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Greenwich Council: July’s full meeting of the Council

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Councillors met on the last Wednesday of July for their monthly full council meeting. Here’s Greenwich.co.uk’s somewhat-delayed report on what happened.

Meridian Music Centre closure

Following on from a previously submitted petition, council offers reported back on the closure of Greenwich Community College’s Meridian Music Centre. The MMC is based at East Greenwich Library and currently has 87 students with 17 employees.

Steve Wreyford from the Safer Neighbourhood Panel in East Greenwich spoke from the public gallery against the closure, praising its role in providing “diversionary activities” for local youth and called upon the council to come up with a “bridging loan” to keep it going until a “big society bank” or social enterprise fund could provide further funding.

All three Labour councillors for the Peninsula ward in which the centre is based joined Mr Wreyford in support of the MMC.

Councillor Dick Quibell called the closure a “tragedy” and warned it was a “foretaste of what is to come”.

Councillor Mary Mills said she was “very sorry to see them pulling out of East Greenwich Library” and Councillor Miranda Williams said she would be making representations about re-using the centre’s audio equipment elsewhere.

Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr Spencer Drury (Eltham North) said he was “concerned about the lack of clarity” from Greenwich Community College. He said that before attributing the closure to budget cuts, the GCC’s “initial pitch [for closing] was poor exam results”, and then they claimed “the building wasn’t in good enough condition” despite it being “in the best condition it has been for many years”.

Cllr Drury suggested that options be explored to move the facilities to Shooters Hill Over-16 Campus or The John Roan.

Cllr David Grant (Labour, Greenwich West) derided the claim in council officers’ report that the music industry does “not have a skills shortage” and said it was a “misunderstanding of the nature of adult education” which should not be “limited to getting people jobs” , calling it “one of the  less fortunate aspects of policy from the previous government”.

Cllr Dermot Poston (Conservative, Eltham North) described it as a  “tremendous mistake” for the council to have have handed over Greenwich Community College “twelve or so years ago” to what was then Woolwich College and spoke out against the loss of adult educational activities “for fun” which weren’t linked to examinations.

Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Peter Brooks (Labour, Thamesmead Moorings) commented that “under normal circumstances I could have stood up here tonight and said ‘I reckon we can sort that out for you'” but with the cuts the council is facing, he didn’t know if he could.

The report by council officers stated that “Lewisham College offers the same provision” to which Cllr Harry Singh (Labour, Woolwich Common) curtly replied: “I don’t think so”. Drawing upon his own experience of the industry, he said he didn’t think any college in the South East had such good facilities, adding that it would be a “sad loss if this goes out of the borough.”

“Cutty Sark continues to make progress”

In a written question, Cllr Alex Wilson (Conservative, Blackheath Westcombe) asked for an update on the renewal of the Cutty Sark.

Cllr John Fahy (Labour, Woolwich Riverside), Cabinet member for Culture and the Olympics, replied:

“The renovation of the Cutty Sark continues to make good progress. Work is ongoing to refix hull planks on both sides of the ship.”

The Cutty Sark is due to be lifted into place in October “with a view to reopening next year”.

Greenwich Park and London 2012

In a written question, Cllr Geoff Brighty (Conservative, Blackheath Westcombe) asked Cllr Ray Walker, Chair of Planning, to confirm that LOCOG had not yet submitted a reinstatement plan or any mention financial guarantees, despite applying for partial approval of a Condition of their London 2012 planning application which required both those to be submitted.

Cllr Walker (Labour, Eltham West) replied that this was a “complex issue” and instead referred Cllr Brighty to the Council’s Planning Officers.

Greenwich Time

Greenwich Conservatives put forward a motion calling for an end to the weekly production of the council’s newspaper, Greenwich Time. The motion was defeated and councillors instead voted for an amendment praising the publication. See Greenwich.co.uk’s report on the debate here and also check out Darryl’s write up at 853.

Housing Delivery Vehicle

The council is proposing the creation of a new “arms length company that can own, manage and let mainly family homes below market rent”.  The proposal, which  would see the council disposing of 28 family sized properties and providing the new “Housing Delivery Vehicle” with £50,000 start up costs, will require permission from the Secretary of State.

