From 2006 to 2010, I was a councillor for Lee Green ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. During that time, I blogged regularly and in 2009 I won the Tim Garden Award for the Best Blog by a Liberal Democrat Holding Public Office. My blog posts from my term of office are archived here in case they prove of use to former constituents, or to those who share my annoyance with faulty street furniture
Final post for tonight! We intended to have a 20 min discussion on the locality fund at last night’s meeting, but because we started slightly late (people were still queuing to get in!) and discussion on leegate and traffic issues over-ran, we didn’t have chance to discuss it as we’d have liked.
Instead, we shared the suggestions that have already been received and asked for views. We also asked people if they had any further suggestions of their own. Ade from the assembly team is going to collate all the responses we received last night.
If you’re not already aware of it, the locality fund is £10,000 that’s allocated to your councillors each year to spend on improvements that benefit Lee Green. There aren’t many restictions on what it can be spent on, other than that the funding must be used by the end of the financial year (31st March 09) and that it can’t be used to employ staff. In the past, it’s funded bins, benches, community notice boards, and all sorts of other stuff, including some great poetry evenings!
If you’ve got an idea for this year’s fund, then do get it in to us by the end of the month. You can either fill in this form, or drop one of your councillors a line. If you’re having problems costing a proposal, then we might be able to help – let us know!
Dear Councillor Robson,
Lee Oasis is a local volunteer group based at the URC church hall in Lee. We recycle donated furniture, bedding and clothes free to people leaving the hostels at Mayfield and Ashlee, on Burnt Ash Hill, and other disadvantaged households around Lewisham and borders referred to us by the borough’s social services, Connexions, DIP etc.
We have attracted grants to buy in reconditioned cookers and fridges, and pay for PAT testing of donated kettles and microwaves, and expenses for unemployed users wanting to put something back by volunteering themselves. All our services and goods are free. We now have 73 volunteers and our van runs three times a week, picking up and dropping off bulky items that don’t fit in private cars.
This year we have been refused the £2,500 Faith in Lewisham Fund grant that covers half our core expenses (diesel, insurance etc) and may have to cut back our service as evictions and homelessness rise.
I have only just heard about this Locality grant. Would we qualify, and are we too late??
Please advise.
Best wishes, Jay Sivell (Ms) for Lee Oasis committee
PS Councillor Bentley knows all about us.