Local trees being chopped down, inadequate recycling and extension of Kelly's pub licensing hours

Over the last week, I've received a number of emails from readers on a variety of hyper-local topics that don't quite warrant posts of their own, so here's a quick summary:

Firstly, one resident has noted that Lambeth Council are being rather heavy handed in their removal of trees in SE11.  I've been informed that two trees have already been culled from Chester Street / Denny Street.  I could only find one of them (or its remains, at any rate).  What a mess!







Alarmingly, another two trees are scheduled for removal shortly, and yet all of the trees that have been chopped (or are facing the chop) look healthy.  Here are the two concerned (left on Denny Street and right on Chester Street):





The resident in question has contacted the council, but wanted me to publicise the danger that the trigger-happy council pose to the trees.  A visit this evening yielded more info on  the tree on Chester Way and it seems that some of the residents are protesting the cull:






















The poster on the left points out that it would take two decades to grow another cherry tree, and adds that the tree is being destroyed on the basis that the trees roots are exposed and it therefore may form a danger.  Is this not a "Health & Safety gone mad" blooper of the year?  The poster designer has instead suggested that it would be better to raise the pavement than destroy the tree.  Hear, hear!

This is probably a question for the Princes Ward councillors, but it would be good to receive clarification about the reasons for the tree removal. Perhaps additional residents need to act to prevent the removal of established trees if the only reason for cutting them down is exposed roots.  The tree on Denny Street doesn't contain an explanation about why it's facing the chop:

This issue probably should  be drawn to the attention of the Kennington Association, as there may well be other local trees that Lambeth wish to cut down, and residents deserve some prior warning or explanation in order to protest if necessary.

Secondly, one reader has noted that I've previously praised Lambeth Council's recycling procedures and good performance in the area of recycling.  The correspondent begs to differ and is unhappy with the frequency which which the one bin on his block is emptied.  (Recycling collections generally take place weekly in Lambeth).  The reader has attempted to get his block's bin emptied more frequently, but has had no success.  Cllr Jack Hopkins (so I'm assuming this refers to Oval Ward) did respond to one email from the correspondent, but subsequent emails on the matter have not received a response.  Does anybody else on local estates in the area suffer from the same issue?  I know that many estates suffer from people using recycling bins as rubbish bins (I'm unclear if this is lack of understanding of policy or willful misuse), but are there a dearth of recycling bins in the Borough, particularly given the size of some local estates?  It would be good to draw this to the attention of the Council if it's a wider problem.

Lastly, one reader wanted to highlight their objection to a request made by Kelly's Pub (in Clapham Road) to extend their opening hours to 5am from Thursday to Sunday.  I don't intend to go into detail here (suffice to say that the request seems wholly unreasonable), since Jason Cobb has covered that patch of SW8 adequately on his Onionbag blog in a post here and another here.  Do remember to submit objections since the Council won't hear residents' voices otherwise.

Part-ownership of a spaceship, going carbon negative and recycling on Lambeth housing estates

The consensus is that prices are rising once again in London, such that owning a property is beyond the reach of many citizens.  Help, however, is at hand in the form of a part-ownership eco-spaceship.  Head over to the Beaconsfield Gallery (22 Newport Street, SE11) where an installation, exploring the contradictions and difficulties of building a utopia, will be constructed in the form of  a Spaceship Earth eco-structure.  You can buy a slice at a rather reasonable £1 per share, but it's unclear exactly what you'll get for your money!  

The Beaconsfield spaceship project is collaborative, and the artists require donations of works relating to utopias.  In addition, you can take a picture of yourself outside your house with lots of unwanted goods, and email it to the organisers.  There is a whole host of free workshops on offer, but participants are encouraged to bring something (or offer a service) in exchange for attendance.

Events which still have to take place are as follows (info lifted from the Spaceship Earth project on the Beaconsfield website).  I'm wondering about attending the vegan chocolate one on Sunday!

