Greenwich Council has admitted that it gave away a 99 year lease on the Hornfair Lido but its organisation then had to buy it back as a cost of £125,000 prior to development this summer. 

At Call-in meeting called last Wednesday by Conservative Council Group Leader Spencer Drury was to check whether an extra £125,000 being allocated to the project represented value for money.  The £125,000 was in addition to the quarter of a million pounds already allocated to the scheme by the Council and £2m from Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) as part of its contract with the Council (and so also paid for by council taxpayers). 

The Call-in took the form of a comprehensive review of the new plans for the Lido which had not been placed in the public domain until this meeting.  The last time the Lido was discussed in public was in October 2009 when the Council claimed that a private company (Open Waters) were going to spend in excess of £10m adding a diving centre to the Lido and making it an ‘iconic resource’.  Conservatives had raised concerns over the lack of credibility of the Open Waters plan from the start and in meetings received guarantees that the Council would be able to retrieve the lease to the company if they could not deliver on their commitments.  However, at Wednesday’s Call-in answers to questions from Cllrs McCarthy and Glover made clear that despite the fact that the Council had given Open Waters the lease for free, GLL had been forced to pay around £125,000 to buy back the lease from the company.

On Saturday, ex-Kidbrooke with Hornfair Councillor Graeme Coombes visited the Lido, where work on GLL’s plans has already begun.  Graeme said “I am appalled at this waste of Council taxpayers money.  I was assured by Council Officers that should anything go wrong with the Open Waters bid (and it was distinctly fishy from the start) it would not cost any money to retrieve the lease.  Now, we find that Greenwich Council is having to pass an extra £125,000 to GLL, which almost exactly matches the cost of buying back the lease from Open Waters.  In this case, Greenwich residents have paid the price of the Council’s incompetence not only in monetary terms but also in the closure of the Lido in recent years.”

Conservative Group Leader Cllr Spencer Drury, who called the meeting on Wednesday said “I was generally pleased with the realistic and achievable plans which GLL has for the Lido.  It should be open this summer and with luck in 2013 will have a fully operational gym and café in addition to the pool itself.  The pool will also be heated which will be something of a relief for those of us who swam there previously.  The Conservative Group on the Council is generally supportive of these plans although we regret the time and expense that it has taken to bring them to fruition.”

Spencer continued “One curious feature of the plans is that the Lido will be made shallower.  The existing pool has a 3.6m deep end but this will be reduced to 2m and half of the pool will be level at 1m.  This means that the Council is gaining the equivalent of a full 25m pool with 1m depth, which does bring into question the reasoning behind the two shallow ends proposed at the new ‘Heart of East Greenwich’ pool.  Surely this space will be enough for all those who wish to enjoy aquarobics in the borough.”

UPDATE (30th April):  It now appears that the situation may be worse than we initially thought we 853 reporting that the lease actually cost GLL £175,000 to buy back from Open Waters.  I imagine Council Officers made the mistake after being asked on the hoof at the Call-in meeting.  This means that the Council's decision to give the lease to Open Waters for free has cost this borough's residents either through raised taxes or through higher fees at the Lido £175,000 purely to buy out a diving firm which did not seem to go anywhere near any water.  What a farce!

Deputy Chairman (Membership & Finance), Thomas Turrell joined newly elected University of Greenwich Conservatives Chairman, Oliver Clark and Deputy Chairman (Political) at the University of Greenwich Open Day in order to promote ongoing campaign to get Boris Johnson re-elected as Mayor of London and Cllr. Alex Wilson elected as London Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham. There was an interest in the stall and many students took leaflets with them. The group used an ipad to open up the campaign website for Alex Wilson to promote his hard work further, having the picture of when Alex came down to help the Conservative society at their fresher’s stand in September 2011.

The University Labour society failed to turn up showing that Labour doesn’t care about students unless there is a story behind it. Thomas said “Today not only have we improved on our own presence in the University we have shown that only the Conservatives come to speak to students around the clock, not just it gets media attention! We have had a range of students come up to us today, whether they are socialist and Conservative to say how disappointed they are by the way that Labour ignored today but how pleased they were that the Conservatives have given up their Saturday to come speak to them! This is because we care. We have been asked on tuition fees but we are here to explain the system not to scare monger and lie about the changes as Labour and the NUS have insisted on doing.”

