Dear Cllrs King, Ellis and Usher

I am emailing you on behalf of the Weir Estate Residents Association. We are a collective and strong voice for all residents who live on the Weir Estate, Weir Road SW12, and we seek to represent the views and concerns of residents in a fair and unbiased manner to bring much needed change and improvement to their lives.

We have been following closely over the last few years the issues with the proposed extension of the single decker 255 bus route from Streatham Hill to Balham Station.

We are strongly in favour of the proposed extension, and write to you to outline our reasons for this.

The proposed extension to this route will allow more mobility for the residents of this whole area, to and from the two main town centres close to where they live; Streatham and Balham. Many of the elderly and vulnerable residents are unable to make the journey into town centres by themselves, and some are therefore housebound due to this – by extending this bus route, it will allow these residents to have a freedom, and improve their lives dramatically. There is very low car ownership on our estate, and the safety of our community is paramount to the association, primarily the safety of women during the months when nightfall draws in earlier, and to help the elderly, vulnerable and disabled residents to be able to have more easy access to local town centres, as currently there is no transport provision to this area.

We understand that Old Devonshire Road residents have had concerns regarding this, namely due to increased congestion in a road that already has congestion issues at peak times to do with Travis Perkins and Balham Mosque. Travis Perkins will shortly be moving from Old Devonshire Road, over the border to Weir Road in Lambeth, hence there will be less congestion caused by this. We understand there is no desire from the Old Devonshire Road residents to have this bus route, but in the long term, this has to be looked at from a community perspective, and not just individual residents, and whether they actually want the route or not. We have spoken to a resident of Old Devonshire Road, who once they realised the impact of not carrying out this extension, and the affect it has to the elderly, vulnerable and disabled in the community they have changed their mind, and are now in favour of this proposal. We would be happy to come out and explain to residents of Old Devonshire Road the reasons why having this bus route is so vital to our community. We do not want to cause an argument, but only present the difficulty of the residents on Weir Estate and the surrounding areas of having such an inaccessible transport situation.

This bus route will provide a great interchange between many transport links, as well as links from local sheltered housing accommodation and schools into the main town centres.

In these times of environmental concern, all organisations, as well as local authorities are under increased pressure to ensure they have a sustainable future. I am sure Wandsworth council will be trying to help reduce local traffic congestion and pollution, and contribute to reducing carbon emissions by encouraging their residents, members and employees to use local transport as much as possible. Therefore, encouraging TfL to adopt new transport links, such as this proposed link from Streatham Hill to Balham.

Transport for London have revised the plan and we would therefore urge you to re-think your decision, and seek to support the proposal of this route, and move forward to have the service implemented as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Dave McEvoy
Chair

For and on behalf of the Weir Estate Residents Association

Tenants and leaseholders in Lambeth are being urged to come forward to take a role in shaping the work of Lambeth Living – London’s largest Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO).

Lambeth Living leaseholders from across the borough and Lambeth Living tenants living in Clapham, Stockwell & Vassal, and Norwood are being encouraged to represent their communities by becoming a director on the board of Lambeth Living.

The organisation manages 34,000 properties in the borough and is governed by a board of 16 directors, made up of elected tenants, leaseholder representatives, independent directors and Lambeth council nominees.

The successful applicants will serve a four year term as a Lambeth Living director, tasked with directing and controlling the company’s work.

Lambeth Living chairman, Keith Hill, said: “This is an exciting time to join the board. We have just embarked on a multi million pound stock investment project – the Lambeth Housing Standard. It is vital that tenants’ and leaseholders’ priorities are represented by champions on our board.

“Our directors contribute to the board through expertise learned firsthand from living in a home in the borough.

“They are then able to help determine the strategy and direction of Lambeth Living in the interests of residents”.

The position is voluntary although reasonable travel and out of pocket expenses (including child minding or care provision) are reimbursed and board members can also benefit from an opportunity to learn new skills and join training programmes. Board members are also expected to attend evening meetings and committee meetings.

To register your interest or to find out more contact Kamla Peerboccus on 020 7926 3401 or email Board@lambethliving.org.uk by Thursday 31st May, or find more information here

Noisy neighbours – your days are numbered. That is the firm message from Lambeth Living as the noise nuisance service on housing estates is beefed up.

New specialist noise monitoring equipment has been bought and Lambeth Living housing staff are getting specialist training as part of the crackdown against nuisance neighbours.

A recent Lambeth Living survey shows that most complaints about anti social behaviour centres on noise – comprising more than one third of all reported complaints. Most of the noise nuisance complaints are commonly about loud and late running parties, televisions, car radios, noisy DIY works or revving engines.

From excessively loud dog barks to noisy stereos, the new equipment will allow staff to quickly and accurately gather data and evidence of noise by monitoring, recording, and providing written evidence of sound levels. Where the sound level is confirmed as too high, Lambeth Living staff will visit the person making the noise to ask them to stop.

Persistent noise offenders can also be issued with a noise abatement notice if they continue causing a nuisance – if they ignore the notice, they could face a court date and a fine of up to £5,000.

Neil Litherland, Lambeth Living Chief Executive, said: “Noisy neighbours can have a huge and negative effect on peoples’ lives. By ramping up the noise nuisance service, we’re turning up the pressure on the people who cause this kind of stress”.

If you are a Lambeth Living tenant and you are suffering noise nuisance you should let your local housing office know or you can contact Lambeth Council’s noise control service on 020 7926 5999.

ONE YEAR  DEFECTS LIABILITY PERIOD

 The ‘defects liability period’ for all the works that were carried out in your property under the LHC Scheme Phase 5 – Major Works in 2010/11 is coming to an end in June, 2012.

‘Defects liability Period’ is the period during which the original contractor is responsible for making good any problems that have appeared in the work that was done during that programme.

The contract covered Roof, Windows, doors renewal and Associated Works.

If you have noticed any defects with the roof, windows and doors since the works were completed please report them to us on or before the 15^th day of June, 2012 for our contractor to remedy such defects before the end of the period. 

You can contact us by email: majorworkscentral@lambethliving.org.uk

For all other repairs and enquiries please contact the Lambeth Service Centre on: 020 7926 6000.

Many thanks.

You may also contact:

Henry Otu, Customer Liaison Officer: 0207 926 3988 email: hotu@lambeth.gov.uk

Davina Gopala, Business Support Officer: 0207 926 3973 email: dgopala@lambeth.gov.uk

Competition information and entry forms:

Scarecrow competition: Information | Entry Form

Vegetable Sculpture Competition: Information | Entry Form

If you would like any further information, or would like to exhibit, please contact us

]]> http://www.wera.org.uk/2012/05/12/events/feed/ 0 http://www.wera.org.uk/2012/05/08/londonfire-fire-safety-day-on-weir-estate-sunday-10th-june/ http://www.wera.org.uk/2012/05/08/londonfire-fire-safety-day-on-weir-estate-sunday-10th-june/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 19:39:09 +0000 admin http://www.wera.org.uk/?p=2396 Weir Estate Residents Association are excited to announce that following last year’s fantastic Estate Fire Safety Day, Green Watch from Tooting Fire Station will be visiting the Weir estate on Sunday 10^th June from 1pm.
London Fire Brigade will be offering FREE fire safety checks to all flats on the estate. They will ensure you are aware of fire safety, and fit fire alarms where required.

