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A few photos from today's Carnival against the Cuts in Lewisham. It was a really well-attended event, despite the drizzly weather, with around 700-1000 people taking part. It was also nice to see the expensive tellytubby hillocks by Lewisham roundabout being put to good community use for the speeches etc afterwards! At last Thursday's Mayor and Cabinet meeting, a swathe of cuts were agreed, including 'closure' of 5 of our libraries (there may be some kind of continued community use, but... Read Full Story

A couple of weeks ago the South London Press reported that the Council was looking for community and sports groups to take over the management of Ladywell Arena (the athletics track and gym on the Catford side of Ladywell Fields). I was a bit alarmed about what this meant – was the Council still committed to keeping the arena open, or was it planning to offload it in a bid to cut costs, along with the libraries, children’s centres etc? So I wrote to the Council and asked for a bit more... Read Full Story

The Ladywell Assembly last night featured an information session with council officer Nick Long about bringing empty properties back into use – the powers the council has to deal with them and an update on empty properties in the ward that they are dealing with. In addition to the Nightwatch building on Ladywell Road (fingers crossed) and the empty flats above Corals on the corner with Algernon Road (no sign of concern or interest, to put it mildly, by the owners, apparently another betting... Read Full Story

Way back in 2009, Ute worked closely with local residents to make a proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act, to try to give Councils more powers to turn down betting shops in areas where there were already a number of bookies. The proposals were agreed at Ladywell Ward Assembly, then passed on by Lewisham to the Local Government Association and from them on to the government. See here for more details. Well, it's been a long time coming, what with having a new government and all that... Read Full Story

1 Slagrove Place, which until recently housed Ladywell Training Centre (an in-house training centre for council staff) is being auction off by Lewisham Council on 17th February, with a guide price of £450,000 . Originally it was the porter's lodge and stables of the St. Olave's/Bermondsey Union's Workhouse , a vast Victorian workhouse which used to cover the whole area now occupied by Pepermead Square, Dressington Avenue and Slagrove Place. The (listed) water tower on Dressington Avenue and... Read Full Story

Oops, it's been a while since I last posted on here - I've been getting on with life outside politics, but there are a number of local events coming up worth supporting: Saturday 5th February: Lewisham libraries 'read-ins' in protest at proposals to close 5 of the borough's libraries. Crofton Park & Sydenham 11:30am - 1.00pm, Blackheath Village & Grove Park 2.00 - 3.00pm, New Cross 3pm onwards. Turn up, read and (quietly but clearly) make your voice heard. [UPDATED 20.21: I forgot to mention... Read Full Story

A few anti-cuts events coming up locally this week that I wanted to highlight: Wed 24th Nov: Lewisham Right to Work Public meeting with PCS Gen Sec Mark Serwotka , 7pm, Lewisham Methodist Church, Albion Way. Details here . Thurs 25th Nov: Goldsmiths University Rally Against the cuts with Tony Benn . 6.30pm, Great Hall, Goldsmiths College, Lewisham Way. Details here . Mon 29th Nov: Lobby of Full Council to oppose cuts . 6.30pm. Details here . I don't see eye to eye with everything some members... Read Full Story

Ladywell Village Improvement Group is holding a meeting at the St Mary's Centre , Ladywell Road, TONIGHT (Tuesday November 23 at 7.30pm . ) On the agenda are: Ladywell Christmas Market, an update on the streetscape plans, help organise a tree sponsorship campaign in the high street, and find out the latest on the Playtower. The item tha t caught my eye is the proposal for a community garden scheme on the former Watergate School in Church Grove. My understanding is that residents are working... Read Full Story

It's a little bit after the event now, but in case there's anyone who doesn't know, Labour held the seat in the recent Ladywell ward by-election, although it was a pretty close run thing in the end. Both Labour and the Green vote went up, while the Lib Dems and Tories both went down. The Green vote up by the most, and we have narrowed the gap between us and Labour a bit more. The results were: Carl Handley, Labour 1231 (41%, up 2.4% since May) Ute Michel, Green 1041 (35%, up 4.3% since May... Read Full Story

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