On Thursday 29th March 2012 Deputy Leader of Greenwich Council Conservative Group, Nigel Fletcher and Deputy Chairman of Greenwich Conservative Federation, Thomas Turrell attended and spoke on the Panel of Lewisham Conservative Policy Forum for a debate entitled “Is the Concept of a Political Union within the EU really best for the UK?” Nigel had to take of his usual Euro-sceptic hat off and become a Pro-European for the purpose of the debate. Nigel was teamed up with Association Chairman for Lewisham West and Penge Conservatives to argue for the Yes team meanwhile Thomas teamed up Steve Bell, the Vice-President of the National Conservative Convention and Regional Chairman for South East Conservatives to argue for the No team. Andrew Credgington, Former Chairman of Greenwich University Conservatives who was the panel Chairman for the evening.  

Despite a great performance from Nigel and Ross at the end of the event only 1 person in the audience voted YES with the rest of the room voting NO as their answer to “Is a Political Union within the EU really best for the UK?”
 

Greenwich Conservatives have joined calls for the Council to build a proper large pool with a deep end in their ‘Heart of East Greenwich’ development.

Greenwich Council, which is one of the sixth Olympic Boroughs. decided  that the new large pool would be a ‘V’ shape composed of 1 metre deep (or shallow) at both ends, and 1.5 metres deep in the middle.  This design effectively means that the swimming pool would be unsuitable for use by competitive swimming clubs, as the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) recommends a depth of 1.8 metres for swimmers to practice dives in. 

The Greenwich Swimming Club (GSC) which currently operates from the Arches Leisure Centre located near to Greenwich Town Centre has made it clear that this would mean their swimmers would not be able to practice diving.

Leader of the Conservative Group Councillor Spencer Drury raised the issue of the depth of the swimming pool at an Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on the 4th April where he was assured that the issue was not the cost of building a deeper pool but the way the Council intended that it be used.  Spencer raised the possibility of a retractable floor but was informed that while this had been considered at an early stage the technology was not thought to be good enough for it to be considered a viable option.  However Spencer has subsequently found out that the Corby International Pool in the East Midlands has been built using this technology.

Spencer said “I feel that building a new swimming pool in an Olympic borough without the facility for it to be used by a competitive swimming club is ridiculous.  There has been a swimming club in Greenwich Town Centre for years but after this change, the nearest place a competitive swimmer will be able to train is Eltham (or if it opens) the open-air Charlton Lido.  I fear that this design has more to do with the Council wishing to interfere in an area that it does not understand rather than improving competitive swimming facilities and performance in Greenwich.

 “As cost is not an issue and the pool will be in the basement, I think it must still be possible for the Council to adjust the design to allow for a real pool to be created in the centre of Greenwich – not just an advanced paddling pool.”

Greenwich Council’s Labour Cabinet has agreed its controversial ‘Masterplan’ despite strong local objection from retailers like Marks and Spencers.

The four highly controversial documents labelled ‘Masterplans’ are intended to encourage growth across the borough as part of an overall strategy (which the Cabinet has yet to publish or agree).  The plans cover four distinct areas: Charlton Riverside; Woolwich Town Centre; Eltham Town Centre and Peninsula West. 

In the report to Cabinet on Monday (2nd April) it was suggested that ‘In overall terms there was considerable support for the proposals.’ However, any serious consideration of the actual responses reveals this to be an outrageously optimistic view of the public responses to the consultation.  While in Woolwich and Peninsula people broadly accepted the plans, which were less controversial, in Charlton and Eltham, many residents expressed serious reservations about how the vision had been translated into the planning proposals which the documents make. 

This is particularly true of Eltham where the plans are essentially to create less parking and more residential flats.  In the consultation document, the representative of the Tudor Barn based in the Well Hall Pleasaunce wrote “Underwhelming, best describes this effort. Imaginative, dynamic and insightful it is not. The vision for the development of Eltham Town Centre suffers from a frustrating vagueness and reliance on jargon together with the adoption of unexplained assumptions. A vision for the future of Eltham Town Centre requires a really confident grasp of the present and I did not feel that the writers had adequately displayed this element of the brief.”

