28 - 34 St Agnes Place Kennington - Request for Planning Permission

An application has been submitted to Lambeth for the development of 28 - 34 St Agnes Place.  It's reference 10/03840/FUL and if you follow that link and click "submit comments", your views will be emailed directly to Lambeth Council.

The 18 units for which permission has been requested above are for the Family Mosaic development for which consultation was held earlier this year.  For more information, see the purple boards shown halfway down St Agnes Housing Development post (not the green boards, since these are for the as yet unsubmitted London and Quadrant development).  For more info. on the history of the site and SLP's protest article on retaining the full Kennington Park Adventure playground, there's a post here.

Trouble at the White Bear Theatre / Pub?

On Saturday, I decided to skip a week at the awesome Oval Farmers' Market, which you must visit if you haven't because the food is good, prices reasonable, stall-holders friendly and it involves considerable less effort than trekking up to Borough!  I dared to leave Kennington, a mistake, considering that I was then unavailable to investigate Tweets about trouble at the White Bear Theatre. 

It must be stressed that trouble at the White Bear is very unusual.  There are generally regulars drinking outside and people watching sport, but it's a pub in a residential area with a theatre attached.  How rowdy can that be?  Considerably, it seems:

Does anybody know what happened?  Were there any witnesses?  Was it planned?

Consultation re. Nine Elms Parkside (Royal Mail Sorting Office)

I didn't actually go to the Nine Elms Parkside (Royal Mail sorting office) consultation as I opted to have non-planning fun at the weekend.  I have, however, emailed the chaps who were running the exhibition to check whether they displayed any additional material than what is already available on the Nine Elms Parkside website.  Other than a 3D model, which could be viewed at the event, all of the other material is available online.  My main complaint is that the website eg. interesting map detail is just too small to view properly (however, some of it is probably available in public documents and viewable elsewhere) and the website is simply not particularly informative (and is full of general VNEB and "other landowner" info. that is already in the public domain).
I wrote a previous post with some background on the unhappy Royal Mail workers and their potential job losses, as I want this blog to form a kind of history for the area, so feel free to read that.  Additionally, we now know...

The Nine Elms Parkside development will be located at the centre of the new development, split either side of the linear park, with a landscaped public square, "Tideway Green" at the centre of both the Parkside development and the linear park itself.  Tideway Green will be linked to Nine Elms Square (another public square) on Nine Elms Lane.  The Nine Elms Parkside buildings will range in height from 7 to 13 storeys (it sounds more pleasant than some of what Vauxhall might end up with) and car parking and cycle parking will likely be located underground underneath the park/green land.  The masterplan shows that the east of the development appears to link up with the new US embassy and Ballymore land. 

As you'll know, I'm always a huge fan of pictures of faceless people that don't really tell us anything useful eg. how much of the development will be affordable or given over to local housing associations?  Will there be playgrounds for children built anywhere?  Will the housing be for families or "young professionals" eg. is it studios or 3 bedroom flats?  What are the transport options if the Northern line tube extension isn't put in?  How will Royal Mail use the site for its "retained" operations in a way that allows for quiet living for the eventual residents?  What will Section 106 money be spent on?  All we have are a few key facts... 2000 units, 600 parking spaces, 2000 bike parking spaces (that sounds positive), over 2.5ha of public space and the fact that it will be sustainable. 

I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of architectural information available compared with the excellent detail provided by Kylun's Vauxhall Island Site PR team where it's clear from the plan exactly how the buildings will be laid out.  To be fair, I didn't go to the consultation, so feel free to leave comments if you did attend and have more information about what size the flats are likely to be, how they'll be laid out, how Royal Mail operations with co-exist on the site, and how much affordable housing will be provided.

Planning permission sought for Cycle Hire dock outside Broadgates Court (Cleaver Street)

(Image taken from and (c) Google maps)

I've just spotted that a planning application 10/03858/RG4 has been submitted for the installation of 17 docking points on Cleaver Street opposite Broadgates Court (a post-war block of flats).  This was one of the sites that several locals suggested and the land is owned by the council.  The Council are also considering performing some beautification on the surrounds too, so presuming that residents don't think it a terrible idea, we ought to gain a few more docks in the centre of Kennington soon, hopefully relieving congestion on the Post Office and Sancroft Square docks somewhat.

Do submit comments...

Prevarication on 20 Albert Embankment - planning permission extension sought

(Image taken from Lambeth's Planning database)

Following October's attempt to tweak the 20 Albert Embankment planning consent and today's request to extend the time limit on the already-granted planning permission, it doesn't look as though we'll be graced by the presence of three new towers (including another hotel) on the Albert Embankment any time soon.  The current permission is set to expire in March 2011.