If you have any queries, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Staff working for Lambeth Council are to be given paid time off to help out with community projects and volunteer at local Lambeth charities under a new scheme launched this week.

Nearly 3,000 council employees are being encouraged to spend up to three days a year away from their offices, rolling up their sleeves to help out with local projects, charities and community groups.

Under the new Lambeth Volunteering Scheme, staff could help out at local youth clubs or sports teams, join a community group for a clean up or tree planting campaign, help out at a pensioners’ lunch club, mentor a young person, or help with literacy programmes in a local primary school.

Any local group or voluntary organisation will be entitled to bid for help through the new council volunteering scheme. Every member of staff will be entitled to up to three days a year to volunteer in the community.

They will be expected to make sure this does not affect their main jobs so there is no negative effect on frontline services. Staff who take part will get a better idea of the issues facing Lambeth residents in their daily lives – which will help improve the services they run. Volunteering days will be approved in advance by managers, but if every one of almost 3,000 staff takes part that will mean 9,000 days of volunteering will be available to local groups, creating a huge new resource for community-led action.

The volunteering scheme is part of Lambeth’s cooperative council initiative which aims to hand more power over council services to local people.

Cllr Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth Council, said: “Community groups do fantastic work right across Lambeth, but they often tell me they could do even more if they had more volunteers.

“At the same time, people sometimes tell me the council can feel remote from the local community. I think it’s a great idea to get the council’s employees out of the town hall and into the community so they can hear directly from residents what problems they are facing and then give their time to help fix them. This will be good for our community and good for our employees, and it’s a real example of the cooperative council in action.”

Kieran Casey, WERA’s Communications Officer commented “This is a fantastic resource for local community groups to be able to see work done. In a time of so many government cuts, it is very refreshing to see Lambeth council offering such a great opportunity to the community of Lambeth and the council’s staff.”

WERA are delighted that our local assembly member, Val Shawcross has once again been re-elected to be our Lambeth & Southwark Assembly Member, with almost 53% of the vote.

Boris Johnson was re-elected as the Mayor of London.

The standard will make sure that all our homes are warm, safe and dry; in good repair and well maintained and will include improvements to roofs, door entry systems, bathroom, windows and guttering.

Not all homes will see works take place, as 46% already meet the standard, and it will not include kitchen or bathroom replacements, only upgrades where necessary.

Find out more about the standard at www.lambethliving.org.uk

Thames Water have announced the need to impose water-use restrictions from April 5^th to combat the effects of an increasingly severe drought after two abnormally dry winters in a row.

The decision comes after one of the driest two-year periods in southern and eastern England since records began. Since March 2010 the region has had 35cm less rain than normal.

With groundwater levels across parts of the Thames Water region close to the lowest levels ever recorded, many tributaries of the River Thames are running desperately low. Thames Water has been running a publicity campaign since the middle of last year urging its customers to continue to voluntarily use less water, offering households free devices such as water-saving showerheads, tap-inserts and four-minute shower timers.

You can order these free devices here

The temporary use ban states out that hosepipes cannot be used for gardening, recreational uses (such as filling swimming or paddling pools) or cleaning purposes except where specific exemptions apply.

Under the terms of the ban, customers can still water their gardens and clean their cars provided they use either a watering can or a bucket, not a hose. Some of the restrictions are clearly specified as applying to domestic uses of water.

Advertisements have been placed across London, such as the one above, and the one below.

More information can be found here
Temporary Use Bans (TUBs) are imposed by a water supplier under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. This legislation was amended recently to increase the scope of restrictions that can be controlled by water companies.

The planning group, consisting of Weir Estate Residents Association, and The Weir Link organising this year’s Weir Community Day are appealing for volunteers to help on the day. The Community Day is scheduled to take place on Saturday 16^th June, from 1pm to 4pm.

The event which has taken place on the estate for several years, always proves to be a fun filled extravaganza of a day, and we need you to once again help make the day special.

Each year, volunteers help to set-up the event, man stalls and clear up afterwards.

If you would like to help, please contact us.

The old estate signage did not reflect the many developments which have taken place across the estate, such as the 3 new properties on Anfield Close, The Weir Link centre as well as the Eamonn Fotrell Centre. The new signage has been designed to be bright, and easy to read, with each block being given a colour code rather than a number as the old signs were.

The signage is bigger which allows it to also be seen from the road, and all entrances to the estate now have signage to enable visitors to find their destination more easily.

Lambeth have launched a drive to recruit 1,000 interested young people and residents by the end of March.

Printed materials are going out to schools, youth groups, churches etc. These first 1000 will then shape the future development and role of the Young Lambeth cooperative itself.

The more young people and residents that register the bigger and better the cooperative will be, and the more people will be able to play a positive role in delivering the positive activities that the vast majority of our young people want to access.

Lambeth council want to set up a Young Lambeth cooperative that will oversee some services for children including play and youth.

We want young people (aged 11 and over), parents, local residents, groups and organisations to help us do this.

To register your interest, please complete the Young Lambeth cooperative registration form.

If you would like further information please:

• Email: cooperativecouncil@lambeth.gov.uk, or
• Telephone: 020 7926 3778

This approach will see collaboration between different stakeholders and be defined by:

• Localism – engagement and involvement of local communities
• Co–production – so that local communities and stakeholders are involved in deciding what and how services should be delivered
• Developing cooperative models for service delivery that include mutuals, lead partner organisations, friends of groups
• Community commissioning – local people deciding which services should be commissioned to support young people.

THE Weir Community Garden, a community garden for the local community, run by the local community is now nearing completion. Last weekend our appointed contractor for the landscape and ground works, Touchwood Trees, held another weekend of workshops aimed at teaching the community how to manage the garden, as well as creating more mosaics to be placed on the walls around the garden area.

The garden has been funded by Weir Estate Residents Association, to resurrect a derelict piece of land on the Anfield Close corner of the estate, and this has already drastically improved the look and feel of the area, with painted walls, mosaics and planting. The garden will be home to all sorts of edible plants (and non-edible plants), including fruit, vegetables and herbs. WERA Communications Officer, Kieran Casey: “The plans for this area have been in place for a while now and the transformation is almost complete. Lots of residents have come out to help with the workshops, planting and maintenance of the garden, but we need more people to be involved. The garden is for our community, and run by our community. We are very thankful to those people who have been involved in the project throughout, and continue to help.

Our aim is to develop a community garden facility whereby local residents can come and spend time, and children can come and learn. We are also involving the garden in the estates recycling provision, with composting and possibly a wormery.”

During the planning of the project the association engaged with the estate’s community through a series of consultations, and meetings, to come up with a final design and to meet the aspirations of residents.

We were also joined this weekend by our local ward councillors, Cllr Ed Davie, Cllr Diana Morris and Cllr Lib Peck, who helped out with planting, and met with local residents.

Cllr Ed Davie said: ‘This is a great project which gives people the opportunity to grow food, compost waste, work with their neighbours and enjoy a great new public space. The residents’ association should be very proud of what they have achieved for their community.’

Theresa Greene from Wastewatch who is managing the Our Common Place project in Lambeth, came along to the event with the Veolia Recycling bus, to offer practical tips and advice on reducing waste, reusing waste and recycling waste. More information about the project can be found on the Wastewatch website, or here.

The next workshops for the community garden will be on Wednesday, 28^th March from 11am to 4pm to help with the composting area.

