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Greenwich Goes To Vote in Euro Elections

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Greenwich Polling Station

Well, when I say, “Greenwich goes to vote” – I mean, “some of Greenwich goes to vote” and not too many at that if what I saw earlier on is representative of anything.  On the day of elections to the European parliament, I took a tour around some of the polling stations in Greenwich and voters seemed very thin on the ground.

I spoke to the presiding officer at the Randall Place polling station and he said voting had been slow but steady. I was hoping to get a picture of a voter coming out but it just me and him there.

Presiding Officer at Greenwich Polls

Round the corner at the Jubilee Hall polling station in Blisset Street, I met Sam who was a lone volunteer from Labour outside the station and he looked quite happy to see another human being (Say “Hi” if you see this, Sam!)

Jubilee Hall Polling Station, Greenwich

Polling stations opened at 7am this morning and will remain open until 10pm this evening. Go to the Council website for information on the candidates and the polling stations.

Greenwich Residents To Tackle 15 Peaks Challenge

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Greenwich residents Chris Van de Molen and Ramanan Navaratnam are going to take on the 15 Peaks Challenge in a bid to raise money for HOPEHIV.

Chris and Ramanan are part of a team of employees from Liquid Capital that will be attempting a day-long 30 mile trek across the 15 peaks of Northern Snowdonia on June 27th.

HOPEHIV is a UK charity that supports children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa who have been orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS. You can support Chris and Ramanan by visiting this link and clicking the link for the Liquid Capital Crusaders.

Ramanan Navaratnam (far left) with his team-mates Cong Yi, Djordje Djokovic, Shrutisagar Chandrasekaran and Dmitry Rusakov

NOGOE Begin Signature Drive

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Local pressure group, No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE), began its signature drive across the bank holiday weekend.  Their representives were out and about in Greenwich and they tell me they collected over 1000 signatures for their petition against the plans to use Greenwich Park as a venue for the 2012 Olympics.

Sev from NOGOE sent me this pic of a protestor who isn’t actually a member of the group, but took a petition and before long had a queue ready to sign up in Tranquil Vale.

Labour Leaflet Causes Red Faces

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Local Labour officials may be feeling a little embarrassed tonight after the revelation that two “Greenwich Residents” featured in their election literature are in fact closely associated with the Labour Party.

Mark and Miranda Bradley were featured in the leaflet saying “Labour’s really helping us through these tough times… Our borough is really on the up and that’s because Labour are on our side”.

When local journalist, Adam Bienkov, saw the leaflet he was able to identify the “local residents” in the leaflets as Mark Bradley and Miranda Williams. Miranda has revealed on her Twitter account that she works for an MP, has attended a fundraiser for Labour and has also delivered election leaflets for them.

That might be embarrasing enough, but unfortunately things get even worse. Adam was also able to identify Miranda as having been in attendance at a Labour organised public meeting to discuss the Olympics where she got up to attack local NIMBYs and proclaim her excitement at the prospect of the Olympics coming to Greenwich – all without any mention of her relationship to the Labour Party.

Read Adam’s blog for all the details.

Allan MacCarthy Is New Mayor of Greenwich

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From Left to Right: Outgoing Mayor, Steve Offord, new deputy Mayor, Barbara Barwick and new Mayor, Allan MacCarty

Councillor Allan MacCarthy was elected yesterday as the new Mayor of Greenwich in a ceremony at the Painted Hall.

Having first been elected as an Aldermen in 1975,  he has also represented the Kidbrooke and then the Charlton wards on the council, and has also served as Deputy Mayor.

The Mayor said , “I have known, been acquainted with or simply met, nearly every Mayor of this borough since it was first established. I feel it a massive honour to join their number and to have been given the chance to extend the path they have already made by their work and efforts, with my own.”
 
He added, “I look forward to the year ahead, to promoting the borough and its people and showing everyone how good this wonderful borough is. I am particularly looking forward to visiting the huge number of community groups and faith groups in Greenwich and supporting in any way I can, the selfless work that they do day in and day out.”

The new Mayor of Greenwich has chosen MacMillan Cancer Support, Volunteer Centre Greenwich and Greenwich Mencap as his mayoral charities for the year.