Planning new Boris Bike docks in SE11 and SW8 - impressive feedback from Lambeth Council

Every so often a member of the public sends off an email to Lambeth Council, regarding consultation, in the vague hope that there'll be somebody that might read it and take the comments on board.  Last week, however, I watched as two comprehensive responses from Dawn Rahman (nee Haines) on the placement of Boris Bike docks bounced into my inbox.  Dawn had responded, in detail, to my (and others) suggestions for London Cycle hire bike docking points in Lambeth.  I'm delighted by the responses to the suggestions (some of which were provided to me in Twitter via readers) as it enables me to give you an update.

One issue with suggesting docks was that we were told that they had to be within the "existing area boundary", but I was unclear exactly where that boundary lay, so I suggested some for Oval.  I want to see these docks go to Peckham, Camberwell, Stockwell, Brixton and down as far as Clapham (at least), but I didn't submit sites for these area as it would have been rather counterproductive.  Those places do not lie within the existing area.  So, our suggestions...

1.  Kennings Way (a small road opposite Kennington tube station) which was suggested due to an absence of docking stations on Kennington Park Road between Kennington Post Office dock and the Hampton Street dock.

Lambeth Council's response: "Lambeth have had a look at this site as we're aware that there is a big gap in the network. Taking away car parking is always difficult but not impossible. However, I think I have found an easier location to progress opposite the shops on Kennington Park Road - just a short distance from Kennington tube. This could potentially be located on the very wide footway and allow us to remove some of the unsightly bollards that we have had to put up to prevent cars parking on it."

My response: Thumbs up.  That placement would be great, without having to remove parking, and might benefit the shops too.

2.  Cleaver Street (opposite Lambeth county court)  - I noted that some residents may object about this suggestion as that piece of land and its use has previously come under disupute (I can't remember why).  It's also quite close to the Sancroft Street (St Anselm's) dock, but since that one's often full/empty, another one within close proximity wouldn't do any harm.

Lambeth Council's response: "This is one that we started progressing back in July [2010], and it is due to be put forward for planning approval next week. The land is owned by our housing department and they are fully on board. It also means we can tidy up this area and put in some additional cycle parking and benches which hopefully will help improve the feel of the place."

My response:  Excellent news.  That ought to relieve the congestion in the central docks and if it can be used as an opportunity to beautify the area, that's even better.

3.  Cleaver Square (south side, near to the City and Guilds of London Art School) - I noted that I didn't know whether there would be room, but somebody suggested it to me, so I sent it on.

Lambeth Council's response: "Lambeth have looked at this and the pavement in front is a bit to narrow... In view of the above two suggestions we think that if we can go ahead with these, this will help with network coverage in that area - as both of the above are in close proximity to this site. There is also some highway land to the side of the Art school however this would require taking away motorcycle bays which we don’t tend to have too many of so again this would probably receive quite a few objections."

My response:  That's reasonable.  I'd object to removal of scooter/motorcycle parking for cycle docks because I agree that there isn't enough of it.  If both other docks are implemented (particularly the one near the tube), there would be less need for one here.

4.  Extension of the docking station at Kennington Park Post office - (I noted that the dock is always full or empty, being that it represents the souternmost boundary of the scheme).

Lambeth Council's response: "Unfortunately TfL have said that due to the cost involved, they can only extend existing docking stations if we can put in at least 15 more bikes. I've had a look at this site and I just can't see how we can accommodate that many bikes in that space. Hopefully though if we can progress some of the other sites this will help with capacity issues."

My response:  That's annoying.  However, Lambeth Council are clearly restricted by TFL on this point so there's not much that could be suggested.  Does anybody think that there's room on the same side of Kennington Road slightly further up, near to the bus stop for a dock??

5.  Island site opposite Oval station between Brixton Road, Clapham Road and the top of Camberwell New Road - (The island contains only a piece of circular seating furniture at present, and the site is sometimes used by Lambeth Council for bike repair workshops.  I never really understood why this wasn't an obvious site in the first place).

Lambeth Council's response: "We did get planning permission for a site on this piece of land. Unfortunately we lost it at the construction stage due to problems when they dug the ground up. However, we are now looking at progressing a site outside of the Oval cricket ground ticket office which takes up existing car parking bays. This is being looked at currently with TfL.  Again hopefully this will help with the gaps in the network."

My response:  That's an excellent clarification, but a real shame.  I wonder what problems were found when the ground was dug up?  I guess a site outside of the Oval circket ground is an acceptable substitution, but I think the island site would be better.  There's more room and it wouldn't take parking spaces.

6.  Albert Embankment - (nearer to Lambeth Bridge) - Permission has been requested for a dock opposite 4 Albert Embankment at present, so this might come to fruition anyway (hopefully)...

Lambeth Council's response: "TfL have progressed one in close proximity to Lambeth Bridge and that hopefully we will get a response from planning as to whether it has been approved on the 22nd November. I think there are plans for a site on Guys and St Thomas' land a bit further up..." (Edited due to correction sent from Dawn on 16th Nov 2010)

My response:  Great.  Let's hope that the site on 4 Albert Embankment is approved.

