This way to Lewisham Deptford

Does 'crime' exist in Lewisham??

2010-03-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

After a 3 and half month hiatus compounded by illness and work, I'm back. The campaign is in full swing, canvassing twice a week. Wish I was doing more.

Strange event occured yesterday evening evening while I was canvassing in Oakwood Close at Meridian South. I was talking to a constituent at Fairfield House when this kid ran past at lightning speed up the road being chased by a man shouting. At first I thought it was prank, but approaching the man who was outside the Tesco store, he was saying the kid attacked him from behind, took something and ran off. He was in shock but was okay; i asked him if he was going to report the incident, he responded;

'what's the point, nothing is going to happen, got to look out for yourself',

I felt the man's anger of what happened. And I can bet there's many more people out there who's experienced the same thing and feel helpless. Why, are you asking, they are not reporting incidents to the police? The problem is there isn't many about to report it too, hence there could be many incidents like the one I experienced go unreported.

There are some local politicians who genuinely believe that crime doesn't exist and that its all a fantasy. They shouldn't be in politics in Lewisham, they should be in a circus.

PS: As I'm running in the local elections in May, any blog entry I make, I am legally required to give the details of my electoral agent.

Printed, published, promoted by Rob Blackie on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, both at 8 Woodham Road, Catford

The Battle of Lewisham Central

2009-11-13T03:27:00.000-08:00

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!

Is this the shape of things to come?

2009-10-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have had to keep myself calm and composed as I was at City Hall yesterday and I made a comment on Facebook which could have been expressed in a more 'formal' way. I got a stern telling from my wife :-(

Yesterday the Mayor of London announced an above inflation fare increase starting 2010.

I'm not going to go into detail about the proposals but one thing I recognise is that there has been falling numbers on the Tube due the recession. That's about it.

His justifications doesn't make sense; one minute he blames Ken Livingstone for creating a £80 million shortfall in the TfL budget by freezing fares in the run-up to mayoral election of 2008, the next he talks about the monies being invested into 'London's future'.

I didn't have time for Ken when he decided to sign the fuel deal with the Venezuala 'dictator' Hugo Chavez ( he isn't one technically has he was 'elected', but sure as hell acts like one), but aside from that, the majority of his transport decsisions were good ones and I will say when he did raise fares, while I slightly disappointed I believed him that they would be invested into improvement programmes.

His CO2 charge on the most polluting cars was a brilliant idea, that would have raised between £30 - 50 million and, while I acknowledge the process could have been handled better, especially with businesses in the area, the Western Extension of the C-charge was necessary to ease congestion in the Central London area, improve the air quality and most importantly encourage people to use transport.

Both these programmes have been/about to be scraped by the current Mayor in keeping with his manifesto commitments. That leaves a £100million shortfall in funding and along with lower numbers on the tube, costs in replacing the bendy buses which is going to be a lot he has to find the money somewhere. Yes its us! So all this talk about future investment and plugging a previous administration's hole doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Its HIS hole that he has created and we are paying for it.

This is going to have a major impact on those people in Lewisham who are not in receipt of any benefits, who work part time and have to rely heavily on transport to get them from A -to-B.

Local Democracy

2009-10-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

yes I know I did promise I will try to post more..........

Anyways, this week is Local Democracy Week where Councils up and down the country highlight their innovative ways they liaise with their citizens. A poll conducted by London Councils show that 68% of respondents feel that their Council makes a positive difference. Wow! thats a huge a number considering every other week in the South London Press and News Shopper we seem to see the not so nice side of Councils.

Well I was at the Lewisham Central Local Assembly meeting on Monday and I just wanted to pass my congratulations onto Youth Village Project, the Tamil Academy of Languages and Arts and Get The Message Murials Project for obtaining money from the Mayor's Fund; and the Hither Green Society, Ahoy, and Scout Association for obtaining money from the Locality Fund.

One group that did miss out was the Church of God, asking for additional funding to support their summer activity programme for 5-11 year olds. This was my favourite programme as its a issue that is close to my heart; support and provision for the 5-11s. That period is critical in a child's development and there isn't a programme or initiative in place locally, regionally or nationally to address this ( correct me if i'm wrong). Its a shame as we could sort so many problems such as children achieving their full potential in schools, prevent them going down the wrong path in gangs and crime etc.....

I spoke to group, and although they were disappointed they will carry and will look for other channels for additional funding.

Keep going!

Bits and bobs

2009-09-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

Good Morning everyone

Its my day off work today ( as I do compressed working which means I do a 5 day week in 4 days). I did say that I was going post more often and I haven't kept that promise, sorry!

Well my e-mail has been buzzing following the news that the Loampit Vale development was approved at the Strategic Planning Meeting yesterday evening much to the anger of the audience. While I support in principle any development for the area, i am concerned about the the potential pressure on infrustructure the development will bring. Max Calo spoke at the meeting last night and you can see his comments here.

