New Council homes in big housing expansion

Over 600 new council homes for rent or shared ownership are on the way across Wandsworth, and East Putney’s Kersfield Estate could be one of the pioneers.

East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia has launched a major drive to build 1,000 more homes on pockets of under-used council land: 605 new council homes for low-cost rent or ownership shared with the Council, with the rest sold to help pay for the council homes. The initiative expands the Council’s ‘Hidden Homes’ programme, which has so far created some 300 homes for council rent or shared ownership on under-used council land.

Ravi says: “Through innovative techniques, we can build much-needed homes on carefully-chosen pockets of council land. We are one of the only councils who prioritise local people for new homes, so we’ll offer the homes first to Wandsworth residents and workers. Council tenants living nearby will be able ‘downsize’ to a new council home if they would like to. We will also prioritise overcrowded households, as we want to help residents’ sons and daughters to go on living in the borough, as well as helping workers who are vital to our local services.

“Kersfield Estate has potential for new homes, and can help lead the way. We will fully consult with Kersfield residents at every stage and look forward discussing the possibilities with residents and hearing their own ideas.”

Ravi is also saddened that while the initiative far exceeds what other councils are doing, and exceeds the Mayor of London’s home-building targets, Labour did not support it. Ravi said: “Wandsworth Labour Party voted against building these new homes. They didn’t stop the plan, but their attitude makes no sense. We’re getting on with building the homes people need, but the local Labour Party seems too riven by Momentum factionalism to offer anything to local people but hot air. Cross-party support for building affordable local homes would be a lot more constructive.”

Elsewhere in Wandsworth, the Council is building over 3,000 new homes by regenerating the Alton Estate in Roehampton and the Winstanley and York Road Estates in Battersea, and guaranteeing new homes for residents on their own estates.

Putney High School
Your East Putney Councillors have been speaking up for residents concerned about proposals to expand Putney High School. Residents around Lytton Grove have been troubled for some time about traffic, parking and congestion around the school, and filed a large number of objections. The school sought to expand pupil numbers from 976 to 1060, build a two-storey temporary teaching block (with a permanent building subject to a future application) and create a new pedestrian entrance in Lytton Grove.

A Neighbourhood Working Group has been set up for residents and the school to air the issues, and Cllr Ravi Govindia and Cllr George Crivelli presented the residents’ case against school expansion to the Planning Committee that considered the proposals in November. The Committee approved the increase to pupil numbers, but the Councillors achieved strict conditions.

Ravi said: “While the application was granted, there were provisos. The school has committed to a more respectful dialogue with residents, and must work to reduce its traffic impact. The Committee required the school to improve its travel plan, arrange more places on school buses to alleviate parking and congestion, encourage pupils to cycle, walk and use public transport, and maintain the Neighbourhood Working Group where residents can report any issues to the school.”

After the Planning Committee meeting, Ravi and George met with Lytton Grove residents, and will continue working with residents and the school to ensure that the issues are properly addressed.

Outstanding St. Michael’s Primary
Meanwhile George, as Deputy Chair of Education, visited East Putney’s St. Michael's Primary School in October with the Council’s Education Standards Group. St. Michael’s is rated 'Outstanding' by OFSTED, which rates 97% of our Wandsworth schools as Good or Outstanding.
George said: “We maintain a hands-on relationship with all our schools to make sure our standards remain high. It was a pleasure to see at first hand what an excellent job St. Michael’s is doing. It clearly deserves its Outstanding rating.”

More money for schools
George has also criticised allegations by the Labour Party and trade unions that Wandsworth school budgets are being cut by 2020. George said: “This is pure scaremongering and fundamentally misleading. There are no cuts. The new Fair Funding formula, which spreads schools funding more fairly throughout the country, is providing the biggest increase for over a decade, at £5.3 billion. It initially committed £4 billion, and to help London schools, we lobbied successfully for another £1.3 billion.

