Councillors Column

Councillor Charlie Smith - Goose Green Labour Councillor | charlie.smith@southwark.gov.uk

Cleaner,Greener, Safer and Neighbourhood awards Councillors James McAsh, Victoria Olisa and Charlie Smith agreed a number of awards for local groups at a joint Ward meeting held in March. A few examples. • Goose Green Nursery, Wellness and Wellies. To pay for garden planters and equipment. • North Cross Road, Tote bags. • Harris Primary School, to supply air purifiers. • St Johns & St Clements primary school, greening of the playground with planters and trees. • Supply and install three new benches in Goose Green Ward. • To supply anti idling signage across the Dulwich area particularly near schools. • Reseeding the meadows in Goose Green to encourage more butterflies and bees. • Supply and install decorative lighting in North Cross Road. • Allocation to the Dulwich Festival. • East Dulwich Community Centre open days. • Goose Green primary school, Xpression Sessions, to combat mental health. • Link Age Southwark, Gentle exercise for older people. • Matham Grove Street party. • St John the Evangelist Church, Music by the Green, building community participation. • Vale Residents Association, street parties. Healthy Streets I went to a well attended meeting at James Alleyns Girls School regarding a consultation that would see both Eynella Road and Carlton Avenue closed permanently to motor vehicles. There is a potential knock on effect for extra traffic to come through some of the roads in Goose Green Ward. I have had meetings with Council officers to look at this problem and suggest alternatives. Also, the Council is looking at the problem of speeding traffic in Lordship Lane and a possible consultation will be happening in the future.

Safer Neighbourhood Police Meeting I sat down with Councillor Victoria Olisa along with the local police team to discuss crime in the area. A number of shopkeepers from Lordship Lane and Northcross Road attended the meeting. There has been a substantial increase in shoplifting in these streets. The retailers commented how brazen many of these shoplifters have become. Victoria and myself along with the local police will be looking at a number of ideas to tackle this problem. Controlled Parking Zones Peckham West CPZ area came into operation at the end of March. The timetable for the East Dulwich CPZ is, signs and yellow lines installed by early April. Permits will be available for purchase from 13th April. The live date is 11th of May. A review of both of the CPZ’s will be carried out Autumn/ Winter 2020 for Peckham West and Winter2020/ Spring 2021 for East Dulwich.