Today is the 8th anniversary of the awful attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. 2993 people died including the 19 hijackers of the 2 American Airlines and 2 United Airline jets.

Also the new Child vetting and barring scheme comes into effect. Whether you have something to hide or not, this is going to make people think twice about working with children and vulnerable groups. The scheme was brought in following the recommendations from the Bichard Review into the Soham murders which showed that it was the police's fault for not sharing information. And given government incompetence in handling information, I have no trust it.

Lewisham Town Centre 'Low Carbon Neighbourood'

2009-09-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

Well hello again, this is the first of what I hope many posts and I will do my upmost to publish on a regular basis.

I originally set up the blog as part of my campaign to become the Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lewisham Deptford. Now thats over ( and I want to congratulate Tamora Langley!) I have now to concentrate on getting myself, Dave Edgerton and Max Calo elected in Lewisham Central ward in next year's local elections.

* * * *

Well despite the pains of businesses in the Town Centre area due to the recession, Lewisham Town Centre yesterday recieved some good news that the area was one of 10 of the London boroughs selected by the Greater London Authrority to become a 'Low Carbon Neighbourhood'. Credit goes to the officers and local agencies for getting this bid together.

See More here.

Well the GLA has awarded the area £200k to pioneer enegery busting measures in the low carbon zone.

What do you think the money should be spent on??

'You've come out'

2009-07-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

That was the comment from an old work chum in Lewisham when he saw me at the Lib Dem store at People Day's. He knew of my intentions and despite our difference of opinion, there is mutual respect between us. I saw his partner whom I haven't seen in 2 years and hopefully we'll catch up.

These last 2 days have been manic with canvassing, work and training all rolled into one. Hopefully now no more training for a long time. Also got selected for a ward in the local election which I'm pleased about

In the news, it seems the Local election campaign has started in earnest. hahahahahahahaha!!! Why now, why not a few years ago? We'll never know.................

Sunday News

2009-07-12T04:16:00.001-07:00

Canvassing at the moment and preparing for the next 2 and a bit weeks until hustings as well as my selection interview for Lewisham Central.

Had a glance through the newspapers and there was a funny story about the Tories deciding that they are going to build new council homes, going against a trademark Thatcher policy. Also the news, the only branch of government that cares about the fundamental rights of citizens in this country is critical of the £1.2 billion e-borders scheme, which will collect data of everybody who enters and leaves the UK. Quite rightly so.

Was at People's day yesterday and I helped out on the store for a couple of hours, my sympathies to those brave souls who had to endure the rain for the rest of the day.

“Mummy, mummy, mummy . . . I don’t want to die.” - Shakilus Townse

2009-07-10T02:24:00.000-07:00

Today was the tragic end to another tragic story blighting our communities. I do not want to go into the details of what happened and why it happened, all I want to say is that we, in society, have to take some form of responsibility on why this is going on. We can go on about schools not doing enough, government not investing enough money in our most needed areas around the country, but the real problem is us --- the people, the society as a whole.

I am fortunate to be married to Sam as she can give me her perspective on society here being a Filipina ( with spanish and chinese influences). The Philippines is one of the nicest countries in world. People from all walks of life, whatever their background, are extremely kind and courteous.

I suppose its to do with their history of fighting the spanish and the Americans, going through a dictatorship and ending it through a bloodless revolution --People Power. Perhaps. I don't know. But what I do know is that those events created a unified identity that the Filipinos are proud of.

My wife posits that this may be what's lacking here. She asked me what might be the pinnacle events that brought society together in this country. I thought about it and said the Second World War-- a sense of solidarity amidst the common enemy (the paradox of "unity in war"). Excluding England World Cup antics in 1990, the European Championships in 1996 and of course 2005 Ashes ( sorry Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland), there hasn't been anything else.

How can we bring our society closer together? One thing that will be happening on 19 July is the Big Lunch and I really do hope people turn up to one. Its aim is put the smile on people's faces and to try create that physical community spirit again---- far more tangible and real than being connected via facebook.

I believe that this can be a starting point to greater things... If we, as a society learn to enjoy each other, with everyone feeling a sense of belonging and camarederie, then perhaps it will be easier for us to care for each other and work together to tackle the pressing issues in our community.

The Future of Loampit Vale Development

2009-07-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

Just preparing for my selection interview for the Lewisham Central Ward and I was rembering my days in the Council one of many issues that crossed my way. One of them was the Loampit Vale development which will feature the new leisure centre and housing in the area. The main controversy at the time was the swimmping pool.

I remember the outrage that was poured on the plans, namely by the Save Ladywell Pool campaign which kept me sane in many a dark days ( ask Sam, she will tell you!), about the proposal that we need to have a 50m pool if we are going to encourage more children to go into swimming ( sidenote, i recall London doesn't have many Olympic size swimming pools and swimming take up is low, particularly in Lewisham). But the contractors and council had their day and i suppose its better than nothing.