Marks and Spencers, who have a thriving business on Eltham High Street also objected.  “The proposal shown diagrammatically in the Masterplan would result in the loss of much of the existing Marks and Spencer surface car park. A decked car park appears to be suggested in its place. However, this is not an aspiration of the company, it is unclear how many spaces would be provided but it may well result in a loss of capacity, there are no indications of how it would be funded, whether this would be viable and what operational arrangements would be in place. It is not at all clear that suitable parking could be provided within the land along with the new building (offices or residential) that the Masterplan shows on the road frontage.” (more on page 253)

Conservative Leader and Eltham Councillor Spencer Drury said “The rushed nature of these plans and the subsequent consultation process means that I have grave doubts about whether the finished documents actually reflect the best outcome for our borough for the next 15 years.  More time and effort should have been made to include residents in this process. When you have strong objections from leading retailers, maybe it is time to re-think your strategy.

“In Eltham the objections, not just from local business but also from many residents seem to have been completely ignored. I do not understand why the Labour party bothered with a consultation in the first place as, certainly in Eltham, they are pushing through highly unpopular plans.   What with their proposals to bring in parking charges on the high street, it seems to me that Labour are set on destroying Eltham Town Centre all together.

“Even our Eltham MP failed to respond to the consultation which is a deep concern. Eltham needs to be defended against this Woolwich based Labour Council  as they seem determined to destroy our town centre with more flats and less parking..”

Greenwich Council has announced its intention to resurface of the junction of Westmount road and Rochester Way.  This will mean that from 10th April 2012 for three nights, the junction is expected to be closed from 9pm until 5am the following morning. 

During the overnight resurfacing works, Westmount Roadat its junction with Rochester Way will be closed. Local traffic wishing to access these roads will be diverted mainly via Well Hall Road and Eltham High Street with a local diversion through Glenesk Road and Dairsie Road.  The Rochester Way road will remain open under two way traffic lights.

The Council will be providing an antiskid surface to the area’s leading to the signals to highlight a new cyclist waiting facility. The new facility should be installed a short while after the surface work has been completed.

The Council has informed Eltham North Conservatives that this is a weather permitting operation but advance warning signs will positioned at the junction informing of the intention to complete this work.

If any residents require further information or have special needs that the Council should be made aware of, please contact Greenwich Council on 0208 921 5759.

Labour Deputy Leader admits he is only interested in Eltham for parking charges revenue.

At a recent Council meeting the Deputy Leader of the Labour Council slipped up and revealed his party’s true view of Eltham. 

Eltham Conservative Councillor Matt Clare asked if the Council website could be adjusted to reflect the treasures located in the south of the Borough, not just those in the north.  In reply Labour’s Deputy Leader said “I really don’t know what treasure you’re talking about .. unless you’re talking about car parking in Eltham High Street.”  Later in the meeting, another Labour Councillor referred to Conservative concerns over the High Street as ‘parochial’.

Eltham’s Conservatives have raised this with Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who said “I thought Ken Livingstone was only interested in Zone 1, but I hadn’t realised that Greenwich’s Labour Council were also openly scornful of the people of Eltham.  As Mayor I promise to continue to value Eltham and support its High Street and residents in whatever way I can.”

Plans by Transport for London (TFL) to re-landscape a key ‘Gateway’ to Eltham, have been undermined by the council’s inability to clean Greenwich’s streets.

Cleansweep are responsible for the cleaning of the area, even though TFL are in charge of maintaining the roundabouts and flowerbeds.    Following questions asked by Eltham North Conservative Councillor Spencer Drury, TFL committed to re-landscaping  the Well Hall roundabout. However despite promises by the Labour Council, that they would keep the area clean, rubbish has been littering the streets for weeks including a toilet and a mattress.

In a statement given to Spencer, the council said “The central reservation on Westhorne Avenue was last litter-picked on 26th March. It is scheduled for a weekly litter-pick on Mondays.  The inner channels on the Sidcup Road are swept on a nightshift on Wednesday nights/ Thursday mornings.The shrub areas are litter-picked on a responsive basis.   The Yorkshire Grey roundabout is cleared weekly, as required, every Sunday.”