7.  Kennington Park

Lambeth Council's response: "See comments above"

My response: I'm not sure that the comments above would apply to a site at the back of Kennington Park, say nearer to St Agnes Place, but maybe that's outside of the existing area.

Incidentally, Mrs Rahman noted in an email to Cllr Morgan that all sites have to go through planning and transport regulations which means that if you live near to a dock for which planning permission is sought, you'll get the opportunity to provide comments in support or against.

I'm interested in reader feedback on this as many of my readers fed in suggestions for sites, and if you'd like me to go back to Lambeth with further suggestions, I think there's still time!  I didn't suggest any near Vauxhall Station as I imagine that that will be addressed separately, but I'm sure you can all think of more that you'd like.

Update on schools (and their websites) in Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall

Ever since I attended the Angry Parent meeting at St Anselm's church a few months ago, and compiled the list of schools and their recent Ofsted reports, I've been getting a lot more hits from people searching for local primary schools.  It made me wonder whether the subject matter of my area coverage was unbalanced.  I write a considerable amount on planning, but very little on the arts (community meetings seem to squeeze out theatre trips, but I've tried to address arts via the new calendar), and a lot on community groups, but very little on education...  I thought it might be worth redressing the balance every so often...

One particularly impressive part of the Angry Parents meeting was the fact that two members of staff from Henry Fawcett Primary School showed up and spoke about the measures that they'd put in place to bring their school out of Special Measures.  I thought it was a particularly brave move, at a meeting set up for parents who were concerned about their being enough places at "good" local schools to meet the needs of their children.  Consequently, it seems timely to note a document on the Henry Fawcett home page that demonstrates the steps they took to bring the school out of those measures in a very short time.  From that document, we learn that there's been a complete restructuring of staff, a new curriculum, the implementation of a database to monitor students' progress, report cards for misbehaving children, new sports coaches at lunch time, improved lesson planning etc. etc.  Wow.  Fantastic work!

Also, I wondered whether it was possible for parents and neighbours to learn what was happening at their children's schools locally.  St Mark's C of E school do have a rather slow website, but that doesn't look as though it has been updated since 2005!  Crampton Primary School have a website whose "recent" newsletter hasn't been updated since 2006.  [Edit 11/2/2011: Vauxhall Primary School have a new website.]  Walnut Tree Walk have a promising website with little content.  Charlotte Sharman share the same website host as St Mark's which is slow to load and hasn't been updated since 2007/8.  St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary appear to have no website.  Lilian Baylis Technology School have a site, but it's down (I'll check again in the morning).  Henry Fawcett have a bright website, which is only a few months out of date, and last updated approx. July 2010.  Archbishop Tenisons School have a website updated this month and Archbishop Sumner Primary School have a website that was last updated in October.  I wanted to make this post one about the positive news of local schools, but it will seem too biased if I do so without including a full range of schools.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Archbishop Sumner also have outstanding Ofsted results.  It's not true to say that the website makes the school, but it might be true to say that if you have within the school the resources (be that staff, parents or friends) to create and update a website, then you have the voluntary capacity required to run an outstanding school.  The problem is (and this is my uninformed guess), that many (not all, but many) parents with money and resources wish to send their children to Archbishop Sumner.  I'm not making this up, because this fact became clear at the meeting earlier on this year.  The parents at that meeting (95% middle class, professional, and, incidentally, white) wished to see that school expanded.  However, unless parents choose to run their own free schools (can't see Lambeth Council being excited by that idea), the likelihood of the school structure changing in its entirety is low.  The difficulty is trying to figure out how to share and spread levels of high attainment.

School staff (at least, according to the news) have to work longer hours, teach children with English as a second language in schools where multiple languages are spoken, provide discipline where parents fail, subject children to continual SATs testing, satisfy the demands of the National Curriculum and stay sane.  Maybe it's not their job to create and maintain websites.  There's a possibility that website are unnecessary when parents speak to teachers at the school gates, and newsletters always make it home in children's bags.  Should schools be producing websites and keeping the wider public informed of local education?  I don't know.  Is this the task of the Local Education Authority?  Maybe, but how will they know exactly what's happening in a school?  Is it their task, in an era of "shrink the state" governance?  It seems to me that maybe it's the task of school governors, but they have to ensure children are safeguarded, enable a school to support children with Special Educational Needs, decide on policies of exclusion and manage the staff in a school, all in an unpaid capacity.  It doesn't leave much time for managing a website.  It seems that perhaps it's the task of the parents, but when one IT-savvy parent's child leaves a school, the website could be abandoned.

School websites are a small and insignificant matter that simply demonstrate commitment.  Updating people with news is one of the ways that schools can appeal to the wider community and share their joys and concerns.  Sharing news and enabling local "ownership" of services is part of creating the Big Society, right?  The absence of up to date news from schools feeds into fears that I have concerning our impending Big Society.  The volunteer culture needed to update school websites is precisely the volunteer culture required to visit the elderly when the State is forced out through spending cuts.  Some people will argue that it should never have been the State's job in the first place.  I'm agnostic on that matter.  But even if it isn't the State's job, a sudden removal of  front line carers and visitors is not going to create a situation where volunteers are immediately able to fill the breach.  If that were the case, all of our schools would have up-to-date websites.

