Dear councillor

I read today a letter in the Wandsworth Guardian by
Richard Tracey AM, the letter implied that Wandsworth was would not be
affected by the planned cuts to London Fire Brigade. The area of North
Wandsworth where I live will be greatly affected by these planned
cuts.

Any fires in the north of the borough are regularly attended by
fire appliances that are due to be cut under LSP5. Battersea Fire
Station only has one firefighting appliance left since the cuts in the
early 1990s. This one fire engine depends wholly on back-up from
Chelsea, Clapham and Westminster Fire Stations. Clapham often send all
three of their appliances across into Battersea, as do Chelsea and
Westminster. Clapham and Westminster are due to close and Chelsea
downgraded to one fire engine as part of LSP5.

There have been many fires in North Wandsworth, some recently where
these fire engines have been totally relied on for quintessential back-
up, sometimes meaning the difference between life and death at certain
incidents. So I hardly think any scaremongering is baseless.

A recent fire in my street in the heart of Battersea had to have five fire
appliances attend, to deal with it speedily and safely, of those five
appliances, four are due to be cut. This type of incident in this area
is not a rare occurrence, but happens with frightening regularity.

As a resident I have asked which appliances will attend after these cuts
and how long it will take. The common answer to this is stated in LSP5
itself, the average attendance times for Wandsworth Borough as a whole
will change little as a result of the cuts. The average attendance
time for the 1st attending and 2nd attending appliance will get worse
and increase by only 10 and 19 seconds respectively. But this is a
borough wide average and does not illustrate how far Battersea’s one
and only fire engine will have to travel into Clapham in the future.
Conversely appliances from Lambeth or Brixton or Wandsworth etc will
have a long way to travel to reach Battersea. Details of local
attendance times are not available.

The RBKC and Westminster Councils have both voted unanimously against
the cuts in their boroughs. They know it is bad for them, and with
less fire engines north of the river and the fact that Clapham will no
longer attend in Battersea, it will be down to the appliances north of
the river to cover a much larger area including Battersea. Chelsea
fire station as a result of LSP5 will have lost eleven neighbouring
fire appliances in the last seven years, and of course it borders
Battersea!

I hope that some of you, in the North of the Borough in particular
will consider opposing these cuts.

Thank you from a concerned Battersea Resident

The Mayor’s bike scheme is going ahead and the cost in Battersea will be the best part of £2 million with cycle stands (docking stations) installed all over the place. A few of the 17 Latchmere sites are Grant Road, Sheepcote Lane and Plough Road. A full list can be seen at this link  http://ww3.wandsworth.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/s26267/13-61%20Appendix%201%20to%20Cycle%20Hire%20Report.pdf. I can see some arguments coming up when they go the Planning Applications Committee! But at £2 million for Battersea alone I really, and rather unfashionably, wonder whether just some of this money could be spent reversing other cuts, such as welfare benefits, adventure playgrounds and one o’clock clubs.

Words Cllr Tony Belton

1 Helped to save York Gardens Library, again

Local Labour councillors are proud to have led the community campaign that saved York Gardens Library last year. But to keep the library open we now need to:

• Raise £70,000 in room hire each year – please book a room if you have a birthday party or special occasion
• Make sure local children use the computers, the free homework club and GCSE Success tutoring

2 Worked hard on the £60m estate regeneration for Winstanley and York Road

The Kinghan report into last summer’s riots concluded that the Winstanley Estate is in the worst 1 per cent of places in the country to grow up as a child. We are pleased that Wandsworth has agreed to make a huge investment to regenerate the York Road and Winstanley Estates. We stood for election in 2010 on a promise to improve our estates and we will stand again in 2014 on the same promise.

3 Supported Battersea’s community gardens

Labour councillors have supported the growth of community gardens all over Battersea this year: from securing £5,000 in funding for the Doddington Estate Roof Garden, to helping in the Falcon Estate garden and working to set up a Kambala Estate community garden. More information at Facebook.com/doddingtongarden.

4 Led the fight to save our local police stations

By December 2012, the Evening Standard reported that almost half of London’s police stations were to close to the public. Wandsworth’s top policeman recently predicted: “The front counters at Battersea, Tooting and Putney High Street [police stations] would close”.

Tony, Wendy and Simon know what a crucial role Lavender Hill Police station played in finally ending the riots at Clapham Junction last year and we will do everything we can to keep it open.

5 Backed local businesses and job-seekers

2012 was a very tough year to run a business in Battersea – and unemployment continued to rise. We stood up for local businesses that were flooded and facing high business rates and worked to help stallholders set up in markets and employ local youths.

At the Wandsworth Council meeting Tory councillor Jonathan Cook accused the Labour Party of scaremongering by spreading “deeply, deeply irresponsible” rumours that Lavender Hill Police Station was under threat.

The below video shows cllr Cook’s accusations and Labour Leader Rex Osborn’s response: the official document that proves Lavender Hill has already, in principle, been lined up for sale in the next year.

Labour councillors challenged the Conservative administration at last night’s meeting of Wandsworth Council over the dangerous triple threat of cuts to council community safety teams, huge national police cuts and the threatened closure of local police stations.

 

Labour councillors called a debate on cuts to the council’s community safety teams, which are to be slashed by 25%.

 

During the debate, Cllr Rex Osborn, Leader of the Labour Group, brought silence to the Conservative benches when it was revealed they were clueless over the potential threat to Lavender Hill police station, which Labour have been raising concerns over for some time.

 

A response to questioning by Labour councillors also revealed that Wandsworth’s police Safer Neighbourhood Teams are currently understaffed by a staggering 31 PCSOs. No firm assurances were offered as to when and how this problem would be rectified.