Below is a transcript of the interview.

What have you achieved during your time as an MP?

I gave five specific practical pledges, policy related but what I would do as an MP.

1. I would carry on holding on holding surgeries in the same locations as Keith Hill, and also add another location in Brixton, which I have done.

2. I said I would be the first MP to establish an office within the constituency, and I have done that.

3.  I said I would give up my then job as a solicitor, to devote my time to doing my functions as MP. I did the day after I was elected.

4. I would be fully transparent and accountable. All my expenses and allowances are published on my website.

5. I would regularly do people’s question times, which I have done one all over the constituency, with another one currently being arranged.

Those were the five practical things which I committed to do, and I have applied for further money to have more staff, but this enables me to provide a better service to my constituency.

For wider policies, some of the issues I have been more affected by emotionally is the youth violence particularly within the borough, and it is an acute problem for us in Lambeth, as well as other boroughs such as Southwark, Lewisham and Hackney. Almost immediately after my election, it became an even bigger issue than it already was with the death of Zac Olumegbon in June 2010 and the incidents of violence and the tragedies we have seen carries on, and have carried on through to July 2011 with the murder of Nana Darko-Frempong in Tulse Hill, and so the first parliamentary debate which I initiated and held in the House of Commons was on serious youth violence, I have been in very close contact with ministers on this issue and have pressed them for funding, as I don’t think they have provided Lambeth with enough funding to provide adequate youth provision, which is one way to tackle the issue. I have also quite recently become the chairman of the London gangs forum, which basically takes learning and best practice from across all the different boroughs and encourage to learn from each other. This brings together the London boroughs, the home office and other third sector organisations who otherwise are not keyed in and so that is one way I can use to power my office to bring people together and we will be feeding into the governments gun crime consultation which has recently opened, and will submit a report.

A top down solution is not the answer to this problem; it has to be a bottom up with the community working with the different agencies.

Secondly, housing is an issue for many people, in respect to those who are subject to the austerity cuts on benefits, which is making people’s lives hard, but also the ongoing problems we have with lack of investment in social housing stock. I have been working closely with the council, to address not just the provision from Lambeth living but also I have been working with lots of the other registered social landlords and housing associations on individual casework which people have, but also working with them to put pressure on the government to provide money to complete the decent homes updates. I have met with ministers and raised questions in the House of Commons about this, since I was elected.

Thirdly, the other big issue is education. The government have put forward its calibration of the academies programme. I am slightly hesitant about the academies programme, but I am clear it has to be about the local people and local governing bodies to decide. What was very clear to me was that in making the decision whether or not to adopt academy status, the governors just felt they didn’t understand the issues or have access to the information to make an informed decision. I worked with my other Lambeth colleague MP’s, we convened some round tables with school governors and head teachers to discuss and share views on whether or not to adopt academy status and in the course of that we had about 200 governors across Lambeth come along to the events we hosted for them in the house of commons. There are many other things, the other thing is obviously the school places issue. I have met with Cllr Pete Robbins who leads on Children and Young People’s Services and with Tessa Jowell and Kate Hoey. We went to the Department for Education to meet with Michael Gove to press for more money to address the acute problem we have with primary school places.

There are many others, but those are just some of the highlights.

Would you say it’s been a successful two years for you?

I am pleased that where we can we have helped thousands of constituents with individual casework, but what I find frustrating at a national level is not being in government. I am a member of the shadow cabinet, and we have a constitutional agreement to hold the government to account, but we are not the ones in control of the levers, and there are so many decisions they are making which I think are bad for my community.

Back when you were a Parliamentary Candidate, you listed the biggest challenges in the constituency as:
the economy and the ongoing recession; anti-social behaviour, prostitution and burglary; ensuring that the supply of school places meets demand; ensuring that everyone has access to high quality, affordable, decent housing and housing services; funding for the provision of activities for our youth; the regeneration of Streatham High Road and our main thoroughfares; improved public transport links to the area; and, promoting environmentally sustainable living in the area and reducing the litter and pollution on our streets.

How do you feel this has changed since you’ve been our MP?

I think the Safer Neighbourhood Team’s which Labour established government in all of the wards. In the eight wards in my constituency have been doing fantastic sterling work with the Safer Neighbourhood Panels to address some of these issues, and I think ASB is still an ongoing issue, and is one of the reasons why I thought ASBOs were a good thing. If you had a problem family causing misery to the rest of a block or estate, it helped provide further powers to those in authority to address that. I think it’s still an ongoing issue and this is one of the reasons why I oppose the government’s 20% cut in police funding. We agree with the independent inspector of policing who says that a 12% cut is sustainable and will not affect policing, but 20% is way above and beyond. If we learnt anything from the unrest we had in the borough, it is that police numbers matter.

What ways do you engage with residents and hear their views?

Today we have been out on one of my walkabouts. I have over 20 estates in my constituency and we have been out this morning with residents, officers and members of the SNT to look at issues, and pick up problems.

We are constantly in contact with people via email and over the telephone, people do find it a bit frustrating that we don’t have the telephone line open all day but the reason we don’t have it open all day is if everyone is on the phone all day, then the casework can’t actually be dealt with.

Thirdly, we have the people’s question times, we have had around 7 of these, and I also try to get out and about in the community to different events, there’s usually a flurry of events around summer and Christmas.

I am a massive user of social media, I have picked up casework through social media, Facebook, twitter and also my website to engage with residents.

Also, my advice surgeries and drop in surgeries.

I have to be in the House of Commons all day, Monday to Wednesday and usually half day Thursday, hence I’m not in the constituency as much as I’d like. I usually work a 7 day week, due to my responsibility, but I also have my national responsibility. I try one weekend in four to have my own time, and see family and friends. The demands on your time are huge.

I have also done coffee mornings, and picked up casework.

What does your role of Shadow Business Secretary entail? And how does help your constituency?

We as an opposition have two constitutional functions. Firstly we are there to hold the government to account as Her Majesty’s loyal opposition and to question what they are doing, and to point out where they are getting things wrong, or right. This is an important part of any government to be an effective opposition for democracy to function. And secondly, we are an alternative government, a shadow government, so come to the election we are the alternative that you put forward to the people to run the country, it’s very important so people have a choice. Simply it’s between a Conservative led government with support from the Liberal Democrats which is pursuing an economic policy which goes too far too fast, and has seen long term unemployment in the constituency double in the last 12 months, and chocking off growth, a labour party which is devoted to enabling people individually and their families to achieving their full potential in a strong and cohesive society and a growing economy where wealth is created and people can prosper and succeed.

I am part of that alternative government, and I lead not only on business but also on international trade, universities, further education and postal services and employee rights too. I lead nationally on behalf of the people to hold the government to account on that respect but also in terms of saying this is a different way of doing it. Like any other UK constituency, we have business who are struggling to succeed and expand in the really difficult economic environment, go onto the A23, the longest piece of continuous high street in Europe which I am proud to say runs through my constituency and see the difficulties being faced. We also have further education institutions like Lambeth College, and many young people who want to go to university but are worried about having to pay £9000 tuition fees, so all the national stuff has a huge impact on the people I represent locally, and one of the great things about being in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary is it further empowers me to raise those issues in a high profile way on behalf of the people I represent.

What are your overall views on the tory/lib dem coalition?

