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Southwark Council decided several months ago to encourage residents to reports issues and access services online. Nothing wrong in that. But the encouragement has now become draconian. I’ve had older residents reporting to me that it means they’ve been unable to access services. A missed bin collection used to be a quick phone call. Now residents are being refused when trying to report such issues over the phone but interrogated as to why they’re not reporting it over the internet. Do they have any relatives they could call to report it over the internet!

Other residents are complaining to me that to report things online to Southwark Council requires lots of personal information completely unrelated to any possible query. If you have any problems reporting basic service issues to Southwark Council please get in touch. We need to ensure all our residents find it easy to get the services they’re paying for.

North Cross Road Market

After listening to lots of feedback from residents I’ve asked the council markets team to close North Cross Road between Lordship Lane and Archdale Road. It currently isn’t safe for cars to pass so very close to the rear of active market stalls. It will also mean the market can have more stalls. I have now also obtained agreement that the Friday parking restrictions on North Cross Road will be drastically reduced – down to only five spaces reserved for Friday stallholders. This proposal will go to the September Dulwich Community Council, which hopefully will be held at the new permanent site for the Harris East Dulwich Primary School. But please it’s never too late for more thoughts and feelings about all this to be fed back to me.

Peckham Lido

I’d like to encourage as many East Dulwich residents to back the campaign to re build and open the Peckham Lido closed in 1987. The re-opened pool would be 50m long – Olympic sized. It would return to the triangle of Peckham Rye Common immediately north of East Dulwich Road. To take the campaign forward and produce a detailed architectural design and submit a planning application they need to raise £65,353. So far they’ve raised £28,633. Can you contribute to recreating this lost local asset? 

peckham lido

Perennial Summer Issue

I was appalled to witness a blind person tripping over a black plastic bin bag left out on the pavement next to a bus stop from a resident of a flat above a shop. They were shocked, I and other witnesses to this were shocked. But he said such bags being left out and over hanging bushes and trees were a constant source of danger and frequent injury to them.

Please, if you have any vegetation over hanging the public pavement from your garden cut it back. If you struggle to do this get in touch and I’ll try and find a way of getting you help. If you don’t the council can issue formal warnings and ultimately get contractors to cut it back at your cost and even put a charge against your property to reclaim its costs.

If you live in a flat above a shop don’t put bags of rubbish out except on the days of rubbish and recycling collections – if you’re not clear about when this please is get in touch. We all need to do our bit to ensure that everyone can live in East Dulwich safely.

James Barber
Councillor for East Dulwich

www.jamesbarber.org.uk
@cllrjamesbarber