Thursday 1 July 6-8 pm
Creative Writing Workshop with Sarah Butler
Saturday 3 July 2-4 pm
Immigration Law for Sale? with Barry O’Leary and Tim Barnden
Sunday 4 July 2-4 pm
Raw Chocolate Demo with Laura Coxeter
Tuesday 6 - Thursday 8 July 11-5 pm
Eco-Build: Rammed Earth with Mark Pavey and friends
Friday 9 - Sunday 11 July 11-5 pm
Eco-Build: Living Roof with Mark Pavey and friends


On a related note, there is an interesting project that seems to be taking place within SE11 at the Bowling Green Street pub (yup, the one that was meant to be turned into housing, but got turned down by Lambeth Council).  Some of the people currently based(?) there are advocating the possibility of living a carbon negative lifestyle, in which communities learn to be self-sufficient.  The group advocate the change of planning laws to enable the building of Eco-villages (I'm unclear about how this would work in densely populated Lambeth) and also put forward some ideas about how to improve the quality of soil (and thus increase its capacity for food growth) through a method called Biochar.  I'm afraid it's all rather unwieldy to go into here, but they have a GrowUp website that provides further info.  Apparently, they're willing to explain it all in the form of an exhibition, where films and music will illustrate what they're talking about, and it's on every Thursday.   Might be worth checking their website first as it looks a little adhoc.

Finally, on a more practical note, Lambeth Council are embarking on a bid to the London Waste and Recycling Foundation.  They need some ideas and proposals for various projects to run locally.  If successful, I think they'd be allotted some money to encourage additional recycling on Lambeth council housing estates.  I believe we discussed this matter here about a year ago, when one commentator wrote insightfully that he thought residents on local estates would be encouraged to recycle more effectively were better signage provided on the recycling bins.  I wonder whether, with many residents not having English as a first language, some investment should go into providing literature in a number of different languages.  Unfortunately... the one type of project that this particular bid does not support is that which relates to communications, "this includes doorstepping, leafleting, community outreach, literature", which leaves the Council requesting proposals for:


* Small-scale composting
* New or improved bin chambers
* Dropped kerbs that will enable the recycling provision to be increased or improved
* Incentive schemes
* Chute conversions (to recycling, where there are two chutes side by side)


Do readers have any ideas along these lines for local estates in the area?  Do you live on or have friends who live on local estates that might benefit from these types of changes?  I'm not entirely sure how I've come to be consulted on such matters, but I'm really impressed by Lambeth Council's recycling commitment, so I think it's well worth giving them input where possible.

Recycling Week 21 - 27 June 2010 and Local Initiative for Faith and the Environment

Often, you'll be minding your own business, in your home or office on a Monday morning only for somebody to announce that it's National Guinea Pig Week or International Aardvark Celebration Day or some other event that requires you to sponsor somebody or dress up in a peculiar fashion.  Every so often though, a crucial topic is highlighted.  This week (21st - 27th June) is Recycling week, which is of considerable importance for working to preserve the planet for the future.

In Lambeth, the council can rightly be proudly of their environmental record.  According to a league table compiled this month by Darren Johnson (the Lewisham Green London Assembly member), Lambeth has been placed 2nd out of 33 London councils for its environmental record.  Factors such as recycling, domestic energy use and carbon emissions were taken into account (though one wonders whether they factored in air quality, which is particularly poor when you look at the results from the measuring station on Brixton Road).  However, praise ought to be given where it's due.  Cllr Lorna Campbell (who just happens to be an SE11 ward councillor in Princes Ward) and has been given the environmental portfolio remarked last week,

"This is good news for Lambeth and reflects the importance we have placed on helping people be more environmentally friendly as part of their day to day lives."

But it's vital that we don't get complacent, with our orange bags placed proudly on the pavement for neighbouring council residents to see...   Lambeth Council still does not offer curbside green waste (garden/food) collection for all residents (it's still being trialled on certain estates), although they do offer reasonably priced wormeries and very cheap compost bins (£14.00).  I can personally testify to the delight of running a wormery (which can be managed on a very small piece of balcony space) and recommend it to all and sundry.  There is certainly still more work to be done, especially considering the fact that many residents cannot (or do not) use the recycling facilities properly, and thus contaminate recycling with rubbish, which ultimately means that recycling targets are much harder to meet.

