The new Liberal Democrat councillors for Lee Green Ward are Cllr Pauline Beck and Cllr Sven Griesenbeck.

At time of writing, Pauline’s council contact details were still being finalised, but Sven can be contacted on cllr_sven.griesenbeck {at} lewisham.gov(.)uk or 8297 4826.

Many thanks to everyone I’ve worked with over my four years on Lewisham Council. It’s been an interesting experience – frustrating at times, but often extremely rewarding.

I will leave this blog as-is for the time being in case some of the archive is of use to local residents. I have been (slightly) bitten by the blogging bug so it’s possible this blog might re-emerge in another form at some point in the future.

best,

Brian

My colleague Cllr Chris Maines is collecting examples so he can put together the full picture.  If you’re a parent who is dissatisfied with your offer from the Council, please do drop Chris a line at cllr_chris.maines {at} lewisham.gov(.)uk – do copy me in, too.

In fact, you can create your own headline online here – go on, give it a go.   My personal favourite so far?  ”Could Nick Clegg destroy Cliff Richard?”.  In fact, that’s probably tomorrow’s Daily Mail headline – highlighting Nick’s alleged love of Sacha Distel and Edith Piaf in preference to home-grown stars.

I just pose one question – if newspaper barons like Rupert Murdoch and the Barclay Brothers are so scared of this guy, who leads a third party that hasn’t been in government for 65 years, then why is that?  Could it be that they fear Nick’s about to upset the cosy consensus they enjoy with the two old parties?

Of course, you’d expect me to stick up for Nick, but you mightn’t expect Iain Dale, who ran for the Tories at the last General Election, to point out that this press coverage is manifestly unfair, and probably counter-productive.  Of course, we’ve seen this before with Neil Kinnock, and over in the US, there were similarly far-fetched attacks on John Kerry and Barack Obama.

I don’t know whether the Lib Dem surge in the polls will last – it could disappear as quickly as it arrived – but I do know that Britain needs change, and this election offers us a good chance.  But only if people ignore these lunatic tales in the press, and stick with their instincts.

This year’s performances at Lee Green are at the following times:

Tuesday 20th April 7pm
Wednesday 21st April 7pm
Thursday 22nd April 7pm
Friday 23rd April 7pm
Saturday 24th 12pm & 6pm
Sunday 25th 12pm & 3pm

This trailer should give you some idea what you’re letting yourself in for…

Supermarket Shakespeare Trailer from Teatro Vivo on Vimeo.

Floella met up with Pete, Pauline, Chris and other Lib Dem candidates and visit the Manor House Library and Manor House Gardens.

Paul is also taking this opportunity to stand down, but Sven is re-standing, and will be joined by Jim Caple – who’s been editing our local FOCUS newsletters – and Pauline Beck, who is a former chair of the Leybridge Tenants Association.   Pauline, Jim and Sven will be a really strong team for our area.

For my part,  the decision to stand down has been a bit of a wrench.  I’ve really enjoyed serving our area for the last four years, but at this stage in my life, I really don’t feel able to commit to a four-year term of office, and it’d be unfair to my colleagues and neighbours to offer myself for re-election when I know there’s a chance I won’t be able to complete my term of office.  I’m still at an early stage of my career, and my partner and I have decided that we’d like to return to my native north east, which I really miss.

I’m still here for the time being though, and I’ll be doing everything I can to ensure Sven, Pauline and Jim are elected to provide a strong, independent voice for our area on Lewisham Council, and to elect Pete Pattisson as our next MP and Chris Maines as our new Mayor.

The document simply tells residents what they already know – that everyone with an ounce of sense is against their proposal!  They tell us that their board will consider in coming weeks whether to proceed with the proposal.  If they do so, and once they’ve selected a buyer, a further round of consultation will occur.  There’s no promise of a ballot though.

So, a reprieve for a little while, but still no sign that they will withdraw the proposal, and without a ballot, a further round of consultation isn’t worth much.

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!

We’re now waiting for the response to the consultation from the Crown Estate, which I understand is due in the next two weeks.  My colleagues at the London Assembly tell me that the Crown Estate is likely to appear at their Planning and Housing Committee in May, so the pressure is still being kept up.