“The unions’ figures are based on historical data that don’t reflect schools today. They also ignore the fact that funding is driven by pupil numbers, and will rise or fall as school rolls rise or fall. The new formula will give Wandsworth schools an increase of £2.035 million to 2020: our funding will go up by £1.36m in 2018-19, and by a further £0.675m in 2019-2020. And that’s based on today’s pupil numbers; if our pupil numbers rise next year, the increases are likely to be even higher."

Improving Putney High Street
Your Councillors have been working on proposals for Putney High Street to improve air quality, relieve traffic congestion and enhance the street scene. They have identified various options including re-routing traffic away from parts of the High Street, relocating the taxi rank at Putney station to Upper Richmond Road, ‘green walls’ and photo-catalytic paint to improve air quality, and new ‘Copenhagen’ crossings to help people walking or cycling. 'Copenhagen' crossings slow down vehicles going in or out of side roads, encouraging them to give way, and are common in other European cities considered best for walking and cycling. All the ideas still have to go through extensive evaluation, including a road safety audit.

East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia said: “Despite a lack of support for our High Street work from Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London, we have widespread support from residents and our MP Justine Greening, and we will get this moving.”

East Putney Cllr George Crivelli said: “High Street congestion could also be eased by opening a second entrance to Putney station on Oxford Road. The Council has offered £400,000 to help pay for it, and Network Rail have now undertaken to develop the plans. We continue to urge Network Rail to build the entrance.”

Air quality: Meanwhile previous council initiatives to improve air quality have had encouraging results. Putney High Street exceeded EU hourly nitrogen dioxide limits six times from February to June 2017, compared to 742 times in the same period in 2016.

High Street ideas on display on Small Business Saturday

The options for improving Putney High Street were on display at a Councillors’ stall in Putney’s Winter Wonderland on Small Business Saturday in December. Small Business Saturday, supported by the Council, encourages residents to explore their neighbourhood shops and ‘buy local’. Councillors were on hand to explain the High Street improvement options and residents were invited to stick comments on an ideas board, while helping themselves to chocolates!
East Putney Cllr George Crivelli said: “We support Small Business Saturday in encouraging people to shop locally. It was great to get residents’ comments on the options for making the High Street a pleasanter and safer place to shop, work and eat. Small businesses are vital to our community and we want to see them thrive. For every pound spent in a local independent shop or locally-owned business, up to 70p benefits our community, but if people shop online or further away, as little as 5p finds its way back. If we can help by making the High Street better, that’s all to the good.”

Road safety on Putney Hill

East Putney candidate Sarah Binder has been helping our MP Justine Greening to address residents’ concerns about road safety on Putney Hill. Residents have been surveyed about what they think could be improved, and offered several ideas. These included doing something about crossing times at the junction where Putney Hill meets Putney High Street and Upper Richmond Road, and difficulties for pedestrians crossing Putney Hill around Cambalt Road, St John's Avenue and Carlton Drive.

The Council has now begun a study into what can be done to improve road safety in this stretch of Putney Hill. This needs to involve Transport for London, who manage Putney Hill.
If you have any views to feed in, please contact your Councillors or Sarah your candidate.

Ravi welcomes breakthrough on EU residents’ rights
East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia has welcomed the breakthrough in Brexit talks that guarantees the rights of EU citizens in the UK, and British citizens in the EU. Since negotiations began, Ravi has been pressing both sides to reach agreement on citizens’ rights. Some 30,000 EU nationals live in Wandsworth, and many were very worried.

Ravi wrote to both Mrs May and Michel Barnier, head of the EU negotiating team, asking them to make rapid progress on securing the rights of Wandsworth’s EU residents, and told a Government inquiry that EU citizens should have their status confirmed as soon as possible, in view of their contribution to London’s economy. In December, Ravi gave Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis a tour of Wandsworth’s Nine Elms regeneration zone in Battersea, and pointed out the role of EU citizens in revitalising the area.

Ravi said: “I’m delighted that this landmark agreement secures the rights of EU residents who have made Wandsworth their home. From speaking to many, we knew they were worried about what Brexit would mean for their families. I’m so pleased this has been resolved. EU citizens play a role in our borough’s cultural and economic well-being, and we hope those now living here will stay and thrive.”

