Manor Lane must be one of the busiest roads through our area.  Many residents will use it to reach the South Circular or to head down towards Lee High Road.  It’s also used as a rat-run by many motorists.

Recently, some residents approached the local Lib Dem team, concerned that the various speed limit signs the Council has put in are contradictory.  Sure enough, signs at the entrance to Manor Lane from the South Circular tell you you’re entering a 20MPH zone – which you are.  But drive up Manor Lane towards the South Circular, and just before you hit the railway bridge, the round signs painted on the road tell you you’re entering a 30MPH zone.    They also said you were entering a 30MPH zone if you were driving towards Manor House Gardens!

We took this up with the Council, and asked that all the signs were inspected and corrected.  They’ve altered the sign painted on the road at one side – so it says the limit is 20MPH heading towards the park.  But they haven’t altered the sign painted on the road as you head to the South Circular.  So we seem to have a situation where if you’re heading north on Manor Lane, the limit’s 20, and if you’re heading south towards the South Circular, the limit’s 30 once you reach the railway bridge. <

This is an unacceptable state of affairs, so we’ve gone back to the Council and asked them to finish the job!

Now the snow’s melted, the damage the freeze has caused to our roads and water mains is clear.  Sven and I spent some time today identifying pot holes, damged road surfaces and water leaks so we can report them to the Council or Thames Water as appropriate.   There are plenty about – including on Manor Park, Staplehurst Road, Fernbrook Road, Manor Lane, St Mildred’s Road, Upwood Road, Micheldever Road, Lee High Road and Burnt Ash Road.

Whilst we were on Burnt Ash Road, we bumped into a member of staff from Thames Water, who was attending to a leaking main outside number 84 Burnt Ash Road, which Sven had already reported to them.  It’s good to see these reports are being acted upon.

If you do know of a pothole or leaking water main that needs attention, do let us know.  Potholes in particular can be dangerous for some road users, especially cyclists and motorcyclists.

Alternatively, you can report them directly.

• Potholes can be reported using the form on the Council website
• Damage to red routes (e.g. Lee High Road, Eltham Road, St Mildreds Road) can be reported to Transport for London
• Water leaks can be reported directly to Thames Water on 0800 714 614.

I’ve posted a couple of times about the dog control orders.  At the last local assembly, Sam Kirk from the Council came to talk to the assembly about the orders.  They take effect today.

From today an on-the-spot fine of £75.00 can be given to people who:

•  Fail to remove their dog’s faeces from a public place
• Do not keep their dog on a lead in a designated area such as a park or open space – these will be sign-posted in public areas
• Do not put, or keep their dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer
• Permit their dog to enter land to which dogs are excluded – these will be sign-posted
• Take more than 4 dogs onto land at any one time

You might have seen some of the warning notices that have already been posted on lamposts around the ward.  As well as Council enforcement officers other partners such as Safer Neighbourhood Teams, Neighbourhood Wardens, housing partners and the Council’s parks contractors, will have the authority to issue the Fixed Penalty Notices if people do not comply with the regulations.

 The Dog Control Orders exclude people who are registered blind with a guide dog and people with trained/registered support dogs. 

As part of its drive to encourage responsible dog ownership, Lewisham Council holds free dog microchipping events around the borough. Contact Lewisham Animal Welfare Team on 020 8314 2098 for more information.   For further information about the locations where the Dog Control Order applies, visit www.lewisham.gov.uk/dogs

The following comes from the Met Police.  Do contact them if you have any information.

Police are appealing for witnesses or information to a collision in which a 42 year old man died.

It happened on Monday 2 November, around 05.30 hrs, on Lee High Road at the junction with Brightfield Road, Lee.

A motorcycle rider was in collision with bollards at the side of the road. At this stage it is not known if there were any other vehicles involved.

The 42 year old rider was taken to University Hospital Lewisham but sadly died at 6.40 hrs. We believe we know the identity of the dead man but formal identification is awaited.

An inquest will take place at Ladywell Mortuary on Thursday 5 November. Inquest details are awaited.

The incident is being investigated by the Collision Investigation Unit based at Catford Traffic Garage.

DI Mark Cam said: “Even though it was early in the morning, the collision occurred on a busy main road and not far from the junction with Burnt Ash Road, another main route through south east London.

“I would like to hear from anyone who saw anything of the incident or may have seen the motorbike beforehand. The motorbike is described as a BMW GS 1200 model and it is grey and black.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call 020 8285 1574, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous.

You might remember that I mentioned about a month ago that my colleague Pete Pattisson was planning to run the London 10k for the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.  

Pete completed the run, and he’s asked me to thank everyone who sponsored him.  He writes:

“A huge thanks to everyone who sponsored my 10K run, in aid of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a charity that helps people stay safe. I joined 27,000 others in the race through the streets of central London, raising £595. Too many people in Lewisham, especially young people, have become victims of violence recently, and so I was proud to do my small part to help others stay safe.”

Pete’s also too modest to point out that he finished the run in just 44 minutes.

Sven, Pete and I were up on Woodyates Road last night and were disappointed to see that a number of items of street furniture had been tagged, including the bench we funded from last year’s locality fund.   The bench was a request from local residents, so it’s sad to see it defaced like this.  All the tagging looks like it’s by the same culprit.

I’ve reported this to the Council and asked for it to be removed ASAP.  If anyone knows who’s responsible for the tagging, please do let me or our local Safer Neighbourhoods Team know.