A spirit of bipartisanship descended upon the council chamber as the opposition voted in favour of the proposal and the Labour group accepted an amendment from the Conservative Group which would make the Housing Delivery Vehicle’s lettings policy specifically prioritise families for the Company’s homes.

There is no full council meeting in August so the next one will take place on the last Wednesday of September.

More local parks get Green Flag Award

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Green Flag Award

The borough of Greenwich has increased its tally of Green Flag awarded parks in the latest winners list which has just been announced.

East Greenwich Pleasaunce, Blackheath (in association with Lewisham), Well Hall Pleasaunce and Sutcliffe Park all retained their Green Flags, with Horn Park and Eltham Parks North & South getting the honour for the first time.

Cllr John Fahy, Cabinet Member for Culture and the Olympics commented “I’m really pleased that six of our parks have been rewarded with a Green Flag Award.”

Greenwich Park, which is under the control of the Royal Parks Agency rather than the council, also had its Green Flag renewed.

The ‘Green Flag Award Scheme’ recognises and rewards the best green spaces in the country

I was airbrushed out of Greenwich Time, claims councillor

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A Conservative councillor has told a council meeting that she was airbrushed out of an edition of the controversial weekly council newspaper, Greenwich Time.

The claim was made by councillor Eileen Glover during a debate at Wednesday night’s full meeting of the council at Woolwich Town Hall.

The councillor for the Eltham South ward told the meeting that she had ensured she was in all the photos taken by Greenwich Time at an event in her ward attended by the Council Leader but by the time it went to print, she had been “airbrushed out”.

She was only able to make an appearance in a later edition by changing her hair so that she was unrecognisable to the Leader of the Council, she said.

The debate over Greenwich Time was prompted after Greenwich Conservatives put forward a motion calling for weekly production of the newspaper to be ended.

Cllr Nigel Fletcher (Conservative, Eltham North) questioned whether the newspaper offered value for money and asked if it could really be considered a “front line service”. He expressed his doubts over the impartiality of the publication before mocking the content in this week’s edition.

“Is it really a core function of this council to provide, for example, a review of Toy Story 3? Do we really have a duty to inform our residents … that Prince’s new album is his most ‘soulless yet’?”, he asked. He said ending the weekly printing of Greenwich Time would be an “easy cut”.

Cllr Maureen O’Mara (Labour, Greenwich West) commented that Greenwich Time’s council property pages were “very important” to residents who wanted to move, describing it as providing an “essential service” for those that couldn’t or wouldn’t get the  information online.

Cllr Dermot Poston (Conservative, Eltham North) told colleagues that he regarded it as a “political newspaper” and that he “bitterly resents” it. He said the ruling party have “lost any sense of fairness and democracy”.

Cllr Matt Clare (Conservative, Eltham South) used his maiden speech at a full council meeting to say how he would frequently see “No Greenwich Time” notices whilst going door to door during the election campaign. He asked why only Greenwich and Tower Hamlets were delivering newspapers on a weekly basis if it had “such demonstrable benefits”.

Cllr John Fahy (Labour, Woolwich Riverside) reminded fellow councillors that the Conservatives “fought the election on the arguments of Greenwich Time and lost”. He criticised local freesheet, the News Shopper, for printing “10 pages of stories in Lewisham and beyond, and perhaps 2 or 3 stories about the community in Greenwich”.  He said that in raising the issue, it was “payback time” for the opposition because during the election, the “News Shopper was the extension of Conservative news”.

West Greenwich councillor, David Grant (Labour) also suggested that he had been “airbrushed out” of a Greenwich Time photo but said that because of the cabinet system of the council, it was inevitable most of the coverage would be on the executive although he said would like to see more backbenchers featured.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Chris Roberts (Labour, Glyndon), said that in strict terms, Greenwich Time is “not a political newspaper” and nor could it be according to the law. In fact, council lawyers check it line by line before it goes to print, he revealed.

Cllr Roberts said the paper was “very close to being self financing” and that the cost of producing it had fallen from 22p per copy to just 3.5p per copy. “We are already making significant savings which run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds”, he added.

He said it was “absolutely right that we should prioritise our spending” but printing Greenwich Time meant the Council was “able to deliver statutory notices almost at no cost”.

