Review of the year: September 2008

At the beginning of September squatters evicted from a derelict block of flats in Lambeth found their way to empty MoD housing for servicemen in West Putney: William Gardens. The MoD thought they would save themselves a packet not providing basic security for the housing while it was awaiting refurbishment, but ended up shelling out thousands in legal costs to evict the squatters and then securing the site.

The Council eventually plucked up the courage to consult Roehampton on thoroughly dumb plans to ban right-turns off Roehampton Lane into Medfield Street, which would simply divert traffic up Roehampton High Street. These plans were brewed up by the Conservatives in early 2006, but by the time they got round to consulting on them even their own councillors were coming out against them. Strangely, the results of the consultation have yet to be announced - the Putney Society believes they represent an overwhelming NO to the Tory plans.

The leader of the Liberal Democrat party, who lives in Putney despite representing Sheffield, continued to prove what a man of the people he is after his failure to know what the basic state pension comes to, by slagging off local secondary schools and angsting about having to slum it Sainsbury's because he could no longer afford Ocado. Oh, the suffering.

I spent the start of September out and about on the Southfields Grid - the network of streets just to the south of Southfields tube - and took up a number of problems raised by residents of Hanford Close there. My petition is going to committee early in the new year and I'll keep residents informed.

And after the failure of the council to consult Roehampton adequately on the redevelopment plans, I published my own survey - which gained over 330 replies compared to the council's risible 65.

Opposition to the Putney Place towerblocks steadily grew throughout September: more on this in my review of October 2008.