During recycling week 2010, Lambeth council is particularly encouraging residents to correctly recycle Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).  The nearest depots to SE11 for local residents to recycle dead electronics eg. televisions, vacuum cleaners etc. are Manor Place Depot in Southwark (Manor Place is off Walworth Rd) or Cringle Dock (on Cringle Street) in Wandsworth/Nine Elms.  Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to trek down to West Norwood to find Lambeth's big recycling depot.  In principle, the Manor Place Depot (despite being in Southwark) have always seemed happy to access my waste WEEE items (they don't generally demand to see proof of Southwark residence), and since we'll soon be operating on the basis that Lambeth/Southwark residents can share services, this seems likely to be a happy arrangement for all!

In the meantime, there's a women only event being run by the Local Initiative for Faith and the Environment (LIFE) group this week at Vauxhall City Farm on Wednesday 23rd June from 10:30 - 14:30 (children welcome).  They'll be focusing on recycling as a transformative act, and working to bridge climate change and inter-religious dialogue (see poster below).  It sounds fascinating.

An incentive for China Walk and Vauxhall Gardens to recycle waste

Philip O'Keeffe, the waste development officer at Lambeth has asked me to blog about a current Lambeth Council Recycling Team initiative named "Recycling Champions project" on the China Walk and Vauxhall Gardens Estate.

"But why would I do this?", I hear you ask. Well, possibly "to ensure that waste on the estates does get recycled" might be a good answer. As I was strolling around at the back of Vauxhall Gardens yesterday, I noticed that some of the recycling bins are piled up with rubbish that is clearly not just waste for recycling... However, Lambeth Council have decided to offer a cash incentive of £500 towards the best individual/group ideas to encourage more effective recycling on those estates:




The blurb says: "If you are an individual or resident group, from one of the selected estates, and you are interested in getting actively involved in recycling and reducing waste in your local community, then we want to hear from you.

To take part in the scheme you must be over 18 years old and live on one of the selected Lambeth Living estates. All you need is lots of enthusiasm about recycling and the environment and be able to spare a few hours each week. We will give you all the information, materials and support you will need.

For each estate that improves their recycling there is £500 available for a project to help improve their local environment!

For more information on the scheme contact Philip O’Keeffe, Recycling Champions Co-ordinator on 020 7926 8948 or email pokeeffe@lambeth.gov.uk."

I'm quite impressed by Lambeth Council's attempt to reach the local public of those two estates through my blog! However, I suspect that I do not have huge readership on those estates due, in part to a) digital illiteracy, b) language barriers and c) older population without internet access. It's probably due to some of these barriers that the population are sending large loads of "spoiled" recycling bags, so this one might be tough to crack.

I'd be happy to see coments from readers who live on or are based on the estates (or maybe know people who do). Please feel free to copy the URL to interested parties.

More on wormeries and compost and going green in Lambeth

Just a quick note to say that my assistant did eventually receive a response (see Recycling and going Green in Lambeth) from Susan Sheehan (Lambeth Council's new Green Community Champion Co-ordinator) which contains several points of interest to those people who have been googling for compost / wormeries in the borough of Lambeth:

1. The compst bin subsidies will be coming to an end shortly because they were sponsored by DEFRA, who will no longer be subsidising them. Susan recommended that people purchase the remaining stock before the subsidy ceases. However, Lambeth Council are looking into the question of ongoing subsidies, so I'll mention it if anybody comes up with a radically exciting plan.

2. Susan did not agree that the plastic composting tubs are less effective than the wooden ones and has no issue with the plastic ones that turn. Personally, I think I've cracked the problem with a wormery, rather than a compost heap so there's not much point in pursuing the matter.

3. I'm still rather unclear on the "Green Champions" position, and exactly who our green champions are, and the email didn't elaborate. However, Susan has agreed to attend some local community meetings (see the previous post for her contact details) to give anybody who wants it, some more information about the initiative.