I was looking through the press and saw the article about calls to scrap the Loampit scheme as it will create another 'Croydon'. What does that mean? Reading further on, at a public meeting in Lewisham methodist church last month, people were complaining that they didn't want highrises as it would blight the area. 3 people were quoted in the article.

I say to these 3 people, lets meet up sometime and have a chat. I believe it provides a hell of a lot of opportunities to the area and its important that you are part of that discussion making sure we create a Lewisham town Centre to be proud of.

RIP The victims of the 7/7 attacks

2009-07-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

4 years have passed quickly since that fateful day I remember so well.

My heart goes out to the families and friends who lost their loved ones in a senseless attack which was supposed to create fracture in our society. Instead, it brought us together. Thats nothing to be ashamed about. I was in a panic at the time as I thought Sam, my wife, was caught. Luckily, I managed to tarck her down.

My heart also goes out to the survivors who's lives have been changed forever, whether physically,emotionally or mentally. It angered me to hear that some survivors were not invited to inauguration of the permanent memorial in Hyde Park. They are often forgotten about and its them that we really need to look out for.

I share with the families of the dead and surviviors deserve to have a open public inquiry on the events leading up to attack; why our security services couldn't prevent this from happening even though, it is alleged, they had compelling evidence to arrest the murderers?

RIP

Tributes to those who died

VISION 1: A Happy and Cohesive Community

2009-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

What we can achieve together:
All the diverse communities have a sense of belonging to Lewisham Deptford and are working together to tackle real issues that matter to them the most.

How I will work with you:

Set up a permanent committee which will consist of people from all walks of life to shape decisions and help in formulating private member bills for Parliament.

Represent the 7 wards in the constituency and not just a few; I will hold my surgeries in every ward, and where I cannot find premises in a particular ward, I will be knocking on doors and going to people who may have mobility issues.

Establish a permanent office in the constituency which will be open for five days a week and promote an open door policy at the Westminster office.

Join up policy work with EU, UN and Commonwealth agendas as these affect the everyday choices of residents.

VISION 2: Safe and Healthy Families and individuals

2009-07-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

What we can achieve together:

Everyone wants to live and stay in Lewisham Deptford because they feel safe and their health needs are being met.

How I will work with you:

Persuade government to take a long term view in tackling youth crime in terms of funding and realistic outcomes and commission grassroots charities to provide more front line services for hard to reach groups.

Find more progressive alternatives to Stop & Search which alienates some sections of the BME communities.

Work with Safer Neighbourhood Teams in promoting events that helps improve relations between neighbours and foster a community safety net based on collective trust and genuine care for each other.

Design a targeted public health programme for curbing childhood obesity, improving women’s health outcomes and tackling coronary heart diseases.

Bring together the Police, victim support agencies and voluntary sector to make the overall community safety measures more visible and accessible.

Look after carers health and wellbeing, particularly the under 18’s.

VISION 3: Learning, Work & Enterprise Opportunities

2009-07-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

What we can achieve together:

The people of Lewisham Deptford are able to achieve their learning and work aspirations; businesses are thriving; and everyone shares in the benefits of economic growth and prosperity.

How I will work with you:

Buoy up local social enterprises / small businesses to counter lack of employment opportunities especially during the recession.

Harness employers support by setting up apprenticeship schemes and employability workshops to raise the aspirations, skills and prospects of the long term unemployed and young people.

Continue to campaign for London to keep its business rates so that it can be used to tackle pressing issues such as child poverty.

Develop a more rounded approach to education – encouraging more parental inclusion and participation in their children’s schooling – to raise the level of achievement amongst children that is beyond test league tables.

Fight for more secondary school places in the constituency.

Support ex offenders to find their positive role within the society – and offer them concrete routes to learning and employment.

VISION 4: Sustainable Services & Infrastructure

2009-07-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

What we can achieve together:

An area where there are accessible transport links, affordable homes and first class leisure facilities accomodating a wide range of needs.

How I will work with you:

Lower cost on the London Transport Network especially on buses and trains

Help establish a nationwide grant system for homeowners to make their homes more carbon neutral.

Pull together resources across public and private sectors to build more suitable and quality housing with community facilities that people feel proud of.

Allow growing households who wish to convert lofts and extend homes be allowed to do so under locally developed guidelines.

Push for the development of Convoys Wharf in Deptford.

Reverse the post office closure on New Cross Road.

Explore Lewisham Deptford’s potential as a niche tourist destination.

Share your thoughts

2009-07-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

I would like to hear your ideas on which local issues are important to you. You don’t need to agree with my proposals or support my candidacy--- all comments are welcome!

If we are to make Lewisham Deptford a great place to live and work, then we all need to work together and get the most out of each other’s best thinking and contributions.