Spencer said ““I am pleased that the Mayor of London Boris Johnson is going to take steps to improve the roundabout at Well Hall.  I am hoping that this will be combined with improvements to the other ‘Gateways to Eltham’ through which visitors approach our town centre.  However, unless the Council takes steps to improve its street cleaning and litter removal any work Boris does will be undermined by Greenwich Council’s incompetence.

“A resident sent me the photo below which shows a toilet and mattress which have been sitting on the street beside the Well Hall roundabout for nearly two weeks.  Boris can try improving Well Hall roundabout with flower beds and landscaping, but if there is a toilet sitting in front of it, visitors are going to struggle to value Eltham.  It will give our area, completely the wrong image. I don’t believe that we can trust Cleansweep to keep the area clean and tidy”

Jim McKenna, who lives in Tom Coombs Close, can see the toilet from his house “It’s an eyesore.  I don’t think this is really the right image for the New Royal Borough of Greenwich.”

Greenwich Conservatives have revealed that the Labour Council is wasting thousands of pounds each year on a expensive IT contract.

According to figures from an industry expert, Greenwich Council is paying around £200,000 annually more for its social care IT support and maintenance contract compared to other London Councils.  Greenwich currently pays £332,000pa for IT support, but Lambeth only £116,000, Ealing £112,000 and Waltham Forest £100,000.  The contact is up for renewal in October and to get the best value a Council would need to start looking at least a year in advance.  With only 7 months left, Greenwich has yet to put the contract out to tender.

Having raised this waste at the budget Council meeting in February Cllr Spencer Drury asked what had been done in response to his enquiries at the March meeting, pointing out that no officer or Labour Cabinet member had been in touch with him to get the details.  The response from the Labour Cabinet was deeply unsatisfactory, implying that nothing had been done about the re-tendering of the contract since Spencer raised it in February.

Leader of Greenwich Conservatives Cllr Spencer Drury said “This waste of taxpayers money is yet another reflection of this Council’s incompetence.  If the Council negotiated contracts properly it probably wouldn’t have to introduce parking charges or privatise libraries.”

After the March Council Meeting, the Director of Finance has contacted Spencer to ask for details of the savings the Council might make.

Last night the new Woolwich and West Thamesmead Branch launched at the Dial Arch pub in Woolwich. The branch has succeeded the former Woolwich Riverside Branch and will cover most of the proposed Woolwich Constituency, covering the wards of Abbey Wood, Woolwich Riverside, Woolwich Common, Glyndon, Plumstead and Thamesmead Moorings.

The branch met last night and agreed plan to move the branch forward, a campaign day in Woolwich Riverside and elected its officers for 2012 – 2013. It elected Thomas Turrell as Chairman, Chris Van Roon as Deputy Chairman, Oliver Clark as Secretary and Philip Smith, Andrew Credgington and Gemma Robinson as the three Branch Vice-Chairmen.

The Branch Officers will have their first meeting in May to discuss a range of social events throughout the year. After the AGM the new Chairman, Thomas Turrell said “The branch covers some Labour strong holds like Glyndon ward and Thamesmead Moorings. However we also have wards where we can work hard and win, wards like Woolwich Riverside and Abbey Wood. I strongly believe that if we, as a branch work hard enough we can win new seats on the Council, and build a strong Conservative presence in an area that Labour ignore."

Following a question by Eltham North Councillor Spencer Drury at the February Council meeting, the Council have confirmed that the blocks of flats in Strongbow Crescent will receive door entry systems over the summer. 

At the February Council meeting, Spencer pointed out that the damage to flats and stairwells in the blocks at Strongbow had become a recurring theme at the Eltham North ward Safer Neighbourhood Team meetings, with police regularly having to patrol the flats. 

Spencer has raised the problem with the Council in the past and been informed that Strongbow was a priority however, the promise of action has never been fulfilled, until now.

Spencer said “I’m so pleased that the pressure that Cllr Poston and I have put the Council has finally paid off.  We seem to have been questioning Councillors and Officers about this for many years and it is pleasing to achieve a positive outcome for residents.  Hopefully this will lead to a calmer atmosphere inside the blocks and residents will feel safer in their own homes.”