 

In the context of 20% cuts to policing nationally, and a known 1,200 officers lost between 2010-12 in London alone under Boris Johnson, Labour is concerned about the risk this poses to community cohesion and safety.

 

Cllr Osborn, Leader of the Labour Group, said: “The Council’s own paper acknowledges that community safety is a priority for the residents of Wandsworth – yet it still plans to push ahead with cuts to its front line community safety staff. At the same time, it refuses to acknowledge that the future of Lavender Hill police station is in doubt, in spite of confirmation from the Mayor of London’s office that it has been pre-approved for closure and disposal.

 

“Given that Lavender Hill station is just metres away from one of the worst affected areas by last summer’s riots, Wandsworth residents rightly expect their Council to fight for its future now – rather than wait until a decision to sell it off has been finalised.

 

“Although Labour councillors understand that cuts need to be made during these difficult economic times, we would prioritise and protect community safety services – as residents have told us they would want us to – and find savings elsewhere.”

 

Editor’s Notes:

 

For further comment, or for details of the FOI request, please contact Labour Group Leader Cllr Rex Osborn on 07518964462.

Wandsworth Labour councillors are dismayed at the decision by the Wandsworth Tories to proceed with radically scaling down popular local adventure playgrounds, despite huge public opposition.

Despite a petition bearing over 4000 signatures, messages and pleas from hundreds of children themselves, and an offer from a renowned children’s charity to run the adventure playgrounds, the Tory council is refusing to listen.

All Council playworkers have now lost their jobs, the demolition of the play equipment at York Gardens adventure playground has begun, and the destruction of Kimber Road playground and the removal of all the much loved play structures at Battersea Park is imminent.

Cllr Sheila Boswell, Wandsworth Labour spokesperson for Children’s Services said:

“The Council have wilfully ignored the views of hundreds of residents in pressing ahead with the sacking of playworkers and the demolition of play structures, many built by youngsters themselves.

“Whilst a campaign by residents and the local community to stop the council charging children to play in Battersea Park Adventure Playground achieved some success, the compromise offered by the council – to keep access free of charge, but remove the imaginative adventure play equipment and sack the experienced on site playworkers – was always lacking.

“I was therefore delighted when I heard that Kids Company had offered to take over the running of all the borough’s adventure playgrounds, and crucially keep the on site playworkers and the adventure play equipment so enjoyed by local children. This seemed like a great way to meet the concerns of the many concerned local parents and park users who believe that all children should have the right to adventurous play, especially when living in an inner city environment.

“I’d hoped the council would give it its full support to this offer, but this does not appear to have happened. Instead, I was shocked to learn that demolition at York Gardens began with negotiations with Kids Company still ongoing.

“Questions have to be asked about why the council leader Ravi Govindia is scheduling meetings with Kids Company to discuss the future of the playgrounds, whilst Children’s Services lead Cllr Tracey is ordering in the bulldozers?”

TORY CUTS FORCE CLOSURE OF WANDSWORTH POLICE STATION

Only weeks after Wandsworth Conservative councillors accused Labour of ‘scaremongering’ about police cuts, it has been revealed that Lavender Hill police station is on a list of Police stations planned for closure and sale.

Despite reassurances from Cllr Cook, the Cabinet member responsible for community safety, at a meeting of Wandsworth Council in May, that the Metropolitan police had no plans to close the station or its counterpart in Battersea, the police have now confirmed that Lavender Hill is on a list of stations to be closed and sold off.

This comes on top of concerns already raised by Wandsworth Labour about cuts to Safer Neighbourhood Teams, and to parks police.

The police station is close to the epicentre of some of the worst of last summer’s rioting, and neighbours one of the busiest train stations in the country. Labour are concerned that the safety of the local community is being put at risk by the Conservative programme of cuts to the police, which has received tacit support from local Conservative councillors.

Cllr Leonie Cooper, Wandsworth Labour spokesperson for community safety, says,

“The Metropolitan Police need to come clean on which stations they are planning to sell off, and engage in a full consultation with the local community before any decisions are taken.

“Labour councillors wholeheartedly disagree with any plans to close Lavender Hill police station, which is just meters away from one of the areas worst affected by last summer’s riots.

“Wandsworth Council now needs to show some leadership on this issue – helping to protect our local police stations and standing up for the residents of the Borough.

“Sadly nationally, the Conservative-led government’s 20 per cent cuts to policing are going too far and too fast, and are already having a damaging impact on forces across the country, like here in Wandsworth.

“Labour remains committed to prioritising policing, keeping bobbies on the beat and protecting the public.”

For further comment please contact:

Cllr Leonie Cooper on 07973 746169 or leoniecooper@wandsworth.gov.uk
Cllr James Daley on 07747 830105 or jamesdaley@wandsworth.gov.uk

From next January Wandsworth Council will cut all funding for School Crossing Patrols (‘lollipop’ men and women), with schools asked to find alternate means to pay for them.
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The jobs of 29 lollipop men and women could be axed under proposals from the Conservative council to save £198,000 a year. The scheme operates outside of 44 schools throughout the borough and provides a vital service that helps keep our children safe. If the proposal goes through, the Tories suggest that services can instead be provided by schools, volunteers or a private company. Battersea Labour believes that it is the responsibility of the council to ensure that the borough’s school children are kept safe when crossing local roads which are often heavily congested and difficult to navigate safely. We urge the council to drop this proposal.

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Battersea Labour have contacted the council about damaged paving in Ashley Crescent.

We are pleased to be able to report that the Housing Directorate have assured our councillors that they will re-bed the paving stones this week.

If you have any issues you would like us to raise with the council please do not hesitate to get in touch on on 020 7223 5306 or battersealabourparty@gmail.com