The Battle of Lewisham Central

Bad back has been inhibiting my day-to-day routine as of late and last Monday I decided to see the doctor, she just prescribed pain-killers.

A key reason why I decided to run in Lewisham Central is the enormous opportunities that 2 key developments in Lewisham Town Centre, Lewisham Gateway and Loampit Vale, could bring to, not only the immediate area, the whole of Lewisham. For me, its the liveblood of the borough, the heartbeat.

In its current incarnation, both the plans fall way short in making the Centre a place that citizens feel proud of and I believe if the area is developed, it is going to create more problems than solutions. The Action4Lewisham site goes into detail on all the shortcomings of the proposed Lewisham Gateway Development

Members of the community are extremely frustrated about how the decision has come about and the attitude of the current Council administration when responding to genuine concerns. It has been appalling and reminds me of my dark days in Lewisham over the location of the secondary school.

I saw that frustration myself at the Action4Lewisham Public Meeting last night and I have to give it to them for not giving up. I won't go into too much detail here but my fellow Candidate in Lewisham Central, Max Calo spent early this morning writing an account of it ( Thats dedication!). The feeling I got from the meeting; from the speakers to the three ladies sitting beside me, that people are not willing to accept the current outcome and they are willing to take this far.

Whatever happens, I feel the need to stand by this campaign as it affects the very future of the area and the borough as whole. We need to change the way we approach large scale developments. Communities throughout London are speaking out in droves on whether they are sustainable to current and future communities.

Let the Battle commence!