My politics start from the view we are all mutually independent so we all depend on each other. My view of conservative party politics is it’s generally a me, myself and I culture. it is important to give individuals the ability prosper, and strive to achieve their best, but having people  needs  a strong society to do that, whether that’s through a good education system , or providing good policing so people running businesses are safe in the knowledge they  are not going to be burgled and looted or in terms of providing the vulnerable, the poor, the people who can’t help themselves, the elderly, the disabled, the infirm whether it is giving them the help that I think we as human beings have a duty to provide. I don’t think that’s something the conservatives subscribe to, they have always ideologically thought that its very much about the individual and that’s it. I don’t really know what the liberal democrats stand for, and all I do know is they promised a lot, to increase investment in our schools and to protect the NHS and not to impose higher tuition fees to people living in this area, and all I do know is they have been part of this government and have supported the plans to basically privatise the NHS, they relayed on their promise not to introduce higher tuition fees, in fact it was the Lib Dem Business Secretary who imposed that on people in this constituency and they have supported policing cuts, all of these are things they and their councillors promised local people that they wouldn’t support and they have.

There is huge concern over the NHS Reforms, what is your view of the NHS and these proposed reforms? Despite the petition having well over 160,000 signatures, the government still say this may not be debated in parliament, do you think this is right?

I think this is wrong, and there should be a full debate of what they are proposing in parliament, and what they thought to do is shut-down by saying the people who are opposing what they are planning; are not wanting to change and reform the NHS where it’s needed. We are not against change and reform, but it’s got to be done in the right way, and they promised there wouldn’t be a top down reorganisation and that’s precisely what they are imposing on the NHS and they are going to waste £2billion in the process which is money which could be spent on patient care, and improving local services.

I am really proud, that under our labour government we saw in our constituency 6 new or improved health centres being built, and everybody loved them.

Would you say you are a keen labour supporter as an MP for Labour?

Absolutely. I joined the labour party because just look at all the things we have done and supported historically, whether it was the establishment of the NHS, our internationalist vision, thoroughly opposing the apartheid regime in south Africa, and the votes for working people and women. We have always been the ones who have been on the front foot when it comes to equal, fair, democratic Britain. The strength of our vision is the thing that has held back the conservatives from winning the majority.

How do you feel about the unpaid work experience scheme the government have in place?

I don’t mind work experience I think it’s a good thing for people to get work experience as I think it helps to improve their ability and enables people to get access to skills, the problem of course with the governments work experience programme is that if you went onto a programme and withdrew, for example if it wasn’t very good and you didn’t get the experience you expected, they would withdraw benefits, which I thought was wrong. Secondly, there is a discipline issue with the government paying commercial organisations to take on people for work experience and then using those people to do work which employees would otherwise do, I think that was worrying, but they appear to have listened to some of the concerns of the businesses who they engaged to do the work experience who said, like I have that stopping peoples benefit if they left the programme was not something they can support, but not opposed to the principal of work experience.

Yesterday you gave a speech at the CBI about reforming the UK economy, can you tell us about this in brief?

One of the things we need to do is we have got two problems, firstly the economy hasn’t quite been delivering for businesses, people and  families for some time, that is one of the reasons we have one of the biggest squeeze on living standards in a generation, despite increases in productivity, efficiency in which our businesses are operated haven’t been translated into higher wages for people, so wages nationally stayed the same, despite inflation and rising costs. Secondly, we are also facing much more competitive pressures coming internationally from other market economies like Brazil, China and Russia, that presents opportunities as a new market to sell our products into, but also more competition for things we already sell. My speech was about how we can work in partnership with business to make sure we are well setup as a country to exploit these new opportunities so they deliver better outcomes for British people. One of the things I actually said during the speech and I talked about Lambeth in the speech, if we want to sell into these new economies we have to improve our language skills, and traditionally we have focussed on French and German in our schools, latterly there has been a bit more focus on Spanish, but I think we need to be looking at what are the language skills which we need as a nation to exploit these new economies. We have one of the largest Portuguese speaking populations in Lambeth, which provides us with a unique link and ability to connect up with Brazil to exploit that big economy and we are just not using it. We need to do much more to make use of that not just for the Diaspora community, but also to create jobs for the community as well.

Do you think the recession is as a result of the coalition?

Yes. We aren’t quite in a recession yet, we’ve had one quarter of negative growth if we get another, and technically we will be in a recession. I hope we don’t get another quarter of negative growth. The simple fact is, our economy has stagnated and flat lined for most of the last 12months, long before the euro zone crisis started to impact on our economy, but the worrying thing is, that is still yet to feed through. That was because of what the government did. When I became an MP, and labour left government, unemployment was falling and growth was rising and business was beginning to flourish again, but because of what they did, confidence fell, and therefore demand fell for goods, so we are in the situation we are. There is just over 2.6million people out of work and in the constituency alone we have just over 4300 people claiming Job Seekers Allowance. That is the situation we find ourselves in, and that’s why we have been arguing they should change course, and adopt our plan for growth which includes creating 100,000 jobs for young people, along the lines of the future jobs fund scheme, which was helping so many people in Lambeth.

We don’t often see you down here, what are you doing for this part of the constituency?

All of the things I have been doing with policing, gang prevention, housing and casework are all throughout the constituency. I don’t think it’s fair to say that I’m not seen around, as I try to get to all parts of the constituency, for example Weir Estate is one of 20 estates in the constituency, so getting around everywhere is a challenge considering the best time I can do that is a Friday or Saturday. We deal with lots of casework from Thornton residents. We have supported the setting up of the Weir Community Garden. I do surgeries within the ward, but these must be organised by appointment.

I held a coffee morning in The Weir Link, and met residents and picked up casework, and attended the Weir Community Day, and recently done a walkabout on the Weir Estate.

We were very sad to hear of the boundary changes, and if these come into force our part of the constituency will form part of the new Clapham common constituency which will be a highly conservative area. Do you think it is right to make these changes, and to split Streatham constituency up so much?

No. I don’t agree with it, and I think the Lib Dems have a lot of explaining to do. I was quite bemused to see they had been putting out leaflets asking residents to rise up and oppose the proposals that their government is putting through, and they support. It’s quite extraordinary. Clapham Common Constituency is forecast to be a marginal.

Chuka would like to thank WERA and everyone involved for the very valuable work you do. Serving the estate and making it the very vibrant community that it is.

 You can contact Chuka by several methods:

email: chuka.umunna.mp@parliament.uk

web: www.chuka.org.uk

twitter: @ChukaUmunna        facebook

This weekend we will also have the Lambeth Council Recycling bus, 11am to 3pm. 

See poster below for full details.

Work has started on our community garden and there also been many other trials and tribulations along the way; but I think we have faced them and tackled all of them. In August 2011, I suffered a stroke and my speech has caused me difficulty to be able to chair any meetings, but I have continued to oversee the work of the association, with the assistance of the Communications Officer and partner, Kieran Casey and our Treasurer, Sue Cranmer. I would like to thank Cllr Lib Peck and Cllr Ed Davie, for stepping in as chair during my period of illness.

Weir Estate Residents Association continued to play a vital role around the estate, and this report is an outline of the association’s year. This year’s main project which I have overseen has been the community garden; from the planning and appointing of contractors, to the work now being almost complete.

