THELEWISHAM CENTRAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday 23 February 2012

7-9pm

LewishamMethodistChurch

Albion Way, London, SE13 6DE

Minutes of the Meeting

Welcome, introduction & format for the evening

Cllr Stella Jeffrey(Chair) opened the meeting at 7pm by thanking everyone for attending. The format of the meeting was as follows:

  • Assembly fund update and vote on the remainder of the fund
  • Introduction to the communities first panel
  • Community safety update
  • Redevelopment of LewishamTown Centre
  • Positive Ageing Council
  • Break for tea and coffee
  • Group discussion
  • Community updates and AOB
  • Formal close of assembly business and date of next meeting

Assembly fund update and vote on the remainder of the fund

John O’Reilly (Local Assemblies Coordinator) explained that the balance of the assembly fund for 2011/12 is £1,747.00. The proposal is to award this funding to Teachsport UK who finished as a runner- up at the last voting event held in September 2011. Teachsport UK have been contacted and they are in support of this proposal. The number of young people they will be able to assist under the revised amount will be reduced from 20 to 12.

The above proposal was unanimously accepted by a show of hands

Communities first panel

John then went on to describe the communities first panel. The Cabinet Office (which is part of the civil service) have awarded £39,810 to Lewisham Central which can be spent on locally agreed priorities. The panel will be independent of the assemblies programme and local volunteers are encouraged to participate in the delivery of the project. The core group will be comprised of between 4 and 8 people which also may include ward councillors. Ideally membership of the panel will be a representative sample of the local community including both the public/ private sectors, voluntary sector and faith groups. Anyone who is interested was invited to speak to John, either during the interval or at the close of the meeting. A meeting will be set up at the Café of Good Hope in early March 2012 to elect the group that will serve for a period of three years up until March 2015.

Community safety update

Paul Humphreys introduced himself as the acting sergeant for the team. The ward priorities are anti-social behaviour (RiverMillPark),motor vehicle crime in Hither Green and preventing residential burglaries. Sgt Humphreys explained that the team have conducted both high visibility andplain clothes patrols aimed atdeterring/detection of offenders in the most affectedareas. They have also conducted crime prevention leafletdrops, raising awareness with householdersto potential security improvements andimproved operating methods. The team also offer security surveys to householdersand property marking surgeries to further detect and prevent offences in the area.

Sgt Humphreys said there was a serious incidentin Elsinore Road, Forest Hill in the early hours of Sunday 12 February 2012 which is currently being investigated by the Police complaints authority (PAC). A man was taken to hospital with gun shoot wounds which were not life threatening. However, the incident did cause some anxiety in the area and the police have attempted to reassure the public. As a result there have been increased patrols around Lewisham Central, Forest Hill and Rushey Green. A well attended public meeting took place on Monday 20 February 2012 at KilmorieSchool and family liaison officers have also been involved at a local level. The police are also available to respond to any individual concerns that residents may have.

Redevelopment of LewishamTown Centre

John Miller, the Head of Planning for Lewisham Council, made a presentation which is summarised below:

Over the next 5-10 years there are plans for:

• 2,500 new homes (in addition to 1,300 now underway or completed during past 3 years)

• 50% increase in shopping space

• New leisure facilities

• Re-routed roads and rivers and improved public spaces

LewishamTown Centre Area Action Plan

• Consultation on Proposed Submission Version from 12 March until 23 April 2012

• E-mail to be added to the consultation list or check details online at

Next steps

• Submission for Independent Examination - Summer 2012

• Examination in Public - Autumn / Winter 2012

• Adoption 2013

Positive Ageing Council

Cllr Fitzsimmons gave the following report outlining the progress with the Positive Ageing Council:

The Mayor has established a Positive Ageing Council (PAC) to debate and champion issues affecting older people in the borough. The PAC meets four times a year which are open to any resident over 60 years of age. Operating rather like local assemblies, the PAC identifies priority issues and works in partnership to implement solutions. Following changes to be proposed to the Council Constitution, it will be able to refer matters to select committees and take one motion a year to full Council. Most recently, the PAC discussed isolation issues and are piloting a scheme aimed at tackling the problem. The next meeting will take place on Thursday 15 March between 11am and 1pm in the Civic Suite. The topic will be transport and their will be a guest speaker from Transport from London and the Young Mayor. There are limited spaces available for any interested people.

After a short break for tea and coffeeit was decided to defer the group discussion item to the following meeting in the summer

Community Updates and AOB

Cllr Jeffrey reported that TfL are developing a design proposal at the Courthill Hill Road junction. Part of this proposal is to introduce a ‘green man’ pedestrian crossing facility on Courthill Road. The traffic modelling is completed and the preliminary design will undergo a road safety audit which is planned to be completed in 2012. There will be an exhibition held at Lewisham Library during the early part of the summer. As the proposals include banning some movements at the Courthill Road junction, with displaced traffic being diverted onto other local roads, feedback from the consultation process will potentially affect not only the final outcome but also the timescales for delivery.

Formal close of assembly business and date of next meeting

Cllr Jeffrey concluded by thanking everyone for attending and gave details of the next meeting. This will be held on Saturday 9 June 2012 between the hours of 1pm and 3pm. The assembly coordinator will make arrangements to book the LewishamMethodistChurch hall which is the favoured location.

There being no other business the meeting was closed at 9:10pm.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting

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