New ‘green screens’ to combat air pollution installed at Corpus Christi Primary School

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Cllr Tiedemann joins pupils, parents and staff at Corpus Christi RC Primary

This week has been Clean Air Week and Lambeth Council marked the week with a series of events seeking to address air pollution in the borough, including installing two ‘green screens’ at Corpus Christi RC Primary School. Councillor Martin Tiedemann and the cabinet member for environment joined pupils, parents and staff to launch the new walls.

The screens of Hedera ivy have been built alongside the playgrounds of Corpus Christi primary school on Lambert Road and Horsford Road, blocking pollutants from Brixton Hill and enabling children to breathe cleaner air while they play. The project has been a partnership between parents and pupils, and Lambeth Council.

There has already been a significant drop in air pollution on Brixton Hill thanks to the Mayor’s clean bus corridorResearch elsewhere showed a 24% drop in NO2 with a green screen, making a real difference to the pollution encountered by primary schoolchildren.

Lambeth Labour have already got to work on delivering their ambitious manifesto. As part of their commitment to tackling air pollution councillors pledged to build a green screen at every school on a main road. Children at over 30 schools will benefit from the toxin-reducing living walls.

Over the next four years we will also:

  • Plant over 1,000 new trees.
  • Double the number of cycle hangars
  • Install over 200 electric vehicle charging points
  • Lobby the Government for a new Clean Air Act
  • Continue to work with community energy co-operatives like Repowering London, with existing solar panels on the Roupell Park Estate

New bike hangars proposed for Kingswood, Trent, Sulina and Rosebery Roads, and Brixton Hill Court

2014-04-24 09.23.57-1New bike hangars – Lambeth’s award-winning secure and dry bike storage solutions for cyclists you can see dotted around Brixton Hill – are being proposed for several new locations around the area.

Subject to consultation with local residents and emergency services, five new hangars could soon appear to offer cyclists with limited space new options to park their bikes. Current hangars are all full and demand is high.

The proposed locations are:

  • Kingswood Road
  • Trent Road
  • Sulina Road
  • Rosebery Road
  • Brixton Hill Court

Letters will be sent to affected residents in coming weeks asking for comment, with any approved hangars installed later in the year. Please email councillors if you have any comments on these proposals.

You can request a hangar on your road by clicking this link.

New trees on their way for Brixton Hill

Following lobbying by Brixton Hill councillors, a number of new street trees are to be located around the area a part of a Lambeth-wide programme. Whilst contributing to create a more attractive environment for all, the planting will also improve the overall environmental quality, (including air quality and noise reduction), of our neighbourhood.

Subject to final ground scan surveys the locations chosen are:

  1. Baytree Road (several including Ginkgo and Juneberry trees, sadly no Baytrees)
  2. Lyham Road (a number of ornamental pear trees)
  3. Sudbourne Road (nine new trees including oak, Prunus and field maple)
  4. Trent Road (four to include a crabapple)

Treeplanting is starting this month and will continue through to April. Residents in roads affected are currently being written to to let them know about the project.

The borough-wide planting programme will be funded by the Transport for London LIP and GLA grants.

Brixton Hill off licence Kwik Stop forced to end 24-7 alcohol sales

kwik stopFollowing a review instigated by Lambeth Council Trading Standards, the Licensing Sub-Committee has agreed to put new conditions on the Kwik-Stop Food & Wine at 72 Brixton Hill that mean it will no longer be able to sell alcohol overnight.

The latest review was instigated following the discovery of an alleged illegal worker in the shop. The apparent employment of the same man at nearby Costcutters (which has the same owners) led to that shop having its hours reduced earlier this year. A previous review of Kwik Stop in 2015 imposed new conditions that did not appear to have been stuck to since then. Both the Police and the Council in their submissions linked the low sales associated with opening overnight with the move to employ illegal workers. Local residents also made submissions, some in support of the shop but more stating that the off licence contributed to nuisance, noise and street drinking.

