The council is consulting local people on their views about Goose Green and how this open space could be improved. You can download the survey here: Goose Green Questionnaire. The forms need to be returned by September 4th to Ursula.Allison@southwark.gov.uk

Last night, I was able to attend the Community Celebration organised by the Southwark Muslim Council at the East Dulwich Community Centre. Prof. Dawud Noibi spoke eloquenty about the true nature of Islam and rightly denounced those carrying out terrorist attacks in its name.

I spoke briefly about the importance of religion in the community - particularly in East Dulwich where we are blessed with chapels, churches, a mosque and a Sikh temple.

As well as Muslims of all ages, representatives of other faiths were also present. With music and halal food a-plenty, a good time was had by all.

Ken Livingstone has apparently dropped his plans, which I highlighted last month,  to introduce compulsory cycle registration in London . 

Normally Ken’s U-turns are bad news. Things like not introducing conductors on buses when he promised he would.  Or building a new motorway at the Thames Gateway when he promised he wouldn’t  - but this is an excellent U-turn! Well done Ken for admitting your ill-thought-out scheme was completely barking!

The South London Press has a big article on councillors who have set up political blogs. So welcome to any new readers!

This blog has only been going for a month or so but already I am getting a steady stream of readers. My story about the new school was even picked up the South London Press’ rival publication, Southwark News!

Feel free to leave any comments on any of my posts.

The timetable for a new secondary school is now back on track after the Leader of the Council and I held urgent talks with the Education Minister, Lord Adonis. 

The need for a new school has been long fought for by local parents.   Boys’ provision is a particular issue (as a local parent, I declare my interest).  

In December last year the Education Minister wrote to local campaigners saying a new Academy would open in September 2009 in permanent accommodation. He went on to state that that ‘the government has agreed to fund temporary accommodation so that the Boy’s academy can open in September 2007, prior to the completion of its new buildings in 2009.’   Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats claimed varying degrees of credit. (Since Labour run the country and the Lib Dems run the council, I suppose that’s fair enough).  Labour went on to claim that the Council was delaying things which really got up my nose because there was no truth in that whatsoever .  In fact, the delay was waiting for the Government to give us the go ahead – as revealed in a parliamentary answer in Hansard.   

All parties – Council, Government and  the sponsor, Lord Harris –  had agreed that the preferred temporary site was the Homestall Road Sports Ground.  But because of major works announced by Thames Water, this site is now seen as unsuitable. 

 I was very concerned to learn a few weeks ago that at a recent meeting, Harris Academies had suggested that no suitable temporary site could be found and the idea of opening in 2007 would have to be shelved. 

So, the Leader of the Council, Nick Stanton, and I met with the Education Minister, Lord Adonis, along with the local MP, representatives of the parents’ campaign group (EDEN) and the Harris Academy team to discuss options.  Nick and I insisted that the Council has made a number of sites available that could and should be progressed as sites for a temporary school. We were able to persuade the Minister that there are still two options for temporary accommodation that  should be explored further  - one is the Waverley lower school site, the other is the Bredinghurst site on Stuart Road.

Since then, the Bredinghurst site has emerged as the clear choice which is now being progressed as a matter of urgency.   We are continuing to press for a formal agreement and  an announcement to made as soon as possible.

So we’re back on track. We in Southwark have embraced the academies programme - no one would thank us for citing ideological objections and failing to deliver for local children.   But I can’t help thinking that it is the very nature of the new structures promoted by the Government, inevitably resulting as they do in a diminution of local accountability, that result in the need for such meetings in the first place.

I’ve just had a conversation with one of the leading anti-phone mast campaigners in the area who led the campaign against the proposed mast on the Crystal Palace Tavern.  The owners of the pub, Punch Taverns, have decided not to give permission for a phone mast on their building after all.

This follows months of pressure from from local campaigners. I wrote to Punch Taverns about this in April and received short shrift but we carried out a survey of opinion on the issue and encouraged local people to write too, so did local campaigners through SE22 magazine and further petitioning and it seems that the result is a victory for people power.

Well done to Lisa and everyone else involved.