Six days after the London elections, Labour have confirmed that all eight post offices in Southwark that were under threat will get the chop - including Melbourne Grove.   You can’t help but wonder at the cynicism of the timing of this announcement.

Clearly the consultation exercise was as much a sham as our local MPs opposition to the closure (she said she wanted the post office saved locally  but voted in the Cabinet and Parliament in favour).

As local counciillors, we presented avidence about how well used these services are, how important they are for the parade of shops in Melbourne Grove and Grove Vale  and of course there was the petition which I presented on behalf of the hundreds of people who signed the petition.  

Shame on Labour for axing the service, for  the cynicism of the announcement and for the hypocrisy of their MPs.  

After weeks of deliberation, the Government’s Planning Inspector has made her decision on the Caffe Nero case.

As reported previously Caffe Nero opened its premises without planning permission. Faced with the enforcement action by Southwark Council, Caffe Nero then applied for planning permission.  But they were refused because allowing another cafe would have broken rules designed to protect the balance of shops and food and drink outlets in the area.  Southwark has a policy of making sure that at least fifty per cent of all shops units are retail outlets in order to ensure a vibrant high street. 

Caffe Nero continued trading without permission and the Council took enforcement action in relation to both this issue and the installation (again without planning permission!) of noisy air conditioning units installed these immediately outside a residents’ bedroom window.

Since the council decision last year, a number of new shops have opened - this means that there is a healthier balance of shops to cafes then previously. The Inspector  took this evidence in to account (rather than just the facts the council considered at the time) and as expected agreed that Caffe Nero could stay.

But the Inspector has ordered Caffe Nero to remove the air conditioning units and threw out their attempt to get the council to pay for the costs of the appeal.

Caffe Nero could now go to the High Court - I suspect that they won’t.  The whole issue has rumbled on for over two years. Many local people feel passionately on both sides of the argument.  I am clear that the council did the right thing in forcing Caffe Nero to operate within the planning system - flouting the planning rules is not acceptable and a council that wants to be taken seriously on planning has to use its enforcement powers. 

The Council made the right decision at the time to refuse planning permission - but in the changed circumstances, the Inspector’s decision was inevitable.

And the air con? Well it may seem peripheral to many but for those residents who sufferred the noise, its an important victory.

At Wednesday’s full council meeting I questioned the Leader of the Council about the Council’s position on Labour’s plans to close East Dulwich Police Station. Unsurprisingly, he thinks we should retain a local police presence in our area - just like the thousands of local people who have signed our petition.

We have suggested that if the building really is unfit for purpose and falling down then the Met could re-develop the the site and use the money raised to provide a modern, police station on site, open 24/7 and ideally co-locating the police with community safety wardens and other services.

I was delighted that he endorsed this idea and promised to raise the idea with the Borough Commander at their next meeting.  

The Labour controlled Met police are still proceeding with their plans to close and sell off East Dulwich Police station. 

Thousands have signed our petition against this. 

The Met are now at least consulting about their plans and the East Dulwich councilors have responded.

I notice that in the press Labour’s GLA incumbent still supports closing police stations.  (You know what to do on May 1st.)   The reason she gives is that the building is in a state of bad repair.  ”Well mend it dear Val” is the answer which springs to mind.  Or alternatively, re-provide a new building!

In our response to the consultation, we said:

We welcome this consultation.  It is long over due. For well over a year, we have been approached by our constituents eager to know what is being planned for their police station.  That the decision making process has been so opaque has not reflected well on the MPA. We make no criticism of Southwark officers whom we recognise have been put in an impossible position.

We believe that an East Dulwich Police Station should remain.  Ideally, the current service should be extended to a 24/7 service.  We have spoken to hundreds of our constituents who share this view.  Taking a police station away from our community would be a retrograde step and counter to the prevailing wind in favour of community policing.  

The Police station in East Dulwich is in a strategically advantageous position to service the police needs of people over a wide area: the Wards of East Dulwich, Village, College, and parts of Peckham Rye. The present location is well-known to local people, and is a reassurance to them and advantageous in encouraging residents to report crime and achieving quick access to police assistance in an emergency. Its location clearly reduces the local fear of crime.

We wish to defend services; not  buildings that may be unfit for purpose. Our suggestion is that the existing site should be retained, but we can see the potential  to deliver the local imperative for a modern working police station, whilst providing the financial benefit of raised capital receipts for the Metropolitan Police Authority.

If such a development were to be proposed, we would favour a reconfiguration of council services at the same to bring wardens, and the police under the same roof.

It may also be possible to provide other community services such as a new Dulwich Housing office/One Stop shop and community space. 