Wandsworth Council and transport / town centre - Part 5 of 5 from Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Exhibition VNEB

Finally, just for the record, I wanted to add the final in the series of VNEB exhibition boards. There is so much going on locally that it's difficult to keep up! These boards mostly show Wandsworth Council's outlines on the VNEB, which is importance since the majority of the VNEB falls on their patch.  In my view, the boards aren't quite as useful as the ones that Lambeth Council supplied on account of the fact that they don't summarise all of the buildings that have been granted planning permission to date.  Maybe there are too many to list (or they've not yet been declared), but without an idea of that, it's difficult to imagine the volume of housing and commercial space that will hit the area:

This board clearly outlines the scale of the development.  16,000 new homes means the arrival of a vast number of new residents.  I fail to see how 20,000 - 25,000 new jobs will be created when industrial space is being reduced, but perhaps we'll all be surprised:

Note the mention of the "linear park", linking Vauxhall to Battersea.  This will not provide adequate green space given the likely population density, even once the parks at Spring Gardens and Vauxhall have been taking into account:

The additional 800 primary school aged children will be catered for by /one/ primary school.  Goodness knows whether the other primary schools in the locality can be expanded to meet demand.  The 600 secondary school aged pupils will presumably have to be placed in existing schools.  I'm not sure whether a school feasibility study has been completed, but this /sounds/ a tad unrealistic even to my unknowledgable ears.  Battersea gets a library.  Vauxhall probably won't (but then, libraries aren't really in vogue at the moment, are they?):

Transport.   One of my favourite topics!  This poster indicates improved bus services, new bus routes and increased bus frequency.  It also shows enhanced railway stations (but doesn't mention enhanced services) so this probably just means the stations will get a make over (see here for Vauxhall rail station refurbishment).  Cyclists are mentioned here in terms of "better provision", but it doesn't clearly outline cycle lanes or segregated cycle paths on roads or anything like that.  There's mention of the proposed Northern line tube to Battersea, with an added station at Nine Elms (my favourite option, but it probably wouldn't do much to relieve congestion Kennington tube station).  However, I think the huge cost of this project will eventually mean that the area will get a tram (which is one of the proposed options in the giant VNEB consultation document).  I suppose another option might be to add a new National Rail station between Queenstown and Vauxhall, but looking at the map, this would probably be too far from the power station to meet the new residents' needs:

Here's a model, which I think illustrates how nasty and oversized the new St George tower will look. The architecture is not even particularly imaginative, just a round tall tower.  This model is not illustrative of all of the buildings planned for Vauxhall.  For some reason, some of these have been missed off.  The orange line on the plan is the new proposed tube route:

Just for the record, here are the last few signs up at the exhibition, and completes this rather long and tedious set of plans and photos in the VNEB series.

Part 1 (Ballymore section) of VNEB exhibition is here.
Part 2 (Lambeth Council section) of VNEB exhibition is here.
Part 3 (Tideway Wharf section) of VNEB exhibition is here.
Part 4 (Sainsbury's Towers section) of VNEB exhibition is here.

Future of former Lilian Baylis School and SAZ (KOV meeting write up - Part 2)

At the KOV meeting on Monday, after we'd heard about the refurbishment of Vauxhall railway station, Brian Dickens of Sports Action Zone (SAZ) took the platform to speak about plans for the former Lilian Baylis School on Lollard Street.  A short paper was circulated (apologies for picture quality):

New readers might benefit from a little recent history.  In February 2009, Lambeth Council put together a hub group (All Nations Church, Sports Action Zone and Ethelred Nursery) to create a future at the former Lilian Baylis.  On 14th December 2009, Lambeth Concil issued a statement to decommision the hub group.  I wrote a lengthy post showing one way that the December 2009 statement might be interpreted.  Nothing more has been said on the matter, and when I sent Steve Reed a Tweet in October 2009, all he would say is "Still negotiating a consortium to run the old school site, details public soon, intending it shd represent the whole community not just part."  Go and read the 2009 update on the former Lilian Baylis  for the more recent history.  If you want to go even further back (because Lurking about SE11 takes history seriously), you can read my definitive potted summary from 2005 - 2009.

