The decent homes programme is a government scheme aimed at bringing social housing (council and housing association properties) up to a pretty minimal standard by the year 2010. Most councils have just got on and done this.  There’s government money available to do it, and there are several ways to achieve it – by transferring stock to a housing association (like at Leybridge Court), by a PFI (like in Brockley) or via what’s called an ‘Arms Length Management Organisation’ or ALMO.

Lewisham have gone for all three approaches – with different solutions in different areas.  I’ve been supportive of the Leybridge Court transfer, so I don’t at all come at this from a ‘let’s oppose everything the Council does’ angle.

However, the ALMO route has been fraught with difficulty.  The Council were late setting up Lewisham Homes, and it had an appalling start with a dreadful Audit Commission report on the set-up it inherited from the Council (something the Cabinet Member responsible has told me she’ll never forgive me for demanding a copy of!).  The Government won’t give Lewisham a penny for decent homes until they’re confident the organisation is in a fit state to spend it, and they define that standard as a ‘2 star’ award from the Audit Commission.

So far, that critical inspection has been delayed and delayed again, and far from all homes meeting the standard (as the Mayor promised tenants back in 2006), seven out of ten Lewisham Homes won’t meet the standard by 2010.  In fact, the number of non-decent council homes has increased since 2006 as kitchens and bathrooms have become life-expired.

The latest piece of bad news comes from Government.  Having got sick of waiting for Lewisham to get their act together, the Government has decided to spend the money allocated for our decent homes on something else.  So there’s now no money in the kitty to deliver decent homes, even if Lewisham did pull a rabbit out of the hat and get two stars.   The housing minister has said that money might be found in the next round of government spending – due in 2011 – but as we all know, there’ll be a general election by then, and he’s not in a position to promise that.

The Lib Dem group are really worried by this state of affairs, particularly as the Council has been very slow off the mark in waking up to this and doing something about it.  Their initial reaction was to deny there was a problem and say the money had been ‘delayed’ by six months.  Other Councils affected have launched a judicial  review, but Lewisham’s chosen not to take part in that.  So we tabled a motion for the last council  meeting on 24th September - noting our concerns and asking the Chair of Council to write to the Minister concerned, and for the Mayor to apologise to tenants through Lewisham Homes’ ‘Home’ magazine for their tenants.

Now, Council meetings in Lewisham begin at 7.30pm and end at 10pm, unless Council decides to continue.  As you can see from the agenda, the motion was the last item on the agenda of the September meeting.   So, when 10pm came round, we asked for the Council meeting to be extended so we could ensure we covered all the business.  Predictably, Labour councillors voted against, rather than have the motion discussed (I should add that they filibustered throughout the meeting to ensure that time ran out – one councillor listing the platforms at London Bridge station ‘Platform 1, platform 2, etc…)

So, we ensured our motion was the first one to be debated at last night’s council meeting.  What could go wrong?  Well, the Chair of the Labour Group decided to ask for the order of business to be changed, so that once again, our motion was last.  As a couple of opposition councillors weren’t present, the Labour group got their way, and the motion was once again relegated to the end of the agenda, and once again, they voted to close the meeting at 10pm.  That’s democracy, Lewisham Council style.

This is a really important issue that affects thousands of tenants across the borough. It needs to be discussed by their representatives, and not ignored because it’s politcally embarassing for the ruling clique.  Fortunately, there are now enough opposition councillors that we can call an emergency council meeting – so that’s exactly what we’ve done.

Why are Lewisham Labour so afraid of a debate?  I think their record on housing speaks for itself.

Just back from Mayor and Cabinet, where they were discussing the response to the Assembly’s ’statement of community views’ on parking.   You may remember that this went to Mayor and Cabinet back in May - tonight’s meeting received the report requested then (quite why it’s taken six months is anyone’s guess, but hey-ho).

The report being considered tonight responded to our statement by making three recommendations to the Mayor:

• That all residents in Lee Green ward who aren’t covered by existing Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) will be consulted on the potential introduction of parking restrictions (including the option for a two hour zone where appropriate).  This will happen by April 2010.
• That existing CPZs will be retained on their current hours, and that if funds are available in future, hours of operation can be reviewed.
• The Hither Green East CPZ which was brought in last year will be reviewed by the end of this year, and the extensions to that zone and the Old Road/Bankwell Road zone that are currently being installed will be reviewed after one year of operation.  The original Old Road/Bankwell Road zone will also be reviewed at this point.

All the reviews and consultations will include questions on:

• If you’re in a CPZ, do you wish to retain it?
• If you’re not, would you like one?
• If you’re not in a CPZ, and you don’t want one, would you like safety works like yellow lining on corners to be carried out?

