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The Shaftesbury ward ‘listening to you’ meeting takes place in just under two weeks time on 20 July at 7.30pm in John Burns School.

It is a public meeting, so anyone can attend and raise any issues they wish. The meeting is attended by the three ward councillors, along with the council leader, leader of the opposition and senior council officers.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of the format, mainly because I’m aware many people do not like speaking up in public meetings and they can sometimes be dominated by a vocal few. However, you can always feel free to raise something beforehand (you can get my details from my contact page) or we general linger after the meeting so people can talk to us individually.

The council has delivered a leaflet advertising the event to every household in the ward, but a soft copy is available for those of a more digital bent.

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The Shaftesbury Club at 128 Lavender Hill have applied for an extension to their current hours.

They are applying to extend their hours for music and entertainment to midnight seven days a week, and for the sale of alcohol until midnight every night except Friday and Saturday for which they have applied for a 1am licence.

Their current hours are until 11pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30pm on Sunday.

I genuinely have no idea what the Shaftesbury Club is. Until recently I suspect most people would have walked past without even noticing it was there, although the smoking ban and a much more prominent sign will have changed that in recent years. The story I heard many years ago is that it was established for Shaftesbury Park Estate residents who had no pub or club because a covenant prevents a sale of alcohol on the estate. I have no idea how true either part of that is, but imagine the club continues to serve a local clientele.

If you want to make a representation you have until 7 July. Representations must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk

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Whatever Camp Royale is going to be, it seems it’s definitely happening.

And it’s been a lesson in how not to organise and publicise an event of this nature. The first that many people heard about it was news reports of a 10,000 person campsite on Clapham Common, which is managed by Lambeth Council. When Wandsworth (which covers part of the Common) enquired it was impossible to get an answer from Lambeth: it seemed they knew as little about it as residents did!

Then we got the message that Lambeth hadn’t formally agreed it, but had indicated they were minded to allow it for around 4,000 people. But at the same time Camp Royale were claiming that they had signed a lease agreement:
http://twitter.com/#!/CampRoyale/status/47240510892548096
http://twitter.com/#!/CampRoyale/status/47240694691135488
Even more recently it looked as if the event was in trouble, with the story getting out that Camp Royale had failed to pay the required bond to Lambeth at the same time they were slashing the cost of tickets – all creating the impression it was a venture that wasn’t looking successful. But realistically, it was hard to see it not going ahead so late in the day when, one would assume, there were already many who had made travel plans and were preparing to descend on the Common for the bank holiday weekend.

The bond has, apparently, been paid and it’s entirely possible thousands of people will be descending on the Common for the weekend. While many have the impression that responsible stewardship of the Common or engaging local residents are unimportant to Lambeth when compared to the revenue raising potential of such events we can only hope the event is successfully managed and works well.

The organisers have issued a contact number which residents can use from this Thursday (28 April) for the duration of the event: 07957 990420. It will also be monitored by Lambeth officers so should be useful for dealing with any matters or problems related to the site.

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Kostless Food & Wine at 29 Queenstown Road have applied for a licence.

Some might recognise the premises, which operated as a 24 hour store (although without a 24 hour alcohol licence) until recently. I understand that the premises suffered severe water damage following some plumbing difficulties, but someone is clearly looking to re-open the premises now. Some might be concerned by this since there was a feeling that anti-social behaviour in the alley-way besides the premises and the immediate area were connected with the old shop.

The new applicant is applying to sell alcohol from 10am until 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am until 11pm Friday and Saturday.

If you want to make a representation you have until 29 April. Representations must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

Unfortunately there is no scope to complain on the grounds that they have clearly made up the word ‘kostless’.

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk

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There’s something about being a councillor and dog poo.

You can’t just blame it on irresponsible and inconsiderate dog-owners and move, carefully, on. Instead, it provokes thought and even, dare I say, analysis. Being a councillor isn’t the only frame of reference for me – yesterday I couldn’t help but reflect I’d discovered the least-joyous part of fatherhood as I cleaned the push-chair wheels of the left-overs from a dog that was probably the size of a Shetland pony – but I can’t imagine any other reason I would be prompted to write a blog post from my reflections on dog excrement.

But as soon as spotted this on Forthbridge Road I was taking a photo and knew it would end up on here.

What is interesting is not so much the resident’s frustration (they should try the Shaftesbury Estate) but the effect it will have on the dog-owner. A council in the south of England tried colourfully marking the locations of dog-fouling. The result was a dramatic decrease in the level of dog-fouling; the markings created a feeling of guilt and fear of being watched among irresponsible dog-owners.

It’s Nudge at work. I’ve noticed a reverse effect around a tree near my house, it is a cherry blossom (I believe, but my arboricultural knowledge pretty much ends at differentiating trees from shrubs) attracts lots of birds which do a fantastic job at plastering the pavement underneath with their droppings. The result is a tree that attracts most of the road’s dog fouling too, it seems the bird droppings make other animal fouling more acceptable.