Although there have been difficult times, I have strived to ensure all the priorities which the association agreed upon, have been met as fully as possible; more information on our priorities are within this report.

We have continued to build upon our strong partnerships and have continued to find new partnerships during the course of the year. Sadly, a large proportion of the estates residents still fail to come along to the association’s meetings, or do not get involved in many of the other activities, such as the workshops recently held for the community garden. However we must not forget those residents who continue to support the association, and turn out to each meeting without fail. These residents take an active role in the decision making process which continue to see changes brought to our estate.

I continue to have the belief that WERA will continue to strive year on year, and help to support our residents with their voice on both local and national levels, and look forward to residents continuing to support the work of the association throughout the coming year, bring our community together with one collective voice.

Dave McEvoy
Chair 

The full report can be found by clicking here (pdf)

There are currently 27 Children’s Centres in Lambeth and a further three smaller centres known as ‘satellite sites.’ These children’s centres provide borough wide coverage of a range of services for children under five and their families, including integrated childcare, health and family support services. 

We know that our children’s centres are making a difference to the lives of our youngest children and their families, and that the service offered in Lambeth is very good and often outstanding, but changes have to be made.

Click here to download the Proposed changes to Children’s Centres in Lambeth 2012-13 consultation document

FOR WEIR ESTATE RESIDENTS ONLY

 THE WEIR LINK NEEDS YOU!

 The Weir Link is a vibrant and highly successful Community and Children’s established in 2008.  The Centre has been widely recognised for its good work, and has plans to expand its provision in the area of community health and volunteering.

We want to increase the number of Trustees from The Weir Estate.  We are seeking up to 3 people with, knowledge and/or skills gained in the voluntary sector; trade unions; work or university of life.  It would be useful if you had knowledge of any of the following:-

• Community organisations and leadership
• Voluntary sector experience – voluntary or paid
• Financial management; Business development or Fundraising in voluntary sector
• Knowledge around issues for local Under 5 s and their families
• Good knowledge of local community on Weir Estate and other local estates
• Health issues
• Education and Employment – issues for low waged or unemployed
• Negotiating skills; Advertising Marketing in the community

Previous Trustee experience is not essential –training and support will be provided. It is important to us that the Trustee body fully represents the diversity, cultures, experience, and skills that reflect life in Lambeth.  The Weir Link is a local centre developed by local people for local people to be managed by local people. We are therefore seeking applications from local residents, parents/carers members of community groups, as well those with relevant professional or voluntary experience and skills.

To find out more, or to receive an application pack please contact:

Linda Linehan at Abbeville Associates tel 020 7720 1830 or e-mail: admin@abbevilleassociates.co.uk

The closing date for applications is March 23^rd 2012

Interviews will take place on end March (dates to be agreed)

For more information on what we do look up: – www.theweirlink.org

Charity No 1114855 Established 2006

Documents:
Click here for the Advert (doc)
Click here for further information about the Weir Link (doc)
Click here for the latest Weir Link Newsletter (pdf)
Click here for the Application Form (doc)

Your chance to check out job pathways in the environment & energy industries.

our free programme works like this;

1. get on a 3 day residential Energy Academy at the National Resource Centre, near Chester
2. get trained as a home energy assessor
3. get 5 days worth of expenses-paid work experience in March doing Energy Assessments for householders in the Waterloo area
4. collect a cool Certificate and up to £100 in vouchers of your choice
5. get invited to a little reception at The House of Lords in July

Its free, nada, zip; just put in a bit of time and its all yours. Coach leaves 22^nd Feb, back to London, 24^th. Do some half-days out of our Waterloo office whenever suits and you’re done.

by completing the programme, you’ll have the knowledge and skills to;

1. help householders become more environmentally friendly and cut their energy bills
2. help householders access financial support for energy reductions through the use of government websites
3. help householders gain a report into what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint
4. help yourself to show employers and colleges your learning and working potential in the rapidly expanding environmental and energy industries

Limited places so please email, link or call to register and get further information

 waterloo-energy@wcdg.org.uk                       020 7633 9291

Waterloo Energy Academy on Facebook        @WaterlooMatters on Twitter

If  you know someone who freely gives of their time and who deserves recognition then nominate them for anaward by downloading this form and post it back to Cllr Tina Valcarcel, Mayor of Lambeth by  Monday 20 February 2012

Click here to download the form

The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday 4^th April.

Are you wondering what has happened to the proposed 255 bus route being extended via Weir Road?

Back in 2009, after years of campaigning by residents and councillors, Transport for London consulted residents in our area about extending the current 255 bus route. The result from across our neighbourhood was an emphatic ‘yes’. Young and old people backed the proposal – to feel safer at night and to cut down on the use of cars and taxis.

From Lambeth’s point of view, it was all systems go.

But the scheme continues to be blocked by Wandsworth who remain concerned about the impact on a small number of residents in Old Devonshire Road, a vital part of the route.

WERA has continued to lobby our local councillors, and Val Shawcross our London Assembly Member, but sadly the issues with Wandsworth don’t seem to be progressing.

Councillor Lib Peck recently said: “We remain committed to getting the bus into our area and will continue to keep up the pressure on Wandsworth. If you would like to add your voice to the campaign, then please contact the local”.

iSource is for young people between the ages of 11 and 16.

From 6:30pm-7:30pm it is open for young people to come and do their homework in a relaxed environment with qualified teachers offering support and help.

From 7:30pm-9pm iSource turns into a youth club offering table tennis (currently with a coach offering pointers with the help of funding from Molly Huggins), pool, football, hockey, movies and more.

iSource is free is you come at 6:30 for the home work club. If you’re coming just for the youth club it is £1.

Venue: St Stephen’s Church Centre, Weir Road, London SW12 0NU

Click here for PDF poster

For further information, please contact Hannah Phillips, email: hannah.phillips@stwss.org.uk

Digital TV switchover is the biggest change in television since the introduction of colour. Are you ready for it?

In April 2012, the digital TV switchover will take place across London. If you are still watching analogue TV (five channels or fewer) on any of your sets, you need to convert them to digital or you will lose TV channels.

Almost everyone will be able to watch Freeview after the switchover, even homes currently out of coverage. Virtually any TV can be converted using a Freeview box, digital satellite service or digital cable.

For eligible older (over 75) or disabled viewers who may find the switch difficult, the BBC-run Switchover Help Scheme can provide everything you need to switch one TV to digital.

If you have any questions, or want to check your options for going digital, visit Digital UK’s website or call their advice line on 08456 50 50 50.

Leaflets in languages other than English as well as videos with subtitles and BSL signing are available from the Digital UK Community outreach page.

For further information on the Switchover Help Scheme visit www.helpscheme.co.uk or call 0800 40 85 900 (textphone 0800 40 85 936).

Click here for Frequenty Asked Questions

January 2012

TO: All Residents of Weir Estate

Dear Resident

Weir Estate Residents Association – Annual General Meeting 2012
Weir Estate Residents Association will be holding the Annual General Meeting on:

Tuesday, 21^st February 2012, 7pm to 9pm
at The Weir Link, 33 Weir Road, London SW12 0NU

This meeting and election of officers is a very important part of securing the future of Weir Estate Residents Association and the future of our estate in what will be continuing tough times of change and hardship for everyone living on a council estate, and obtaining local council services. Government and local authority cuts are continuing, and this year could prove to be tougher following last year’s cuts.