I spoke at Mayor and Cabinet and made the following points:

• It’s good that the assembly’s views have been considered, and that money’s been found to ask the rest of the ward about parking all at once (so as to hopefully avoid the piecemeal solutions we’ve had in the past that have simply moved the problem around)
• However, the assembly didn’t call for more CPZs – we called for CPZs with different hours, and other solutions like homezones and car clubs, to be explored.  Crucially, the concept of car clubs needs to be explained by the Council – it’s no good just asking people if they want one – we need to explain the concept and benefits (the Sustainable Development Select Committee report does a good job at this!) and this is something I’ve already raised with the Deputy Mayor at a meeting of the Full Council.
• The key word in our original motion was parking solutions - not just restrictions, as the Mayor’s report seems to assume.  A small change, but an important change of emphasis. The last thing we want is the assembly’s work being used as a trojan horse to push through more 9am-7pm CPZs where they’re not wanted.

I said I hoped officers would take that on board and ensure the consultations and reviews are carried out in the spirit of the assembly’s statement.  In particular, that third question about safety works should also ask about other solutions like homezones and car clubs.

I also asked that officers to prepare an update for the Assembly on 19th Jan explaining the decision that’s been made and where they’re up to with each of the recommendations.

Finally, there was some amusement about the Mayor’s interview in the NewsShopper, where he admits to owning no less than three cars himself (not including the ones the Council gives him use of).  He assured us this doesn’t colour his judgement when it comes to parking..!   In the same spirit of openness, I guess I should declare that I share a Ford Fiesta with my partner, which we sometimes manage to park on our own street.

Just back from the Remembrance Sunday service at Lewisham War Memorial.  A lovely service led by Father Scott Anderson, with accompaniment from the Sedgehill School Band, St Mary’s Chruch Choir and the 1475 ATC Squadron Band.  As always, a good turnout of councillors from all parties.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II, but this year I’ve been particualrly struck by The Poppy Appeal’s focus on the Afghan generation of  the Armed Forces and their families.   They accept online donations here.

Regular users of Manor House Gardens will know there was an outbreak of botulism in the pond in late July, which sadly killed much of the wildlife there.  At last week’s Full Council meeting, I asked the relevant cabinet member for an update, and I’ve posted her reply below:

“During July this year a number of ponds and lakes in south east London, including the Tarn at Eltham, were affected by Avian Botulism, a bacteria that can kill wildfowl. Although the source of the outbreak was not Lewisham the lake at Manor House Gardens was affected. The disease can be spread by the wildfowl, often on their feet, into new ponds and lakes. Hot weather raises the water temperature which makes the silt temperature rise in turn giving the bacteria a better environment for it to multiply. This was compounded by the low water levels, due to lack of rain, and the unfortunate malfunction of the fountain which helps to aerate the lake. The lake is oxygenated by means of an aerator overnight and repairs were made to the pump to ensure the fountain was in working order.

I am aware that the outbreak caused great distress, not only for the wildfowl but for users of the gardens. The outbreak has raised the importance of checking the water quality on a regular basis, checking levels and reducing the amount of bread fed to the birds which exacerbates the problem. With this in mind we have focussed publicity on offering healthier options for the wildfowl such as grains, duck pellets and even defrosted frozen peas.

The outbreak has also raised the importance of good communications, both between Glendale’s site staff and management, Glendale and the Council and Glendale and the Park Users Group.

I am pleased to say that the lake has now recovered, and wildfowl have returned. The fountain is working and the aerator remains in operation overnight when the fountain is turned off for noise reasons. My officers will ensure that the condition of all ponds and lakes in our parks and open spaces are checked on a weekly basis during forthcoming summers, and daily during very warm conditions.”

Pete and Chris have uncovered new figures showing that Lewisham’s recycling record is even worse than we thought.  Rather than the 22% of waste we had thought was being recycled and composted, the latest figures show recycling’s fallen off a cliff – with just 14.26% of waste recycled or composted in April.

Now, you wouldn’t think that residents’ behaviour would change quickly enough to reduce the amount they recycled by 28% in a month, and reading the small print it seems that’s not what’s happened.  The Council has discovered a “discrepancy in the percentage of waste the contractor said they were recycling” – in other words, the amount being recycled has been over-estimated in the past.

The ‘Lewisham spokesperson’ quoted in the South London Press on Friday acknowledged that  “Lewisham has always had quite a low recycling rate”.  By my reckoning, we were seventh from bottom of the London Boroughs.   The new figure would put us third from bottom.  Not good news, and not at all a reflection of the huge desire to do more amongst residents.

From party politics to parking, the official traffic order consultation notices for the extensions to the Hither Green East and Bankwell/Old Road CPZs have gone up on lampposts in the affected area.

These extensions have already been approved by residents – 72% were in favour of the extension to Hither Green East and 60% in favour of the Bankwell/Old Road CPZ extension. This latest consultation is the official one that’s legally required to make the traffic order.

Residents have 21 days from 27th May onwards to make objections or other representations, should they wish to do so, and the detailed plans are available to view at the Council’s Wearside Depot in Ladywell.

I tabled a Council Question at the last meeting of the council regarding the implementation of these extensions, and was told by the Deputy Mayor that it’s intended to implement the zones (e.g. put in the signs, lines and pay and display machines) over the summer, and start enforcement at the end of September.  Once again, we asked for – and were given – an assurance that both zones would be extended at the same time.