The Conservative motion was defeated.

School kids work with neighbouring pub to improve area

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Children from St Alfege with St Peter’s Primary School with, from left to right, Sean Brogan (Landlord of the Gate Clock Wetherspoon Pub), Hazel Burnie (Headteacher at St Alfege with St Peter’s Primary School), Cllr David Grant, Cllr Maureen O’Mara, and Cllr Matthew Pennycook

Concerned children from a Greenwich primary school have met with the landlord of a neighbouring pub to call for improvements to their local area.

Pupils from St Alfege with St Peter’s Church of England Primary School, along with their headteacher, Hazel Burnie, met with Sean Brogan, manager of the Gate Clock in Creek Road. They were joined by all three Greenwich West ward councillors – Maureen O’Mara, David Grant and Matthew Pennycook.

A plan was agreed which includes the Gate Clock pledging not to sell alcohol off-licence to be consumed outside the premises, a bigger effort to deal with litter and a promise to remind customers that areas near the pub are part of a ‘no drinking zone’.

The children’s work is part of South London Citizens’ CitySafe campaign, a community-led response to crime and the fear of crime in the capital.

Hazel Burnie, Headteacher at St Alfege with St Peter’s Primary School, said:

“As a school, we take citizenship very seriously, and that’s why we are members of South London Citizens. We are keen to work with our neighbours to improve our local area. We are pleased about the relationship that is developing between our school, the landlord of the Pub next door to us, and our local councillors. There’s so much we can achieve together.”

Cllr Maureen O’Mara, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Environment, said:

“As local councillors we congratulate the school on this initiative. Anti social behaviour blights everyone’s lives and we are pleased to work with the school to tackle it.”

Sean Brogan, Landlord of the Gate Clock Wetherspoon Pub, said:

“I feel the meeting was very beneficial for us to see a different perspective on our business and how it is viewed by the younger generation. I gained valuable information on how they felt about the surrounding community and businesses, and was pleased to learn about their views on litter and minor crime.”

Jubilee line upgrades will be delayed by a further year

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The estimated completion date for upgrades to the Jubilee line has been put back another year.

It was confirmed by TFL today that the new signalling system has been beset by problems and the project will now finish a year later than the revised date. It was originally due to be completed by the end of 2009 before being revised to October 2010.

London Underground are now running the project after their recent acquisition of Tube Lines.

Local MP, Nick Raynsford, has expressed has expressed his “deep disappointment” at the news. He commented:

‘For the past two years, residents and businesses in my constituency have had to put up with serious inconveniences caused by closures. Announcing yet further delays to the programme is a clear indication of bad planning and is only going to cause yet further inconveniences to local residents. It will make businesses, small and large, suffer at a time that they can least afford. I will continue to press London Underground to ensure that the works are fast-tracked and cause as little inconvenience to my constituency as possible’.

Galliard’s Constellation wins planning appeal

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A new development of over two hundred apartments will be built in Charlton after the developers finally gained planning permission.

The Independent Planning Inspectorate has given Galliard Homes the go-ahead for the development, which has been marketed for several years as the ‘Constellation’, on land behind Victoria Way.

The application, which had taken Greenwich Council two years and five months to decide, was previously rejected over air quality and noise concerns. A large warehouse, which will be well known to the many drivers who pass it everyday on the A102, will be demolished to make way for the development.

In the Inspectorate’s findings, he acknowledged that “the considerable number and range of objections” suggested the “proposed development would not be welcomed by many existing residents in the local area” but goes on to say that the “planning system works to regulate the development and use of land in the public interest, not to protect private interests.”

The Inspectorate found fault with the Greenwich Council had handled some parts of the planning application and they will have to pay partial costs for the appeal.

See also: 853 – There goes the neighbourhood

Local teachers plan to open a “Free School”

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A “Free School” could be opened in the borough of Greenwich if a group of teachers and parents get their way.

The idea is being put forward by Nouvelles Racines (meaning “New Roots”) which is is a not-for-profit company based in the borough headed up by two French secondary school teachers, Gladys Delphin and Semikian Konate.

They have been teaching French at a Saturday school in West Greenwich for the past two years and now wish to branch out and run a full time, non-selective school teaching the International Baccalaureate (IB) which has a strong emphasis on modern languages.