Secretary of Kidbrooke with Hornfair Conservatives, Toni Hale, writes

“Some time ago a campaign went ahead to stop the build of the BMX dirt track in Hornfair Park. However, the fight was lost to get this sporting activity relocated to a different place and now it sits at the far end of the park on the Green Chain Walk.

It seems there is still controversy surrounding the BMX dirt track and the community are still split.  Hornfair Park was left to deteriorate for some time which in turn made it a place for crime and anti social behaviour. The fear within the area was these issues of concern would get worse when the BMX track was instilled. However, since the track was implemented a BMX club run there every week on a Saturday between 10am-12pm supervised by qualified staff and it looks as though it is well utilised at these times. There have been some very positive comments about the track, especially that all age groups are utilising the track at all times. However, it does not mean the issues of concern have been erased, it means that the issues of concern still play a key part in the park.

Once the BMX dirt track was in place it was noted that there were posters around the park to inform people the park and the BMX track would be closed at night. However, it seems this itself is still an ongoing problem because it is not always followed through. Many people who use the park are uncertain of when the park will open and close therefore we would like to see specific opening and closure times added to the signs.

Hornfair Park has also received much needed refurbishment with the football pitches in place with new gleaming white lines, football posts and a brand new changing room facility. However, the Bowling Green, tennis courts, children’s play area and the Lido are still in need of an upgrade. Recently there were nine trees planted in Hornfair Park outside the BMX track at the Prince Henry Road Entrance. This is within the plan to plant two thousand and twelve trees for 2012.

One day we hope that Hornfair Park will be back to its old self where it was one of the best parks in the borough.”

If you have any issues that you would like to raise concerning Hornfair Park then please contact Kidbrooke and Hornfair Conservatives on khconservatives@gmail.com or 07841 515463

Secretary of Kidbrooke with Hornfair Conservatives, Toni Hale, writes:

“At the end of last year there was a campaign to try and prevent the planning proposal of the new equestrian centre to be built at 341 Shooters Hill - not because it was thought that this was not a good idea, but because the site seemed an inappropriate place to have it. I believe that the fact that this build will be on Metropolitan Open Land (MOP) is a travesty, however because it will be a sporting facility, regulations state that this type of build can be constructed.

The site lies between the Woodlands Farm Trust and the Thompsons Nursery - quite a secluded place that could actually be missed when driving pass. A grade two listed property sits on the site and it is surrounded by fields and wooded areas.

Also on the site are Lenny’s donkeys - he has been renting the land for approximately 30 years and has had donkey rides on Blackheath Common, outside the main entrance to Greenwich Park for 64 years. Greenwich Council are trying to find a sufficient site for Lenny to relocate to.

In October 2011 the case was taken to the planning board and it was voted 5/2 to allow planning to go ahead. There were several letters sent to object to the planning application and two petitions were handed in one with 560 signatures and one with 178 signatures run by the Woodland Farm Trust. Eight people spoke in objection on the night of the planning board meeting back in October however, the planning proposal was approved.

The planning proposal will extend the bridle way in Oxleas Wood so that experienced riders from Hadlow College can ride in the woods. This will mean the general public who use the woodlands on a regular basis will have to give way to Horses and will need to keep dogs on a lead.

There is to be a Pegasus crossing across Shooters Hill so that horses can cross the road safely.

The campaign continued to carry out its objections to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson who, with his team carried out a lengthy report to maintain the applicants were following the guidelines of the Mayor’s London Plan. A few adjustments were made by the applicant and the Mayor agreed the plan could go ahead. The campaign continued and wrote to the Secretary of State who reported that there were no grounds for a Public Inquiry.

So the saga continues, whereby Greenwich Council are intending to spend £3.1m on the venture at the site at 341 Shooters Hill. Hadlow College are to have full control and run the educational centre which will also house a very large veterinary centre on the site. Students are planned to start for the year 2012/13 and will be of 16+. However, though this Olympic Legacy is meant to benefit many for years to come it is not evident of how, when only a few hours per week are for public use; especially when there are 222,000 people living in the borough. With such a financial burden on the taxpayer we will not know for sure how this will accumulate revenue that will be well spent in the borough until many years in the future.