Considering all of that, I hoped that the next part of the process would be the announcement of a new consortium to manage the site (as per Steve Reed's Tweet).  I expected that a varied combination of organisations would speak about their plans for the site. Despite heartily commending their proposals, it was slightly disappointing to receive a presentation from Sports Action Zone alone.  Mr Dickens noted that since 2005, SAZ's aim has been to "develop the community through sport".  He also commented, "it's not only sport, it is a community hub, it is intergenerational.  It's about health, it's about arts, it's about music media.  It is about cycling and helping young people put bikes together.  It is about a whole range of opportunities for the local community."  Accordingly, 90% of the onsite provision is free and there are 90,000 attendances every year.  There are case studies now from young people who've changed their lives as a result of being involved in projects on site:

Working with the South Bank Employer's Group, SAZ successfully obtained £75,000 from the Government's Community Builds Program.  With that, they've examined a sustainable approach to developing a portion of the former Lilian Baylis site.  "Part of the problem," Brian Dickens acknowledged, is that "there has never been an understanding of what the site is going to become".  Well, precisely.  The site is listed in its entirety, making developent very tricky.  Despite this, SAZ have identified an area of the site (I think it's the section showing the sports courts on the board below) which looks as though it could be developed. Through the Community Builds Program, £2 million of funds can be accessed to refurbish the site and SAZ are speaking to several investors about bringing in additional money for the project:

Some of the investment on site has already been made.  Barclays have provided brand new tennis court and a fourth generation national turf pitch was donated by Nike.  SAZ want to put an athletics track at the back of the site, expand the area available for sports on site and replace the existing sports hall through bringing in external funding.  SAZ also hope to work alongside Lambeth Council with the appointed architects to review the Statement of Significance to consider how the listed buildings on the site might be used.  SAZ would like the site to be a community hub with a remit that is wider than sport.  This will require further consultation with the community.  However, proposal need to be submitted to the Community Builds Program very swiftly.  SAZ are thus hoping that their the plans will go before Lambeth Council Cabinet on the 22 November to give them the opportunity to secure the long term future of the site under the auspices of a Trust which would comprise members of SAZ, Lambeth Council and the local community.

It's an impressive overview, and quite clever, considering that the largest portion of the investment needs to be put into the listed buildings which SAZ will not seek funding to rebuild.  If SAZ can pull this off, the question will be how the rest of the funding might be secured to put the rest of the former Lilian Baylis into good use.

Brian Dickens took a number of questions from members of the audience.  One audience member asked about whether the trust would be formed for Area A (the section of the site that KOV hope to develop) or for the entire site.  Mr Dickens said that he thought that, in the first instance, the trust would be responsible only for Area A, but that would not stop the trust evolving to take in the rest of the site.  The difficulty is that  substantial  investment is required to develop the rest of the site.  In response to a later question however about getting a trust off the ground, Mr Dickens thought it might comprise only SAZ and Lambeth Council members.  I'd have thought that this might compromise its claim to independence, but never mind!

A representative from the Kennington Association asked whether Ecuadorian Volleyball could be retained on site.  Mr Dickens  affirmed that they're an important of the project and noted that SAZ were not looking to exclude anybody so, whether playing outdoors or indoors, Ecuadorian volleyball would always be a part of the project.  Somebody asked about the link up between Alford House and SAZ (especially important, considering the squeeze that will likely be placed on the funding of youth projects).  A brief response was received; "we're still working very closely with them, and we'd continue to work with them about how to involve them in anything that's going forward".  Another audience member wanted to know whether sponsorship from Barclays would be developed.  Further discussions will apparently take place about how they might be involved with other parts of the site.  SAZ hope to look at developing apprenticeships to widen the project so that it's not solely about sport.

Many questions were forthcoming about the possibility of a swimming pool on site.  Brian Dickens commented that swimming pools were very expensive to install and run, and was much more committed to the temporary swimming pool concept that resulted in this year's 12 metre pool.  It seems a number of people support these temporary pools.  Muslim women are able to use them since other facilities are unsuitable, and they are also useful for teaching children how to swim.  72% of children from Vauxhall School learned to swim in the 6 week period of the temporary pool's existence.  I'm afraid that I don't see any permanent swimming pool funding being forthcoming (from Barclays or otherwise) and would rather continue to try to support proposals for a new adequately sized swimming pool at Elephant and Castle.  In any case, Lambeth Council would argue that their new Coin St swimming pool in Waterloo should serve North Lambeth's requirements.

One of the final comments was, for me, the most telling.  "I went to look at the pool, but I found the site barren and empty, and I didn't know if it was a training pool or whether anybody could use it...".  Since SAZ continually stress their desire to look "beyond sport" and be a true "community hub" they could improve their service to the local community by providing information about what's available at present.  Perhaps a weekly schedule of classes/training sessions on site, an idea of who is entitled to attend, a cost structure and opening times might be forthcoming.  I'm afraid that, despite visiting the SAZ website, I'm still somewhat in the dark about whether SAZ is just for young people or whether it provides sporting facilities for the entire SE11 community.  I'm broadly support the proposal, but I feel that the notion of an independent trust still needs to be fleshed out, and SAZ must demonstrate how it can offer services that will benefit the entirety of North Lambeth.