They propose taking pupils between the age of 5 – 18, which would enable them to offer all three IB programmes – Primary, Middle Years and sixth-form Diploma.

Gladys Delphin says that the new school would give “every child the chance to have a shot at studying the three rigorous but highly regarded IB programmes.”

“Up until now they have only been taught at four schools in England, all of them fee-paying. It’s an ambitious plan, but children from Greenwich and neighbouring boroughs deserve the best.”, she added.

Free Schools are a new policy initiative from the coalition government which enables parents, teachers, charities and businesses to set up a state funded school outside of the control of local authorities.

No site has yet been chosen for the proposed school but Greenwich.co.uk understands that Nouvelles Racines has made preliminary enquiries about the old Charlotte Turner School building in Deptford.

Three found guilty of bike shop robbery

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Cycle Warehouse, Greenwich

A GANG of three robbers, whose ringleader threatened a shop manager that there would be ‘trouble’ if he didn’t show them where the safe was, were found guilty today.

Adrian Martin, 20, Samuel Morrison, 21, and Gavin Walters, 29, robbed £440 of takings from the Cycle Warehouse in Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, on January 12 this year.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court found them all guilty of robbery after just two hours of deliberation.

Earlier the court heard from manager Matthew Munro how three hooded men with scarves covering their faces entered his shop at 5.45pm just as he had finished cashing up for the day.

Testifying behind a screen, he said one of them gestured to his hoodie pocket and demanded to be shown the safe.

He said: “[The first one] came behind the counter and grabbed me by the shirt and said ‘this is what’s going to happen’.

“He asked about the safe and I lied and said we don’t have a safe. I said that all we have is the £100 we took today that was in an envelope on the counter and he proceeded to pick it up.

“Then he said ‘I know there is a safe here, I don’t want there to be any trouble and he grabbed his hoodie pocket implying he had a weapon so I told him where the safe was.”

Mr Munro opened the safe for the robbers who took four days worth of takings that had been left in there, the court heard.

Police who were called by Mr Munro picked up the gang in a black VW Beetle within 10 minutes of the incident and found envelopes containing the takings from the shop in the car.

Martin of Fenwick Road, Peckham, Morrison of Boreman House, Thames Street, Greenwich and Walters of Courtney Hotel, Aldersbrook Road, Manor Park, East London, all denied robbery.

Sentencing was adjourned until August 6 for pre sentence reports.

Blackheath Bluecoat’s Peninsula move gets the red light

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The proposal to move Blackheath Bluecoat school to a new building at Greenwich Peninsula has been stopped by the Government.

The move to a new school building off Millennium Way was put forward after an earlier proposal to move the John Roan School was dropped.

At the time of the announcement in February this year, executive headteacher Jeffrey Risbridger welcomed the the “opportunity to move to what promises to be a remarkable building”.

Blackheath Bluecoat is just one of hundreds of schools around the country that have been affected by the new coalition government’s review of the the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, told the House of Commons this week that “faced with the desperate mess left by the last Administration, this Government have had to prioritise, and our first priority is raising the attainment of the poorest by investing in great teaching”.

See also: Blackheath Bluecoat stays put – 853blog

New flower shop blooms on Trafalgar Road

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Mike Catterall Floral Designs

A brand new florist has opened for business in Trafalgar Road, Greenwich.

Mike Catterall Floral Designs had its grand opening over the weekend and welcomed customers with a glass of champagne.

Mike, who has twenty years experience as a florist, told Greenwich.co.uk a little about how the new shop came about:

I moved to London eight years ago, and would always come to Greenwich at the weekends and decided I really wanted to live here. It was when I was looking for somewhere to live here that I found the shop at the same time and it all fell together very quickly.

The shop will be open seven days a week and Mike even intends to open on Christmas Day for those customers who need a very last minute bouquet.

The new business caters for all floral requirements but Mike tells me most of his intricate work is for funerals and has included a pint of beer, a cup and saucer, Nemo the fish from ‘Finding Nemo’ and even a pair of Dorothy’s shoes from ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

Mike Catterall Floral Designs is at 93 Trafalgar Road.

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