Lister on Putney

The 37 bus, regeneration ad street design plus more.........

Good to see there's a solution in sight to the long-running saga of the 37 bus stand in St John's Avenue. Now thanks to sensible cooperation on all sides it looks like a new, and less disruptive, home can be found at the Green Man bus stand at the top of Putney Hill. The alterations here will go ahead once Transport of London have confirmed the funding.

The boroughwide surge in regeneration activity is now extending to
Roehampton with up to £33m being invested in the area through a variety of initiatives aimed at young people and families as well as skills training and business start-up help.

With major establishments like Roehampton University and the new Queen Mary's Hospital on the doorstep there's a real incentive for local people to make sure they have the skills needed to access the host of new business and employment opportunities here.

I enjoyed a passionate evening's debate at the Methodist Church last week when around 80 Putney residents turned out on the night of the Wandsworth Park fireworks to express their concerns about plans for more flights into Heathrow in the early hours.

There was widespread backing for the council's uncompromising stance, not least from Putney Society member Peter Gent, whose trenchant analysis of ministerial motives was shaped no doubt by his days as a high flying Whitehall mandarin! - It was good too to see the local MP lending his full support to our case.

An equally topical issue is likely to be the potential for a Kensington-style makeover of
Putney High Street. I have been invited by the Putney Society to speak at their meeting on
November 24 (again at the Methodist Church) where I will be joined by Colin Davis who is an expert in street design.

Colin is a champion of new initiatives to remover street clutter and believes there is much that other high streets can learn from the Kensington experience. It's sure to be a fascinating evening and another example of just how highly Putney people value their environment.

Edward Lister

elister@wandsworth.gov.uk

Edward Lister is the Leader of Wandsworth Council and a member for Putney's Thamesfield ward.