Sainsbury's Towers Consultation

I've renamed the Sainsbury's Nine Elms redevelopment as "Sainsbury's Towers" on account of the fact that the only thing we know about it is that it's likely to comprise 3 towers.  Happily, we should receive more info on the plans as Sainsbury's will be consulting with the community on:

Friday 19th November, from 14:00 - 20:00
Saturday 20th November, from 10:00 - 16:00

Address: 62 Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2LF

If you don't feel that you can bear to spend another portion of your week at a planning exhibition, you'll note that a Sainsbury's Nine Elms website will go live from the 19th November.

For the record, I think that the Nine Elm's Parkside (Royal Mail) proposal and this, the Sainsbury's Tower proposal plans should have been available at the large VNEB exhibition last month.  Conducting all of these separate consultations means that local residents, anybody trying to get an overview of how the area will look and other interested parties only ever receive a fragment of the picture, and it results in plenty of us spending our weekends trapising around viewing photoboards.  Grump over.  If you don't go, the info. should be on display here.

Learning forgiveness in Lambeth: The F Word Exhibition at St Anselm's

The F Word Exhibition (also known as the Forgiveness Project) tours prisons, churches and other venues in both the US and the UK, to highlight stories of courage from people who have been able to forgive others after they've been wronged.  The narratives are varied, containing the extraordinary testimonies of people who are learning to forgive after living through the Holocaust at Auschwitz or people offering forgiveness to those that killed their relatives in terrorist atrocities.  But the project contains stories of ordinary people too; those that learn to forgive everyday ordinary wrongdoing.

I'm keen to promote this project because being unable to forgive others can destroy individuals and communities, and yet, without examples of others who've managed against the odds, it's much harder to imagine what forgiveness might look like.  In Lambeth, there is perhaps a greater imperative to learn to forgive.  Back in 2008, I quoted an excerpt from the South London Press in which Ashley Kemete's mother said that she had forgiven her son's killer(s) in a shooting that occurred in White Hart Street, Kennington.  That's one extraordinary statement from a local woman, especially since it doesn't look as though Ashley's killer(s) have been arrested or sentenced, but I hope it isn't forgotten

The exhibition is being held at St Anselm's Church (Kennington Cross, SE11 5DU) from 29th November to 6th December.  The comment below indicates that it will be open from 10am - 8pm at night.

Nine Elms Parkside - new development planned for site of Royal Mail Sorting Office

As you'll know, I've still got one more post to make containing displays from the last VNEB exhibition.  The ink has barely dried, but I've received notice of yet another Nine Elms planning consultation, this time for a development named Nine Elms Parkside. Once again, it's over the border in SW8, but I've not seen anybody systematically collecting details for these different Nine Elms proposals so just consider us to be temporarily Lurking around the borders of SE11 too.

This exhbition ought to prove contentious.  About a month ago, I received an email from RCDT/LMHS, suggesting that Royal Mail might sell their Nine Elms sorting office site.  This particular site is home to 1150 workers.  Londonist also noted that an East London sorting station is under threat too.  Greg Charles, the Branch Secretary for the London South West Postal Branch of the Communication Workers Union commented;

"Closing Mail Centres in London will lead to a poorer service and will hit Business and homes alike at a time when it can ill afford it. We will fight these ridiculous plans of closure to ensure not only jobs are protected for our members but business & people across London are protected with essential services they require."

The Wandsworth Guardian quote Mr Charles accusing Royal Mail of attempting to make "a fast buck" through selling the site.  Obviously, a sale would make sound commercial sense, but Mr Charles is concerned that service and jobs will be affected by the closure and relocation of the sorting office.  Before everybody jumps in with the likely comments that the internet has resulted in a decline of post etc and that sorting office closures are inevitable, do read the complaints of SE1 residents, who are served by alternative sorting stations.  (Comments are here, here and here).  Also, remember that the VNEB opportunity area will contain the same number of residents as Welwyn Garden City, and imagine how this would stretch the Royal Mail capabilities in the local area.

If the Royal Mail sorting office will be sold as a result of the Nine Elms area being a new Opportunity Zone, one is obligated to keep asking "for whom is this an opportunity?".  I do not deny that the area requires regeneration (indeed, I favour a sensible re-development of VNEB), or that Royal Mail might need to make job cuts in the current climate, but talks between Royal Mail and the Unions are still ongoing.  Consequently, it seems rather churlish to consult over a new development on the Sorting Office site prior to the end of those talks...

Nonetheless, news of a consultation re. Nine Elms Parkside appeared in my inbox yesterday and they have a lovely shiny new Nine Elms Parkside website, proudly sporting the Royal Mail logo.  Without needing to look too carefully, you'll see that the development area shown on the photo in the literature below /is/ the Sorting Office (look at all of the red Royal Mail vehicles at the top left of the photo).  Of course, the unions may be prematurely concerned.  Perhaps the site will be redeveloped to allow for a Royal Mail facility on the land, alongside new residential property.  Who knows?

Consultation will take place on Thursday 11th November 13:00 - 20:00, Friday 12th November 13:00 - 18:00 and Saturday 13th November 13:00 - 18:00 at Batterssea Studios, 80 Silverthorne Road, SW8 3HE.

Jean Vanier at Meadow Road, Vauxhall Society Remembrance Night, Cinema Museum celebrate Spain NOW and Kennington Gardens Scoiety AGM

You'll notice I've added a calendar to the right hand side of site.  Do email me if you wish to submit or publicise an event in SE11 (or on the borders).  At the moment, I'm just adding events as I happen to spot them from Twitter or receive emails from people etc. but I'd like to list a good selection of plays, concerts, community events, classes, quiz nights etc.
I wanted to write a quick post re. interesting events that will be taking place in the area.  Most of them are local and either very cheap, or require only a donation, so beat those autumn blues and meet some of the fantastic community members in Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall.

Firstly, the Cinema Museum, (as part of Spain NOW! 2010), is hosting a film and music night on Friday 5th November from 7pm - 12pm.  The Cinema Museum is at 2 Dugard Way, SE11 4TH.  The event is free, but a donation to The Cinema Museum is encouraged.  It's a bit difficult to tell what the event will involve, despite having read the poster a few times.  (I'm obviously getting old, as I've no idea what a "participatory interactive happening" might involve!)  More info here.

Secondly, the Kennington Gardens Society AGM is taking place on Thursday 11th November 2010 at 7.30pm at Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, SE11.  It will be followed by a talk by Lizzie Moore on Christmas Floral Decorations (£2 fee).  Refreshments available.

Thirdly, and also on Thursday 11th November 2010, but at 7pm, the Vauxhall Civic Society are holding a Remembrance Evening for Armistice Day at Brunswick House, (Lassco), 30 Wandsworth Road, Vauxhall, SW8 2LG.  It's free, but donations to the Vauxhall Civic Society are welcome.  Feel free to bring along, and read a favourite remembrance poem, and you'll also hear poems and stories related to Vauxhall from  Naomi Lourie Klein (the famous author of Stockwell News), Philippa Owen and Ross Davies (local authors). Refreshments available.

Finally, on Wednesday 24 November, at 19:15, Jean Vanier is visiting Lambeth to deliver a talk entitled 'To be human is to be vulnerable".  Jean Vanier is the founder of the L'Arche communities in which people with learning disabilities and those that assist them create homes together to share their gifts.  There are a remarkable 137 communities, and he's a remarkable man.  There's a L'Arche community in West Norwood (perhaps why he's visiting locally) and he'll deliver his lecture at the Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Meadow Road, SW8 1QH (the same venue as September's Papal visit).  The event is run by Westminster Cathedral's Young Friends, and I've been asked to note that the talk is principally aimed at young people.  More info here.

Lilian Baylis Technology School Careers Fair

Lilian Baylis Technology School are holding a careers fair on 2 December.  Their headteacher, Gary Phillips wishes to disseminate the email below to local people:

My name is Gary Phillips and I am Head of Lilian Baylis Technology School. I am writing to invite you and/or your organisation to host a stall at our Careers Fair on Thursday 2 December from 17:00 - 19.30.

Most of our students do not come from graduate and/or professional families so events such as our Careers Fair are vital in inspiring and nourishing ambition. We run the event in the gym with each organisation hosting a stall where they engage with the students and families about the opportunities their organisation offers and/or what is required to work with the organisation.

If you are able to attend or need any further details please let Gina Mensah know on 0207 091 9500 or gina.mensah@lilianbaylis.com

I'm sure the school would appreciate a positive response from local businesses and organisations, as there is a growing commercial community throughout Kennington and Vauxhall, so do feel free to spread the request far and wide.

Refurbishment of Vauxhall station and surrounds (KOV meeting write up - Part 1)

Paula Haustead, a representative from Network Rail (first on the agenda) spoke about the improvements due to be made to Vauxhall Station. There were accompanying slides, which I requested on the night, and which should eventually be added to the text below. I felt that Ms Haustead spoke clearly, was informative and handled the Kennington Menace quite well (see below).

Network Rail consider that the main entrance to Vauxhall station, facing the bus station is fairly dark, and are looking to make improvements to the way that the station is perceived in the local area and to make it more accessible. (All good news. I had no idea that any of this was due). The refurbishment of Vauxhall Station falls into four separate Network Rail programme categories.

The National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP) project is money that the Department of Transport have given to Network Rail nationally for improving small and medium sized stations. Vauxhall has been identified as an appropriate station to receive funding, and the programme will be delivered by Network Rail, but undertaken as a partnership project in conjunction with South East trains. Network Rail are looking at putting in a new station concourse, and they're also looking at realigning the stair access into the London Underground station. The Network Rail commercial property division hope to refurbish the arches adjacent to the station at the same time, and put in a restaurant or a supermarket (that's where the Waitrose rumours enter the picture).

In terms of external work, the arches at the front of the station will be smartened and improved. A new glazed canopy will join up the exit from Vauxhall Underground station and Vauxhall Rail Station, providing a dry route between the two. The station canopies covering all of the platforms are in a pretty poor state of repair, and Network Rail intend to do renewals work to those at the same time as lift work. Improved drainage will also be undertaken. Station power (which there are issues with at the moment) should be improved by the installation of a new sub station.