Apparently, the general idea is that there are certain projects that we might like to see immitated around the Borough. These are:

1. http://www.hydefarm.org.uk/ - Hyde Farm Climate Action Network (in Balham)
2. Albert Square and St Stephen's Association Climate Action Network - brief post here for this group in Stockwell
3. Transition Town Brixton - This seems to be a loose network of people committed to raising awareness of climate change and oil shortage. They're trying to rethink the way an area works in terms of food, health, work etc. They seem to focusing at the moment on growing food within London, with an event on 30th April, which I sadly can't attend.

I'm quite excited by the idea of growing food in London. So far this year (with zero gardening experience and from the balcony of a flat), the threewheeled household are already growing lettuce leaves, strawberries, purple sprouting broccoli, onions, three different types of potato and hopefully, eventually, some tomatoes). The wormery is now in place, and will become a shared wormery once the worms have multiplied and when we think it's working.

I'd be interested to hear more from readers who have been involved in Transition Town Brixton or various other local climate/environment focused groups. Is there any reason that we couldn't be a Transition Town Kennington or Transitition Town Vauxhall? What about a whole Transition postcode? SE11 contains such a variety of people and skills and culture and opportunities that I'm sure it might be possible.

Recycling and going green in Lambeth

According to an article in 24dash, Lambeth Council have just employed Susan Sheehan to be a "Green Community Champion Coordinator". Fortunately, that coincides with your host, the three wheeled one, attempting (with some neighbours) to encourage this little corner of SE11 to become a green space.

As many of you might know, whilst Lambeth Council offers an opportunity to recycle garden waste, they do not (yet) offer recycling facilities for green kitchen waste (peelings, orange skins etc). My fellow residents and I (or some of them, anyway) have decided to do our bit by installing a composter in our communal area (which is what the Council encourage here).

Surprisingly, well, it was to me, Lambeth Council offers all Lambeth residents subsidised compost bins of either 220 litres or 330 litres. Despite what it says on the Lambeth website, (and displaying an odd bit of Council ludicrousness) both the 220 and 330 litre bins cost £39 (at least according to a guy I spoke to from Blackwall). Unfortunately, at a composting seminar I attended a few weeks ago, the type of bin available, from Evergreener/Blackwall is the type that is not recommended for composting because, being entirely enclosed, it's difficult to "turn" in order to let the air flow through it. Apparently, it can also be difficult to get the compost out at the bottom. Consequently, I have sent an email off to our new Green Community Champions Coordinator asking whether Lambeth Council might be prepared to subsidise the wooden style composter.

Additionally, Lambeth Council don't subsidise wormeries. I've ordered a personal wormery from a different site, but it would be great to have a corporate wormery (which I'd be happy to look after), and Southwark Council once ran this offer in conjunction with St Mungos that I think has probably now finished. I could be wrong, it might still be going, but since I'm not resident in the Borough of Southwark, I can't access a subsidised wormery anyway. I'm actually quite tempted to have a friend write to our local councillor (I wouldn't want to reveal my secret identity) and ask about subsidising wormeries. What does everybody think? Is this an esoteric interest?

Oh yes, according to phone man, Lambeth Council also subsidises 190 litre water butts (£42.95, normally £47.95).

Because I'm a reponsible, civic-minded and "trying to go green" three wheeled one, I've asked our new Green Community Champions Coordinator what becoming a (presumably voluntary) "Green Community Champion" entails. As soon as I have a response, I'll let you all know in case any other readers are interested.

And just in case you wondered what else Susan will be doing, the article quoted above quotes her as saying:

"My role will be to give people practical help, inspiration and advice, whether it be helping them organise their first neighbourhood meeting, put them in touch with organisations that offer grants home insulation or solar panelling, or advice on how to set up a food-growing group."

I suggest that we all encourage her in her work by emailing her at ssheehan@lambeth.gov.uk or phoning her on 020 7926 6210 and asking how we might all go green. Also, she has set up a "farm" for all communities living on an estate in Balham. There's a website here.