New St George Wharf Pier at Vauxhall to open mid-September

I had a nice little post planned for this morning on the new pier at St George Wharf in Vauxhall, but the lovely Tradescant Road blog has pipped me to the post, accusing me of *horrified shriek* edging my way into his SW8 patch! I am so naughty... But who wants to let a small matter of a postcode interfere with interesting local goings on? So, do go and read his post, where he has purloined some photos taken from the pier itself looking back towards St George's Wharf.

You'll see above two unique photos, (captured by my fair hand on Friday night in the face of hundreds of bemused drinkers from Oval cricket ground). The pier isn't quite finished yet and is still boarded off from the general public . I think it needs a few finishing touches as there appeared to be a bit of building detritus still in place. Naturally, I've done a bit of digging and have been told that the pier is to open officially in the middle of September.

Thames Clipper Services will run from the pier and frequency of boats will also be announced in mid-September. Oyster Pay as You go card holders will receive a 10% discount on Clipper tickets and travelcard passengers are entitled to 1/3 off of Clipper prices. I've not been able to determine whether any other services will use the pier, but I'm pretty excited about its opening...

Whatever happened to Vauxhall pier? (or when will Boris Johnson notice South London?)

Today I received a response from London Assembly member, Cllr Pidgeon about the historical representations she made re. a Vauxhall pier (once proposed outside St George Wharf), and the re-zoning of Kennington tube.  The tube re-zoning was covered thoroughly yesterday and can be summed up by saying, "Boris will not rezone Kennington or Bermondsey because the gainers would be South Londoners, and the losers would be North Londoners".

However, the matter of a proposed pier at Vauxhall has been rather forgotten, and deserves further investigation:

First, remember what Boris said about river trail in July 2008, when he was visiting Merton and Wandsworth:

"I was very pleased to have able to see for myself the opportunities that river transport can provide. The Thames is a great alternative to the bus or the Tube and fits very well with my administration's desire to see many modes of transport used to travel about London."

Secondly, remember what Boris said about river travel in November 2009 when he was Oysterizing the river:

"Our aim is for the Thames to become an integral part of London's transport network, which is why we're also working to provide clearer signage to the piers and services that are available, in order to make using the river much easier for Londoners and visitors to the Capital."

Clearly, Boris' river strategy does not seem to include putting Vauxhall on the river just yet.

Back in September 2009, Cllr Pidgeon raised, as follows::

"The LDA in the River Thames Pier Plan has indicated that a pier near Vauxhall Station as part of the St. George's Wharf development would bring significant advantages to the local area... while simultaneously reducing pressure on local [transport] services. Can you disclose (a) what progress, if any, has been made on facilitating the eventual construction of a pier at Vauxhall, and (b) whether discussions between TfL River Services, the LDA, the London Borough of Lambeth and the developers of St. George's Wharf have taken place over this proposal?

In his response, Boris disagreed that the River Thames Pier Plan indicated that a pier near Vauxhall Station would bring advantages (which makes me wonder about Cllr Pidgeon's choice of this document).  Boris quoted the plan here (see appendix G) which says:

"It is clear that public transport access to this site is already very good. The provision of an additional travel choice, in the form of commuter river services, would therefore bring about limited benefits, and is unlikely to be attractive in comparison with the frequency and journey times of the range of other modes available at Vauxhall Cross Interchange. 

The role of the pier in serving the leisure market is considered to be limited due to the lack of major attractions in the Vauxhall area. Leisure visitors travelling to London by rail are also unlikely to access the river via Vauxhall, with Waterloo station forming the most likely gateway into central London. Based on these potentially limited benefits for commuters and leisure visitors, the Pier Plan does not therefore advocate a pier at this location."

BUT... I went back and checked the River Thames Pier Plan.  What Boris didn't quote in his appendix, even though it's on the end of one of the paragraphs in question is:

"However, the potential role of River transport in serving the development proposals which emerge from Battersea/Nine Elms/Vauxhall Opportunity Area Planning Framework should be reviewed."

I can see this one working out really well.  What's the likelihood that nobody can secure funding for the Northern Line Extension to Battersea? Instead, somebody will have the bright idea that if we place a pier at Vauxhall and one at Battersea, we can transport commuters from Battersea to Vauxhall by boat, and then they can use the already over-crowded Vauxhall Station!

The Mayor's Vauxhall Nine Elms Opportunity Planning document says...

p97, "New piers to be provided within the OA at appropriate locations i.e. at Battersea Power Station"

On p117 (and following), maps are provided with various pier locations on them, including Vauxhall.  However, suggestion for a pier at Vauxhall is nowhere explicitly stated in the document.

Waiting for the Nine Elms expansion is not satisfactory.  We're already looking at over-crowding at Vauxhall Underground station, which would indicate commuter demand is very high.  Additionally, the current expansion of residential developments on the Albert Embankment would mean that the pier proposed at Embankment Park Plaza Hotel could be built long before Nine Elms gets off the ground.  When is Boris Johnson going to notice South London?

Possibility of rezoning Kennington tube from Zone 1 to Zone 2 - any progress?

Long term residents may be aware that every so often, a general call is made, to rezone Kennington tube station from Zone 2 to Zone 1.  There are various reasons proposed for this:

a.  Geographically, it makes sense.  Vauxhall (currently zone 1) is further south than Kennington, although the traditional tube map gives the impression that this is not the case.