Internally, the existing stair access from Vauxhall Station to the railway platforms is very steep, and some resurfacing of the steps has taken place recently. However, the plan is to put lifts into Vauxhall Station.  The arch adjacent to the ticket hall contains a brick structure (I've not noticed it), which is an existing lift shaft. Several old lift shafts at Vauxhall are capped at platform level, but will need to be rebuilt as part of the project since they're currently too small. The shafts are now only visible from the top of platforms 7 and 8. The lifts have been out of use since postal access was required at Vauxhall! (Does anybody know when that might have ceased?). Network Rail are also hoping to break through the arches and open two new areas within the station, installing an additional ticket barrier (I think, although hopefully the plans will clear up this matter) so that passengers can circulate through two brand new areas into the station. In terms of their Access for All project, Network Rail are looking to put four new lift shafts up to each of the railway platforms. (There are no plans for a lift down to Vauxhall tube station, but I imagine that that would be a matter for TFL). Network Rail will also put tactile strips on all of the platforms so that people who are blind or visually impaired can more easily identify the platform edge.

The whole project is only in outline design at the moment, and will enter detailed design in January 2011, but Network Rail have already been talking with Lambeth about Planning. Permission is already secured for the lift project, but a full planning application will be submitted so that local people will be able to comment on the National Stations Improvement Programme, the canopy area and the adjacent commercial lets. Some elements of the funding have yet to be secured, but Network Rail are working closely with Lambeth to resolve the matter. Funding is in place for all elements except for the National Stations Improvement Programme. However, work for both Vauxhall and Earlsfield stations is being tendered for at the moment, which should improve efficiences and reduce costs. The two projects together will cost approx. £20 million. (It's a shame they couldn't do Waterloo as well, but no doubt it will take a lot of money to bring those old Eurostar platforms back into use, and that's another political battle). The contract is a "design and build" contract, which means that certain elements will be designed by the contractor once they've come on board. The aim is to complete all of the works by October 2012, although certain elements will be delivered earlier.

Some of the funding for the improvements at Vauxhall will be brought in through Section 106 and European funding. Clive Fraser (beleaguered Lambeth Planning Officer) confirmed that some of the Section 106 money was banked, and the rest should be banked during the lifetime of the project. Practicalities for releasing money are being discussed at present.

Now, on to question time... One audience member asked a sensible question about whether access to Vauxhall Station from the South Lambeth Road (Oval) side would be improved, on account of the entrance tunnel being closed quite frequently. Ms Haustead responded reasonably that Network Rail do not control when the access is open or closed, but that it is the job of the train operating company, and acknowledged that the entrance is sometimes closed on account of it being used less frequently. Fine? Well, not really, but if it's up to the train company to resolve, there's not a great deal that Network Rail can do. Did I mention that the Kennington and Vauxhall Menace were out in full force? Another person felt that it was highly "highly unsatisfactory" to say that improved access from South London Road was not possible when Network Rail are supposed to be improving access. Ms Haustead noted that the entrance from the south side would not be changed at all and confirmed that as it's physically and structurally intact, but that the rest is not up to them. The point about having to walk the long way around was repeated ad nauseum, and Network Rail were told that they /have/ to look at this point (despite it not being their responsibility)!

An anwer to one question revealed that the facade of the building will be cleaned and repairs made. Another question, regarding Access for All, yielded information that (as well as the lifts), a second wide-aisle gate will be installed in a new gate line, which will be added to the station. At the moment, disabled people are unable to access the station, so one person asked whether that part of the work might be delivered first. Unfortunately, there appears to be some kind of issue re. delivery of the refurbishment work because the arch in which the lifts will be installed has to be used as a work site, so to make the project move more quickly, the commercial arches might be started sooner, not for commercial gain, but because they, along with the canopies, can be accessed more easily. Platform extensions will eventually be looked at, but not during this project.

Cllr Jane Edbrooke (Oval Ward, Labour) spoke up to ask about planning and highlight that there's a plan to place a supermarket at the bottom of the Bondway tower (if that ever gets the go-ahead), and asked for joined up thinking on that point. Another audience member asked about whether secure cycle parking would be delivered, but Network Rail say they are unable to expand the parking on account of lack of space.

I think we can conclude that the refurbishment and renewal plans for Vauxhall Station are not momentous, but are somewhat overdue. It had never occurred to me that wheelchair users were unable to use the station at all (a naive ableist oversight), and consequently, I hope that accessibility will be a priority issue. Quite frankly, I welcome any changes that might improve the main body of the station, so commercial units and increased waiting space is a welcome development.  Now we just have to wait for the removal of the Vauxhall interchange :-)

There were numerous items on the agenda at the 2 hour KOV meeting, so expect more posts on Co-Op Council and future of former Lilian Baylis etc.