Associations like ours are at the forefront of fighting for your rights as part of these government changes, with Lambeth council adopting the co-operative council model, and central governments, ‘Big Society’ programme.

If you come along and get involved, you can help to ensure that we can continue to improve your homes, your estate and your community; help to make Weir Estate a safer, cleaner and better estate.

Please do not miss this meeting and think someone else will speak for you, this meeting is your chance to help set the priorities to be tackled for the year ahead, and elect the right people to manage the association.

This meeting is very important and we encourage your participation at this and future meetings.

Please attend and make sure your views are heard. This will be a very exciting year ahead for all on the estate, with the completion of the Weir Community Garden; and your involvement in this meeting and the future of WERA will ensure we can continue to do major projects such as this.

The agenda will be available at the meeting and available online on our website www.wera.org.uk, in the week prior to the meeting.

Our annual report will be published on 21^st February 2012, the date of the Annual General Meeting, and will be available at the meeting, as well as being available online; residents who are not able to attend the meeting, can request a copy by writing to us at the address (or email) overleaf.

If you would like to discuss any of the information in this letter, or for further information about the AGM, or to nominate yourself or someone for a position, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@wera.org.uk

As part of this pack, we have attached the role descriptions for the main positions:

● Chair
● Vice-Chair
● Secretary
● Treasurer
● Committee members

Yours faithfully,

WERA Executive Committee

Weir Estate Residents Association
c/o The Weir Link ▪ 33 Weir Road ▪ London ▪ SW12 0NU 
e: info@wera.org.uk ▪ w: www.wera.org.uk

If you would like further information, please contact us info@wera.org.uk

Mosaic making for all ages.
Learn new skills and meet new people in a flexible and friendly environment with professional teaching staff.

At The Weir Link, 33 Weir Road, London SW12 0NU

on Thursday 24^th November, Saturday 26^th November, Sunday 27^th Nov, Thursday 1^st December and Thursday 8^th December 10-3pm

Learn how to make beautiful mosaics for your home and garden.
Take part in making permanent artworks for Weir Garden. We need your help to make the Weir Community Garden a special place for growing, eating and sharing.
Come along, have your say and get involved.

For more information call 07867 683169 or email touchwoodtrees@yahoo.com or drop in!

Lambeth Living working in conjunction with the RSPCA London South East Branch has arranged a Free Micro-chipping day for cats and dogs.

The micro-chipping will take place at Central Area Housing Office, Greenleaf Close, Brixton, SW4 9QU, on Friday 16^th December 2011, 4.30pm to 7pm.

Micro-chipping will be done free of charge, with donations gratefully received by the RSPCA.
No appointment is required.

For further information, contact 07952 680 522.

The project is supported by Lambeth Council Environmental Services.

Lambeth Council are planning their new housing strategy for 2012 to 2016 and want your feedback to help create a shared vision for all housing in the borough, setting out how they will work with their partners and residents to improve housing and housing services. 

They would like you to tell them what your key priorities are by completing an online survey by 31 December 2011.

Lambeth Council want to be the first Cooperative Council and with the help of people like you, they are taking a new approach to developing a strategy that will be coproduced with resident input.

Lambeth’s top cop will be stepping down next month – against his wishes.

Chief Superintendent Nick Ephgrave, Lambeth’s Borough Commander had asked police bosses to let him stay on whilst he attended a three-month senior development course from January 2012, but in the interests of “continuity”, they have decided to relieve him of his role.

His replacement has yet to be named.

In a letter to residents, Chief Supt Ephgrave said his time as Borough Commander had been “the most challenging and satisfying period” of his police career, adding that he had been “blessed” to work with “so many committed and public-spirited people”.

He said: “The Metropolitan Police has taken the view that in the interests of continuity and performance focus, Lambeth borough would be better served by appointing a new borough commander prior to my attending the course.

“I have made representations to remain and I am grateful for the support I have received from partners in this respect. Nonetheless, the decision stands.

“I will look back on my time at Lambeth as the most challenging and satisfying period in my service.

“Without doubt, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to work with so many committed and public-spirited people and I believe we have achieved many things together over the past two-and-a-half years.”

WERA would like to wish the Borough Commander our best wishes for the future, and thank him for his hard work for the borough. WERA has been delighted to have the Borough Commander at the Weir Community Day earlier this year.

You will have the chance to learn more about housing in Lambeth and to discuss your vision for your homes and neighbourhoods.

This year we are introducing a number of new and exciting features including:

• an interactive repairs zone
• a speed dating event – a chance to briefly meet different organisations, find out what’s going on in your area and learn about ways you could get involved
• a market zone – featuring information and stalls
• a video room – have a suggestion? Let us know on camera
• a big prize – raffle and quiz with a chance to win a number of prizes.

You will also have the opportunity to listen to and question a panel of senior housing officers, councillors and special guest speakers and to attend a variety of informative workshops.

If you would like to attend, please fill in the booking form and email it to housingconference@lambeth.gov.uk by Thursday 3 November 2011.

Lambeth Living, the council’s arms-length-management organisation (ALMO) have announced plans to outsource their call centre operations to private company, Vangent. The move is planned to take place in from 1^st December until 30^th September 2012, with Lambeth Living having full control over the contract.

Vangent will manage Lambeth Living’s call centre operations and this will provide significant cost savings to Lambeth Living which can be reinvested in services to tenants and leaseholders. Tenants and Leaseholders will receive a much improved service as the contract with Vangent sets high performance levels ensuring that Lambeth Living delivers the ‘Lambeth Promise’.

Vangent is experienced in handing Lambeth Living’s core business areas, in particular issues around repairs and co-location of contractor staff with call centre staff.

It is expected that the transition will be seamless, and the same range of services will be delivered through the new call centre as present. The numbers used by tenants and leaseholders to contact the call centre will not change; and the current staff who deliver the service will transfer to Vangent to deliver the service under the new contract.

The contract has been entered into using the existing out of hours framework agreement, which expires on 30^th September 2012, with work already underway to procure a  longer term 4-5 year contract, which should come into effect on 1^st October 2012.

Update:

Neil Litherland, Lambeth Living Chief Executive said “Lambeth Living provides a wide range of services to over 30,000 residents who prefer to contact us by telephone. They have told us they want to get through quicker and speak to someone who can sort things out. We are looking forward to residents seeing the benefits of Vangent’s track record”.

The Lambeth Health Trainers will hold weekly health sessions on Tuesdays at The Weir Link. The Health Trainers are qualified to national standards and can support you to

• eat more healthily
• lose weight
• stop smoking
• be more active
• drink sensibly 
• reduce stress. 

Health Trainers are a team of local men and women who have a range of skills, including speaking languages that reflect the diversity of Lambeth. The Health Trainers can give one to one support, encourage and motivate you to make changes, help you find out more about health issues.

When?
Tuesdays, 3pm to 5pm

Where?
Weir2@St Stephen’s Centre, 35 Weir Road, London SW12 0NU
For more information on this free and confidential service or to book a place, please contact:

Lambeth Health Trainer Service on 020 3049 4474 or email: Lam-pct.HealthTrainerService@nhs.net

A free creche is available. 

The aim of the project is to increase recycling in the estates, to decrease general waste, to ensure that resident’s wellbeing is looked after and to increase the capacity of the community as a whole.

To do this in each estate I am helping residents to put whatever they want to see happen into action. This has been very different across each estate such as looking at recycled craft, using grey water, help a neighbour scheme, composting, making wormeries, training for young people and doing memories workshops. In Weir estate maybe it could be helping out with the community garden and give some support there.

If there is anything you would like to see happen in Weir or that is already happening and you feel you need a bit more support please let me know via email Theresa.Greene@wastewatch.org.uk or phone 07738 343 340.

Over the next few weeks it would be great to meet all of you and maybe hold a short and fun workshop to get all the ideas out there.

Residents may have noticed a new recycling bank on Weir Estate. The latest recycling bank is painted like a ladybird, and is for recycling of textiles. The association was successful in receiving the bank after approaching Lambeth Recycling.

WERA’s Communications Officer, Kieran Casey said “The extra recycling facilities on the estate will add a boost to the recycling available to residents. We hope residents will use the new facility when they have textiles to be disposed of, and will use the bank in the appropriate manner, and not contaminate it with other waste.”

The recycling bank will be emptied by Chris Carey’s Collections.

A lot of the textiles are remanufactured in the UK, many are resold or remanufactured worldwide. This produces employment on a global scale.

Some of the textiles will be sorted and mutilated so that the fibres are ready for re–weaving. This material is then compressed and distributed to companies for remanufacture into wadding, damp proofing and car lining etc.

We are looking for individuals as well as members of community groups to become Lambeth’s first ever snow wardens and make our pavements and footpaths safer for everyone.

During the winter months our focus is on keeping public services and main transport routes running. We’re continuing with our usual winter maintenance service this year, but this still means that many quieter residential roads don’t get gritted. This is why we are offering you the opportunity to get involved and make a real difference in your local area.
We will give our snow wardens all the training and tools they will need, including;

• a shovel
• hi-visibility jacket
• gloves
• grit bin
• a supply of grit.

We will provide community groups with additional equipment which can be shared amongst members.

Training sessions will be held during the weeks beginning 10 October and 24 October 2011, with some sessions during the early evening and some during the day. The sessions will be a great opportunity to meet and mix with other snow wardens in your area.
Cllr Lorna Campbell, Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability on Lambeth Council, explained:

“Council gritter lorries and staff will still spread grit on all the main roads and footpaths as usual, but the idea is to give more power to make a difference in their local area, especially on quieter residential streets.

“This is a really good example of what we mean by making Lambeth a Cooperative borough – empowering residents who want to get more involved in helping their local community by giving them the tools to do so.”

“The council will deliver a supply of grit to the residents who have registered their interest before bad weather is due, so it is ready to be used as soon as the snow starts to settle. This will ensure that they will be ready to act quickly, particularly to help out older and vulnerable residents in their street.”
To sign up as a volunteer or to simply find out more about the scheme email SnowWardens@lambeth.gov.uk or phone 020 7926 0524.
Up to date information on the scheme can also be found at www.lambeth.gov.uk/snowwarden.

As of 30^th September the Worsopp Drive Office will close permanently,

This is due to the poor state of the building and the lack of staff to provide necessary cover

During September the office will continue to open from 9.30am to 12.30pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Alternative ways to Lambeth Living

To report a repair, make an appointment, any other enquiry, Please ring the Lambeth Service Centre on 0207 926 6000

You may also visit:

Central Area Office at Greenleaf Close, Tulse Hill Estate, SW2 2HB (buses 2,415,432 from Brixton centre) Open 9.30am to 5.00pm

Brixton Customer Services Centre, Olive Morris House, 18 Brixton Hill,SW2 1RD Opening Hours

Streatham Customer Services Centre, 2-8 Gracefield Gardens, SW16 2ST Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm

If you have difficulties getting to any of these locations please let contact Lambeth Living to arrange a home visit.

Are you looking for a Primary School and you do not know where to begin?

If yes, then come along:

When?  Thursday, 15th September 2011, 13:30—14:30

Tuesday, 20th September 2011, 18:00—19:00

 Where?  The Weir Link Centre, 33 Weir Road, SW12 0NU

 Free crèche is available, but places are limited and must be booked in advance.

All enquiries should be made to The Weir Link on 020 8675 2481

Click here for the PDF poster

ALL RESIDENTS:

We would like to invite all residents to meet the current Lambeth Living Chief Executive, Neil Litherland and Keith Hill the Chair of the Lambeth Living Board this Monday, Monday 22^nd August 2011 at 2pm outside the Weir Link.

We have been requested to take part in a photo session for Lambeth Living’s end of year reports and promotional material as a model Lambeth Living estate and shining example of a thriving residents association. Though this is a late request we would be grateful if as many of you would attend to support your association and take part in the photo call. You will also be able to put any questions to either Mr Litherland or Mr Hill about your home or Lambeth Living. We do not anticipate that the photos to take up too much of your time. We would appreciate it if you could spare 15 to 20 minutes of your time, if you have children they are welcome to come along and be part of the pictures too! WERA is delighted to once again be able to showcase our fantastic estate.

As this is for the benefit of our association and our estate we are keen to work with Lambeth Living and showcase a strong estate made up of the many great residents we have living here. This is open to all residents whether you are a council tenant or leaseholder. It will be an ideal opportunity for you to raise any concerns or pose any questions you have to the key decision makers affecting our homes in Lambeth.

We hope you will be able to attend and support us and our estate as a community. Please support your association.

Should you be able to attend, please be outside the Weir Link, 33 Weir Road, London SW12 0NU by 2pm!

We hope you can attend and we look forward to seeing as many residents as possible attending. If you have any questions please email us.

We hope to see you on Monday at 2pm. Thank you.

We would like to apologise for the late notice of this request. Please do attend and ask any questions you may have!

Thornton’s councillors have urged local residents to get involved in a council event to improve our community.

Following the many offers of help that the Council has received after the recent public disorder, we would like to get everyone together at a drop in session on Wednesday 17 August between 6 to 8pm at the Town Hall.

Come along to find out how you can help to support activities in your local community: for example by helping out at a local project for a few hours a week, signing up as a mentor or befriending an elderly neighbour.

There will be a chance to speak with others and discuss local concerns. The community in Lambeth is strong and resilient and by working together we can make a real lasting difference to life in the borough.

Cllr Ed Davie said: ‘The vast majority of people in Lambeth are hard-working, law-abiding and want their community to be a better place and we saw that spirit in the wake of the disturbances when so many volunteered to help clear up. We want to keep up the momentum and use that energy to get more people involved in community activity.’

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Time: 6pm to 8pm

Venue: Assembly Hall, Lambeth Town Hall

If you can’t make Wednesday but want to get involved contact cooperativecouncil@lambeth.gov.uk or @lambeth_council on twitter.

The St Michael’s Fellowship are holding a Blind Date event:

An exciting opportunity for young parents to gain insight and understanding about relationships, communication within relationships and the stages of relationships.

• Giveaways/Goody bags!
• Pampering for both dads and mums!
• Portrait session for parents and their child/ren!
• Food and drinks provided!