Cyclist Killed in Greenwich Is Named

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The cyclist killed in a collision with a lorry last Friday has been named as Ms Adrianna Skrzypiec. The 31 year old Polish national was killed in the accident at the Woolwich flyover on Friday at about 5.30pm.

Known to her friends as Adusia, she had been living in the UK for six years. The driver of a lorry that police want to talk to in connection with this tragic incident did not stop.

Anyone with any information about the lorry that didn’t stop following the accident should contact Collision Investigation Unit at Catford Traffic Garage on 020 8285 1574.

(more info)

Cyclist Dies After Lorry Collision

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A female cyclist has sadly died after a collision with a lorry on Friday in Greenwich.

The incident happened at about 5.30pm at the Kent bound junction of the A102(M) and Woolwich Road. The lorry did not stop following the collision. Police have not yet released the name of the victim.

(via News Shopper)

Updated: A “ghost bike” has been chained to the railings near the spot at which the cyclist was killed on Friday. A ghost bike is a bicycle painted white and put in place as a sign of respect for a cyclist killed on the road. Darryl at 853 has the pictures.


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Do you know anything about this incident?

Foot Tunnels To Close For “Up To 18 Months”?

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Regular readers will know that Andrew Gilligan recently raised the prospect of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel being closed whilst the Council carries out refurbishments using the £11.5million it was awarded by central government.

Tom Crispin from the Young Lewisham and Greenwich Cyclists has been in discussions with Greenwich Council and just posted this useful reply in that earlier discussion which I think is worth flagging up:

Unless local groups oppose their closure, the tunnels at Greenwich and Woolwich are going to close for refurbishment. This is likely to happen for up to 18 months between September 2009 and March 2011.

Greenwich Council is not planning any replacement service for those wishing to push bikes under the Thames (pedestrians will be able to use the DLR); they claim the cost of a ferry service will be £11,000 per week.

Some of the work to the tunnels is essential, e.g. fixing a leak in one of the stairwell/lift shafts at Woolwich. Other work is welcome, rewiring the lighting, new CCTV, emergency lighting, replacement lift mechanisms for the current mechanisms for which spare parts are, according to GC, not possible to source. Some of the work is unwelcome, renewing the footway at Woolwich, re-facing the tunnels (instead of cleaning them).

As public highways, Greenwich Council will have to consult on the tunnels’ closure. If there is sufficient opposition to the closure a public enquiry will have to be held. This will delay the works. If the works are not complete by March 2011 Greenwich Council will lose the £11.5m for the refurbishment. Unless there is a local replacement ferry service at Greenwich, or the closure at Greenwich is restricted to overnight (00.00 – 05.30 perhaps), local cycling groups are likely to oppose the closure. Therefore, Greenwich Council would be well advised to lay on a replacement ferry service at Greenwich. With the Woolwich Ferry offering an alternative, the closure at Woolwich is not as serious, though it would greatly inconvenience cyclists at times when the Woolwich Ferry is not operating, and pedestrians when the DLR is not operating.

Tom tells me that the closure could potentially be a lot less than the figure of 18 months but it is question of whether or not the tunnel interior is “refaced” that would determine if it is a lengthy closure or not.

Add your comment at the original thread here

First Case of Swine Flu In Greenwich

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It has been reported that a Greenwich man is amongst the latest batch of confirmed cases of H5N1. The Telegraph says that the man had been in contact with a previous victim of the swine flu virus.

The Bexley Times reports that “Blackheath Nursery and Preparatory School, in St German’s Place, Blackheath, was closed for a week yesterday after a pupil or teacher came down with flu symptoms.”

Find out more about the government’s response to Swine Flu at Direct.gov

The Ongoing Greenwich Park Debate

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A headsup for anyone that missed my post earlier in the week: LOCOG are holding their latest Greenwich Park consulation in the Tea Pavillion today (Friday 15th May) and tomorrow. This is your chance to ask questions about their plans for the park come 2012.

I hope to be interviewing someone from NOGOE next week to get an idea of how they think the campaign is going and find out what comes next as they try to halt the equestrian events taking place in Greenwich Park.

If you’re a keen follower of the debate, you might also want to listen to this interview that Sev D’Souza from NOGOE gave to LBC 97.3 recently. I think Sony Award winning presenter, and Blackheath resident, Nick Ferarri could have come up with a better preamble than “There are problems, particularly with the park, I think a site of historical importance, whatever it might be“.