Once you view the proportional tube map, you can immediately see that based on geography alone, there is no reason that Kennington should ever have been placed in Zone 2:

b.  Wikipedia already states that journeys from National Rail stations to Kennington or Oval, via Waterloo are charged on the assumption that both Kennington and Oval are Zone 1 stations.  Clearly, National Rail don't consider it fair to assume that either Kennington or Oval are in Zone 2.  Why is that?

c.  Zone 1, south of the Thames, is a much smaller zone than zone 1 north of the Thames.  This is because the tube map assumes its centre around Tottenham Court Road.  If the centre were instead assumed to be the river, much of the area that counts as Zone 2, south of the river, would fall into zone 1.  Also, Kennington is considered central enough to make it worth including in part of it in the congestion zone.  The entirety of the rest of the Congestion zone is in Zone 1.

Happily, SE11 residents, works and commuters have Cllr Caroline Pidgeon's office on their side.

Back in April 2008, when making election pledges, Caroline stated that, if elected as a GLA candidate, she would:

"also work to secure a pier at Vauxhall Cross with a river bus to take pressure off the tube and rail networks, ensuring we use river transport more. I will also continue to press TfL to rezone Kennington Tube Station so it is a boundary 1/2 station and to be more responsive to local needs."

On the Vauxhall Lib Dem blog, in February this year, she stated, "It is simply wrong that Kennington Tube Station is in Zone 2 when it is clearly central London. We will continue to make representations to the Mayor of London which will make travelling cheaper for local residents"

I can't actually imagine that the Mayor will grant these requests (especially not in these difficult economic times), but I do think it's important to note that petitions are being made on the matter.
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Edit:  What I love about Twitter is how quickly you can generate a response.  LambethLibDems have helpfully pointed me to questions from a meeting of Southwark Council Assembly (I think) on 28th January 2009, when Cllr Pidgeon was tabled to ask as follows:

"5. QUESTION TO THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL FROM COUNCILLOR CAROLINE
PIDGEON

In the light of the recent increases in tube fares, can the leader reaffirm his commitment to the rezoning of Bermondsey and Kennington tube stations, which would result in significant savings for Southwark residents, and will he write to the Mayor of London urging him to consider this option?"

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Edit: Additionally,  on 28/1/2009 at a different meeting (is it just coincidental they're on the same day?), Cllr Pidgeon asked the Mayor two questions:

"In any review of the fare zone boundaries you may be contemplating, will you examine the case for moving Bermondsey and Kennington so that they become boundary zone 1/2 stations?" and "Are you planning a review of the fare zone boundaries for Greater London, and if so, when will you be able to report its results?"

Boris' responded (my highlights):
"London TravelWatch have identified a number of stations on the boundary of Greater London, including Epsom and Potters Bar which they believe could appropriately be included in the zonal area...
...In addition, the recent meeting between Kulveer Ranger, my Director of Transport Policy with the local MP, Ed Davey, he confirmed my strong support for this proposal to rezone Kingston and Surbiton stations. I understand that Ed is now raising the issue with South West Trains who are the primary decision makers on this.

I do not anticipate a further general review of station zoning within the London area. To maintain TfL’s revenue the losers and gainers from such a review would have to balance. This approach would be deeply unpopular with the losers in the present financial climate. However, Transport for London is always willing to consider any specific proposals for local changes on their merits."

Thanks also to edwinloo for helping me track this down. Obviously, I spend a fair amount of time Googling, but I can't always locate good results, so being given the links is very useful.
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I guess that answers the question though.  Boris Johnson, as usual, considers only "the losers" of North London and not "the gainers" of South London.  So, erm, Ken Livingstone for Mayor anybody? ;-)

Spring is nearly sprung (hopefully) so it's time for gardening

Careful readers of the blog will know that I'm interested in cultivating rooftops and areas in which others might not have thought about gardening. I'm very interested in planting veg (and fruit?) in areas that aren't overly exposed to traffic fumes. I'm quite excited by an idea for growing tomatoes in old plastic bottles that I found on a website this weekend. I also sent off for a book on container gardening, since not actually having a garden can be something of a constraint and I want to branch out into vegetables! It must be said though, that the beautiful chilli plant, bought for £2 on Camberwell New Road is sprouting new chillies happily in the bathroom! I'm sure I'll still find some space for strawberries and tomatoes on the balcony though (which has the advantage that squirrels, birds and slugs don't have easy access).

Inspired by the enthusiasm of residents in Lambeth Walk / Old Paradise Street, who, according to the Prince's Ward Councillor blog (Labour administration), are attempting to investigate the possibility of a community garden, a weekend visit to the Museum of Garden history cafe (next to Lambeth Palace) and finally a quick wander down from the museum past a potential allotment site for the Museum staff, I've decided it's time to expand the gardening efforts from inside the flat (whose balcony is still beautifully decorated with winter flowering pansies and viola) to the wider area.

Since the weather is getting warmer and the evenings are getting longer (well, slightly), I've joined the Guerrilla Gardeners forum in a bid to attempt to enlist some willing guerrilla gardeners for the SE11 patch (and its surroundings). Plants don't much care about postcodes so it would be great to hear from any readers who would be happy to explore the area and venture a little further out to make the Kennington/Vauxhall/Riverside area a little more attractive...

C'mon, you know you want to do gardening in the middle of the night! :-)