A lot would depend on what was proposed.  But as a minimum a new police station would have to have capacity to accomodate all local Dulwich police as well as a Southwark enforcement base  for community wardens.

A minimum of existing front counter opening times of 06.00 to 21.00 hours would be maintained – but ideally we should be seeking to provide a 24/7 service.

We would expect  car and cycle space for Police and Wardens would be provided and all the usual operational features of a station such as rooms for lockers, operational purposes, meetings, and interviews. 

 Such an approach could result in a better police station for East Dulwich residents and still make the police money. It would be light years ahead of the alternative of a  Lordship Lane shop-front.  We await the MPA’s response with interest. 

Today, Councillor James Barber and I gave evidence at the Caffe Nero Planning Appeal.   

Caffe Nero opened its premises without planning permission two years ago. Faced with the enforcement action by Southwark Council against this breach, Caffe Nero then applied for planning permission.  But they were refused because allowing another cafe would have broken rules designed to protect the delicate balance of shops and food and drink outlets in the area.  Southwark has a policy of making sure that at least fifty per cent of all shops units are retail outlets in order to ensure a vibrant high street. 

Caffe Nero continued trading without permission and in April  the Council took enforcement action in relation to both this issue and the installation (again without planning permission!) of noisy air conditioning units,  which sometimes operate around the clock. Caffe Nero installed these immediately outside some local residents’ bedroom window. Two local residents explained vividly the impact of this noise.

Since the council decision last year, a number of new shops have opened - this means that there is a healthier balance of shops (54%) to cafes then previously. The Planning Inspector will  take this evidence in to account (rather than just the facts the council considered at the time).  So even if she agrees with the decision the council made then, it is unliklely the Inspector will uphold the appeal based on the 50% retail rule.

Much of the evidence today focused on the air conditioning units and arguments about whether air-con is a necessary part of running a cafe and how the noise could be lessened. Caffe Nero admitted that it would cost just £5000 to address the problem.  But they could not explain adequately why they have chosen not to do so.

In our evidence James and I focused on the behaviour of Caffe Nero in willfully ignoring the need for planning permissions both to open the cafe and to install the air conditioning units. Certainly, their attitude to their neighbours is not a model of corporate social responsibility.    

The Inspector said she would make a decision by mid-to-late February.

My colleague James Barber has been working with extraordinary dedication on a project that is set to deliver a brand new Grove Vale library - at no cost to the tax payer.

Like many East Dulwich residents I like the current garden centre - my family use it regularly (although not for compost because they don”t sell peat-free!) .  But the site has been sold by the owners for development. Left to their own devices most developers would have proposed a development of flats with a food outlet on the ground floor ( an M&S Simply Food seems to be the most popular East Dulwich rumour…). It is difficult to see how such a development could have been successfully opposed - even if local councillors turned it down, the likelihood is that Government inspectors would have over-turned  such a decision.

So James has been working to improve the development and in particular to persuade the developers to pay for the provision of a library on the ground floor. (The  exisiting Grove Vale Library is cramped, unfit for purpose and the council’s lease is coming to an end.)

Last night the development was approved by the Planning Committee.  The development is not without its objectors.   But I was pleased that the bulk and massing of the building has been reduced since initial plans were publisherd in the local paper.  The provision of a fantastic new library certainly makes the development much more acceptable.  I hope that the new library will act as a catalyst to improve Grove Vale. By increasing pedestrian activity there should be a positive knock-on effect for local traders as well as making the area feel safer.   Well done James!

Apart from the more traditional seasonal activities, I spent some time delivering the East Dulwich councillors report back on what we’ve been up to over  the past year or so. We thnk its important to keep in touch all year round - not just at election time.  

It was nice to open my mail box after the break to to the following message from a lady in Upland Road:

I spent Saturday afternoon helping at the Goodrich School Christmas Fair and as always there was a wonderful atmosphere with staff, parents,  children and former pupils  all having a great time. 

I had volunteered as a mulled wine assistant, but my talents were quickly recognised and I was promoted to Mulled Wine maker.  A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

It was great to go to the official opening of the Halliwell Court Community Garden on Sunday with Councillors James Barber and Jonathan Mitchell.

The sun shone despite it being the coldest day so far this winter and there was a great turnout of residents wanting to celebrate the new facility.

Fittingly, the ribbon was cut by the oldest and youngest residents in the block.  

This was one of the first schemes that local councillors promoted through the popular  ’Cleaner Greener Safer’ scheme - which gives the local community, through the Community Councils, a fund  for projects in their own area. It used to be so difficult to get money for these sorts of schemes when everything was decided in Peckham.  The ‘local’ was usually over looked in favour of the ’strategic’.  The Lib Dem approach of devolving powers to community councils has made a real difference.