It’s a perennial problem. I often get complaints about it and noticed a report from the Shaftesbury Park Estate on Fix My Street last week. Unfortunately the real solution lies in dog owners acting responsibly and being able to find and prosecute those who do not. While approaches like that taken on Forthbridge Road might work (and I’m not so far beyond redemption that I’m monitoring it) by far the best answer is for all owners to clean up after their dogs.

[It’s taken me nearly 13 years to do my first dog poo photo. I just hope it isn’t a slippery slope because it doesn’t look good at the bottom.]

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Pizza Toscana at 127A Lavender Hill have applied for a later licence.

I’m never really sure what to think about this sort of application, on the face of it they are primarily selling food, so you wouldn’t expect problems, but in other areas often pubs, bars and clubs are relatively trouble-free – instead it’s the late night fast-food venues where people congregate that trouble flares up.

Toscana want to extend their hours from 11pm to midnight Sunday to Thursday and stay open until 2am on the mornings following Friday and Saturday. They are also applying for a licence to sell alcohol until 11.30pm on Sunday to Thursday and right up until 2am on the mornings following Friday and Saturday.

If you want to make a representation you have until 6 April. Representations must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk

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It seems Camp Royale don’t, yet, have permission to set up a camp on Clapham Common. According to a Lambeth Council statement:

The Camp Royale event has not yet been approved, but has been granted an ‘in principle’ agreement for a family event with a campsite of 1806 tents and capacity of 4000 people.  This means that the council is satisfied that the event can be run safely within the council’s strict guidelines.

The next stage is to discuss the proposal with local residents and elected councillors before a final decision about whether the event can take place.
 
If agreed, the campsite would be managed totally separately from any event activity on the common. The entertainment will be accessible to all Lambeth families free of charge to enjoy this special day.  All the events we run on Clapham Common have restrictions on noise levels, health and safety and adhere to all the normal by-laws in force at the park.

I suspect they only refer to Lambeth residents and councillors so will have to watch closely for the formal consultation.

It does strike me as a little naughty that Camp Royale are talking of 10,000 places and taking cash from people just six weeks before the event without even hinting that it might not happen at all. If you are customer 4,001 (or even the first customer if it’s rejected) you aren’t going to have much time to make alternative arrangements, especially in that price range.

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I was astounded last week when I first heard of the idea of letting 10,000 people camp on Clapham Common for the Royal Wedding. I was even more astounded yesterday when a BBC News article about the plan was published and then to discover that the organisers not only have a website, but are taking bookings – £75 for three nights, or £105 for camping and National Express travel.

The BBC article is slightly worrying:

Clapham Common could be turned into a campsite equipped for 10,000 people to celebrate the royal wedding.

Organisers are planning to turn the south London common into a campsite for three nights for revellers on a budget.

It is, possibly, a sign that I’m getting old and becoming something of a nimby, but I can’t say I’m overly keen on the idea of a new 10,000 place campsite on my doorstep (well, not really mine, I live in the north of the ward, but it’s definitely the ward’s doorstep). And maybe I’m reading too much into the word ‘revellers’, but I certainly recall the problems caused by badly managed events on the Common when I first became a councillor.

While event management on the Common has improved – in large part, I suspect, because the scale has reduced – I know many long-term residents in the south of the ward will hear of the plans with some trepidation.

It might only be three nights, and I have no problem whatsoever, with people coming to London to enjoy the Royal Wedding. I do have a problem with it when it could potentially cause huge disruption to residents who don’t seem to have been consulted at all!

Clapham Common, although partly in Wandsworth, is managed by Lambeth Council who would certainly be the ones to licence any event. I can’t say the BBC article filled me confidence when it revealed:

Lambeth Council could not confirm if a licence had been granted for the event but said if it did go ahead there would be strict rules on noise and litter.

If they don’t even know whether a licence has been granted it’s hard to see how they can enforce strict rules on noise and litter!

Enquiries within Wandsworth Council suggests that no-one there has heard of the event, possibly because no licence application has been made to Lambeth, or possibly because Lambeth did not consult us. We are, however, keen to find out whether our next door neighbours are planning on having 10,000 around for a three-night sleepover!

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BAC: Home of cutting edge theatre. And police meetings.

AMENDMENT: I was trying to be informative, but I was misinformed (or possibly just incompetent)! The meeting is tonight at 7pm, but at the Devas Club on Stormont Road, although I don’t have a nice image of that.

The Shaftesbury Safer Neighbourhood Team hold their regular public meeting this evening.

Starting at 7pm in Battersea Arts Centre it’s a chance to talk to your local police team and find out what they are doing to make Shaftesbury ward safer. You can also find out what crime is like in the area from the national police crime maps.

Unfortunately I won’t be there (I’ll be somewhere between Wales and London, hopefully closer to the latter) but my ward colleague Jonathan Cook does plan to attend, so can help with council related matters.

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Revolution on Lavender Hill are looking to open for a few more hours each week, essentially an extra hour every night from Sunday to Wednesday (they already open later on Thursdays to Saturdays). The new hours would see them able to sell alcohol until midnight – rather than 11pm – on those nights.

It may well be a fairly minimal application, opening until midnight is within the council’s policy guidelines, but if you want to make a representation you have until 14 March 31 March (the deadline has been extended). Representations must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk