding to the council's transport department to sort out local parking problems and put in free short-term shopping bays in support of local businesses such as on Kennington Road. We've also developed traffic calming schemes in response to residents' concerns, such as on Walnut Tree Walk and Fitzalan Street.

Read "Lib Dem Action for North Lambeth".

Lib Dem Action for Streatham

Published on Sun 30th Apr 2006

Lib Dems secured funds for a brand new ice rink, swimming pool and leisure centre for Streatham

Lib Dems secured an Olympic-sized ice rink as part of a major redevelopment of the Ice Arena - and the new rink will open before the old one closes. There will also be a 25-metre swimming pool, sports hall, fitness centre and community rooms, flats and a new supermarket.

We've fought Ken Livingstone's planned cuts to peak-hour services on the 137 bus route and campaigned for better public transport links, including the reinstatement of original plans for the East London Line's extension to Wimbledon with stops at Streatham and Streatham Common.

Lib Dems Secured £700,000 of council and £590,000 of government funding to regenerate Streatham High Road and "the Dip". We've reduced clutter, enhanced shop fronts and improved the environment for pedestrians and cyclists with new bus shelters and better lighting.

We've invested in two crime-fighting wardens schemes in Streatham - the Streatham Hill Rangers and the St. Leonard's Street Crime Wardens.

Worked with the Lambeth Primary Care Trust to address the shortage of GP provision in Streatham Vale. A new GP surgery is now planned for Woodgate Drive.

We got TfL's experimental bus lane on Streatham Vale removed in response to residents concerns.

Half a million pounds has been invested in Streatham's parks and open spaces, like Hillside Gardens, the Palace Road Nature Gardens, Streatham Common and Streatham Green. What's more, the council's annual parks repair and maintenance budget has been increased from around £225,000 to £640,000 to allow more repair work to be done as it's needed.

Liberal Democrats backed residents objecting to inappropriate over-development in Shrubbery Road, Stanthorpe Road, Lewin Road and on the landmark former William IV site and championed the concerns of Sternhold Avenue residents following Southern Railways construction of a maintenance depot behind their homes.

Successfully campaigned for the reopening of the Eardley Road entrance to Streatham Common Station. Work on the demolition of the existing structure on Eardley Road is now programmed for late April after securing funding from the Seltrans partnership. Last month Lib Dems on the council pledged £300,000 to build a new entrance once that work is complete.

The area committee has spent its devolved budget on environmental improvements like:

• £10,000 on improvements to Adare Walkway

• £21,000 on improvements to Leigham Court Road and the car park

• £20,000 on the Valley Road play area

• £25,000 for works on the Civilian War Memorial and Memorial Gardens

• 30,000 to improve the St. Leonard's churchyard lighting

The Lib Dems are committed to providing more library facilities in Streatham and have increased spending on the book fund. Since 2002 £60,000 has been spent on improvements to libraries in Streatham and both visitor numbers and book issues are up.

We've opened a joint service centre, a one-stop shop for accessing council services - Lambeth Contact, the pilot centre on Streatham High Road, opened last year. A permanent centre in Streatham will open in Gracefield Gardens in 2007.

Read "Lib Dem Action for Streatham".

Lib Dem Action for Norwood

Published on Sat 29th Apr 2006

Lib Dems introduced street crime wardens to Norwood

Lib Dems have fought for funding to help regenerate the shopping and industrial areas in Norwood and to attract new businesses. Over the last four years we've made good progress by improving parking facilities and sprucing up the streets.

The development of the Lansdowne Hill market site for regular farmers', continental and arts & crafts markets.

Norwood Community Wardens, a hugely successful pilot scheme of 12 wardens that will now be made permanent from April 2006 as part of the rollout of council wardens across the borough.

Lib Dems have got the council to invest £16.7m to resurface and repair roads and pavements across Lambeth, including Norwood Road, Knight's Hill and Norwood High Street - which hadn't been redone since 1968 after 30 years of Labour misrule! The budget for road and pavements repairs is now six times what it was when Labour ran the council.

We're working with the rail operators to invest in and renovate the area around Tulse Hill Station and make it a safer place to be with better lighting and CCTV.

Delivering the first parent-promoted secondary school, in West Norwood. Lib Dems are strongly committed to expanding school places in Norwood and across the borough, while Labour - which closed Norwood Park Primary School on Gipsy Road when they ran the council - only want to fund more school places in central Brixton.

Delivering improved youth facilities, as well as tough measures like dispersal orders to tackle anti-social behaviour

£175,000 invested in the council's winter maintenance service to make sure that Norwood's hilly roads stay safe and clear of snow and ice after several harsh winters when not enough was done.

We've delivered funding for a host of environmental and community safety improvements like

• The Knight's Hill crossing

• Improvements to Tulse Hill Station and the Rosendale shopping area

• A mobile CCTV camera for police surveillance and use by the council

• Speed signs on Norwood Road and elsewhere

• Regeneration of the West Norwood Industrial Area

• Pedestrian crossing upgrades at the Norwood High Street/Auckland Hill and Norwood Road/York Hill/Lancaster Avenue junctions.