After hearing the submissions and making its deliberations, the Licensing Sub-Committe decided:

  • To remove Zaffar Khan as the Designated Premises Supervisor; and
  • To modify the operating schedule for the premises so as to reduce its opening hours to 08:00 and 23:00.

The premises have until late July to appeal this decision.

Christmas fetes this weekend

Brixton Hill’s two principal Christmas fairs take place this weekend. On Saturday 3rd December Corpus Christi Primary School will hold its fair 12-4 with Santa’s Grotto plus food and goodies, compered by Miranda Sawyer and Richard Avery.

This is followed by Sudbourne School’s Winter Fair on Sunday 1-4 with the traditional stalls and raffle. Entrance £1.

Corpus Christi schoolchildren are also taking part in the switch-on of Brixton’s Christmas lights tonight (Friday 2nd December) at 6pm.

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TONIGHT: Chuka Umunna debates Europe in Brixton Hill

Chuka Umunna MP is taking part in a public meeting tonight to hear both sides of the European Referendum debate.

Chuka will be speaking on behalf of the Remain campaign with Mustafa Jameel in favour of Leave.

The event takes place at 7.30pm, 15th June 2016, at Corpus Christi Church Hall on Trent Road.

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Councillors call on Mayor to sort dangerous Brixton junction

***UPDATE*** We made the front page of the South London Press Brixton edition!

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IMG_4244Parents of children at Corpus Christi Primary school have joined Brixton Hill’s councillors and Labour’s London Assembly candidate to call on the Mayor of London to make a dangerous Brixton junction after another serious accident this week. Adrian, Florence and Martin met parents this afternoon to see the issue and plan next steps.

The junction of Brixton Hill and Brixton Water Lane was originally named by Transport for London as one of the 100 most dangerous junctions in the whole of London yet the Mayor failed to allocate any funding to make the junction safer and the Better Junctions programme has since been downgraded.

Councillors and the school have been making representations to the Mayor and Transport for London for some time via the local Assembly Member Valerie Shawcross, with the Mayor pledging to take action in a letter to Cllr Tiedemann last year. Ms Shawcross has pledged to write a firm letter to the Mayor demanding an urgent safety review.
Continue reading

More roadworks coming to Brixton Hill

lightsTransport for London have announced major works from July until September on Brixton Hill as part of its ‘Road Modernisation Plan’. TfL are replacing the traffic lights at the junction of Brixton Hill with Brixton Water Lane/Trent Road and with New Park Road. Both will involve works on the footway and some lane closures.

The works at Brixton Water Lane are planned to start on Monday 6 July and continue for approximately seven weeks depending on weather conditions. At New Park Road they are planned to start on Monday 20 July and continue for approximately six weeks depending on the weather conditions. Continue reading

Millionnaire developer prosecuted for illegal conversion of house in Trent Road

lexadonlogoLambeth Council has used the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) against a millionaire developer who illegally converted a house in Trent Road into flats without permission.

Jerrard Knight – who is included in the Sunday Times Rich List – and his company Lexadon Ltd, have been ordered to pay more than £175,000 after renting out a property as flats – despite having planning applications to do so repeatedly turned down by the council. Lexadon were previously behind the applications for apartments on Brixton Hill and Blenheim Gardens opposite the Windmill pub.

The case is just one of several planning enforcement cases in which Lambeth is using POCA legislation, which allows for the confiscation or recovery of the proceeds of criminal behaviour. Continue reading

Corpus Christi Primary confirmed as one of the best schools in the country

cclogoCorpus Christi Primary School in Brixton Hill got confirmation of its excellence last week when primary school performance tables were released, showing Corpus Christi as the highest performing school in Lambeth, sixth highest in London and equal fifty third in the whole of England. Other schools in the ward, notably Sudbourne Primary, performed strongly.

Well done to all the children, staff and parents, including Chair of Governors Mr Michael Burke and headteachers Mr Coyle and Ms Connery.