The Council has also set up a phone, email and drop-in advice service for EU nationals in Wandsworth who may still need advice about Brexit, provided for the Council by Citizens Advice, at Battersea library. Residents can email euadviceservice@cawandsworth.org or find out more here. The Council also offers other support to EU citizens; there is more about this here.

Repaving – and getting things fixed
The Council’s major re-paving programme is well underway. Carlton Drive is one of the many streets getting new pavements, and will complete this winter. If you think your street should be included in the programme, please let your Councillors know.

Meanwhile, the Council’s ‘Wandsworth Report It’ app has made it quick and easy to report issues like damaged paving, flytips, graffiti, missed rubbish collection or overgrown trees, and to request repair or clean up. The app, for Android, Windows and iOS devices, can be downloaded from the Apple, Android or Windows app store, or via the Council’s website. You can take a photo of a problem, and the app logs its location. You can then add some comments or a description, and send it straight to the town hall for action.

Wandsworth top for economic growth and one of the best for disadvantaged residents
A new study by the cross-party think-tank Demos has placed Wandsworth top of London’s 32 boroughs for boosting economic growth. Published in PwC’s ‘Good Growth for Cities index 2017’, it studied 42 of the UK’s largest cities on indicators critical to economic success and wellbeing, including employment, health, income, skills, housing costs, commuting, environment, income inequality and business start-ups.

East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia said: “Wandsworth is a great place to live, work and do business. We work to have great schools and transport links, build homes for people on all incomes, support local businesses and provide great leisure, cultural and sporting opportunities. I’m delighted that this detailed study has highlighted our success.”
There is more about the Demos-PwC study at www.pwc.co.uk/goodgrowth.

Meanwhile the Social Mobility Commission has placed Wandsworth among the country’s top boroughs in helping disadvantaged residents. In its annual “State of the Nation” report covering 324 English councils, the Commission found Wandsworth fourth best in the country in helping people overcome deprived backgrounds. It examined education, employability and housing prospects to find where people from disadvantaged backgrounds are most or least likely to make social progress.

Ravi added: “This study highlights our work to support all our residents, especially those from lower income backgrounds. Through our comprehensive Aspirations Programme we’re providing good quality affordable homes, superb early years services for children and some of the country’s best state schools, while our regeneration programmes have created thousands of local jobs. We’re delighted our efforts have been recognised, but we won’t be standing still.”

Community Road Watch

East Putney Cllr George Crivelli and candidate Sarah Binder were out with residents in Westleigh and Chartfield Avenues in October, using speed guns to help our local Safer Transport police team catch drivers breaking the 20mph speed limit, as part of the Community Road Watch initiative. In just two hours, some 55 speeding car and motorbike drivers were caught - some doing well over 40mph or even 50mph. Residents hope the activity will bring it home that drivers must slow down in these residential streets!

Neighbours come together on Mosque development
East Putney Cllr George Crivelli has continued to support a Neighbourhood Forum where members of the Ahmadiyya Mosque and other Gressenhall Road residents discuss issues around parking and congestion related to Mosque building plans. The Mosque has planning permission for development, subject to certain requirements. However at a meeting in November, Mosque representatives said there will be no building at Gressenhall until late 2019 / early 2020, as the Mosque in Morden is being prioritised for development. George said: “It was a lively meeting that again saw residents and Mosque representatives working constructively together to resolve traffic and parking issues.”

Heathrow expansion
The Transport Secretary announced further consultation in the autumn following updated evidence about long-term aviation forecasts, passenger numbers and GDP (gross domestic product) figures. These are issues that your Councillors and MP Justine Greening have already highlighted in campaigning against Heathrow expansion. The new evidence meant the National Policy Framework had to be redrafted, and residents have been able to respond to the further consultation until 19 December. For more information, click here.