The event is being held in Weir2@St Stephen’s Centre,35 Weir Road, SW12 0NU
Wednesday 17th August – 11am to 4pm 

Click here to download the flyer (pdf)

Nearest bus stop: Poynders Road: 50, 355 Kings Avenue 137, 417

]]> http://www.wera.org.uk/2011/08/12/st-michaels-fellowship-blind-date-event/feed/ 0 http://www.wera.org.uk/2011/08/12/new-age-inc-employment-training/ http://www.wera.org.uk/2011/08/12/new-age-inc-employment-training/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:00:14 +0000 admin http://www.wera.org.uk/?p=1904 If you are seeking employment or the skills needed to find employment come along and receive support with the following:

• Skills for employment Training (CVs and Interview techniques)
• Job search
• Placements/Volunteering
• Apprenticeships

Venue:

1-4 Brixton Hill Place, Brixton Hill, SW2 1HJ

Times:

• Tuesday 2pm – 5pm Drop-in service
• Thursday 2pm – 5pm  Skills for employment Training

Contact Fred on 0758828890 for more info

Weir Estate is today featured in a news story on the BBC News Website.

Click the link to view the story….  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13903675

Recycling bins throughout Weir Estate are being filled with non-recyclable items. These items are classed as contamination and could mean the entire contents of the recycling bin may not be recycled.

The main types of contamination are carrier bags, food waste and textiles. These cannot be placed within the recycling bins. Carrier bags can be recycled at some supermarkets. Textiles can be placed in recycling banks specifically for textiles, or you can donate them to charity.

If you use black sacks within your home to hold recycling waste, please do not put them into your shared recycling bins. When black sacks are spotted at the sorting plant it is assumed they are full of general waste and are disposed of, so please empty recycling into the recycling bin,

and dispose of black sacks with general waste.
For more information on recycling, contact Lambeth Service Centre on 020 7926 9000 or email recycling@lambeth.gov.uk or visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/recycling

What you can recycle…

Please do not buzz strangers into the blocks on the estate; only allow people entry if you are expecting visitors. As well as this, be vigilant not to let strangers follow you in through the security doors, this has always been an issue in Lambeth Living properties, but again boils down to residents looking out for each other and not permitting strangers entry.

Thornton Safer Neighbourhood Team can be contacted by telephone on 020 8721 2622 or on the team mobile 07920 233 840.
You can also email the team Thornton.SNT@met.police.uk

The Metropolitan Police Service recently launched the new 101 Non-Emergency number.

Newly appointed secretary, Jacqui Niles with Dave McEvoy, WERA Chair

Weir Estate Residents Association has elected another new secretary and executive officer in resident, Jacqui Niles. The election is the second this year. Jacqui was appointed at the association’s recent meeting by an un-opposed nomination.

Miss Niles election follows the resignation of previous secretary, Debbie Wydler due to work related commitments two months after being elected by members at the Annual General meeting held in February this year.

At the association’s recent meeting, Jacqui Niles a mum of two, nominated herself for the position of secretary and was quickly elected at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) by residents present.

Miss Niles has been a resident on the estate for 18 years where despite having a job in the city working in finance and a Personal Assistant will be using her expertise and knowledge to volunteer to carry out the essential position as secretary and an executive officer.

Following her election, Jacqui said ‘I am pleased to have been elected as Secretary of WERA and have seen an enormous difference the association has made to the Estate.  Having attended my first meeting I noticed how we can all play a part in the future of our estate by coming along and expressing our views as well as supporting WERA in any way that we can.’

She added ‘I am extremely enthusiastic about taking on this role and intend to bring fresh ideas and am proud to be part of an organisation that works very hard to implement new changes for the benefit of the residents.

I am also looking forward to working alongside my colleagues and hope the association continues to be a long term success.’

The secretary role can be a varied position that also carries much responsibility for the smooth running of the association such as preparing documents for meetings and ensuring this is ready for distribution as well as taking and recording all minutes of any meetings held by the association.

The association secretary also keeps accurate records such as previous minutes of forum and external meetings attended by WERA, agendas and correspondence. The position also qualifies as an executive role alongside the Chair and Treasurer with a vice chair position going unfilled at the EGM meeting.

Dave McEvoy, WERA Chair said of Jacqui’s appointment ‘I am truly grateful and delighted that Jacqui has come forward to fulfil what is an essential role within our association.  Jacqui will be a truly great addition and ambassador and bring fantastic new ideas for a great future of this association with passion and enthusiasm to improve our community.’

Dave added ‘I would personally like to congratulate her on her recent election and look forward to working closely with her for the benefit of Weir Estate residents and our Association and am more than confident she will be a fantastic addition to our executive team along with Sue our executive colleague and our committee members.’

The position became vacant just two months after the Annual general meeting when former secretary and estate resident, Debbie wydler resigned putting pressure on the association to appoint a new executive secretary.

Jacqui is now in post and is keen to make the role her own as WERA strives to find new ways to improve the estate with new exciting projects such as a community garden project due to open later in the year.

WERA still needs to elect a vice chair as members were warned that failure to identify and appoint one could see the departure of current chair, Dave McEvoy.

Minutes of the meeting and Jacqui’s election will be available on this website soon.

Works to install the Weir Community Garden have been delayed due to the discovery of a major gas leak affecting flats on Anfield Close. The Garden is being developed by Weir Estate Residents Association and had been due to open later this year. Works had begun to install fencing and had been due to be finished before four major leaks were discovered by Southern Gas Networks after concerns were raised by residents.

The Community Garden was being worked on by SSG Landscapes to install fencing however this has been halted while works to locate and fix the burst mains pipe running along the front of the block.

Residents living in six properties on Anfield Close had been left without a gas supply for a week while the gas board installed new pipes to the flats most affected.  The leak had been discovered after residents had complained of a constant smell of gas in the area.

Works were underway to open the garden later in the year however this has been held up due to the leak which has now been fixed however further repair works still need to be carried out.  Dave McEvoy, WERA’s Chair said “This is a very unfortunate unforeseen delay but the safety of residents and homes is and will always remain the up-most priority.  We are disappointed that the project to install an exciting new community and estate asset will be held up but this is an unexpected delay that is beyond our control.”

Works will continue to install fencing in the next couple of weeks once the gas board have left the site and it has been handed back to the garden installation contractors. The project may now not open until later than expected when Touchwood Trees will take over the development of the garden project alongside residents.

There will need to be some remedial works to repair the fences already installed as damage was caused during the erecting of scaffolding.

These works will begin shortly.

Photo (c) Lambeth council

Lambeth council has sealed a 10 year deal with Capita, to outsource its customer services function, including its call-centre and council tax collection and save £1m per year.

As part of the deal, £6.5 million will be made available by Capita to invest in new technology that will allow residents to deal with the council when convenient, by text message, online or any other method that suits them.

Cllr Paul McGlone, cabinet member for finance, said: “We are determined to make the whole experience of contacting the council easier and as hassle free as possible, and this will lead to a much improved experience when people contact us to pay their council tax, inquire about their benefits, find out about a service or report a problem.

“We understand our residents have busy lives, and they want the business of dealing with the council to be as quick and pain free as possible. In the past dealing with the council has not always been as easy as it should have been, but these changes will markedly improve our customer service standards as well as representing better value for money.”

As part of the deal, Capita is to invest £500,000 into a Community Development Trust to support residents.

The company has offered to create opportunities to train Lambeth residents within Capita’s London based businesses, to enhance their employment opportunities.

It will also launch a Support Young People programme that will mentor and support local young people into education, employment and training, as well as providing 40 apprenticeships to local people for jobs within the organisation.