Massive investment in Norwood's parks - and the council's annual parks repair and maintenance budget has been increased from around £225,000 to £640,000 to allow more repair work to be done as it's needed.

Over the last four years Lambeth projects have been allocated £2m from the Crystal Palace Partnership, delivering improvements like the Berridge Road Community Resource Centre, better services at Upper Norwood Joint Library, restoration of the Old Library for community use in partnership with West Norwood Community Development, and an Estate Skills Partnership Project for work placement opportunities - with on the job training - for local residents.

Read "Lib Dem Action for Norwood".

Lib Dem Action for Clapham and Stockwell

Published on Sat 29th Apr 2006

Lib Dems have won funding to improve Clapham Common

Lib Dems are calling on the Mayor of London and the government to sort out the mess that is the Northern Line and making sure Clapham & Stockwell residents' voices are heard in City Hall, including fighting Ken Livingstone's planned cuts to peak-hour services on the 137 bus route.

Increased funding for the transport department has enabled them to change the parking zones in Clapham and Thornton to make them fit better with local residents' wishes. And we've delivered free short-term shopping bays to support local business and community facilities, like those on Wandsworth Road and Abbeville Road and planned for Emmanuel Road.

Worked with the Clapham Society and the Friends of Clapham Common to win heritage lottery funding for the restoration of the Clapham Common bandstand.

Calling for a "saturation zone" on Clapham High Street to help keep a mix of different premises and prevent it turning into a stretch of just bars and pubs.

From April 2006 community safety wardens will be on patrol across the borough - including in Stockwell - to serve those areas least covered by the police, who have had to scale down plans for neighbourhood policing in each ward because of a lack of funding from the Ken Livingstone.

Parks in Clapham and Stockwell have received a total investment of £2.7m since 2002, and funding from Urban II for upgrading Larkhall Park is on its way. The council's annual parks repair and maintenance budget has been nearly tripled since Labour was in control.

We've invested in community with facilities like

• an under-10s play area on the Fenwick Estate

• the William Bonney Estate football pitch and community garden

• Stockwell Refugee Women's Centre

• Replaced fences on the Weir Estate

• Restored and replaced street nameplates

• A disability ramp for Notre Dame tenants' hall

A massive £1.1 million refurbishment programme of Lambeth's libraries including £80,000 on Clapham Library and £8,842 in Stockwell on the South Lambeth Library. And there are proposals for a new library as part of the Clapham Park development.

£840,000 package of community safety and environmental improvements for the main roads and areas around Stockwell underground.

We've won £17.2m from the government to set up a massive street lighting contract to upgrade and replace Lambeth's current street lighting and install more where it's needed.

Read "Lib Dem Action for Clapham and Stockwell".

Lib Dem Action for Brixton

Published on Sat 29th Apr 2006

Lib Dems have won improvements all across Brixton

Lib Dems won investment in road and pavement repairs - on major roads like Acre Lane and Coldharbour Lane as well as residential streets. The Lib Dems' budget for road and pavement repairs is six times what it was when Labour ran the council.

Slashing crime by working closely with the police. When Labour ran the council the Home Secretary had to intervene because they weren't co-operating with the police. But the Lib Dems have funded extra police on the borough's streets after the Labour government cut funding to the Safer Streets Unit in Cavendish Road and lost us over 40 police officers.

Long term home found for the Black Cultural Archives - now at Raleigh Hall, a building in the centre of Brixton left empty when Labour ran the council.

£18m invested in regenerating and improving the St. Matthew's Estate with £18 million being invested in new and replacement affordable housing. Across Lambeth £1 million is being invested each and every week.

A new secondary school for Brixton - the parent-promoted Elm Court, part of a major package of educational improvements and expansion of school places across Lambeth.

Residents asked for parking restrictions in Brixton Hill East - we delivered. We've also developed local road safety schemes, on Tulse Hill, Craignar, Effra and Claverdale Roads and more.

£1m invested in Brockwell Park improvements, and a new contract with the operators of Brockwell Lido that will see big improvements to the facilities there.

A new City Academy on Shakespeare road - with investment from the Lib Dem council of at least £12.5m. The new school will deliver much needed secondary school places in the heart of Brixton. We're also using £200 million we won from the government to increase the number of places at Lambeth's existing successful secondary schools.

A £42m street lighting contract to upgrade and replace Lambeth's current street lighting and install more lamps.

Trebling recycling rates compared with Labour - Lambeth is now recycling 22% of its household waste, and we're working on the rest!

Committing to the proposed improvements to Brixton Central Square - and ensuring proper consultation with residents before a final option is settled on

We've set up the Brixton Area Committee with its own budget - it's been able to invest £400,000 in environmental and community safety improvements across Brixton.

Read "Lib Dem Action for Brixton".

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