Meanwhile Wandsworth and three other councils have told the House of Commons Transport Committee that a third runway could not be built without causing unacceptable air and noise pollution. East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia said: “The latest evidence fails to show how an expanded airport could meet air quality limits. This makes a third Heathrow runway unbuildable, but Gatwick expansion could go ahead without this risk. If there is a need for more capacity in the South East it can be built more quickly at Gatwick, at lower cost, within lawful pollution limits, and with fewer people affected by noise. It would also offer more domestic routes than Heathrow.”

You can read the submission to the Transport Select Committee from Wandsworth, Hillingdon, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead Councils on the Transport Committee website.

Gritting for winter
As the weather gets colder, your Council has again given out free bags of grit and rock salt to residents and Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators, to help people clear icy footpaths or garden paths. The Council is also filling neighbourhood yellow grit bins, and will have its fleet of vehicles out gritting roads and pavements, with special attention to areas outside stations, hospitals, OAP day centres, schools, care homes, clinics and nurseries.
Grit bins hold a ton of extra grit that can be put down on residential roads with problem areas or steep inclines, such as Putney Hill, and you can use them to clear ice and snow from footpaths in front of your home. To find your nearest grit bin, tick ‘grit bins’ on the menu beside this map.

More new trees
While it’s wintry outside, your Council is preparing for spring by planting over 600 new trees in streets, parks and housing estates. The Council looks after over 60,000 trees in our parks and open spaces, with around 16,000 on streets and housing estates. Wandsworth was one of Britain’s first urban councils to establish tree wardens - local residents who help the town hall by keeping an eye on the well-being of their neighbourhood trees.

East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia said: “If there is an empty tree pit near you, please let us know, and we’ll get it into the planting programme. Wandsworth has a great reputation as one of London’s greenest boroughs, and this is part of our work to make our borough an even better place to live.”

Superfast broadband for Ashburton Estate
Ashburton Estate is now being offered some of the fastest broadband speeds in London. The Council is working with Community Fibre to roll out superfast broadband to Council-managed blocks, and aims to reach 20,000 homes over the next few years. 5,500 homes on six estates had access by the autumn, and Ashburton is one of eight estates in the latest wave.

Community Fibre installs fibre optic cables directly into homes, so customers don’t pay for line rental, and families can download films, music and browse on multiple devices at the same time. Its ‘Gigafast’ service can download at over 1,000 megabits per second, over 40 times faster than the UK average. The ‘Gigafast’ package costs £50 a month, and there are lower-cost packages for residents who don’t need top speed. To find out more, visit the Community Fibre website.

Crackdown on high-street gambling
East Putney Cllr and Council Leader Ravi Govindia has long been critical of how a Labour Government law allowed high-stakes gambling machines to spread in our high streets. So he has welcomed a Government review into how these ‘fixed-odds betting terminals’ may be driving up problem gambling. These machines allow people to bet, and potentially lose, hundreds of pounds a minute. The Government is now consulting on proposals that could cut the maximum stake to just £2.

Ravi said: “High-street gambling machines and betting shops proliferated after Labour’s 2005 Gambling Act, which removed many previous controls and made it harder for councils to oppose new betting shops and high-stakes fruit machines. I hope the spread of these machines can now be curtailed, along with the damage they can cause to vulnerable people.”
There is more about the Government consultation here and you can have your say here until midday on January 23.

Some good news about trains and tubes
Putney station now has some new longer trains to ease over-crowding. South West Trains have introduced a number of new ‘Class 707’ trains with 10 or 12 carriages instead of 8. This follows Network Rail’s work to extend platforms at Waterloo and adjust signalling and tracks. The new trains run through Putney on the Waterloo / Windsor & Eton Riverside line, and on the Hounslow loop through Barnes. The new carriages have free WiFi, modern climate control and real-time updates for passengers. You can have a look inside them here.

East Putney tube station will hopefully offer a more reliable District Line service over the next few years. TfL have said that as they complete their signalling upgrade, they will be able to increase capacity and improve services through East Putney. Meanwhile, your Councillors continue to urge TfL to improve the grotty appearance of East Putney tube forecourt, and have offered council money to help pay for an upgrade. Watch this space!

Cllrs Ravi Govindia CBE, George Crivelli & Cllr Les McDonnell

December 18, 2017