Heart of Kennington Residents’ Association

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Chairman’s report 2016

Purpose of the Association. The Association was founded in 1983 and exists to preserve and enhance the amenity of our area. We try to promote good neighbourliness and to work on behalf of our membership on issues that affect the immediate area. Some of our membership, especially in Stannary Street, have their own groups for their particular complexes but we are glad to have them in our Association to support our wider aims.

Membership is open to all residents in our streets and we have about 240 households. We have no membership fee and rely on donations and the profits from our summer party to meet our expenses such as the hire of a venue for the AGM and photocopying etc. We use e-mail as much as possible and actively encourage members to provide e-mail addresses to save trees and having to distribute hard copy.

The committee decided before the 2015 summer party to do two paper distributions a year to every household (including the formal notification of the AGM plus details of the party), rather than distributing paper copies only to those households for which we do not have e-mail addresses. We hope that keeps everyone in touch. We have produced three newsletters for residents during the year and the committee has met four times.

Committee membership. Robert Buxton left the area in June 2015; in his place the committee co-opted Andy Furnival who also took over responsibility for managing our website. Thanks to Robert for all his hard work for the Association and to Andy for taking over from him so seamlessly. The committee also co-opted Harry Briggs from Stannary Street because of his interest in the re-development of the Oval gasholder site and the Neighbourhood Plan under discussion for the area.

Activities in 2015-16. Our summer street party on 20 June 2015 went very well despite a downpour just as we started. Attendance was very good, boosted by the presence of several guests plus residents of the Lycee. We made one of our largest profits ever, some of which has been spent on our regular donation to Secret Santa. It was the usual team effort by the committee and other residents who worked very hard; thanks to everyone who helped. The acoustic band found for us by Milverton Street resident Dom James was a great success.

The owners of the Kurdish Cultural Centre in Stannary Street decided from the end of June to stop hiring the building to the church that was the major source of the noise and other disturbances in the area, a great relief for the immediate neighbours. The building is still being used by the Kurdish community but is in the process of being sold, almost certainly for re-development.

The efforts by TfL and Lambeth to re-configure the Vauxhall gyratory and bus station continue. The bus station proposals are strongly opposed by local residents but the outcome of the latest round of public consultations is not yet known (early March).

Northern Line Extension (NLE). Work on the Kennington Green and Kennington Park sites started in mid-2015 and is more or less on schedule. The noise and dirt plus associated traffic schemes have been very disruptive particularly for neighbouring residents. The Community Liaison Groups set up by TfL and Lambeth for the areas affected by the construction process have met quarterly. There are also monthly meetings of a much smaller traffic management group which considers traffic issues in the area. The Association has a place on the Kennington Green CLG and a committee member normally attends the traffic management meetings. Both meetings provide useful opportunities for residents to discuss issues with TfL and the contractors (Flo). TfL and Flo now try hard to keep local residents in touch with what is happening.

Cycle superhighways. Since summer 2015 there has been major work on local main roads to create two new Cycle Superhighways, CS5 which runs east-west from the Oval to Pimlico, and CS7 which runs north-south from Merton to the City along Kennington Park Road. Both projects are supposed to finish by March-April 2016 and are on schedule. There have been major disruptions to traffic in the area, particularly as the works have coincided with the NLE work on Kennington Green and in Kennington Park. We objected strongly although unsuccessfully to the proposal to ban the left turn from Kennington Road into Kennington Park Road but TfL and Lambeth agreed to a temporary closure of the Ravensdon Street/Kennington Park Road junction to prevent our streets from becoming rat runs and to make the junction safer, especially for cylists. That closure will now last until about October 2016; TfL have promised to consult local residents before a final decision is made. There have been problems with the temporary bollards at the junction and TfL are discussing with Lambeth the possibility of putting permanent bollards there.

Rubbish collection and street cleansing. The rubbish collection service has generally continued to work well. Some residents still put out rubbish for collection on the wrong days and at the wrong times, despite repeated requests not to encourage local foxes, squirrels, crows etc. Lambeth’s bulky and garden waste collection systems have also worked pretty reliably. There are continuing problems in Aulton Place with regular fly-tipping beside the residents' bins by unknown perpetrators. We owe a great deal to a local resident who regularly picks up litter throughout our area and since Lambeth cut back on regular street cleansing, that is a major task. Even when leaf fall was at its peak, the streets were swept very infrequently and large piles of leaves accumulated. We raised the matter with local councillors but 'the cuts' were blamed and there was no improvement.

Parking. Pressure on parking has not generally increased and there have been no reported incidents of serious problems over parking.

Trees. Pruning of some trees was undertaken in 2015; we await the removal and replacement of two dead trees and one in Methley Street that has outgrown its site, plus some new ones for which we have agreed to pay. Lambeth's shortage of resources means that it is difficult for them to keep their commitments but we will continue to nag them.

Planning applications. Stephen Waring continues to respond to planning applications on our behalf. Despite the lack of sites for re-development, this year has shown that a continuing need to ensure that new developments do not lead to unacceptable over-crowding or loss of amenity for adjacent properties. Most of the applications for extensions and alterations to our houses are for relatively modest changes, at least externally, and give little cause for concern.

Applications for three local sites have, however, raised issues for our residents. 1-8 Wigton Place is the subject of an appeal for refusal of permission to intensify previously approved plans for re-development of the site. We objected to the original application and to the appeal. An application for extensive internal and external alterations to the White Bear pub in Kennington Park Road was approved in January 2016 despite strong objections from the Association and immediate neighbours. Those neighbours are also very concerned about an associated application for a review of the pub's licence to allow extended opening hours and use of the garden. The outcome of that application is not yet known (mid-March). There is an application to convert the old Town Hall in Kennington Road into a backpackers' hostel, with a bar which will also need a licence. The committee generally supports proposals that keep buildings in appropriate use rather than empty and derelict but neighbours of the Town Hall are concerned about the risk of noise and other disturbances from such a change of use, so we have objected to the application.

We have continued to attend KOV meetings whenever possible; Harry Briggs and Andrew Roberts, also of Stannary Street, represent us on the KOV Planning Forum which is currently formulating proposals for a Neighbourhood Plan that will affect the whole area. The Planning Forum continues to monitor developments in the Vauxhall/Nine Elms Opportunity Area, as well as the Lambeth/Berkeley Homes proposals for the Oval gasholder site (OAKDA) which includes the Kennnington Lane Tesco and its car park. If other residents want to get involved in such wider issues, they should contact the KOV chairman or secretary (see their website).

Priscilla Baines

March 2016 (updated)