However, in the mean time we can make sure the planning proposal is followed to the letter.”

If you require any further information please contact Kidbrooke and Hornfair Conservatives at khconservatives@gmail.com or 07841 515463

Secretary of Kidbrooke with Hornfair Conservatives, Toni Hale, writes:

“Recently walking in the Kidbrooke and Hornfair Ward I came across the pet cemetery near Hornfair Park. It was a strange sense of discovery as it is hidden behind the tall flats on Shooters Hill Road. However, the discovery was not mine alone because it has actually been there since the 1930s, probably at the same time when the Lido was being built. When I came across the site it was rather shabby with overgrown shrubbery and weeds as high as me, growing from the cracks in the pavement. There seems to have been some form of seating in the past around the trees that sit there now however, they to are broken and dishevelled.

Since my first encounter Clean Sweep have been in to tidy it up a bit and now it looks much better however, it is still in need of some tender loving care. There is a lot of moss growing on the paving slabs and this is hiding the gravestones that lay between them. Some of the gravestones are in the border areas of the garden but are also in need of help.

When leaving the site we decided to find out about the historical side of the site and began our quest to unravel the story behind the disused pet cemetery in Charlton. We started with the Blue Cross and found out that they ran kennels here at the beginning of the war and many of the animals buried there are dogs who served on the front line in the Second World War.

Some of the service men left their dogs here while they were away fighting the war but were welcomed with open paws when they returned to collect their animals. This was also a place for the injured animals of service men who served in WWII. The animals were taken care of until they were able to return home with their owners, as you can see in the pictures below.

This has been an exciting venture to find out that this small area of land has historical importance and it should really be a place to look after and protect. A place for people to visit or just sit and relax as the place does have a sense of peace. We are continuing our quest to find out more about the history of this site, which has led us to the PDSA who have kindly agreed with the Blue Cross, to help in our search for more information.

We are nearly at the end of the research and have a lot of valuable information about the pet cemetery which is great news. However, where do we go from here?  Well we are arranging a ‘clean up day’ at the site to get it back to good order. In the spring we intend to achieve this with providing extra planting to spruce the area up, clearing any weeds and cleaning the gravestones, fixing the seating area and adding some bird boxes. We will be working in partnership with other organisations who will help to make it a better place. Then we will run an event there showcasing all the information we have found out regarding the pet cemetery. It will be a place where we can provide Information to the public about the gallantry animals who served in the war and helped the service men and women who fought for us. We will have relevant information that ties the Blue Cross to the site and the visitors who ventured here. It will be an exciting time to have such historical importance associated to this piece of land that sits on our ward.”

If you would like to help or have any more information regarding the pet cemetery then please contact Toni Hale at cappconsultancy@live.co.uk

The next consultation event for the proposed new Avery Hill Park Greenways will be on Monday 19 March, starting at 7.30pm in the Mary Seacole Building at the Greenwich University Avery Hill campus site.

The first event considered potential routes and looked to rule out certain parts of routes, the next session will now focus on refining the routes and looking more closely at surfacing options, to ensure that the cycle paths properly integrate into the park and add to its character.

Local Conservative Councillors Working Hard For You

As your local councillors we want to give you an update on some of the things we have been working on/securing delivery of in the immediate area as well as reiterating that we are on hand if you should need assistance from any of us

The Oakways roundabout has been raised to prevent further damage by lorries/vans following campaigning by Cllr Matt Clare 

Cllr Adam Thomas is regularly in touch with the council to clear and prevent fly tipping down Butterfly Lane.

After several months of pushing the fly tipping in Oakways garages was finally removed.

The fly tipping before...

...Matt got the problem sorted

Cllr Eileen Glover continues to be a staunch defender of Lemonwell leaseholders interests

All 3 councillors continue to call on the council to ensure that the current unacceptable parking situation in the Avery Hill Park/Eltham Heights area

Cllrs Eileen Glover talking to residents about parking on Avery Hill

All 3 councillors have urged the council to put greater enforcement on parking in the Bexley Road cycle lanes. This should be in place soon

Eileen, Adam and Matt are passionate about defending your needs and protecting/enhancing the local area. In addition to the above we often work with residents on planning matters on your behalf and are continually trying to keep the area cleaner and tidier.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if we can be of assistance.

Yours sincerely

Matt,Adam and Eileen

Your Councillors in Eltham South

At the recent full council meeting of Greenwich Councillor, Eltham South councillor Eileen Glover took the Labour council to task over the continuing issues around the maintenance of the Shepherd Leas community at the top of Riefield Road.

Cllr Glover has consistently raised problems with the maintenance of the homes for tenants and the treatment of leaseholders by the council and its housing association partners.

At the meeting Cllr Glover raised serious problems with the flats including leaking pipes, but also questioned the Cabinet member responsible for the level of compensation that leaseholders would received when the site was redeveloped, raising particular concerns about the council's tone in regards to how properties had been maintained.

Cllr Glover said' "At the end of the day residents on Shepherd's Leas have been let down by the council and it is simply not correct to blame leaseholders for the poor state of the site, when it is the council and its partners that have not taken their responsibilities towards both tenants and leaseholders seriously."

On Tuesday Greenwich Conservatives campaigned at Abbey Wood Train Station, handing out Back Boris Oyster Card Holders to the commuters. Within only 20 Minutes 150 had vanished! Oliver Clark, Secretary of Greenwich University Conservatives said “People were eager to take the holders off me, such a response fills me with confidence that the residents of Abbey Wood have faith in Boris Johnson and the Conservatives, faith that they simply do not have in Labour and Ken Livingstone, a man and a party who did nothing but let London down, and let Greenwich Down for 8 very long years.”

The session was held at 6pm in the evening, catching commuters as they came home from work. Thomas Turrell said “The reaction to two Conservatives greeting commuters was very positive. We were even greeted with smile and somebody even shock my hand to thank me. People who walked past and then realised what we were handing out they turned around to come back for their very own Back Boris Oyster Card Holder. To me this shows that Abbey Wood are keen to show their support for Boris and clear plan to further improve London, eager to reject disappointment and broken promises from the Labour party and their mayoral candidate.”

At last night’s Council budget meeting Greenwich Conservatives opposed Labour’s cut to police funding. 

In previous years the Council had agreed funding for the Violent and Organised Crime Unit (VOCU) which was a specialist police unit aimed at tackling organised crime.  Last March, the Council the budget report stated that “A further allocation of £350k will allow the unit to continue for a further year”.   All members of the Council present voted to support the extra funds being allocated to the VOCU.  This year (in the budget report presented to Council on 29th February) no funds have been allocated to the fund the VOCU, meaning that Councillors are agreeing to its closure in 2012-13.

At the Council meeting Conservative Councillors moved an amendment to the budget to allocate funds to the VOCU from the Council Tax freeze grant provided by the government this year.  However, the Labour Group, voted against the amendment, seemingly ignorant of the effect their vote was going to have.   

Leader of the Conservative Group Councillor Spencer Drury said “Every year since it was created  Council has been specifically asked to approve funds for this highly successful police unit.  By failing to provide funds for the VOCU in the Council’s budget report, the Labour Party in Greenwich  is effectively cutting the unit as it will not be possible to support it in 2012-13.  This is a stealth cut and I think that the Labour Cabinet were simply hoping that no one would notice their plans.”

“Having caught them red-handed, I hope that they will see sense and reinstate funding for the police unit.  The VOCU has helped reduce crime across the borough and this smash and grab raid on their funding makes a mockery of Labour claims that they would increase police numbers across London.”

Greenwich Council is putting forward plans for a new play area for Under 8s on the Avery Hill estate.  The existing equipment on the play area will be removed and new equipment installed.

Before the renovations take place the council will be holding a meeting to show residents the plans and equipment that is to be used in the play area and would like to invite you to a meeting to be held in Anstridge Road Community Hall on Tuesday 6th March 2012 from 2pm to 4pm.

If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to discuss the proposals by phone please contact either Cassie Reason on 0208-921-6502 or Pat Coyle on 0208-921-6541 at Greenwich Council.